COFFEE TALK for Monday February 28, 2022

Good Morning Everyone...Another Monday and Week is upon us!

I'm up early with my coffee hot and it's hitting the spot!  We had a great weekend by Minnesota standards, it was in the lower 30's.  I know that's not Palm tree hugging weather, but hey, after 8 weeks of below zero temps and wind chills, it's  tropical for me. 

Heard a reporter on the radio talking about the French Riviera and with the warmer morning, my mind switched to one of my favorite cars...the BUICK RIVIERA.  It was Buick's big news for 1963.  Touted as totally new and radically different (for Buick anyway), and it was in no way related to the Riviera Hardtops of bygone days.  It was their entrance in to the newly designated upper medium price "personal luxury" market, which for the past several years had been almost the exclusive territory for Ford's Thunderbird. 

This latest version of the Riviera actually came to Buick by accident, as originally the car being designed was intended to resurrect Cadillac's legendary LaSalle name.  But Cadillac for reasons of their own (a story for another time), passed on the car and the Buick division at General Motors added it to their line-up as a luxurious Sport Coupe and it was immediately off and running in competition with Thunderbird. 

Brand new and beautiful it could be had for $4,333 with Buick cranking out a production run of about 40,000 of them.  Powering the Riviera was the standard 401 cubic inch engine used in the other large Buicks, and shot out 325 horsepower at 4400 RPM. 

The interior of the Riviera was done in natural leather with vinyl side panels,  headliner, and with Bucket seats and center console, all standard at the entry price.  A radio and electric windows were part of the deal too, but if you wanted air-conditioning, it was yours for an additional $350.  

As I was reflecting back on my excitement when seeing the Riviera for the first time at Buerkle Buick in downtown St. Paul in 1963, a smile graced my face.  It has forever been a car of classic looks to me. 

With my second cup of coffee poured, I sat back and am thankful as always for my Dad taking me to the dealerships when the NEW cars came out each model year.  I'm hoping he knew how much I appreciated him making that effort, as it has always given me so much joy when thinking back to those times with him. 

THANKS DAD!