Poll: Which '64? (11/2/2025)

Posted by: @georgeschire

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I remember reading how Buick took the Riviera from Cadillac, who was originally going to call it the LaSalle, but passed on it.

Good point, George, the car is so beautifully styled and "upscale" in appearance that it would have fit in well with the Cadillac line-up had GM gone that way.

Yes, I recall that the car was originally intended to be a Cadillac (to be marketed under the old La Salle nameplate) but Cadillac management said they were doing very nicely with what they had on offer, thank you very much, and didn't need a "halo" model to attract buyers into the showroom. So it was offered around the other GM brands, but some of them wanted to modify the car's appearance in various ways to match their own style image, and the car's creator Bill Mitchell and his team didn't much care for that idea. Buick, suffering from a rather staid image, were most in need of something special to attract younger, more style-conscious customers, and were also most willing to keeps the car's original looks - so they got the Riviera.

@perrone1 Tony, I am with you on this pairing.

Posted by: @ed-glorius

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Both are beautiful but the Riviera is an icon. It gets my vote.

Gents, thanks for your responses!