1992 Buick Skylark Gran Sport | Retro Review
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- Опубліковано 3 гру 2022
- The 6th gen Buick Skylark was arguably the most attention getting General Motors N Body sedan, with its alarming front end and crazy unique interior. But, was there a missed opportunity to make it all black, stuff a turbo 3.8 V6 in it, and make a GN version? Hmm, we think so!
Show 1104 | Original Airdate 10-19-1991
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"Buick hopes it will attract younger buyers."
Been chasing that demographic forever.
Unsuccessfully May I add!
I’m in my late 20s and I actually like the latest Buick Regal TourX. I’m too cheap to buy one tho.
@@matte8441
Too bad they discontinued them though 🙁
@@anibalbabilonia1867 not exactly. Buick gave up on that goal in the US, but in China, it became the status symbol for most young professionals and families.
The self deprecating ads certainly haven’t helped. Buick is a brand with rich history though.
“We like how the rear windows go all the way done”
It’s crazy to think, that was a huge step for manufacturers
Ah . . . but it was a huge step for GM though - Motorweek was always trying to be extra-fair to domestics - which I understand and I like them for that . . .
It wasn't. They went all the way down for decades and then in the early 80s they decided people in the back seat didn't need air for some reason.
Not really a step, it comes from sacrifice of having whole window roll down, its physicly impossible for it to go fully down tho since rear doors narrow down because of rear wheel wheels.
And then there were the A/G body 4 doors from.78-87. Roll down rear windows not available.
lots of cars still don't go all the way down
John Davis truly is a national treasure!!! I watched him as a kid and 26 years later he's still here and was doing it 10 years before I was born. He can dawgg a car in the POLITEST way possible. You better have ALL his clusterment gauges or you're in trouble 😂😂
He is crazy about his full instrument gauges, included but not limited to voltage, oil pressure, coolant gauge, and so on ! I’d be happy, if cars instrument clusters looked like they ones aircrafts with readouts for everything !
His favorite birthday gift is an oil pressure gauge
@@HamsterWheelGaming Haha 😆
@@HamsterWheelGaming and volt meters
I started watching him in 1985 when I was 20. I’m now pushing 60 and he’s still on the job. The man deserves a lifetime achievement award.
I owned one for five years and over 200k miles.
I had a 175 round trip commute at the time and needed a comfortable vehicle.
I bought it the end of the model year close out sale for a substantial discount.
I always thought it was kind of ugly but it was cheap and I have better looking cars in the garage and the Buicks main duty was to save wear and tear on them.
Drove it for 5 years and even drove across country several times including a 10,000 mile round trip from Wisconsin to Alaska.
Never failed to start or left anyone stranded and issues were minimal and far between.
I only remember two issues that stood out and that was leaking valve cover gaskets and shift solenoids.
When I sold it I sold it to our housekeeper's brother and he drove it for a number of years afterwards.
I think it's a nice looking car, the interior seems comfy too. I was a little young at the time but don't remember these being around. Seems if Buick dropped a more capable engine in it like the 3800 it would be perfect. We had an Olds Achieva from the same model year and the quad 4 was standard for that small car.
I love this Buick Skylark
You should have considered moving closer to your job.
I have always had a soft spot for a 1992 Buick Skylark. The Buick Skylark was my driver’s education car in 1992. It was new and grey in color.
mine was a pontiac bonneville of the same vintage
My driving school had 2 2000 Nissan Sentra SE-Rs, lol… they were all beat to hell by the time I came around (2006).
My drivers ed car was a 1978 Monte Carlo.
@Jackie Mcmillan the Skylark was a perfectly serviceable driver’s education car.
Mine was a Chevy celebrity
Thank god those seat belts attached to the door didn’t last long haha 😂
I always wondered what was their problem, was it because of the electric motor in the door for the seatbelt being prone to fail or was it dangerous in a accident?
It was because of federal regulations. As soon as airbags became available, the door seat belts went bye bye.
@@herbiehusker1889 fair point, but they were something for their time.
@@bluerazor7049 Door mounted seat belts weren’t motorized. This only applies to shoulder belts buckled into the door frame.
@@bluerazor7049 Also, the big problem with door mounted seat belts was if the doors popped open during a crash, it would leave the driver and passenger unrestrained.
My dad was a Mopar man throughout his youth. The last new car he bought was a 90 or 91 Dodge Shadow. He rented one of these for a company trip and never bought anything but Buick ever again. He was blown away how much more power the Buick had over the Dodge but got better fuel mileage. I’ve owned several Buicks also. It all started with one these Skylarks.
I was 10yrs old when these cars came out. They really caught my eye and I still think it's a striking looking car. Gorgeous from some angles and awkward from others. I never cared for the cheap interior materials. If this car met today's safety standards, I'd love to buy one new!
John Davis, the OG car reviewer, paving the way for Doug Demuro, Tyler Hoover, Saabkyle04, Sofyan Bey, TFL, Jason Fenske, etc.
Thankfully he didn’t act like an idiot like all of them do.
@@Commentleaver-c6xlooooool 🤣😂🤣😂
The most striking feature is that pointed bumper, not the grille. I love it!
I like that too! It is recognizable with that bumper and it jumped out from other cars in that class in those years.
I was thinking that too. How did he miss that bumper?!
its ugly AF.
I love when John takes a full dump on gm. Man is a savage
I was in my early 20's when this car came out, and I really liked it. Still do.
Drove a 1991 Olds Cutlass Ciera with the 3300 V6 3-spd auto in high school and college. That powertrain was bulletproof, and got 225k miles on it with just oil changes. I beat that that engine hard, but always kept the oil clean, and it never leaked or burnt oil. I would have gone over 300k with it, but someone pulled out in front of my dad one day he was driving it. Was no longer road worth after that. I could get 0-60 in 8-8.5 sec with it, so the 10 sec in the video seems slow to me.
My mom had this car! Super comfortable on road trips.
I never knew it existed but I was genuinely interested and impressed especially with all the features and the styling
Aaaaand then he said 3 speed automatic and I understand everything
I was thinking, the 160 hp and even more torque might be decent with a 4-speed automatic. I had forgotten how common 3-speeds were in the 90s. The Dodge Neon remained with a 3-speed automatic into the 2000s!
@@rhythm_is_life Yeesh, I thought it was a 5 speed manual/4 speed automatic combo but I guess the 3 speed is cheaper
GM always dragging out power trains a decade longer than everyone else and expecting people to be ok with that. My 2008 Uplander work van has been great now with 270,000 miles, but still using basically the same 4speed auto that started in the 90s
A friend of mine has a 96 Grand AM with the V6. 27 years later and it runs, but is burning 2 quarts of oil between oil changes but he has 301K miles on it.
I rented one in May 1992 - we dubbed it “the Batmobile”
My family bought a used one in the early 2000's, so as a 16 y.o. borrowing the family car, I felt very self-conscious cruising around in this thing (it did drive well though). The grill point was one thing, but the bumper jutted out even more. Truly a sight to behold.
Eventually GM would do a facelift and softened the look.
Oh and, from what I recall, George Costanza drove one and I thought that was the perfect fit for him...
Think George had a Lebanon convertible actually!
George did drive one in at least one episode. Now I wonder besides the buick and the lebaron and Frank Costanza's cars, what else George drove?
@@crocglox7797 He had a Ford Contour, a mix of first and second gen W Body Regals and Centuries, an A Body Century, and borrowed Frank's Mercury Monarch, which led to it getting trashed thanks to his illegal handicap parking job. The Costanzas also were often in the interior of an aero Caprice, but I don't think they were ever shown in the car from outside.
@@matthewbowen5841 Also 1967 GTO, george borrowed from his dad in the episode when elaine called him a bad seed. It had a bottle of metamucil or geritol in there.
That’s ok. I had to borrow a 1989 Pontiac Bonneville 2 of the 4 windows rolled down and 2 of the 4 doors opened
I remember back in 1992 my Mom was ready to downsize from our 90 Grand Caravan LE into a smaller 4 door sedan. She test drove the Camry, Taurus, Sable, Accord, Lumina, ES300, and the Skylark. I recall on the Skylark test drive half way through that she hated it and wanted to return to the dealership. I'm not sure what she disliked but I'm pretty sure it was a 4cyl, not a GS. She ultimately bought the Accord LX.
They were pretty bad. Not as reliable (over 100s of thousands of cars so I don't need to hear stories from people who just so happened to have the one golden goose). 3 speed Automatics had worse fuel economy for cars that size. The 4 cyl was only an SOHC while (correct me if I'm wrong) many foreign offerings had DOHC available on both their 4 and 6 cyl options, plus 5 speed manuals or 4 speed autos which could more easily find an appropriate gear for road conditions.
So Japanese cars could rev faster, had better specific power, better fuel economy, and greater reliability. Basically anything a Skylark could do, a Camry or Accord could do better.
She made the right choice
The 4 cylinder and the 3 speed auto was trash. If you floor it the engine cries like a kid getting kicked in the balls for the first time and fuel economy is equally pathetic.
0:49 that Park Avenue is BOOKING!
Thank you for posting another GM video. It is always a nice surprise to see these. I still want to see that 1994 Oldsmobile Eighty-Eight video I saw on one of those marathon weekends before. I recall this car and the Buick Bolero concept car. Buick was on a roll with producing concept models and making them production cars. The front end of this car was so controversial. I know they updated the front end and interior in 1996. It lost that front end. It then was sharing its instrumentation panel with Oldsmobile Achieva. The Pontiac Grand Am was the clear winner during this time in sales and in appearance. Thank you again.
3:23 ''...but initial drive shows that it makes noise faster than power''
what a compliment ! : )
I always liked the unique sharp looks of these cars. My high school friend had a 1995 Skylark that was previously his grandmothers.
Carro desse é luxouso vendido nos EUA linda emocionante de dirigir
My first car to drive to high school was a 93 grand am gt with the 3.3 v6 3 speed auto. I miss that car. Wasn’t that quick but it was reliable and could take the daily Beating
this is one car from the 90s i don't miss but however i can help but wonder what a performance version with a supercharged 3800, bucket seats, and high flow exhaust to compete with the taurus SHO would have been like
Our neighbor had one when I was a teenager she bought it new it was a teal color she loved that car. I remember her out there every Saturday washing it and she was very elderly but just kept going.
Didn't blame her gotta love a Buick.
Call me crazy but I love the look of the Skylark along with the other 90's crazy design car like the Chevy/Pontiac/Oldsmobile MPV's and such. They looked ugly to some but I adore them because of their design and interiors.
I miss and loved that era.
I was in high school when the new Lumina van debuted.
I still think they're cool looking.
@@paulnieder4236 agree, I understand why most people disliked them but I honestly applaud Pontiac, Chevrolet and Oldsmobile for going with the design. Very innovative and I honestly think that they set the standard for future minivans to come.
I love cars Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Chevrolet and Buick 1980s and 1990s. Greats, confortables and solid cars
The movie Demolition Man featured many GM concept cars. Even the Lumina van was in it, but it looked far more futuristic than the final production model.
This probably was the most luxurious intermediate car of it's day. Plusher than all it's competition back then.
The Grand Am is the best looking of the three, in my opinion. I had a Skylark of this vintage for a rental car. It did get the attention of some “car guys.”
My sister bought a Grand Am new, but I always thought those ridges on the side body cladding were ugly as hell.
@@scrambler69-xk3kvmy sister did too. I remember the radio messed up and you couldn’t adjust the volume.
Loved them, surprisingly reliable. Comfortable as heck
Only a 3 speed auto in 1992?
Toyota had a 3 speed in the Corolla until 2002.
@@herbiehusker1889 True, but only the base models. The '93 Corolla was available with a 4 speed auto in DX trim. The Skylark was also thousands of dollars more expensive than a base Corolla. The Skylark did get a 4-speed with the V6 in '95.
@@herbiehusker1889 Corolla ia an economy car, this is a lexury car. This tells you all you need to know about GM back then.
@@hitek9too255 no. The skylark was not a "lexury" car. It was the cheapest Buick you could get. Nicer than a Chevy, but more of a grandma car. If you wanted luxury in a Buick, you got a Park Avenue.
"The Quad OHC, it makes noise faster than power" Yes, that it did. I drove one in a 92 Grand Am for a few months years ago, Mr. Davis' opinion of that engine is apt.
My little Buick,92-93 skylarks used the race proven 3300 V6 engine❤. 1:49
The dynaride suspension is fantastic.
Man I remember when these came out haha
A sleek option that looks like an import…(describing the Achieva) 😂😂😂😂
You’re killing me, John!
My dad bought a 1998 Buick LeSabre cherry red,my Mom drove it,my dad settled for his Mopar minivan lol
love these old videos. My favourite is the Buick LeBaron
Greetings from southern Ontario Canada my father had this exact model new as a company car used to cover the qew highway between London Ontario to Oshawa gm plant thanks for the presentation I drove it on weekends as we only had the ford tempo as my mom's car with no ac
My first car was a 93 Gran Sport, bright red 2 door, black interior. Thought was a good looker and sporty back then when I was 16, not so sure now lol.
I was on the team that wrote the first service manual for these cars. Engineered by LAD in Lansing and service manuals were handled by Oldsmobile Division. Great times and great people at Olds and LAD. Kind of miss those times.
By god what an odd looking car
You must be young. This was actually a popular car. And to be honest, if was weird looking then too
It looks like it stuffed a codpiece down its hood 🤣
@@taurussho86 That's .....what they said?
It was actually a classy looking car in its day.
GM also had an Oldsmobile with a lot of the same design quo’s. The Buick actually drove and handled better than the Oldsmobile.
Many of the parts of those vehicles were made from Hyundai.
@@Doc1855 what parts were from Hyundai? I never heard that before and did a search and couldn't find anything.
I used to think this car looked so interesting and quirky when I was younger. I liked the green one with those stipes.
They had good power to weight ratio. That steering wheel tho..... 😆
I loved these things when they came out, and still do.
This car was a substantial departure from traditional Buick think, and created a modern sedan that did have future potential with an even better concept car waiting in the wings the scepter the 92 used the 3300mfiV6/the concept car was slightly larger and featured the future Buick built 3.6 V6, unfortunately neither saw production.
Yeah I thought this was ugly looking back. In the day.....but I would proudly drive one today cause it's so unique 👌
Me too, I just wish that Buick would go back to their roots and make their own cars rather than using rebaged Opel's. Don't get me wrong, Opel's are great cars but it's just not the same. If Buick goes back to designing their own cars, reintroducing their models or making new ones I'm sure that they would be talked about.
I had a friend that had one. I never thought it was ugly.
@@bluerazor7049 they aren't really opels anymore...their platforms are from chevrolet Korea now...formerly Daewoo.....with Chinese styling on the latest models..and possibly soon platforms.....opel is no longer part of gm...and is "basically" owned by Chrysler(stellantis) now
@@Jag-leaper true, but some of the models are Opel related as I've seen them such as the SUV one.
The only opel base car they ever used was the regal(opel insignia)...the others are all korean
its crazy that in 92 GM was still using 3 speed autos in what was supposed to a quasi luxury model. 4 speed autos were pretty standard across japanese competitors even in their baser cars like the Corolla and Civic.
Hell, I had a number of Chevys at the time with two speed Powerglide transmissions and they worked very well. A three speed would have been a bonus.
@@scrambler69-xk3kv
Thats not the point though. GM and even Ford and Chrysler in the mid 80's and early 90's were still using the 3 speed auto on most of their cars during that period while the European and Japanese competition had moved onto 4 speed auto pretty much across their lines.
So many gauges for John!
We owned a 1994 Skylark Custom. I like the car.
Was it the best car I have ever owned? No, not even close.
However, it rode fairly well and got decent gas mileage for the times.
It had a 3.1L engine that was reliable.
I didge tired of replacing the Brakes and Rotors every 12 months to eighteen months though.
The Rotors would 'Warp' from the snow and ice.
I did cause damage to the transmission. From 'Rocking it' when I was stuck in snow.
I ended up being to aggressive when she was stuck.
I sold it to a mechanic that worked on my cars.
Then I proceeded to go for larger cars.
Our next car was a 1994 LeSabre Limited that I loved.
With the 3800 Series #1 engine.
I have posted on that car.
We owned that car for 5 years and 207K miles.
RUST was the death of that LeSabre Limited.
My favorite 90’s GM sedan
Woohoo!! love seeing a new Retro Review dropped!!! But I just have to say… This turd could only be had with a *3* speed auto slush box and the top engine choice, an anemic 3L pushrod unit with 160hp!? Lord have mercy 😅😂 I’m so glad we’re long past that standard of cheap, uninspiring engineering that the big 3 loved to produce in bulk for the masses.
I dig the Star Trek TNG vibes of the interior styling
For so e reason I love these.
What demented GM engineer designed this horrific Grand Am rebadge?
Mr. Wayne Kady was the head of Buick design at the time. There are interviews of him on You Tube.
That Bolero concept car looked pretty good.
From these cars, the 1992-95 Pontiac Grand An looked by far the best. I woukd even say it was the best looking mid size sedan and coupe from the early to mid 1990s.
I had a 93 Olds Achieva I loved it
Always somehow thought these had the 3.8 engines in them. Vehicle has the look of power, but the performance of an economy.
That last line😂🤣
I am on the fence with the styling, but the interior isn't bad. Good ergonomics, split folding seats, low lift over, and the v6.
I got one of these but it’s a little newer, I wish I had thin whitewalls, with the low skirts in the back looks like a original gangster car haha
A friend of mine had one of these is high school. He called it "The beak".
Hard to believe but in 92 Buick had 6 models to fill showrooms Skylark, Century, Regal, Lesabre, Roadmaster, and Park Avenue....top bad by this time the revered Skylark name was a shell of its former self compared to a 70 Skylark GS with a 455 cu v8
GM showcar- AMAZING!
Production version- BLECH!
Snatching fails ceaselessly is GM's philosophy.
Radical styling = Looks more mundane than a Taurus from 1986.
Inspired by the show car = A complete departure from an actual nice looking design exercise that looks like the designers gave a shit.
Looks like it’s saying “please drive me, we can go to bingo “
so which one got the axe first? the Achieva or the Skylark?
Harve & Gladys (them there young buyers) sure loved their Skylark.
This and it's sibling Achieva we're my favorites besides liked the Grand AM all siblings weren't bad cars just avoid Quad 2.4 had numerous problems. I haven't seen a Skylark in a while did like face-lift for 96-98 models sure miss these old Buicks wish GM will bring back the Buick sedans.
7:04 - DAMN CLIBBINS
HADDA LAYERDOEN HOSS
GOBLESS
hELL YEAH BORTHER❗❗❗❗
I love this funky little Buick sedan. Wonderfully risk taking for those GM designers.
Skylark is a fancy version of Grand Am
I always liked this car. I always wanted one.(the Grand AM)
Wow I remember when they released this new body style back in High School, it's soooooo ugly 🤣
Can someone find the motorweek review for the 95-97 Geo Metro I can't find it anywhere, or the 88-93 Ford Festiva
Dear Christ this car is FUGLY...yet intriguing...
The 3300 was underpowered even for 90's standards. Should've definitely been mated to a 4speed.
Loved it!
I liked it then and I like it now 😌
It amazes me everytime one of these retro reviews comes out. Because most of the these cars I’ve never heard or seen. Of course I was born in 2001 but…still to this day never really see a clean car like this in modern day traffic. Either they are modded or rusted out. Or parked and never driven again. Quite sad really. But it’s just me.🤷🏻♂️
The rear angles look like a Roadmaster that shrunk in the wash, and the front looks like a Bunkie Beak Thunderbird. I don’t really mind the exterior look, but the dashboard ruins it for me.
I'm surprised they didn't mention the Corsica/Beretta
Was the 3300 regarded as a decent engine? We had one in our '89 Buick Century growing up and NEVER had an issue in almost 15 years, but was that fluke or were they regarded as reliable?
3300 was more reliable than the 3.1s of that era, which some of those suffered head gasket issues.
The 3300 was a smaller version of the 3800. Was a pretty reliable engine.
I don't understand regulations of the time, you need low speed bumpers for "safety" but you can have jousting lance at the front of a buick
The new for 92 grand am gt was by far the best effort by GM with there N body cars.
I don't know how anybody in Buicks design studio looked at the final shape of the Skylark and said "yes this will appeal to the under 30 crowd" IN 1992!
the steering wheel looks like it came off a riding mower!! 😆😂
These things were everywhere back then, which just goes to show you………alot of people had no sense of style!
"Wouldn't you really rather have a Buick?"
From Show To Street
I always thought these looked somewhat like a 7/8ths scale Roadmaster sedan.
This car's design is quite odd but unique! An antimainstream cool Buick, wish it came with 4AT or 5MT (especially with the quad 4 aka GM's equivalent to Toyota's 3S or Nissan's SR20 engine!)
I remember the N body cars and briefly considered the Achieva coupe. Looked great but typical GM quality issues, cheap interiors and the buzzy Quad 4 muted the appeal. The door mounted seatbelts were a deal breaker and drove me to buy a used CRX Si instead. No regrets.
Cool thanks 👍
Grand Am looks way better.. Can't believe they decided to keep Buick over Ponti.
Blame China😉
Agreed! Buick sells very well in China, but not in the US.
My wife is pissed off with me because she was calling and I didn't hear her due to the fact I am now profoundly deaf from hearing the loudest thing on the internet one too many times. The end credits to these videos.
I never did like the styling of these cars, would have preferred any of the other N-cars just based on looks alone. This car was overly plasticky inside and very kitschy outside, Buick obviously trying not to upset their older clientele yet still standout. The result is not pleasing to me.
There were some changes to the production model vs the pre-production model tested, I noticed. Seems GM was having thoughts about the grille too.
Buick,
STOP RUNNING FROM WHO YOU ARE ....embrace the old.
Sincerly, your youngest fan 👴💀
Gm would of been so successful if they just went with the concept designs.