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Junkyard Gem: 1964 Buick Special sedan

During the 1960s, the most mainstream possible vehicle for American streets was a GM-built sedan, either a full-sized B-Body or a mid-sized A-Body. These cars flew out of showrooms by the millions during the decade, and the angular 1964-1967 A-Bodies (including everything from the affordable six-cylinder Chevrolet Chevelle to the maniacal Pontiac GTO) remain sought-after by collectors to this day... provided that they're two-door hardtops. The post sedans just don't get much attention in 2018, and that's why this fairly solid 1964 Buick Special sedan didn't get rescued on its way to this sorry fate in California. Its final days before it washed up in this self-service wrecking yard, nestled between GM iron a third its age, some used-car lot failed to get $1,199 for this '64. The interior looks good, much better than what you'll see on most unrestored cars with better than a half-century on the calendar. If this car had been a Skylark two-door hardtop, its story would have had a happier ending. The decklid suffers from the kind of rust that California cars get when they sit outside for decades and the weatherstripping goes bad, and then someone at the junkyard pried it open to look for trunk goodies. There's likely to be more rust under the window trim, too. The engine was long gone by the time I got here, but it would have been a 225-cubic-inch V6 or a 300-cubic-inch V8 when new. The upscale 1964 Skylark was the same car, mechanically speaking, but it a more luxurious interior and snazzier body trim. The car that follows the fun anywhere... and above all, it's a Buick! Related Video: Featured Gallery Junked 1964 Buick Special sedan View 14 Photos Auto News Buick Automotive History Classics Sedan

Junkyard Gem: 1985 Buick Somerset Regal Limited

The Oldsmobile, Buick and Cadillac divisions of The General's mighty army got serious about their attempts to compete with futuristic and stylish German and Japanese coupes during the second half of the 1980s, with cars such as the Cadillac Allante, Oldsmobile Toronado Trofeo, and Buick Reatta. They featured edgy styling, wild digital dashes, and other interesting gadgetry. Before them, however, came the Buick Somerset. Built for the 1985 through 1987 model years, only the '85s were badged as Somerset Regals. Here's one of those ultra-rare cars, spotted in a San Francisco Bay Area self-service wrecking yard. This badging confused many Buick shoppers at the time, because the 1985 Regal was a "traditional" midsize rear-wheel-drive car, based on the increasingly antiquated G-Body platform, and the Somerset Regal was an N-Body front-wheel-drive compact. For 1985 and 1986, the car became the Buick Somerset. The interior is your standard Whorehouse Red velour, a theme used by everybody from Nissan to Chrysler during the 1985-1995 period. This cloth looks pretty nice for a car from sunny California. Digital dashes became very trendy during this period, with Mitsubishi, Subaru, Nissan, and even Toyota getting into the act during the first part of the decade, and everyone else jumping on the bandwagon a bit later. The radio face went into this weird pod perched over the HVAC controls, which looked like something from the Mars Base and made aftermarket audio-system installation nearly impossible. The factory cassette deck, if desired, had to go elsewhere in the console. The base engine in the Somerset Regal was the decidedly un-European Iron Duke four-cylinder with 92 horsepower, but this car has the optional 120-horse 3.0-liter V6. In theory, a 5-speed manual transmission was available, but I'm guessing that the quantity of so-equipped Somerset Regals was numbered in the high dozens. There's plenty of hard red plastic and fake wood inside, of course. Base price on a V6 Somerset Regal Limited came to $10,026 (about $24,000 in 2018 dollars). Meanwhile, a Pontiac Grand Am LE with the 3.0 V6 was nearly the same car and listed at $8,970. If you wanted even crazier electronics and an interior that looked like something out of a jet fighter, the 1985 Subaru XT GL had a $9,899 price tag. Give me savvy. Give me cool. Give me a car that breaks all the rules. Give me the look. Give me the feel. Give me the magic. Give me the wheel.

J.D. Power customer survey of dealers counts Cadillac, Buick as big winners

Cadillac and Buick have taken the trophies in J.D. Power's latest Customer Service Index Study examining satisfaction with dealer service. Surveying more than 90,000 owners and lessees of 2009-2013 model-year cars, the study found that those with pre-paid maintenance packages were ten percent more likely to buy their next car from the same brand.
Dealer satisfaction scores have improved overall, Cadillac nabbed the luxury segment ahead of Audi and Lexus, taking the crown that Lexus held last year. Buick keeps the mass-market dealer satisfaction win in the family, finishing ahead of Volkswagen and last year's winner GMC. The study also found that service department use of tablets increased customer satisfaction, as did "best practices" like "providing helpful advice." Who knew?
You can find details on those and more findings in the press release below.