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From 1958 to 1977, the head of General Motors Styling was William L. (Bill) Mitchell, protégé and anointed successor of the legendary Harley Earl. Mitchell was just as contentious and flamboyant as his mentor, but his tastes were more restrained, bringing about a new era of crisp, confident styling that was perfectly suited to the prevailing mood of the early 1960s.
One of the best designs of Mitchell's tenure -- and one of his personal favorites -- was the 1963 to 1965 Buick Riviera, a stylish coupe that finally put GM on the map in the lucrative personal luxury market. But if it had gone according to plan, the Riviera wouldn't have been a Buick at all, and it came to market only after a strange and complicated journey of missed opportunities, corporate politicking, and sibling rivalry.
SQUAREBIRD
The story of the Riviera begins not at GM, but at Ford headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan, in 1955, when Ford executive vice president and Ford Division general manager Lewis D. Crusoe ordered the development of a four-seat successor to the new Ford Thunderbird. The two-seat Thunderbird had never been envisioned as a high-volume seller, intended mainly to draw traffic to Ford showrooms. Crusoe felt the Thunderbird would sell better -- perhaps enough to become profitable in its own right -- if it had a back seat, and Ford's marketing research suggested a potential volume of 100,000 cars a year for a four-seat 'Bird. As a result, in 1958, the "Little Bird" was replaced by a significantly bigger model with room for four and a then-novel combination of bucket seats and center console (rather than the more customary bench seats). Although the "Square Bird" was far less sporty than its predecessor, its distinctive styling and relative practicality made it very popular. By 1960, the final year of the original Square Bird design, sales had reached 92,843. Although sales of the redesigned 1961 model dipped somewhat, the Thunderbird remained a popular and very profitable model, an image leader for the entire Ford line. It took General Motors a curiously long time to respond to the success of the Thunderbird -- more than 200,000 four-seat T-Birds had rolled out of showrooms before GM fielded its first rival, the 1961 Oldsmobile Starfire. The Starfire was essentially a fully loaded Olds Super Eighty Eight convertible with different trim and bucket seats, nice enough, but nowhere near as distinctive as a Thunderbird, and only about 7,600 were sold. It was followed by the 1962 Pontiac Grand Prix, a tastefully cleaned-up Catalina hardtop that sold around 30,000 copies; far more successful than the Starfire, but still no threat to Ford. From the outside, GM seemed to be sitting on its hands.
LASALLE II
The impression of idleness was not entirely accurate. In 1959, not long after taking over leadership of GM styling, Bill Mitchell assigned Ned Nickles of the Special Projects studio to develop a concept for a stylish new convertible in the Thunderbird vein. Nickles' first rendering featured distinctive fender nacelles with horizontal grille bars, evoking the last LaSalles of 1939-1940. Nickles labeled his rendering "LaSalle II." Nickles was presumably aware that Mitchell had a soft spot for the LaSalle, a GM make that had been discontinued in 1940. The original LaSalle, launched in 1927 as a less-expensive "companion make" for Cadillac, had been styled by Mitchell's mentor, Harley Earl, and its success had lead directly to the creation of GM's Art & Colour department. Furthermore, Mitchell himself had been responsible for the vertical grille theme of the 1939 LaSalle, back when he was the head of the Cadillac/LaSalle design studio. 
The Riviera's fender-mounted grilles were intended to evoke the tall, narrow central grille of the 1939-1940 LaSalle.
Nickles showed his watercolor rendering to Mitchell, who, unsurprisingly, was quite taken with it. Mitchell told Nickles to develop the design further, making it a hardtop coupe instead of a convertible. He also suggested a theme for the roofline, inspired by a Hooper-bodied Rolls-Royce Mitchell had spotted during a trip to England for an auto show.
The inspiration for the Riviera's sharp-edge roofline was probably a Rolls with custom bodywork by Hooper and Co., a London-based coachbuilder that often worked with Rolls-Royce chassis. Hooper had used a similar roof crease since the mid-1930s.
Nickles incorporated Mitchell's suggestions into a new rendering, which was given the project code XP-715. By August 1960, there was a full-size clay model of the XP-715, still labeled LaSalle II.
SEARCHING FOR A HOME
Mitchell showed the clay model to GM president John F. Gordon and chairman Frederic Donner, who liked the design and agreed with Mitchell that it could be an effective Thunderbird fighter. The question was who was going to build it. The XP-715 clay was just a model -- it hadn't been designed with any particular division in mind, or with any thought of what chassis or running gear it might have. For it to be built, it would first need a home.
Since the XP-715 was inspired by the LaSalle, Mitchell's first stop was Cadillac, where he proposed it as a new "personal" Cadillac, reviving the old nameplate. Cadillac general manager Harold Warner was not interested; Cadillac was already selling all the cars it had the production capacity to make, and they hardly needed to worry about boosting their image or prestige. Furthermore, Cadillac's last effort to build something more unique and exclusive than the standard line, the lavish Cadillac Eldorado Brougham, had been a financial disaster. Warner was not about to make that mistake again.
Discouraged but not dissuaded, Mitchell had the LaSalle II badges removed from the clay model and tried again at Chevrolet. It seemed logical enough that Chevrolet should have a personal car to match its arch-rival in Dearborn, but Chevy management was no more interested in the XP-715 than Cadillac had been. Aside from its full-sized line, Chevrolet also had the rear-engine Corvair, the Corvette, and the compact Chevy II/Nova, then being prepared for its 1962 debut. With production already split between four quite different car lines, they didn't want to add yet another model.
The Riviera's curved, frameless side windows were still relatively novel at the time, and they presented a challenge for body engineers. To allow them to be fitted properly, unique bolt-on outer door panels were designed that let the doors be finished after the glass and window regulators were installed. Every so often you'll see a battered Riviera driving around without its outer door shell, an odd sight.
THE COMPETITION
The XP-715 found a warmer reception at GM's mid-priced divisions. In price and prestige, the Thunderbird was a greater threat to Pontiac, Oldsmobile, and Buick than it was to Chevy or Cadillac, and all three mid-price divisions were interested. To Mitchell's annoyance, however, the managers of both Pontiac and Olds wanted to tinker with the design -- only Buick was prepared to accept it as it was.
Buick's enthusiasm for the XP-715 owed less to general manager Ed Rollert's aesthetic sense and more to his awareness that he needed a hit very badly. Although Buick had been hugely successful in the mid-fifties, a series of miscalculations late in the decade had sent sales plummeting to less than 300,000 units a year, well under half Buick's 1955 peak. GM management responded by sacking the division's senior leadership, along with Buick's ad agency, and appointing Rollert as Buick's new general manager. Rollert, a brusque, hard-driving executive with an impressive record in industrial management, knew that if he didn't turn things around in a hurry, both his future and that of the division were in jeopardy.
Ironically, Buick's questionable future kept GM's Executive Committee from assigning the XP-715 to Buick outright. Instead, they made the unprecedented decision to hold an inter-divisional competition, giving each of the three rivals divisions 60 days to develop a complete presentation, including their technical plans for the car, budget projections, and marketing strategy.
Ed Rollert was determined to put up a good fight, so he enlisted the help of McCann-Erickson, Buick's new ad agency, to help refine his pitch. Using an advertising agency to sell an internal proposal to upper management was a very unusual step, but McCann-Erickson's involvement -- and the hard work of Buick's own staff -- paid off. The result was an extremely polished presentation that senior executives privately admitted was by far the best of the three.
Despite that, the Executive Committee continued to equivocate. Each of the three divisions was given an additional three weeks to develop a second proposal. Only after those were judged was Buick finally declared the winner.
Do the headlights look like an afterthought? They were -- budgetary and engineering problems delayed the concealed headlamps Mitchell and Nickles originally wanted. This is a '63, probably with the base 401 cu. in. (6.6 L) engine.
THE RIVIERA
Buick's proposal was officially approved in April 1961. To Bill Mitchell's considerable relief, it involved no changes to the existing design. The one aspect of the XP-715 model that did not make production, at least initially, was its headlight treatment. The original clay had its headlights concealed behind the fender grilles, but cost concerns and technical problems forced the deletion of this feature at the last minute, in favor of conventional quad headlights, mounted in the grille. Buick decided to call the new car Riviera, a name Buick had used since 1949 to describe its pillarless hardtop models.
Rollert wanted the new Riviera ready for the 1963 model year, which gave Buick chief engineer Lowell Kintigh and his team less than a year and a half to turn the clay model into a production car. That schedule left little time for mechanical novelty, so the Riviera used a shortened version of the cruciform frame used by full-sized Buicks. It rode a 117-inch (2,972-mm) wheelbase and stretched 208 inches (5,283 mm) overall, making it about 6 inches (152 mm) shorter and about 200 pounds (90 kg) lighter than a LeSabre. Interior designer George Moon borrowed much of the dashboard hardware from the big Buick Electra, although in keeping with its role as a Thunderbird rival, the Riviera would have bucket seats and a center console.
The interior layout of the first-generation Riviera remained essentially similar through all three years. This one has the optional (simulated) wood-rim steering wheel. Twin-pod dashboard looks like it should have a tachometer, but doesn't; most engine functions are signaled by warning lights. Real leather upholstery was available only in 1963.
Although he had Rollert's assurance that there would be no modification of the XP-715's design, Mitchell was still concerned that Buick might screw it up. Not long after Buick won the competition, he dispatched a messenger to Rollert with a note describing what he wanted the Riviera to be: a cross between a Ferrari and a Rolls-Royce. That was a tall order, given that both of those were hand-built machines costing more than three times as much, but Lowell Kintigh's chassis engineers did try to make the Riviera more athletic than the Thunderbird, which had become a rather flabby boulevardier.
The Riviera would have a definite power advantage over the Thunderbird. Standard engine was Buick's 401 cu. in. (6.6 L) V8, with 325 gross horsepower (242 kW), 25 hp (19 kW) more than the Thunderbird's standard engine. A bigger, 425 cu. in. (6.9 L) "Wildcat 465" engine was optional, making 340 gross horsepower (254 kW). The only transmission was the Twin Turbine, the final evolution of Buick's 1948-vintage Dynaflow. It was a two-speed automatic, but in normal driving it did not shift at all, relying on the multiplication of its four-element torque converter; it was not the most efficient of automatics, but it was the smoothest in the business.
The Riviera's rear fenders bulge out a bit further than the doors, creating a "Coke-bottle" shape in plan view. The flared-out fenders were a design cue borrowed from contemporary fighter aircraft. The fuselage of a supersonic aircraft narrows in the area of the wing roots to minimize changes in cross-sectional area, which reduces transonic drag.
RIVIERA DEBUT
The Riviera debuted in October 1962. Although Buick's new sales manager, Rollie Withers, estimated a potential market of 50,000 to 55,000 cars, he deliberately limited initial production to 40,000, figuring it was better to have buyers clamoring for more cars than have unsold examples cluttering up dealer lots. Base price was $4,333, $112 cheaper than a base Thunderbird, but $271 more than a Buick Electra 225, making it one of Buick's most expensive models.
The Riviera was a fast car. Even with the base engine it was capable of 0-60 mph (0-97 kph) in around 8 seconds, with a top speed approaching 120 mph (193 kph). Although no Ferrari, it was a good deal more agile than most American cars its size, and its big, 12-inch (305-mm) finned drum brakes gave it respectable stopping power. It rode somewhat firmer than a Thunderbird, but it was by no means uncomfortable. As a result, the automotive press was very enthusiastic about the Riviera -- it was perhaps the first Buick ever that was really their sort of car. While there was some mild nitpicking about the Riv's numb power steering and less than comprehensive instruments, the reviews were exceptionally positive. Even the European press, which generally took a dim view of both the capabilities and styling of American cars, judged it a decent effort.
Like the acclaimed, award-winning film that still can't compete with all the big, dumb summer blockbusters at the box office, the Riviera's popularity with critics was not enough to let it outpace the Thunderbird. The '63 T-Bird, despite being in the final year of a body style that buyers had not embraced with the enthusiasm of the earlier Squarebird, outsold the Riv three to two. Even without the artificial restriction on production, it's unlikely that that balance would have been significantly different. On the face of it, the disparity is hard to understand. The Riviera was faster than the Thunderbird, had notably better handling and brakes, and cost less. In those days a Buick theoretically much more prestigious than a Ford, and tended to have better fit and finish (at least after the dark days of 1957). The Thunderbird's main advantage was that its name and image were well established, whereas Buick had used the Riviera name on a variety of different cars, many of them not particularly distinguished. Too, the Riviera's crisp styling may have been a little too subtle for Thunderbird customers, who seemed to appreciate that car's glitz and gimmicks.
A 1963 magazine ad makes hay of the Riviera's continental styling flair. The first-generation Riviera is one of the few American cars of this era that European critics acknowledge as having any real aesthetic merit.
EVOLUTION
The '64 Riviera cost $42 more than the '63, but it was virtually indistinguishable. Under the hood, the 425 cu. in (7.0 L) engine became standard, and a new 360-horsepower (269 kW) Super Wildcat engine became optional for an extra $139.75. (Despite the extra 20 horsepower (15 kW), Super Wildcat Rivieras were not usefully faster in normal driving -- the extra venturi area of the dual four-barrel carburetors hurt low-speed response, and the additional power easily overwhelmed the stock tires.) More helpful was the replacement of the Turbine Drive with the new three-speed Turbo Hydramatic, which Buick called Super Turbine 400. The new transmission offered better off-the-line acceleration and much greater flexibility. Despite those improvements, Riviera sales dipped to 37,658 for '64.
_front3q.jpg "1965 Buick Riviera")
The '65 Riviera finally included the concealed headlamps originally planned for this model. The fake side scoop trim on the flanks of the '63-'64 models was removed for 1965. Styled steel wheels, a popular Buick accessory, cost $66.65.
For '65 the concealed headlamps that had been part of the XP-715 design were finally added to the production Riviera. The external headlamps were replaced with stacked quads, concealed in the fender pods. The fender grilles now became clamshell doors, operated electrically. They looked very sharp, although the mechanism eventually proved troublesome. '65 Rivieras reverted to the 401 cu. in. (6.6 L) V8 as the standard engine, with the Wildcat 465 and Super Wildcat engines optional (for $48 and $188, respectively). More interesting were two new options: the $37.63 ride and handling package, which added a quicker steering ratio, stiffer springs, and firmer shocks for better handling, and the $306.38 Gran Sport package, which included fatter tires, free-flowing exhaust, and a Positraction limited-slip differential with a shorter 3.42 axle ratio.
Some histories of the Riviera assert that the headlamp covers were vacuum operated, but they were electrically powered. Both doors are operated by a single electric motor, mounted under the hood in front of the radiator. If the arms that moved the clamshell doors were obstructed, or not regularly lubricated, the motor would burn out, and many survivors now have their headlamp covers locked in the open position.
A '65 Gran Sport with the Super Wildcat engine was a formidable luxury GT, capable of 0-60 mph (0-97 kph) in 7 seconds and a top speed of nearly 130 mph (210 kph), with handling to rival any large car sold in America. Its only serious foibles were an exaggerated sensitivity to crosswinds and alarming fuel consumption. Reviewers were predictably ecstatic, although the Gran Sport accounted for only about 10% of Riviera sales, which dipped again, this time to 34,586. The Riviera was too big and too expensive for most performance-minded buyers, and the Thunderbird set seemed disinterested in blazing speed or agile handling.
The Riviera was not Buick's only Gran Sport model for 1965; there was also a sporty Skylark Gran Sport (a rival for the mid-size Pontiac GTO) and the big Wildcat GS. All were good-looking, fast cars.
SECOND GENERATION
The Riviera may not have unseated the Thunderbird as the leader of the personal-luxury market, but it was hardly a flop. Around the time the first Riviera went on sale GM was already working on the second-generation car, which debuted for the 1966 model year. This time it would share its body shell (the E-body, in GM parlance) with a new Oldsmobile personal-luxury model, the Toronado, although the two cars did not share chassis, engines, or drivetrains. Moreover, Bill Mitchell finally got his way, and the Riviera and Toronado would be joined for 1967 by a new personal-luxury Cadillac, the front-drove Eldorado.
The second-generation Riviera abandoned the creased edges of the original, and it was bigger in every dimension. Since it was somewhat heavier, it was no faster, but a Riviera Gran Sport was still fairly athletic for a big car. Buyers evidently liked its more curvaceous styling, and it consistently sold better than its predecessor, although its sales were still eclipsed by the Thunderbird.
The second-generation Riviera retained a certain family resemblance to the '63-'65 cars, but it was bigger and substantially more curvaceous. It shared its E-body shell with the contemporary Oldsmobile Toronado and, from 1967, the Cadillac Eldorado.
The Riviera would go through its ups and downs in the seventies and eighties, including the controversial "boattail" model of 1971-1973. It switched to front-wheel drive in 1979, like its Eldorado and Toronado siblings, which it remained until the end of the line in 1999.
The final Riviera was one of its most stylistically accomplished, with sleek, Jaguar-like lines. Now front-wheel-drive, it was still a big car, but had ample power from a 231 cu. in. (3.8 L) with an optional supercharger, giving 240 net horsepower.
The original Riviera doesn't command the kind of outrageous auction prices of some sixties cars, but it still has a loyal following for its strong performance and sharp styling. As a piece of design, it's bold, confident, and risky, and the fact that it made it to market almost undiluted is a testament to the artistic temperament and tenacity of Bill Mitchell -- an unusual and commendable thing in a business that tends to reward conformity and safe choices.
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NOTES ON SOURCES
Our sources for this article included Michael Lamm's "The Car You Wear: 1963 Buick Riviera" from Special Interest Autos #33 (March-April 1976), reprinted in Terry Ehrich, ed., The Hemmings Book of Buicks (Hemmings Motor News Collector-Car Books) (Bennington, VT: Hemmings Motor News, 2001); Chapter 10 of Dave Holls and Michael Lamm, A Century of Automotive Style: 100 Years of American Car Design (Stockton, CA: Lamm-Morada Publishing Co. Inc., 1997), pp. 172-187; and Ray Knott's articles "Evolution of the Riviera - Concepts and Design" ( The Riview, Vol. 18, No. 1, November-December 2001; Riviera Owners Association; http://rivowners.org/features/evolution/evpt1a.html, accessed 16 November 2007); "Evolution of the Riviera - 1963" ( The Riview, Vol. 18, No. 2, January-February 2002; Riviera Owners Association, http://rivowners.org/features/evolution/evpt63.html, accessed 16 November 2007); "Evolution of the Riviera - 1964" (The Riview, Vol. 18, No. 3, March-April 2002; Riviera Owners Association, http://rivowners.org/features/evolution/evpt64.html, accessed 16 November 2007); "Evolution of the Riviera - 1966" (The Riview, Vol. 18, No. 4, May-June 2002; Riviera Owners Association, http://rivowners.org/features/evolution/evpt65.html, accessed 16 November 2007), all of which are available on the Riviera Owners Association website. We also consulted the following road tests: "Two Buick Wildcats Road Test" by Bob McVay ( Motor Trend, June 1964) and "Riviera Gran Sport" ( Road & Track, February 1966), both reprinted in reprinted in R.M. Clarke, Buick Muscle Cars 1963-1973 (Cobham, Surrey: Brooklands Books Ltd., 2001); "1963 Buick Riviera Road Test & Technical Review," John R. Bond ( Car Life, October 1962); "Buick Riviera" ( Car and Driver, October 1962); "Buick Riviera" (Motor Trend, April 1963); "Buick Riviera Road Research Report" ( Car and Driver, December 1963); "Buick Riviera Gran Sport" ( Car and Driver, June 1965); "Buick Riviera (Autocar Road Test Number 2036)" ( Autocar, July 1965); "Grand design by Buick (Road Test No. 36/65 - Buick Riviera)" ( The Motor, 4 September 1965); "Buick Riviera: beauty only skin deep?" ( Road Test, July 1966); "1963 Buick Rivier: Almost a Classic, Certainly a Styling Milestone" by Robert Cumberford ( Automobile, July 1988), all of which are reprinted in R.M. Clarke, Buick Riviera 1963-78 Performance Portfolio (Cobham, Surrey: Brooklands Books Ltd., 2000), and "SIA comparisonReport: Two Kinds of Personal Luxury: Riviera and Thunderbird for 1963" by Josiah Work and Vince Manocchi, from Special Interest Autos #94 (August 1986) pp. 34-41.
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One of The most beautiful American cars ever. Aside from the Cord 810/812, the Auburn 851/852, the Oldsmobile Toronado, Studebaker 1953-1954 and the 1940-1941, 1961-1969 Lincoln Continental.