![]() 04/12/2019 at 03:27 • Filed to: Opinions are like Assholes | ![]() | ![]() |
I can see why the GNX is cool, but I think it's pretty overhyped at this point. Granted, I'm willing to be offered the opportunity to drive one and be proven wrong.
![]() 04/12/2019 at 03:33 |
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Turbo lag...turbo lag...turb- WHOA I JUST PEED A LITTLE!
![]() 04/12/2019 at 03:50 |
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Meh. I get why people like them, but I wouldn’t buy one.
![]() 04/12/2019 at 06:25 |
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I would. PURE. 80'S!
![]() 04/12/2019 at 07:23 |
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![]() 04/12/2019 at 08:00 |
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The first time I saw one was at an SCCA autocross. While most of the other cars were working under the Harley philosophy - loud pipes save lives - this un assuming sedan pulls up, lets out a little more than a turbo whistle, then posts the best time of the day (so far). I was amazed.
![]() 04/12/2019 at 08:38 |
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My favorite part on these cars is that they reengineered the rear suspension from a 4-Link to a 3-Link set up with torque arm and panhard bar like you’d get on a 3rd or 4th generation F body. They also ran 13's and trapped about 104 in the quarter, which is on par with an LS1 F-Body (My Z28 ran 13.4's at 104 stock). That was incredible in 1987. Beyond that, you can turn up the wick VERY simply and cheaply . With the limited production and thorough massaging by ASC, they’re certainly worth some sort of premium, but six figures is a bunch of coin for an old G-Body Buick.
If you’ve got the itch, you could start with any old Grand National and build it up. You could start with any G-body for that matter. They’re an amazing blank canvas for performance enthusiasts that can do just about anything anybody would want, depending on their motorsport of choice. Plus they were the last bastion of the old school body on frame formula. They’re built just like something from the 60's and a pleasure to wrench on.
![]() 04/12/2019 at 09:10 |
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To me, the GNX just isn’t worth the price premium. I’d rather have another G-body (Cutlass, Monte Carlo, Grand Prix, Regal) preferably with t-tops and an LS swap.
![]() 04/12/2019 at 09:18 |
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I hate the look, just reminds me of all the other crap GM was putting out at the time. Numbers wise, it’s quite impressive for the ‘80s, enough so that it probably doesn’t suck completely to drive, but I imagine it still would be disappointing compared to a lot of cars.
![]() 04/12/2019 at 09:41 |
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By today’s standards, they’re not that impressive. By 80's standards, they were the stuff . ( Granted, I drive a G-body, so I’m somewhat biased.) For someone into the nostalgia of the thing, it would be an awesome car to have. For someone just looking for a platform on which to make a fast car, there are cheaper starting points from which to create faster cars.
![]() 04/12/2019 at 10:01 |
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Put yourself in 1986. Nothing but 140hp V8's in enormous malaise era garbage for the last 15 or so years. It was a time when some Ferraris were posting 0-60 times in the 7-9 second range. Then this thing comes out. Some reports recorded it as having a faster quarter mile time than an F40. Also, no driving aids.
https://carbuzz.com/news/the-buick-gnx-is-faster-than-a-ferrari-f40-on-the-quarter-mile
Yeah yeah carbuzz, whatever, don't know if this is 100% accurate, but it does a decent job of providing perspective.
![]() 04/12/2019 at 10:17 |
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There were only 547, so it’s not really about how they drive or performance , it’s just a numbers/collectible game at this point. I love GNs, but not as an investment idea.
![]() 04/12/2019 at 10:18 |
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Most of their legendary status comes from the time period they were built in. Just 6 years earlier, the only engine options were a 110hp 3.8L V6 or a 119hp 4.3L V8. For a performance model to come out advertised with more than double the power (and actually producing close to triple it’s power), and being built by Buick... It kind of blew people’s minds.
Plus, performance cars from the 80s kept some of the brutality of the older muscle cars. They were slightly more complicated in electronics, but no electronic nannies, little added bulk from safety or luxury features, and the power was starting to approach the legendary cars from the 60s, and were just as simple to upgrade too .
![]() 04/12/2019 at 16:30 |
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I had a chance to at least drive a
pristine Grand National
a few years ago.
There wasn’t any nostalgia at play since
they ended production around the time I was born
, but I
still had a good time with it
. The closest thing I can liken it to in recent years is my Outback XT
. It’s an
older
turbocharged engine stuffed into what feels like a wholly inappropriate body for the amount of thrust it provides, thus creating a goofy and/or slightly sketchy sort of fun.
![]() 04/12/2019 at 17:00 |
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Cool looking car with great power for it’s time and can be tuned easily. No different than why people like the Supra. Both are non-handling straight line 1/4 mile cars.
True PATRICIANS would go FD RX7 every time. However if you want 80s/90s turbo 1/4 mile car you pick this over the Supra unless you are a yuppie.
![]() 04/12/2019 at 17:01 |
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Even by 90s standards they were still impressive.
Really very few 80s and 90s cars are impressive today. Probably like the FD RX7, MR2 turbo and then a bunch of cars not sold in the US and that’s it.
![]() 04/12/2019 at 17:02 |
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GNX had like 300hp, that is impressive even well into the later 90s.