Return of the American Made Convertible
The U.S. Government found it necessary, in the mid 1970's to stop production of all convertible cars due to safety concerns, especially during a roll-over. It appeared to be the end of the American top down experience. In April of 1976 Cadillac was the last U.S. manufacturer to end convertible production. Buick had ceased in 1975.
During the following few years, American's desire for convertible cars increased and the manufactures took note and developed new safety features to meet the requirement of the government.
Chrysler was the first to re-introduce the convertible with their 1982 LeBaron. Next came Buick with the debut of the 1982 Riviera convertible at the Chicago Auto Show on February 25th, with release to the public in mid-April.
The Riviera was a limited production with only 1248 examples being built the first year. The convertible was available as a V-6 or V-8 and available only in White or Firemist Red. The car was impressive, and so was the price. Begining at over $24,000 and going as high as $30,000 with all options. 1982 was a recession year for the U.S. economy and interest rates had sored to the highest on record, thus sales were sluggish.
A decade later I found my perfect 1982 Riviera in Sacramento, California. I was delighted after a test drive since this car was a very low mileage original and owned by a fellow car collector. This is a 5 litre V8 with most options. The car had never been titled in California since the collector was also a car dealer and would use a dealer plate when driving the car.
Today, it is still a great driving convertible and receives looks no matter where you go. Most of todays public is not aware of the limited edition Riviera convertible and assume it is a chop-top. The collector car market should start to spiral upward in the near future for a convertible of this stature.
