Buick Special from 1956.
Apologies for the grainyness of the image, but I had to scan this at high resolution due to the photo's small size. Anyway, this pic, which is dated June 1958, shows a 2 year old Buick Special V8. The '56 Buicks had a 322 cubic inch V8 engine, propelling the rear wheels via a torque-tube drive. 'Roadability' was guaranteed thanks to the 'Extra-Massive Frame and Precision-Balanced Chassis, engineered all new from front to rear for extra-rugged roadability.'
Coil springs featured all around, keeping the Buick on an even keel around the bends in theory, while the passengers revelled in driving in a car with 'Sweep-Ahead Styling - with choice of Fashion Color Harmony inside and out.'
Despite the bold styling and colour schemes, the Special was in fact Buick's cheapest range - the advertising blurb for '56 went as follows:
".. What you get for your money here is all automobile - and lots of it - the biggest bundle of high-powered energy and high-fashion styling ever to carry the Buick banner into the low-price field .... For here's a car with massive physique - beautifully brawny in its nearly two tons of solid road-weight and its 17 feet of sweeping grace .... Here's the surging power of the mightiest engine in Special annals - a robust 322 cubic inch V8 of record-high compression."
Interesting how they make a big play of just how heavy this motorcar is, although performance of the 1956 range was pushed as much as the affordability of the car in the Buick adverts:
"Here's the pulse-quickening performance of a new Variable Pitch Dynaflow - asparkle with brand-new getaway and gas savings at only part throttle - and with a rich reserve of instant switch-pitch acceleration when you need it."
Return to Old Photographs of Cars - Page 4.
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