Motorweek 1994 Buick Roadmaster LT1 Road Test

[@Shyguy624]

Im even more amazed this thing is fast, reliable, tons of space inside and gets 20+mpg and has a v8 you really can't go wrong

[@rockerdriver]

I mourn the passing of these great body on frame rear drive V8 powered highway cruisers! Today it’s all about pickups,SUVs and crossovers. Bring the good ol days back!

[@Lorenzo-wl5xt]

America murdered itself when they stopped making these types of cars. Real cars. We're talking Panther platforms, G bodies, B bodies etc ...
We have infinite oil. Gas should cost 0.75 cents/ gallon

[@ragingbull94mtx]

Way quicker than I was expecting. Wow.

[@flashindapan7965]

Same, expected more like 7.5-8.5 0-60.

[@t.b.g.504]

Except when driven at least 10 Km/h BELOW the speed limit by an overly cautious elderly driver. An owner in the north end of Toronto who has a surviving silver model drives this way.

[@hellkitty1014]

They were actually geared really well, despite the 4L60-E having only 4 gears. And how GM kept this land yacht at only 4200lbs is astonishing, considering no aluminum was used.

[@CountryAfficianado]

My first job was picking up customers who had their cars serviced at a GM dealership. Whenever I got to pick them up in their Roadmasters, I just grinned. I'd outrun most of my buddies I came across on the roads (they'd think it was an easy win for them). God I loved this car so much!

[@justinadams1360]

Good ol lt1. They were no joke.

[@DSGNflorian]

Had an immaculately kept '95 in my stable for several years. Fantastic powertrain! Passing performance, throttle response, reliability and that wonderfully juicy, yet refined, LT1 sound were top notch. That thing hauled its big ass around with aplomb in any situation and delivered amazing highway economy to boot. 27-28 mpg were the norm, especially when driven at legal speeds in cruise. I was able to make several roundtrips Detroit-Chicago-Detroit (560 miles) on a single (23 gal) tank. Around town, the mileage was more, well, shall we say "expected" for a V8-powered car of that weight.
The rest of the car was typical 90s GM. Awful interior plastics, a bulky, intrusive instrument panel which vibrated over bumps because it wasn't properly supported over the tunnel, supposedly to allow enough legroom for a front center passenger but nobody ever sat there, of course. It had flimsy door panels that self-destructed with use and an abundance of minor squeaks and rattles. The back seat had surprisingly little legroom for a car that size and the "huge" trunk turned out to be of limited use due to its high lift-over, cluttered shape and spare tire placement, making carrying bulky items difficult.
Despite those flaws I miss these big American rear wheel drive sedans, they had charm and personality and their bulk certainly was a heck of a lot less annoying (and a lot more fuel efficient!) than those aggressive, vision-blocking, hateful suburban assault panzers that Americans feel they must drive to work or Costco nowadays.

[@fhowland]

Well said . Agreed on all counts

[@MostlyBuicks]

The door panels are truly the worst part of the car. I currently own 3 of these and have owned two others which now my daughter and son-in-law have. GREAT cars.

[@Stuntcat-vv8cm]

My dad bought his 94 limited shortly after I was born in 2004. I'm not sure how many miles it had when he bought it but I know it was less than 90k. As of 2024 It now has 270k+ miles on it and still runs excellent. We still tow out RV with it because it has the heavy duty suspension. We get all sorts of looks from kids at the campground who don't know what a real car is.

[@wp8022]

A simply perfect car.

[@fernandorocha8459]

I love Buick Roadmaster. Solid e fantastic car

[@johnnymason2460]

This is the Roadmaster that I want. A better engine in a big car with plenty of room for the money. I love that.

[@putzmeisterdeluxe1204]

Really quick for such a big car in the mid 90s.

[@bigbline405]

Hey Detroit this is what real Americans want bring back the big full sized full V8 power cars

[@dariog36th]

They did bring them back. And nobody was buying them. Pontiac G8 and Chevy SS.

[@mbox314]

I loved these old luxo-loafs. I cant think of any car today that is as comfortable as these old full sized sedans.

[@handzus19]

Cars from the 90s (and presumably in years prior) appear to have a super comfy interior -- especially the seats.

[@Lorenzo-wl5xt]

They are. Even the last of the panther platform cars are extremely comfortable. 2011 Town Car for example

[@5610winston]

We had a ''93 sedan, Limited leather. Great car.
I imagine if you could find a really good one around $5k it would be a very satisfying daily driver.

[@RaymondHaley-bi8lx]

What happens when you take an big comfortable car with a detuned Corvette 5.7 engine, you have yesterday's Buick.

[@C4VETTELT1]

Yeah it's kinda annoying to here them say that it's the vette engine cause it's clearly not!! It's the same design but not the same engine!

[@MrJMS814]

Its the exact same block

[@C4VETTELT1]

@MrJMS814 No, it's actually not! Corvettes are 4 bolt main blocks, and everything else is only two! Plus they are detuned to 260hp with iron heads. It's the same design but not the same thing! There's also a baby LT1 4.3 liters I believe.

[@fernandorocha-dx1wv]

@@MrJMS814 The V8 5.7 liter is engine of Vette. 260 HP and 335 LB-FT torque and confortable car

[@Shyguy624]

That thing has no business being that fast that said i want one

[@pjimmbojimmbo1990]

I have a 94 RM, with 300,000, original on it, and it doesn't burn oil. I think it still has the Original Opti-Spark and Rotor in it too. It has the Tow Option, and has been towing my boat, 4000lbs the last 15 yrs. About a Month ago, the temps went down to -45, and the Oil Cooler Lines cracked, but they are about 13 yrs old. I also have a 95, but it was written off 15 yrs ago, which is when I picked the 94 up for $100.00. A lot of differences between the 2 yrs, Seats Mechanisms, Doors, Mirrors, Radios are not the same

[@rickjames6867]

One of the best cars ever made. I personally would pick this over any Cadillac of the same generation.

[@scottd7222]

Fleetwood Brougham > Buick Roadmaster

[@jbeezy1101]

2024 and I've got the ninety six buick Road master collectors addition,Estate wagon. I use it as my daily because it's so much fun to drive on the freeway to and from work. The car drives At a 130,000 miles, shes just as smooth as it did the day it came off The assembly line. Purrs like a kitten. I put flowmasters on it, headers ect

[@fhowland]

If only the Crown Vic were that quick!

[@chpman2013]

Ford thought about putting in other engines, like 4.6L 4-valve or the 5.4L Triton V8's...but resorted to keeping the 4.6L 2-valve for the duration.

[@sfgwl]

Thanks for uploading this.

[@RyanBassForLife]

Sweet! My dad had 3 of those Buick Roadmaster.

[@dariog36th]

Wait so the impala ss they tested came in at 7.5 0-60. The roadmaster was faster even with a smaller rear gear?

[@MrJMS814]

Towing package

[@dariog36th]

@@MrJMS814 yes I know that, but the towing package had a smaller gear making launch times slower. So how did an Impala ss with a 3.08 rear gear come in at slower time than roadmaster with a 2.92 rear gear.

[@The_R-n-I_Guy]

Love my 96 Roadmaster sedan. Especially the LT1 engine. I wish mine had that cloth interior. Leather seats are horrible. The tow package would be great too. A 2.56 open differential isn't good for anything but the highway

[@thacutoff6226]

A legitimate muscle cruiser, with minor bolt ons you can be at 350 hp and 400 ft lbs of torque. I was given one by my uncle and it can really move …… once transmission goes t56 swap

[@jamesslick4790]

Remember kids, this BIG CAR was based on the DONWSIZED 1977 LeSabre's "B" platform.

[@user-iz3gv5vo6b]

Perfect highway cruiser.

[@danmccarthy4700]

God, I miss my '92.

[@warriormanmaxx8991]

Do you often write to "God" via UA-cam?? Ever get any response?

[@user-rr7kl9jz9o]

For the early 90s and a heavy car that beast is pretty darn fast- a few bolt on mods to the LT1 and you could melt the tires off

[@splender88]

Heck I would jump on one of these today if I could find one. Guess after 30 years there are not a lot of them around.

[@thewiseguy3529]

Wtf 6.9 sec to 60 mph???? Has I known this then I'da bought one.

[@thewiseguy3529]

@JDns-we4fw bad ass

[@thewiseguy3529]

@JDns-we4fw it sure is. I have an RV bus with around 3 times the torque of that car's engine. Lol I know torque.

[@thewiseguy3529]

@JDns-we4fw I thought you were gonna say your tractor has a C32 in it or something lol 👍🏼
My bus has a series 50 8.5L 4 cylinder diesel. It only has about 1150 lbft torque.
I was just being facetious on my previous comment about the multiplied torque lol
But my bus still takes off fast.. Smooth and fast on the interstate also. Not 0-60 in 6 seconds fast. But it's as fast as anybody in their right mind needs to be accelerating in 15 tons ha ha ha 🚍🚌

[@gabriel.954]

nice car. There is something amiss with the rear suspension in this particular car though. Especially the left rear shock. You can notice the stiffness while braking, the slalom and while cruising. You can notice the stiffness on that one rear shock. Probably a factory defect.

[@jebidiahcarlyon3543]

I bought my 96 for 500$ about 8 years ago. I never get tired of this car. It's fun to float down the highway and randomly pass people at full throttle. It's kind-of ruined modern cars for me. Sure they may be faster, but they ride so harsh and make really timid noises in comparison.

[@ThaDirtyBubble]

Gotta love them giving credit to the 4l60e 😂

[@tonymanzi3358]

Beautiful!!! Wouldn't u really like to have a Buick?

[@ce9345]

Yes I would! I currently own a 2005 Buick Century Special Edition with 71xxx!

[@warriormanmaxx8991]

Is that "Wouldn't you really like..." line ... original with you?

[@warriormanmaxx8991]

Anyone want these fine cars again ?!? Blame CONGRESS for putting the screws on auto makers ... DEMANDING ... that cars get certain miles per gallon by a certain year. Plastic bubble cars of today is the result !!

[@StrongEnough78]

I wonder what they did different with the suspension. The rear end didn't lift up on the braking test like it did on the 1991 road test.

[@StrongEnough78]

@JDns-we4fw Yeah the whole suspension system seems locked. You can see the rear end bouncing during the driving shots like its on a full sports car suspension with barely any suspension travel.

[@StrongEnough78]

@JDns-we4fw Lol. Thats funny. But it wouldn't have handled that bad. Check out the Motor Week test of the 1992 Roadmaster. They didn't show the slalom test but mentioned it handled more like a midsize car than a full size.

[@TeeroyHammermill]

@StrongEnough78: It's the FE2 Heavy Duty suspension that comes with the tow package. The belt driven fan tells all.

[@StrongEnough78]

@@TeeroyHammermill Ah ok. That makes sense. Thanks for the update 👍

[@1966425]

@@StrongEnough78 I have a '95 and a '96 sedan. My '96 has the FE2 (Grand Touring) suspension and that thing plants like a sports car on turns compared to my "Dynaride" '95 which is definitely soft and wallows on turns.

[@4HBirtcher]

0:10
Problem with the roadmaster right off the bat, the Buick hood ornament is on the wrong way!

[@velezdragon3574]

I love mine

[@aquaticko]

How dearly I wish this was the kind of body-on-frame big-V8 machine that guys with fragile egos would be drawn to. But then, they'd have to have a sense of humor about themselves.

[@hydroboost1020]

If you change the heads,cam and intake is it still really an LT1? Is there any difference between the corvette short block and a 350 they would have put in a truck?

[@josepmckoon948]

0-60 super impressive

[@craigster1234]

If I had somewhere to park it... I would search far and wide to find one.

[@brettcannon74]

Still have mine

[@user-oo9iw9yw6h]

nice

[@dontaejarell]

Where is Buick V8 cars I'm waiting

[@05309193]

Airdate: January 1, 1994.

[@taurussho86]

😂 Road masters was spanking some ass on the roads

[@ahoorakia]

put a rear end from impala ss or caprice 9c1 with disc brake, set of 1104 front and 0929 rear BILSTEIN shock absorber , do the metering and per portioning valve mod on brakes(stealth bolt)
you get far superior braking and handling

[@me.with.my.self.]

Can someone explain to me why Cadillac Fleetwood and Chevrolet Caprice had the same motor but was not that fast

[@MrJMS814]

They were if they had the towing package like this one

[@me.with.my.self.]

​@@MrJMS814Really only because of that?

[@BeardedBlaxican]

It depended on what year of those vehicles you had. Only 94-96 models of those cars came with LT1'S, and some caprice had the L99 motors in them from 94-96, which was equivalent to a 5.0 vs the LT1 which was a 5.7

[@MrJMS814]

Proof it was making more than 260 at the crank

[@johnnysalazar5399]

Some corvette aluminum heads will give a 5.5 sec 0-60 and high 13 low 14 sec quarter mile

[@philipwilson-tp2gp]

Car companies kills these cars. They say everyone wants an SUV. Not true, Its cheaper for them to build because they don't have to meet the same fuel economy standards as car... Why do you think you see so many Trucks and SUVs on the roads. Its all about the money.

[@RaymondHaley-lv2mo]

I grew up driving the real roadmaster, this was just another Chevy Caprice, by the 90,s I lost interest in GM,s rwd cars, after the 80,s they had nothing to offer.

[@velezdragon3574]

Mine has 53,000 original miles

[@matthewbowen5841]

What a hideous, absurd, impressively quick boat.

[@broman260]

These are actually quite nice cars to look at.

[@Blowncapacitor84]

​@@broman260 yes they are!!!

[@devinbiz]

Was far from hideous when new. It was a welcome departure from the water balloon aerodynamics of many cars of the era. Consider it the anti -LH competitor to the Chrysler New Yorker

[@broman260]

@@devinbiz that's not really accurate because this design is from 1992 and the soap bar aesthetic didn't take off until a couple of years later.

[@nwezetx1]

​@@broman260 You're not really informed. It was launched in 1991 and designed in 1987-88.
The soap bar aesthetic had been underway since the late 70s and got signed off in full production grade in 1982 for the 1986 Taurus.
In case you didn't remember, cars were designed a quarter to half a decade before they came out, not to mention released the year before their designation.
The 1992 Cadillac Seville design was finalized in 1987 and Chrysler LH cars in 1988.
Try and understand these things, before correcting someone else.

[@Tennesseestorm76]

Something wrong with the suspension on this one...

[@TeeroyHammermill]

Nope. FE2 heavy duty tow package suspension.

[@erich84502a]

$23999

[@alex84896]

Mine is a pure mussel car

[@setysamson2630]

the chevrolet caprice looks a lot nicer