S
omecarsjustenduptainted.The
1963-’65Buick Rivieraisthe
darlingof theAmerican-carscene,
andwithgoodreason:itsstunning
shape,styledbyNedNickles
underlegendaryGeneralMotors
designsupremoBillMitchell,is
arguablythefinestto emergefromDetroitsince,
well...ever. Yetthe1971-’73modelthat
followed,thelastofthetrulybespokeRivieras
beforetheslideintoblandGMbadgeengineer-
ing,sitsinitsshadow.Tooradicalforbuyers
whenitwasnew,thisonce-range-topping
‘PersonalLuxuryCar’wasswiftlyrelegated
tothebackrowof theused-carlots.
Thatbargain-binimagecan’thavebeen
helpedbyitsappearancesonboththebigand
smallscreens.Wherethe’65evenhasitsown
criticallyacclaimedart-housemoviededicated
toit,the1971-’73is invariablythetransportfor
hoods,pimpsandgenerallyunsavourycharac-
ters,itsfatemoreoftenthannotthecrusherafter
a violentpursuitwitha fieryconclusion.
Itscinematicheydaywasthe1990s,whena
relicoftheearly’70swastheperfectvillain’s
accessory– cheapto buy,withplentyof gangster
chic.NicolasCage’sbumblinghitmanmakes
hisescapein a ’71inRedRockWest(1993);Kevin
Klinedrivesanotherindysfunctionaldrama
TheIceStorm(1997);BruceWillisblowsuphis
’71inTheLastBoyScout(1991)– withthesame
caralsoappearingin MelGibsonvehicleLethal
Weapon 3 ; anda ’72outshinesthefutureMrs
TomCruisein 1999’sdrug-fuelledGo.
Thereareendlessbad-boycameos,too,but
the1971-’73Rivachievedredemption,andits
most famous role, in Canadian black comedyDueSouth, inwhichdetectiveRaymond‘Ray’
Vecchio (DavidMarciano)drives around
Chicagoina ’72thatbecameasfamousasthe
fish-out-of-waterRoyalCanadianMounted
PolicemanBentonFraser(PaulGross).Here,
asinallofitscelluloidappearances,theBuick
spendsmostofitstimelurchingaroundonits
soggysuspensionincarchases,demonstrating
thestrengthofitsseparatecruciformchassis
withallmannerof jumpsandshunts.
Although 1971 heraldedonlythethirdgener-
ationoftheRivieraasa standalonemodel(see
p131),thename– intendedto conjuretheglam-
ouroftheFrenchandItaliancoastline– had
beenappliedto variousBuicksformorethantwo
decades.Originatingin theGMStylingexperi-
mentalstudioat 40WestMilwaukee,Detroit,
it wasusedtodenotea luxuriousmodelwith
a distinctive‘hardtopconvertible’style– the
sportylookofa drop-top,butwitha fixedroof- firstappearingontheRoadmasterRiviera
HardtopCoupeat theGMExhibitioninNew
YorkinJanuary1949.Thekeyfeaturewasthe
eliminationofthecentralpillartocreate,sothe
brochureclaimed,‘swift,greyhoundlinesthat
givesportivezipandzest’– thoughthiswouldn’t
becarriedoverto four-doorRivierabodiesuntil
the 1955 model-yearCenturyandSpecial.
Inadditiontothepillarlesswindows,another
detailthatwouldbecomesynonymouswiththe
Rivierabodystyle– butonethat,ironically,was
absentfromtheoriginalandmostfamous 1963
version– wasthe‘Sweepspear’chromedside
trim,withitsdistinctivekickovertherear
fender.Thiswouldmakea dramaticreturnas
a signaturefeatureofthe1971-’73cars, before
disappearing never to be seen again.
Eggcrategrilleandrubber
bumperinsertsarrivedfor
1972;marketingguruJack
Tinkercreated‘R’badge.
Chrome-platedwheels
were a $70 extra when new