Beater Review: $650 1997 Buick Riviera

"Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To" (murdersofa) 03/27/2016 at 13:00 • Filed to: review, riviera, buick, restore, live fast not loud

5

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Big coupes have been a bit of an American tradition, though one that is rapidly dying. Long gone are the days of the Lincoln Continental Mark IV with its acres of hood and equally enormous trunk bookending a comically tiny greenhouse with just two doors. El Dorados and Thunderbirds have given way to a world where everything, even “luxury coupes”, must be balls-to-the-wall sports cars. But, alongside the 10th generation Ford Thunderbird was this. The 8th revision of the Buick Riviera. One of the last hurrahs of American personal luxury.

You can read this review in its full glory at !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , a blog about cars by people who like cars.

Exterior

This particular example of Riviera has certainly seen its better days. Brilliant white paint has flaked away revealing bare metal and allowing mild surface rust to creep in.Despite this the Riviera still stands an impressively enormous representation of 90s bubble-tastic embrace-the-low-drag-coefficient styling. Strongly swept front corners leave a nose that sticks out several feet forward of the front wheels for a stupendous overhang while the belt line gently waves backwards before drooping down to a somewhat pinched rear end.

It is, in my experience, a somewhat polarizing body style that set the design language for the Buicks of the early 2000s; the LeSabre, the Park Avenue, the Regal, and the Century. It ends up looking sort of like the American version of the Jaguar XK series. One that’s had a bit too much to eat and decided to switch to FWD because it was ‘simpler’. Saying the styling looks like a Jag isn’t necessarily a bad thing, though, and the Riviera manages to wear it rather well.

Interior

Perhaps one of the most important parts of any car which carries “luxury” in its description is the manner in which the interior is done, and the Riviera does things rather strangely thanks to a lack of what is known as ‘parts-bin engineering’. This term, though you might not be familiar with its definition, is something you might have noticed if you have gotten out of one of the Riviera’s stablemates, say a Park Avenue, and immediately gone and sat in a LeSabre. Whereas both are different-looking cars on the outside and inside there are a number of parts that are shared between the models. Window switches, turn signal stalks, etc. Modern cars take this even further with common steering wheels, gauge clusters, and a majority of the switchgear being shared between models. This is done in order to keep costs down by reducing the amount of distinct parts that need to be made. In the Riviera, however, I can count the amount of parts shared with other GM models on one hand: Radio, HAVC controls, interior door handles, and possibly the foot pedals. Everything else you see, feel, and sit on in the Riviera was design and built for this model by the Lear company. The reason this feels so important is that it’s matters for a flagship vehicle to feel unique.

In place of the Buick tri-shield the Riviera has badges that display ‘Riviera’ in fancy script or a simple “R” badge, because the Riviera stands alone. It’s not the Buick Riviera, it is, as the dashboard says, Riviera by Buick.

As silly as it seems to make such a big deal out of this and how little this really matters when it comes to the actual interior build quality, this is a rare and somewhat interesting quality for American cars since the days of coachbuilt domestics have faded into the past.

As for the interior build quality itself it’s actually quite well done. There are next to no odd squeaks or rattles other than the sound of old poorly-maintained leather, which is impressive considering my usual experiences with Buicks of this era. The squishy overstuffed seats are supremely comfortable, especially the back seat which boasts ash trays, rear air vents, and overhead lights for passengers despite the apparent intention of this car to be a personal luxury vehicle.

Legally, this coupe can seat five.

It also has a CD/Tape AM/FM head unit with Concert Sound II six-speaker system and an automatic climate control system. There’s a funny little unit below the driver’s ash tray (Americans sure did love their ash trays 20+ years ago) that is actually a CD holder with little indicators to show when a CD is loaded into one for storage.

And no, that isn’t fake wood surrounding the HVAC and radio. Unfortunately though it is American real wood so after 18 years it’s done this nonsense:

Oops.

Drivetrain

Unlike its platform-mate the Oldsmobile Aurora the Riviera lacks a “unique” powertrain such as the 4.0L Northstar-derivative found in the Olds. For the Riviera Buick went the road of “if it ain’t broke” and tossed in a 3.8 liter “3800 Series II” V6, the same engine present in pretty much every late 90s FWD GM full-sized car. This 1997 has the naturally-aspirated version of the engine twisting 205hp and 220 lb-ft of torque through a 4T65e-HD four-speed transmission. Earlier models used the 4T60e and 4t60e-HD (in the case of Supercharged engines). Starting in ’97 the 65e-HD became standard for both naturally aspirated AND supercharged applications, which delivered 240 hp and 280 lb-ft of input-shaft-destroying torque through the same transmission.

The naturally aspirated car is likely to get laughed at for its lethargic nature and “acceleration” merely being a suggestion, but it does what it does and does it without complaint. The engine is neither rev-happy nor particularly torque, and will lazily climb up the tachometer until it hits redline without sounding stressed out about it. At the same time the four-speed automatic will slog through the gears as smoothly as it can manage, though at certain speeds the TCC lockup doesn’t seem able to figure out what it wants to do. Thanks to the high gearing the car is capable of around 25MPG combined, with many instances of it getting 30MPG on the highway.

Handling

As a “gran touring” car the Riviera is expected to handle. It’s generally expected that a nearly-4000-pound American FWD luxury barge will handle like an office block with pillows for suspension and in that regard it does not disappoint. The incredibly nose-heavy chassis coupled with Macpherson front suspension and a semi-trailing air-assisted rear suspension results in a complacent ride that will carry you over the roughest roads in comfort and float its way down the highway like the finest of clouds. In the corners things fall apart somewhat less than would be expected from such an un-ideal setup, and the car does a surprisingly competent job at disguising its own mass. That being said, it’s by no reasons a corner carver, but minimized body roll and pleasantly responsive steering makes the cornering far more comfortable than the usual vague ship-like rolling disaster that has been every other large Buick I’ve driven.

Conclusion

This mediocre white 1997 Buick Riviera is the ideal cheap comfy daily driver. Good fuel economy, the comfort of a La-Z-Boy on wheels, a reliable 3800-based drivetrain, and the styling of a bag of sugar combine to make a car that promises to comfortably schlep you to and from work for a minimal cost. In restored/better condition a Riviera could be a legitimate luxury vehicle which is the reason that the vehicle reviews I have just bought for $650. I will be repairing, modernizing, and customizing the car in “Project Rags to Riches” here on Drive Fast Not Loud over the summer. Updates will be infrequent but fairly large as I take this beater and try to make it something that is genuinely nice. Will I succeed? Probably not. Will it be expensive and mildly amusing? Almost certainly.

You can read this review in its full glory at !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , a blog about cars by people who like cars.

ranwhenparked > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 03/27/2016 at 13:02

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I’d do the white spray paint idea, and maybe put some wood grain contact paper over the console, then profit.

Phyrxes once again has a wagon! > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 03/27/2016 at 13:21

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So like all Buick cars of this era the handling is best described as “Road Sofa?”

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Phyrxes once again has a wagon! 03/27/2016 at 13:22

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Honestly it handles nearly as good as the ‘08 DTS I drove for a couple weeks, and absorbs far more bumps. As long as you aren’t trying to set a Nurburgring time the handling is described as “adequate and very comfortable”

Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 03/27/2016 at 13:29

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Since it’s FWD, why did Buick decide to put a massive trans tunnel down the middle?

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 03/27/2016 at 13:32

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I do like the vents on the inside of the doors. Actually makes more sense.

jimz > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 03/27/2016 at 13:40

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you laugh about the ashtrays, but I’ve been in several 2013-2016 model year cars for (and from) the Chinese market, and they’ve all had ashtrays up front and in the rear door panels. They still smoke like forest fires in that part of the world.

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 03/27/2016 at 13:40

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Sorry to burst your bespoke-parts bubble, but that steering wheel is standard fare for almost every 90's Buick, and that button-on-top shifter is straight out of a Cavalier. And a Beretta. And Camaro. And the Reatta. To name a few.

I do really like the Riv’s gauges though.

Bryce H > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 03/27/2016 at 13:42

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Hey, How could I be an author on live fast not loud?

ranwhenparked > Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap 03/27/2016 at 13:44

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A fair amount of FWD cars seem have that, often, it’s for structural rigidity.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap 03/27/2016 at 14:01

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That’s where the exhaust goes. For some reason.

jasmits > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 03/27/2016 at 15:43

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I what he should’ve said was that it’s better than most GM for the era, just a few things were shared instead of literally everything.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 03/27/2016 at 16:32

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Weird factoid - the naturally aspirated riviera is quite rare.

.....It’s also rather crap, but it is rare crap. I had a supercharged riv a few years back and the torque put out with the supercharger is a huge benefit.

CammedCTSV > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 03/27/2016 at 16:39

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I have had several of these Rivs, with the right chip and pulley you will be over 300 lb ft at the wheels. I miss them, but I needed RWD back in my life. This post makes me want another one. What great cars

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 03/27/2016 at 19:19

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Imma make it less rare this summer.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 03/27/2016 at 22:25

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For the record, you can get an interior kit on ebay to re-cover a lot of the worn out parts and give it a new look. Wish I saved more pictures but I liked how mine looked in the end.

EDIT: Found it! Here’s what I bought for mine - http://www.autoanything.com/dash-kits/77A4…

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 03/27/2016 at 23:29

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There’s an enormous thread on dash kits at Rivperformance. I’ve already taken the dashboard apart several times so I’m actually considering vinyl wrapping the dashboard piano black for a classy break-up of the sea of BEEEIIIIIGGGGEEEEE. Also currently doing a D.I.Y head unit install using a 7" tablet after finding out my super nice Pioneer head unit doesn’t fit in the stupidly shallow Buick double DIN opening.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 03/27/2016 at 23:49

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Yep. Rivperformance is where its at for these barges.