Minneapolis Street Sighting: Buick Skylark

Yesterday, I brought readers one of my favorite Oldsmobiles; today, I give readers the pleasure of viewing one of my favorite Buick models of all time; the Skylark--particularly this generation. I don't really like the 1968 or 1969 cars that much for the same reasons I don't like the same year Pontiac LeMans, Tempest, or GTO, and Chevrolet's Malibu and Chevelle. Likewise the Oldsmobile Cutlass. It's not often I see a car multiple times without shooting it, but that's the case here. I see this clean Skylark numerous times per day, and all days of the week; it's owned by someone who works at a food shop, and its used as their delivery vehicle. Not many older cars are used as a daily driver here in the rustbelt, and even less of those vehicles are in outstanding shape as this good ole' Buick Skylark is.
















Upon first notice, this classic A-Body looks pretty good; no bling, no evidence of bondo,and certainly the paint color is normal for once. Riding on Buick Rallyes, this 'lark fits my mental picture of what a Buick from this era is supposed to look like. In the early 1980s, this would have been an ideal "used car", but today this car can pass for a "summer car", especially in our area.
As a casual observer to these cars, I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary, but one car buff on a site a frequent commented on the presence of Buick GS bits on a non-GS. Okay, so I likely wouldn't have known unless I was told so; I suppose that means the bits (the hood and steering wheel) fit quite well here. And I agree. While this is no show car, this Skylark has presence on the road. It's less common than its Chevrolet Chevelle counterpart, and its less likely to be preserved even further down the road.
To that, I give kudos to the owner for preserving (and cherishing) such a unique vehicle. I have long liked these, and it's great to see one that isn't either cut up and made into a donk, or transformed into a trailer-queen show car that never gets driven. I'm glad this isn't a high-spec GS, or GSX; normally, I'd prefer the nicer version of said "muscle cars", but sometimes a base model is okay too.
I still have fun spotting this car, even if the owner doesn't really get why I like his vehicle; oh well. Not everyone is a car enthusiast just because they have a nice/noteworthy vehicle.

Minneapolis Street Sighting: Buick Skylark GS

Continuing to represent 1990s GM sporty cars that I have a soft spot is this Buick Skylark GS. Back in its heyday, having a Buick GS meant you had a muscle car; as the years wore on, however, GS turned from muscle car to trim package. Certainly not a bad thing by any means, but despite losing the muscle car power that accompanied the nomenclature, I'll give Buick credit for at least staying true to GS' sporty roots. Now, I know the Skylark GS pictured above isn't a sport car, and it doesn't need to be.
The Skylark has always been a bread and butter Buick vehicle, harking back to its 1961 roots, and it even carried the muscle car stigma pretty well. Shifting consumer demand put a stop to the muscle-car that this nameplate had become, and in the 1980s and 1990s the RWD lineup was turned into a FWD compact car that would do battle with the onslaught of Japanese imports. Gone were the big V8s and smoky burnouts; instead, the auto public was greeted with four cylinders and a new kind of smoke; oil leaks and head-gasket failures.
Launched in 1985, the FWD Skylark and its engine choices became the basis for this smallest-Buick range. Propulsion came from series of four cylinders and V6 with the most powerful engine delivering a not-quite-stonking 160 horses; most cars were equipped with either a choice of two four cylinders and a 3300 V6; in 1992, the Skylark was redesigned into what you see above; the pointy nose was phased out in 1996 for a normal looking, non-pointed front end treatment.
The GS consisted of a two-tone paint scheme, bigger alloys, and decent interior trimmings and unlike the GS of years past, this Skylark featured a lackluster 3300 V6 paired to a 3 speed automatic; this combo was good for 160 horses and 195 ft-lbs of torque being sent through the front tires; acceleration was.. well.. it was. Sixty mph came up in 8.7 seconds, and this sporty compact surged on till the electronic limiter kicked it at a hair over 100 miles and hour. But, special paint, the GS was not only; it also featured the first application in a domestic mainstream car of ride control and adjustable chassis tuning: comfort, which made the car ride like a luxury car, auto.. which didn't do anything, and sport, which firmed up the suspension and fooled drivers into think they were driving something more akin to Pontiac's Grand Am GT, a better handling vehicle from what I've read.
It appears GM is finally gaining back their early 1990s magic when it comes to sporty vehicles; but there's nothing that can bring back the sporty aura (get it?) that this member of the Big Three held so strongly in the nineties; this was a good time for sporty domestic cars, and it's often one of the most overlooked periods in the American auto industry.