Pontiac wildcat

Written by Jon Skinner. Buick as a brand seems to have limped into the twenty-first century despite the kind of setbacks that sealed pontiac wildcat fate of other GM divisions, such as Pontiac and Oldsmobile.

The Buick Wildcat is a full-size car that was produced by Buick from the to model years. Taking its name from a series of s Buick concept cars, [1] the Wildcat replaced the Invicta within the "junior" B-body Buick sedan range. Serving as the higher-performance full-size Buick, the Wildcat was slotted between the LeSabre and the larger C-body Electra. Following two generations of the model line, the Wildcat was replaced by the Buick Centurion for In the Wildcat was a Buick Invicta subseries, mating the Invicta's longer full-size two-door hardtop Buick body known as the "sport coupe", body production code hardtop only [2] with a high-performance hp kW version of the cu in 6.

Pontiac wildcat

Described as "an expression of muscular sculptural forms and exciting new mechanicals", the Wildcat was powered by an experimental 3. The car had no doors, just an opening canopy; it also featured a heads-up display on the steering wheel and a 4-speed transmission. Two were produced; one was a show car and the other a functional prototype. This casting does not feature a window piece, with painted portions of the body masquerading as the top canopy; as a result this casting has no interior. Early releases of the casting feature copyright on the base pertaining to Warner Bros. Hot Wheels Wiki Explore. Hot Wheels by Series New Castings by Year - Hot Wheels by Year - Explore Wikis Community Central. Don't have an account?

The front fenders carried stylized versions of Buick's fabled portholes; the Wildcat was a "three-holer" as opposed to the four found on the pontiac wildcat Electras. But the timing was as unfortunate as the styling, pontiac wildcat. Horizontal taillights replaced the vertical units of

The Buick Wildcat name had a certain ring to it. It fairly suggested action -- motion on the open road. Yet it was textbook General Motors -- taking the name from a one-off s show car , applying it to a specific model within an existing series, and later spinning off an entirely new series. So went the saga of the Buick Wildcat. Buick's first use of the Wildcat name was on three exciting mids dream cars. Meanwhile, the Century, a "banker's hot rod" model, was revived. Then in , Buick brought out the first production Wildcat, a new factory hot rod designed to compete with the Oldsmobile Starfire and Pontiac Grand Prix.

Buick seemed to have limped its way into the 21st century, despite the other setbacks that saw the sad fate of the likes of Pontiac and Oldsmobile. Buick has always been a symbol of affordable luxury, blessed with noteworthy ride and handling characteristics. The automaker has habitually bestowed its cars with attractive styling, complemented by interiors comparable to upscale Cadillac, and, in some cases, equaling those found in its lavish Detroit rivals. So proficient was Buick with this careful combination that at one point, the division was ranked third in the industry behind volume leaders Chevrolet and Ford. Discerning buyers from diverse backgrounds have long appreciated not only the status symbol of success the Tri-shield logo represented, but also the power ushered forth by its series of engines. Here, one can remember the Buick Wildcat, a sportier, full-sized muscle car with the standard Buick V8 engine and a car to remember fondly in its own right.

Pontiac wildcat

And while cars like the poor Pontiac LeMans became reincarnated as a Daewoo and the Plymouth Road Runner somehow turned into a Volare, Buick had the good grace to know when to leave the party. This Wildcat, unfortunately, has been catting around outside for a long spell as the body is showing the effects of New Jersey winters. The trim is typically worn looking and the finish is faded and shedding its clear coat. The color appears to be a more recent, non-original shade of blue. There are scrapes and scratches but the visible rust is the most obvious concern. Buick, in the early to mid-sixties, defined their engines by the torque rating thus the for pound-feet of torque. The valve covers, carburetor and air cleaner are non-OEM items; the rest of the engine looks original.

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Explore Wikis Community Central. More likely, a catchy nameplate would later find itself on a more mundane production series. With the exception of a divided grille that looked more LeSabre than Wildcat, styling was left largely alone. After sales nosedived in , the Wildcat was dropped. More Awesome Stuff. The Century continued its winning ways until World War II intervened, adding "Compound Carburetion" for horsepower and ever sleeker styling. Initially, this 20 hp 15 kW upgrade remained a dealer-installed carb-intake modification bolted to stock MT-coded engines but eventually these "Super Wildcats" could also be obtained direct from the factory with MZ-coded engines. Convertibles hovered around 5, Powertrains went unchanged. It was discontinued after only 7, units were built for Buick vehicles.

But dream car collector Joseph E. Bortz somehow located that long-missing show car and restored it to its past glory. During the s, "dream cars" popped up with the frequency of the annual model change.

Engine choices carried over, but Buick continued to push the performance image: "Wildcats come in three strengths: wild horsepower , wilder horsepower , wildest horsepower. High performance was the news in the Wildcat camp in The bodyside styleline was broken into two separate sculptures beginning ahead of the front and rear wheels, going over them and then fading downward. The Wildcats sported an exclusive horizontal bar grille with the Buick crest housed in a chrome circle in the centre. A three-speed manual gearbox reappeared column mounted , but it's unlikely many were ordered. The Buick Wildcat name had a certain ring to it. They made the folks "ooh and aah" a bit, and if everything went right, the viewers just might be motivated go back to their Hometown, U. The concept was an electric vehicle EV and was intended as a design study for Buick rather than a proof of concept for a future production vehicle. It found only 4, customers. Total Wildcat production in was a modest 2, units, however, while the Starfire had fared better at 7, units. More likely, a catchy nameplate would later find itself on a more mundane production series.