1984 Buick Regal Limited Coupe 2-door 3.8l on 2040-cars

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Neil Young's 1953 Buick Roadmaster Skylark brings $400,000 at auction

Singer-songwriter Neil Young's extensive collection of model trains have fetched nearly $300,000 at auction, along with classic cars and musical equipment owned by the 72-year-old folk-rock icon. Young, a model train enthusiast for decades, offered more than 230 pieces at Julien's Auctions in Los Angeles from his collection of Lionel trains, including a custom-painted Commodore Vanderbilt 4-6-4 locomotive that sold for $10,000. Several cars that Young owns were also sold. A 1953 Buick code 76X Roadmaster Skylark convertible with a steering wheel hub that says, "Customized for Neil Young," went for $400,000, the auction house said on Saturday. Young, best known for his Woodstock-era songs as well as his work with the bands Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young has said the vast model train layouts at his California ranch helped him connect with his son Ben, who has cerebral palsy. Other items auctioned off on Saturday included some of Young's guitars, amplifiers and microphones. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Bridge School in California, which Young's ex-wife Pegi Young co-founded in 1986 for children with severe speech and physical impairments.Reporting by Joseph AxRelated Video:

2022 Buick Envision mostly costs a little less than in 2021

When Buick gave the world the second-gen Envision for the 2021 model year, the brand also gave Buick shoppers big discounts, cutting $1,700 from the entry-level Preferred trim's price compared to 2021. Buick's done the same on a smaller scale for 2022, albeit this time the brand made it an exchange, not a freebie. Pricing for the 2022 Envision after the $1,195 destination charge, as well as the differences from 2021, is: Preferred FWD: $32,695 ($300 less) Preferred ST FWD: $34,140 ($180 less) Preferred AWD: $36,345 ($1,550) Preferred ST AWD: $37,790 ($1,670) Essence FWD: $36,795 ($400 less) Essence ST FWD: $38,290 ($230 less) Essence AWD: $38,595 ($400 less) Essence ST AWD: $40,090 ($230 less) Avenir FWD: $41,045 ($550 less) Avenir AWD: $42,845 ($550 less) Buick's publicized list of changes for the 2022 Envision are the addition of a new Sapphire Metallic exterior color, and the Sport Touring package now including the "ST" logo embroidered on the front seat headrests and alloy pedals for all trims, plus contrasting red stitching on the Essence ST trim. What Buick left out, as GM Authority reports, is that some previously standard equipment is now optional, explaining the discounts of a few hundred bucks. Buyers need to buy a new $200 Safety Package to get blind spot and rear cross traffic alerts, which used to be standard with the Driver Confidence Plus suite. Powered lumbar for the driver's seat is also a new option that was formerly standard, bundled with different items and costing a different amount depending on trim. The real shocker is the four-figure price leap tacked onto the Preferred all-wheel-drive trims. In 2021, it cost $1,800 to send power to the rear axle. For 2022, it costs $3,650 to get AWD on the Preferred, but the AWD option on Essence and Avenir trims hasn't budged from $1,800. We aren't clear on the reasons for the change. Every Avenir is powered by a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder with 230 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque, shifting through a nine-speed automatic transmission. Related video:

Junkyard Gem: 1993 Buick Roadmaster Sedan

In 1931, GM's Buick Division introduced an eight-cylinder engine in its stolid rear-wheel-drive sedan models, and Americans could buy big, comfortable Buick four-doors with straight-eights and — starting in the 1954 model year — V8s driving the rear wheels for more than a half-century after that. Then, the last rear-wheel-drive LeSabre left the assembly line in 1985, and it seemed that an era had ended forever. But wait! For the 1992 model year, Buick revived the Roadmaster name and applied it to an old-timey giant sedan with a V8 engine sending power to the proper wheels. Production of the Roadmaster sedan continued through 1996, and I've found one of those throwback Buicks in a Denver self-service car graveyard. Yes, in an America full of front-wheel-drive cars contaminated by European or — even worse — Japanese influences, The General brought back the spirit of the 1931 Buick sedan. Sure, it was really a near-identical twin to the "whale-body" Chevy Caprice, complete with Chevrolet small-block V8 engine, but that didn't matter. This was the kind of Buick that our prosperous great-grandparents bought in 1932 and 1948 and 1957. And the appeal of the great big eight-cylinder Buick sedan wasn't just limited to the United States. When the film adaptation of the great Marguerite Duras novel, L'Amant, was made, only a 1932 Buick 90 sedan would have made sense for the wheels of the wealthy Saigon heir. A big reason Buick is such an important brand in China right now is the legacy left by the memorable Buick machinery that owned the roads of 1930s China. These days, most of the 1992-1996 Roadmasters you'll see will be the station wagons, but we mustn't forget the sedans. Looking at the interior of this car is like a flashback to the 1960s, when stately Buick sedans had squishy seats you'd just disappear into when you climbed in. Cool-sounding names for ordinary features had gone out of style decades earlier, but not for the Roadmaster! Dynaride was a rear suspension that used air shocks and a compressor to keep the ride height level regardless of load. The last model year for a genuine Buick V8 engine was 1980, though you could make the case that the Rover V8 (made until 2006) was really a Buick all along. The engine in this car is pure Chevrolet: a 5.7-liter small-block V8 rated at 180 horsepower. Buick was a big Olympics sponsor at this time, while Oldsmobile handled golf. Still, the Buick-buying demographic of 1993 tended to approve of golf.