1953 Buick.
Leo took this photo of a 1953 Buick Super convertible, while pedalling around Utrecht as part of a cycling holiday, in 1958. Any interesting cars he spotted, he recorded on film, and fortunately the photos survive to this day. The Buick was around five years of age at the time, but still looked in very good order. Note the many bicycles that are also in view, a common sight in the area to this day.
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The 1953 Super series introduced not just revised styling, something that tended to occur on an annual basis to keep the design fresh, but also a new V8 engine that was also fitted to contemporary Roadmasters. The new engine was reflected in the design of mascot, fitted to the car's bonnet. The two models can quickly be identified by the number of "portholes" fitted to the front wings - Supers have three, Roadmasters four.
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Period sales catalogues of the day, make a great deal of the season's new range, in typically understated (!) advertising speak ...
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"On whatever basis you measure the worth of a motorcar, you will find the brilliant Buick Super for 1953 a beacon light in value. Price alone
is medium in this superb automobile."
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"Its power is outstanding - more spirited, more thrilling, and more economical than ever before, thanks to the sensational performance of Buick's
great new 8.5 to 1 compression V-8 Fireball Engine."
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"Its ride is outstanding - level and steady and lullaby-soft - with big, soft coil springs at every wheel, and the host of other engineering
features that make up the Buick Million Dollar Ride."
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"In simple fact, quality is outstanding in this handsome Buick in every inch and pound and detail - quality that far outsteps the usual confines
of the medium-price field."
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"Superb style, spacious size and exhilarating travel mark the medium-priced Buick Super for 1953. This dashing beauty is fitted with the finest
fabrics and finish ever to grace a Buick Super. Truly broad seats and the magnificent Buick ride provide a measure of comfort far beyond the usual
standard. And in performance, this sparkling Buick is really super. With a brand-new 170 Horsepower V-8 Fireball Engine, and with the
new trigger-fast Twin-Turbine Dynaflow Drive, optional at extra cost, you thrill to a superlative new travel experience in this handsome, big-buy
Buick."
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A number of original Buick photographs are in this archive now, dating from the 1920s through to the late 1950s. The linked page below has a summary of them, with
links also included. One page, for example, has an example of 1949 Buick Super featured on it. Thanks for the photo of the '53 Leo.
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Return to Page 19 in the photographic archive, or visit the main index here.
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