Wouldn’t You Really Rather Have a Buick?

 

That title is the car slogan I remember most from my childhood. I’ve got Buicks on the Brain today in anticipation of the 2010 Buick LaCrosse the folks at General Motors are about to lend me for a week. They’re also giving me passes to the first annual Turner Classic Movies Film Festival that starts the day after tomorrow. Woo-hoo! That is THE place to be in L.A. this week and as desperately as I had wanted to attend the festival, the ticket prices were too steep for my current budget. THANK YOU, GM! The car company is co-sponsoring the film festival and they were looking for some local bloggers to cover the event and give their opinion on their new luxury vehicle. Thanks to the recommendations of Jane Devin, who is documenting her cross-country trek in various GM vehicles on her excellent blog, “Finding My America,” the company contacted me and fellow movie lover Neil “Citizen of the Month” Kramer.

I’ve never officially reviewed any products on my blog, but lest you think I’m becoming a corporate shill, I can assure you that the down-to-earth GM folks have urged me to be very honest in my assessment of the vehicle. My appalling lack of knowledge about cars makes me either the best or the worst blogger they could have chosen. And as much as I always defend my loyal but decrepit 1994 Honda, I’m more excited about driving this car than I ever thought I’d be. I’ve been trying to find Buick Lacrosses on the road and they are hard to come by in Los Angeles. So I was shocked to walk out of my house a few days ago and find one parked directly in front. I’m surprised I wasn’t picked up by the police the way I was casing out the car, taking pictures of its luscious interior. That is one good-looking vehicle, and I’m not saying that out of gratitude for the movie passes! I’m so clueless in terms of cars that I didn’t even realize that Buicks had gained the reputation over the years as being something of an old fogey’s car. Not anymore, kids. This LaCrosse ain’t your grandfather’s Buick. I can’t wait to drive it to all the movie festivities on Hollywood Boulevard this week. 

Classic movies and a classic car. Who could ask for anything more?

My Honda is already pouting in our driveway and, it’s making more clinks and clanks than normal. Leah can’t wait to drive in a car that doesn’t look like it’s gone through several tours in Afghanistan. Even Charlie seems excited. This morning it looked like he was trying to unlatch the base of his car seat in his zeal to transfer it to the new car. Poor baby—he’s only ever driven in my and Kendall’s car which have a combined mileage that far surpasses the distance between the Earth and the Moon.

I’m obviously not someone who changes cars very often, I’ve only owned two cars in my life and they were both Japanese. I kept my old Mazda, the car I drove out from Chicago to L.A. when I moved here in the 80s, until it was practically a pile of metal shavings. When my ex-wife got pregnant with Leah in 1994 she adamantly refused to let our baby near the thing. I bought the car I’m still driving the month before Leah was born. Now that she’s starting to think about college, perhaps it’s time to get the feel of a new vehicle. Or is a taste of honey worse than none at all? Will General Motors need to send henchmen to my house next week to pry the Buick steering wheel out of my cold dead hands?

My father, who can barely remember what he had for breakfast this morning, can recall the Buick he owned over 50 years ago in explicit detail. Today he told me about picking up my mother for their first date in a breathtaking 1951 cream-colored Buick Roadmaster convertible. It was truly a magnificent car—why oh why didn’t he stick it in a garage somewhere and forget about it for sixty years? I’m not saying that my 19-year-old mother was shallow enough to be had for a sexy set of wheels, but I will say their first date went very well and they were married a few short months later. Is it stretching the point to imply that if it weren’t for Buick, I might not be sitting here today?

Kendall also has a Buick story that is part of her family’s lore. Her father Oliver was so careful in his spending habits that he’d go to three different drugstores to price out a package of Band-Aids. So the day he purchased not one, but TWO new Buicks shocked the entire family. He had gone to his local dealership to get a station wagon for his clan but after that was purchased he experienced love at first sight with a two-tone Buick LeSabre that was on the lot. In a very uncharacteristic moment of fiscal spontaneity, Oliver purchased that car, too! Kendall remembers how they took the new car to Scandia that night, a hoity-toity restaurant on Sunset Boulevard, the kind where the valets park the nicest cars out in front and hide the lesser quality vehicles in the hinterlands. She recalls how proud her father was when they walked out of the restaurant after their meal and there was his Buick LeSabre right in front of the place, parked between a Bentley and a Rolls Royce.

It makes sense that Buick is sponsoring the TCM festival (along with Vanity Fair). The company has been involved in the entertainment industry in some way or another since it was founded over a hundred years ago. Buicks appeared in many classic films and were owned by some of the top film stars. This custom-made Buick was driven by Cary Grant in the 1937 movie "Topper." The company sponsored some of the earliest TV shows. Many people remember Texaco as TV pioneer Milton Berle's main sponsor but when Texaco pulled out, Buick stepped in and renamed the program "The Buick-Berle Show." Let's look at a clip of Uncle Miltie touting Buicks in the 1950s, and just for fun, we'll also look at a 1964 commercial I remember from my childhood that may well make you scream at your computer: 

Oy, can you believe that tagline? That commercial may have been one of the matches that ignited the modern-day women’s movement. But before you write angry letters of protest to General Motors' headquarters in Flint, Michigan, know that every GM executive I’ve spoken to so far has been a woman. One of them just celebrated her 25th anniversary with the company. Such a smart group, and shockingly friendly for corporate types. God, I miss the Midwest!

Stay tuned for more tales of my Buick and the star-studded film festival!  

Comments

[Frances]

I enjoyed the Milton Berle clip. It's been a while since I've seen any old live TV clips and I forgot how fun they can be. Lawford and Berle seemed as though they could barely keep on straight faces. After you're done tooling around town in your Buick, how about more on old TV please. It's been a long time since your last post on old shows.

[Judy]

I too enjoyed watching Milton Berle and Peter Lawford. I really thought it was too old for '64. You may be right about commercials like that being catalysts for the women's movement. What exactly is there to understand about a car? Certainly most men are clueless about do it yourself car repairs. My husband was a great Dodge fan, and at one time had 5 Dodges which rusted away. Now we're into Subarus but have cut back to 3 so we always have a working car for our weekend escapes to the country from manhattan. You wouldn't believe it but once 2 cars were not working, leading my husband to note that it's lucky we had 3! FYI:For the snow, which you don't have to worry about, Subarus are the best.

[Judy]

OOPs forgot to mention that my son's first word was "car". Enjoy the rides!

[Danny]

Judy, I couldn't fix a car if my life depended on it. Oh, and to clarify, the Berle-Lawford clip is from 1953, the sexist commercial is from 1964.

[Elaine Soloway]

Love the post, Danny. Have my own Buick story. Back on Division Street, thieves used our car for jobs each night. We didn't learn about it until Dad found a safe stuck in the back seat. Evidently, the goons stuffed it in, but couldn't get it back out.

xoxo
Fake Grandma

[Mike Cohen]

Ouch! On a related note, I don't understand wanting to make driving an adventure. As a transplanted New Yorker, I didn't learn to drive until I moved to L.A. in my 20s and I still hate driving. For me, driving is an unpleasant necessity. I want it to be as unexciting and comfortable as possible, not an adventure.

[Pam G]

Have fun with the car and the film festival. It sounds wonderful but way beyond my budget & travel allowance right now, too. I look forward to your reports. If any blogger in the LA area should be chosen to do this, it is you :)

Like you, I've had very few cars--four in the last 35 years--and am still driving the 1994 Ford I bought used about 11 years ago after my 1982 Chevy went to the junk yard. Buying a newer car is not possible right now either but I wouldn't consider a Buick. In this area, that's an "old man's car." You never see anyone much under the age of 70 driving one and it's always an older model. Never heard of a LaCrosse, though. Have fun with it!

[JD]

wilco is finally coming to tokyo!!!

and i have a ticket to friday nights show..

:-)

[sally]

brings back memories of my childhood - my dad was a Buick man - none of the models he bought were as attractive as the ones you write about - he had the hideous Skyhawk which tried to be sporty but was just really uncomfortable - my sisters and I used to fight over who had to have the 'hump' because it had bucket seats. Then when I was in high school he bought the only station wagon I've ever seen with pop-up headlights - it was hideous! It's nice to hear that Buick is taking a different approach to its design and perhaps coming out of an era of UGLY! Have a great time at the film festival, can't wait to read your reviews!

[Judy Brodhead]

You'll be a great blogger for the TCM Festival. I've been watching the Robert Osborne commercials for the festival for months now and it sounds wonderful. Looking forward to hearing your observations about all the great old stars and responses to the films themselves.

[Anne]

The first car I drove was the family's 1976 Buick station wagon. It had a V-8 engine and was amazing to drive. Not exciting looking at all but powerful!

[Kathryn]

Great post, Danny! I'm pretty sure my newborn self was driven home in a Buick (in the front seat, even!).

So excited for this adventure!

Love,
Kathryn

[resume writing service]

Buick is an awesome car. I love its design, it reminds me 60's, time of my youth.

[Tari Ledsome]

Hmmmm, I will definitely watch old Buick commercials over the internet so I can understand how 60s drivers used to be. My mother would enjoy watching those ads along with me.