The Buick Reatta Was a 1980s High-Tech Marvel
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- Опубліковано 6 лип 2020
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The Buick Reatta was a marvel of technology, and a tremendously interesting and unusual car. Today I'm reviewing the Buick Reatta, and I'm going to show you all the quirks and features of this interesting coupe. I'm also going to drive the Reatta and show you what it's like on the road.
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Behold - the glorious touchscreen! This is one of my favorite recent videos. Enjoy!
Yo mr doug
this car has a bigger touch screen than a base model durango 👁👄👁
Did you review that F50 DOug?
Hi Doug
Daniel Marchese lol
Imagine a touchscreen from 1988 that has less lag than a modern Range Rover
Or a Subaru’s touch screen lmao
😂😂😂
Well, that is what you get with MADE IN CHINA....Only thing that has no lag is covid 19
My 2017 BMWs screen isn't even touch screen. Gutted.
Mike Foehr 😂😂😂
1989: touchscreens are the future!
2020: give us our knobs and switches back!
I think the problem is implementation. The Riatta has a fairly straightforward and intuitive design. Six menus you switch between with labled push-buttons and eveything is clearly labled.
Modern car infotainment systems are cluttered and filled with sub-menus inside of other submenus you have to navigate, and usually just give you icons to go off of and are utterly un-intuitive.
@@microchannelmaster8046 They may have been more intuitive than today, but switching screens to adjust the climate control or radio was not really all that intuitive back then. They were still annoying, which is why they disappeared for a few decades.
Actually that’s what happened in 1990 the took out the main screen and replaced it with button because people didn’t like it
I really like a touch screen but important controls like volume HAVE to be a knob. Also for climate controls.
@@WolfShadowhill The older clientele didn't like it. GM experimented with Navigation on it for a few years but they never came out with it. The revised one in the 1990's Toronado looked a little better, but i've never seen one... And it sold for about 2 years or so.
I hope the team who designed the tech in this car was alive to see their ideas, not just reimagined, but become the standard decades later.
I’m sure they’re smiling wherever they’re at
Unfortunately all of the designers of this touchscreen passed away soon after:( and never got to see their idea bloom
@@AutoRauto source?
@@CromulentEmbiggeningit came to him in a dream
@@CromulentEmbiggeningTrust me bro
That touch screen was one of the most impressive old car tech items I've ever seen in a car.
I remember as a kid when they came out and wanting one. Just learned today about the impressive touch screen.
Yep. This episode over delivered because of that screen. One of my favorite doug vids
Looks like a pipboy from fallout
@@badcornflakes6374 vault tech did also manufacturer cars
I work for Apple now
Doug gets pulled over: “THIS... is my license and registration”
Accurate
LOOOOOL OLOLOLOLOLOOL
It has a few very interesting features, if you look here you will see a one of a kind signature, and if you look here you will see a picture taken strait out of a government camera, and the craziest thing? They have been making these cards, (all one offs, very premium) the same way for forty years!
Cop: "Interesting."
Doug: "THISs, is not what it looks like.
Cop: uh huh
That display is incredible for that time period.
It's actually a CRT!
It uses infrared diodes (Emitters on one side and receivers in the opposite side) it detected "touches" when the signal is lost.
I'm surprised it still works
And yet Doug gives it a very low score for features. Go figure...
Its probably better then some of todays screens not a slow piece of shit android 5 or some outdated garbage
A touchscreen in an 80s car that actually works ok? I'm genuinely impressed. Almost gives this buick the aethetic of a futuristic flying car on the set of blade runner.
I think it uses vector graphics.
He kept talking and talking about the technology of the car. I was like: "there's probably nothing in there that would impressed me..." first quirk and features: "A factory installed, working touch screen without input delay in the 80's." Fuck me!
yea but did you see the auto pilot. that drives the car by it self!
Car: has more responsive touchscreen controls than half modern cars
Doug: Rear lightbars are making a comeback in modern cars so one could say the Reatta's design was ahead of its time.
Doug isss the type of guy who would say that...
@A real bisexual petrol-head. You're more patient than him?! 👏👏👏👏
@A real bisexual petrol-head They may not all be unresponsive, but they're definitely all not suited for use in a car. If you have to take your eyes off the road to fuck with it, it's not a good use of technology in a car.
@@YesIAmSmarterThanYouPleaseCope Thank you! My E90 330i has no iDrive. I don't need it and buttons are better IMHO. I have d-can and OBD2 cable etc if I wanna check something if I get a warning light.
And forget about aftermarket touch screens, yeesh.
This is the kind of content I'm subscribed for, rare forgotten cheap cars
Yes!
Let me know when he reviews a Merkur
@Jonathan Losito only the ZX2 tho...LOL!
Yeah the newest supercars and luxury cars I can never afford reviews are great, but forgotten weird cars are my favorite Doug videos
@@pex_the_unalivedrunk6785 if I could drive stick I was originally going to get my dad's 1998 Zx2 but instead I ended up with an automatic 2006 Scion xB and we ended up selling the Zx2
I highly recommend the Zx2 though, insanely fun car!
I had an '89 Reatta, and absolutely loved it. If you think of it as more of a personal luxury car and not a sports car, it fulfilled its purpose fairly well. It was comfortable, interior was quiet, and and it had no shortage of features. One thing I dabbled with is a secret menu on the CRT that allows you to view sensor data and provide override control of certain switches/solenoids, which was extremely helpful for troubleshooting. If the car was RWD with the GNX 3.8L turbo power train, I think it would have really taken off. Unfortunately, it would have been too much competition for the Corvette, and GM couldn't allow that.
I don't know why the Corvette didn't have a CRT display.
Another reason corvette just held back the rest of GM
That was the weird thing tho. They made a techy car from a brand mostly older people drove...and then made it a 2 door coupe?!?!?!?! I could have seen this being a 4 door sedan appealing to older people, but not a coupe.
That 3.8 six, was one of the most reliable engines ever offered...many people have achieved 300,000 miles on that nice engine.
A few details that were missed on the review:
-Mid gate trunk access (Ski Door), the door also uses the same handle than the storage compartments and glove box, but its operated with the key, the handle doesn't work.
-In cabin luggage holder strap clips, for even larger hauling capacity.
-Plastic front fenders
-If you leave the "TEST" button pressed you are gifted with "The Light Show" which makes the gauges lights blinks in patterns while the numbers count from 00 to 99 in a very unique way.
-Unfortunately this model wasn't equipped with the "16 Way" power seats which include power adjustable leg rest and lumbar support.
-Touchscreen's MEMORY function, allowed to recall your favorite Radio station and Air conditioning settings for two different drivers, not sure if the seat's position was also stored on this memory.
-The Reminder actually allows you to write full sentences like "GO BUY LAUNDRY DETERGENT" or whatever.
-The "Emergency Brake" on the floor reads "PUMP TO SET" which means yo have to give it two to three pumps to set it firm. Then you can pull the lever to release it.
-On some models, instead of just the Fog Lamp and Lamp Retract buttons on the bottom of the console, they had the "Fuel Access", "Trunk Access" but most importantly, a "Glove Box" button that made the glove box lid pop open.
-The front "Dome Lights" were in the rear view mirror and can be turned on manually individually to be used as map lights.
-All the dashboard, center panel and door trim bezels are made of real brushed aluminum.
-The entire perimeter of the interior of the car is surrounded by a wrap around trim made to simulate a sail boat's cockpit, hence the car's name "Reatta" which was some mispronunciation of Regatta (A sail boat's race).
-Illuminated key holes on doors.
-If you are outside of the car while its locked and you pull the door handle, the keyhole and dashboard lights up, maybe to scare thieves I guess.
-If you open the rear trunk with the key it still uses an electric latch popper, so if your battery is dead you can't open the trunk.
-Also, if the electronic fuel door fails, there's a secret in trunk button and sticker showing how to manually open the fuel door.
-The large doors open so wide that they have White and Red warning lights to make sure other cars can see them and don't hit your doors when you are parked on a curb.
Loved the review, glad to see these cool obscure cars getting the love they deserve.
Paco Ibarra / Tofu Drift Van thanks for the easter eggs that Doug missed. I remember this car new as a kid and I think it has aged well.
Why is there a sign that says "car is levelling" as a warning when he presses the test button?
@@benben071 The Reatta and Riviera both used the same interior and gauges. My guess is the Riviera had rear suspension air leveling for when you put luggage and/or passengers in the rear so the car would level itself like most Buick/Pontiac cars from the late 80s, 90s and 2000s.
wow, seems we have located the missing salesperson that forgot to leave his card in the owners manual pouch.
Plus the reason for all those interior locks! Parts sharing with the convertible version!
This thing is actually really impressive. Back in the late 80's this must have seemed like a spaceship.
I mean, everything but the touchscreen was pretty common in luxury cars since the 80's.
I do like the touch screen though.
Nah I was there, this was pretty much a fail
@@gfdia35 my first car was a 1986 with every feature this car had minus the touch screen.
Same with my current 88.
The cornering lights have been a staple on Lincolns and higher end fords since the 70's
Problem was it was outdated from day one. Literally every feature (minus the touchscreen, superior trunk hinges, popup lights) this car had was available in the Ford Taurus sedan in 1986 and for less money.
Cornering lamps, dimmable sun visor, random storage, digital color overlay LCD dash, diagnostic center, trip computer, less blocky unique interior, digital automatic climate control, grilleless aerodynamic design.
At this point GM, and pretty much everyone was just catching up to the trend away from the boxy cars of the 70s/80s. The only party trick was the touch screen, which to be honest did feel super futuristic.
Lets be honest, it still looks the part of spaceship
The interior is pretty cool, but that exterior styling is actually really neat too. Especially that taillight bar.
Started my technician career at a Buick dealer back then. Remember when they first came out brand new, it was quite a surprise to have the touch screen. Replaced a few of the Zenith made touch screens. Instead of people lightly touching the screen, they would smash the screen till it broke. Brought back some great memories. That Reatta is in fantastic shape! The convertible was a night mare fixing water leaks! Lol
Fun fact if you go to the climate screen and hold down the temperature up arrow and off button and it will pull up the diagnostic screen showing you all the OBD engine codes without using a scanner, and even play with debug options with the car
80s car can show OBD codes on the infotainment system
Brand new 2020 car can't do that for some stupid reason....
Adam Smith its all about money. as always..
@@ArianOriginal21 exactly. It's even at the point now where some newer cars make you go to the original dealership because other scanners aren't compatible therefore forcing you to spend whatever extortionate amount the main dealer wants to pluck out of thin air.
Back then they were not as dishonest and profiteering.
Since then they are on a campaign to stamp out DIY and 3rd party mechanics finding out what is wrong with their car and fixing it without the dealer.
Today they are gouging by engineering DIY deterents in the designs, making readers dealer only availability or very very expensive machines to increase sales profits.
Pretty amazing for a vehicke back then. Buicks were generally expensive, and known as old people cars; not quite the demographics G.M. was looking for unless an old doctor bought it. ;-)
Fun fact: Car reviewers criticized the touchscreens on this era Buicks because they thought it would be distracting to the driver. Ironic considering that today people write novel sized texts behind the wheel.
They still are distracting - the difference is now, reviewers make fun of people who want knobs and switches back!
I had a poster of this taped to the bottom of the upper level of my bunk bed in my high school years. Above the side view of a candy red reatta in a dark background, the ads reads: go ahead. You deserve it. It’s the first thing I saw every morning 🙂
I love how the physical button on the infotainment unit is labeled "GAGES" instead of "GUAGES."
I was looking through the comments to see if anybody else noticed 😂
It would never say Guages. It would say Gauges.
You spelled it wrong too
@@jimmy22334 haha... You're so right.
So GM's vision of the future turned out to be quite accurate.
Bruh... GM nailed it
It’s insane that they could do something like this 30 years ago while simultaneously turning out trash that is ten years behind anything else.
@@Ronniezim Schrodenger's Auto Manufacturer
Damn if only 2015 had flying cars. Yea right Marty McFly 🤦🏼♂️
They also built the world's first viable electric car. Then promptly killed it.
"Jan 22 2020" on THAT screen is the most cyberpunk thing you can get
Ого, приятно наткнуться здесь на русское имя.
OneTrickPony bless you.
Doug is the type of guy to wait almost 6 months to upload a video.
They planned for Y2K perfectly at Buick
Or
PitBoy 3000 😂
One interesting thing is at the time this car came out, GM actually made four two seat cars. Allante, Corvette, Reatta, and Fiero.
they wanted to compete against European cars, I suspect
12:23 - The fuel gauge soon actually "zoomed" automatically to the higher precision when your tank had less than 1/4 of a tank along with a low fuel lamp that hovered over it so you didn't mistake 1/4 tank for a full tank. You could easily spend another 20 minutes just going on all the marvelous and thoughtful undocumented smarts of the car when in actual use. It did so many smart things so cleverly. It was really a joy to use. By the way, twilight sentinel also left the interior lights on for a while so you could leave the car in the dark and turned them on in advance so you could see the car when you activated the keyless entry from the key fob. Again, in 1988 this car could do that. And the lights even dimmed slowly on and off like in a movie theater.
4:14 when I see "2020" written in that font on that screen it doesnt feel like thats today but instead some dystopian sci fi future
Fallout
It looks like it's taken from bladerunner or something
@@revivedfears That's what I was about to comment lol
@@user-cl7ri8tv3c id laugh if it said 2077
lol exactly
Thats one of the most responsive touch screens I've ever seen.
Zander Jones that is really amazing actually
More responsive than my 2018 Subaru 🙃
@@bijan4697 rip
more responsive than the new shitty Golf
More responsive and user friendly than early iterations of MyFordTouch
Doug, you make cornering lights sound special, and recent to this car's vintage. But, GM and Ford had cornering lights for decades before the Reatta. FoMoCo cornering lights on Fords/Lincolns/Mercurys had a delay-off feature, and stayed lit for a few seconds after the turn signal had already switched off.
I loved that the early Corvette C4 had cornering-style backup lamps installed on the rear quarter panels which light up when the car is in reverse gear. They work in tandem with the standard backup lamps located at the license plate cubbyhole to give 180-degree illumination.
That screen is giving me some Fallout vibes, and I just love it!
As a programmer, I am so impressed with this touch screen, whoever did this must be an old master today, outstanding!
GM always had the best engineers. The heads up displays of the 80s Turbo Grand Prix was super cutting edge at the time (straight from Hughes Aircraft which it owned).
Touchscreens aren't really that new. There were lots of touchscreens in all kinds of applications all through the late 80s to the mid 90s. The main limiting factor was the screen itself; glass CRTs. Y'all will notice that the touchscreen had a curved surface.
I'd hate to try and find a replacement if it ever breaks down though
@ Say what you will about fit and finish or styling or parts bin interiors or service or whatever else, but GM truly has amazing engineering.
@Slutty nun. I didnt say engines. I said engineers (slam dunk...no contest).
The fact that the CRT touchscreen wasn’t offered in the Corvette is a crime.
I don't think so in a way you don't need a touch screen for a 80s for a sports car. Especially nowadays that is run by computers and people despise that
Wayyyy too heavy and complicated for a sporty Chevy
Joel Sanford like the digital dash they already had wasn’t heavy and complicated? Lol
67 people liked this without thinking about one thing: when that thing breaks, you better hope your warranty is still good....
I think because alot of cars didnt have it and was considered somewhat of a weird luxury item cadillac had a weird thing about doing that as well
It is only me that finds this car absolutely mind blowing !!! Especially when you compare to Doug’s other video that shows what soviet Russia was making at the same time.
You're comparing apples and oranges though, the lada though a pretty shit car, was in line with what most europeans was driving at the time. Even to this day most europeans drive a volkswagen polo, people don't really buy expensive cars in europe or asia.
Imagine if GM had the brains to put this tech interior and The GNX engine in a Corvette body... Would have been pure Automotive excellence.
My jaw literally dropped a little when you said this thing had a touchscreen lol
Right, like whole shit
that isn’t crazy at all the crazy thing is tht the touchscreen actually worked
Right?! My old ‘06 WRX didn’t even have that lmao. It’s an absolutely beautiful display as well!
You think that something, you should check out the Oldsmobile Toronado Trofeo from the mid 80's. That thing had a factory navigation system.
Chris Troxler No, it didn’t. It had a glorified digital compass.
This blows my mind that retro sci-fi touch screen existed in the 80s and worked so well with so little latency. I can almost hear a synthesizer sounding in the background.
A car from a synth wave music video
@@japanwatchconnection That's as bare bones as it gets.
13:35 - Sorry to be commenting on every little thing but you are bringing back all these great memories. This car as far as I know was one of the first if not THE first with express down and express up windows. You could double-tap down or even double-tap up and the window would go all the way up or down. You might also notice the windows would roll up slightly after the doors close to get a full seal and roll down just a big milliseconds before opening when you opened the door. Those window controls were very ahead of their time. This was in an era when there were still cars rolling out of the showroom with crank-style manual windows.
Touchscreen from the 80's more responsive than many modern screens in cars.
35 year old Buick touchscreen works better than 2019 Range Rover touchscreen
Did you seriously steel this comment just to score likes!?
thank resistive touchscreens and a reluctance to use actual processors for that lol.
Anything Buick>Anything Rover. Period
And strangely it's buick that's in danger of folding.
Well, Range Rover is an Indian company producing chinese cars with an english brand name.
Listening to Synthwave would be mandatory while driving this car.
With the 8 speaker stereo and tape deck with Dolby B, it actually plays synthwave pretty well.
Seriously. Forget about the Countach, this is the synthwave-mobile, and it can be had for 12k!
Would've been a nice Easter egg to have that cassette storage full of that.
The absolute first thing that came to mind lmao. That gauge cluster and touchscreen are the definition of the 80’s.
It's more Hughie Lewis and the News; it's a Buick.
I once Photoshoped one of these with a similar wheel (Audi Fat Fives, just a bit bigger than the 17s) and a better fitment/stance. Removed that black bit across the car and colour matched the bumpers (car was red). Looked pretty cool.
The vanity light having 2 positions (bright/dim) was pretty common. Our 1978 Lincoln Mark V had it, too. Dim setting was useful at night so you weren’t blinded by the bright setting.
That touchscreen is simply amazing.
“Jan 20 2020”. Doug must have hundreds of these videos just stashed away.
I am sure he does :)
mpgxsvcd He said somewhere that he has unreleased videos filmed all the way back in November 2019
I think he posted a photo from the filming of this episode on his instagram several months ago.
Decepticon Stinger I wish he would release them all so I can binge them till I’m itching for more
Like Prince's vault of works.....
It was a handmade limited production car. It was NEVER intended to be a big seller. It was a halo car. Sort of like a concept car that went into intentionally limited production. The car that actually flopped was the convertible that did away with the ECC which was actually the best thing about the whole car.
There was one of these for sale near me a few months ago for pretty cheap (only like 1-2k) and I thought about buying it just because of how weird it looked. Now after watching this video I wish I had bought it because this thing is so retro-futuristic that it will probably be a rare cult classic sometime in the future.
My parents bought two to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary.
Drove them daily for over twenty years.
They both were driven on cross country road trips and once went from Wisconsin to Alaska.
Both were very reliable and were driven in excess of 250k.
Their German Shepherd rode behind the seats.
Did you murder them? Are you a fugitive in a Starbucks restroom bumming the wifi?
That’s really interesting, nice story. Neat to see how these older cars were used and remembered by folks.
Matching cars, how romantic. Hopefully you get one of them as a hand-me-down
@@ChicanoOne760 Are you a idiot?
Certainly sound like one.
I most certainly didn't murder my parents.
I also have no need to hide in Starbucks restroom to use their WiFi.
That's an amazing story. Thanks for sharing that.
Cars like the Reatta are why I’m subscribed. I don’t care for those high performance exotics. They’re not as interesting
Doug is quirky in a good way, it only makes sense that he does cars like this one.
Yep
I love when the review of "quirks and features" section is longer than the driving experience section, that speaks the car is interesting.
Same. I love when Doug reviews the weird, old cars that no one would expect to be reviewed.
There's a comment just like this one on the Cadillac Allante video
16:27 - It was lock doors, unlock doors, open trunk, and panic. Interesting design intelligence... Lock instantly locked all doors but unlock at first unlocked only the driver side, tapped a second time opened the passenger side. So unlike the BMW I bought in 1996 that replaced this car, you could actually get in the car and keep your passenger side locked. The panic button honked the horn, flashed the hazards, lit the interior lights, and sounded the factory alarm system. You had to hold panic down for 3 seconds to avoid triggering it accidentally. Again, at this time most alarms were aftermarket. Almost no cars on the road had factory alarm systems and fewer still that could be remotely activated via a wireless keyless fob. When the car locked, it would confirm with two flashes of the hazard lights so you knew it was locked and again with twilight sentinel the lights would stay on for just a bit so your departure was illuminated and then the lights would shut themselves off within about 30 seconds.
I should also say that the apparently "boring" use of GM's 3800 engine was perfectly sound thinking. With all of the new untried electronic devices on the Reatta, using a tried-and-true powertrain meant that even if the newfangled gewgaws started to play funny tricks or fail altogether the car would still _go_ and not leave you stranded. Putting a newly-designed engine and transmission in the Reatta would have meant inevitable replacement part and service headaches, plus the 3800 was a practically unbreakable engine (and if it did go, new and/or used 3800s were very easy to find and comparatively easy to replace). The reason the headlight alert screen reads HALOGEN HEADLIGHTS ON is that most cars into the late 1990s still used incandescent lights. Halogens were quite new, and this was both a piece of "swank" and a reminder that should you need to change a light you needed a halogen bulb, which were not found in many auto stores in the late 1980s and were much more expensive than incandescents; some parts stores would have to special order them.
I’ve never seen something like a 1980’s touchscreen.
Chances are this thing came directly from NASA, I can't picture anyone else using it at the time.
@@SkateSka Never thought of that. I bet you're right.
Apparently, Aston used them on the Lagonda in the 70s, though they rarely worked.
CNC mills had touchscreens like this by 1988 too
@@SkateSka That wouldn't too be much of a stretch either. GM has ownership in Northrop Grumman. So yeah, they branched out into aerospace.
Damn, this 80s touchscreen has less lag than some of the cheap new cars I see today
@Tylenol PM I guess that excuses touchscreens today to lag?
I remember when these first were brought to market, A nice body design that could use a some customizing to make it look great.A unique beast.Would be cool to mod the hell out of one of these!
I remember one of the car mags, don’t remember which one, did an article on internal GM engine and drivetrain upgrades for the Reatta being tested. They were road-going versions. The most interesting was an AWD version using the turbo 3.8 from the GN. Oh, what could have been!
A couple of notes: The reason it says Halogen Lights On is because when this car was made, halogen lights were new. Most cars still had sealed-beam headlamps back then, so Buick was basically flexing. Same story with the "ANTI LOCK BRAKE" wording on the pedal. ABS was new in the late 80s, so again, GM's all like "Yeah, we got all the neat stuff on this. What you got?" As for the "Twilight Sentinel", GM had been calling it that since they first started to put it on cars...back in the 1950s. Yes, you read that right. GM had automatic headlamps in the FIFTIES. Also, I'm frankly astonished to see that all this stuff still WORKS.
GM doesn''t get enough credit!
I agree
Elvis talked about that feature on his Cadillacs.
@A real bisexual petrol-head +100
Ford shit all over GM in the 80s
Imagine 80's camaro with this car interior.. *Synthwave intensifies*
Imagine the Fiero with this interior..
Parker eww a fiero
@@iamtheone2292 what are you talking about there cool. When they don't have a electrical fire.
ua-cam.com/video/XnlIsRapr4A/v-deo.html
My 4th Gen Camaro has that same exact shitty gear shifter.
You knock down all these '80s and 90s cars. Remember the reason the horsepower is so low on a lot of American cars back then is because of the fuel crunch from the 70s.
Also I remember this car very well, as I was working on a few of them in a garage later years. The 3800 series GM motor may be one of the best motors out there. Easy to work on an very reliable. Back then we love this car especially in red but it was out of our price range. No one had 30 g's for one of these cars, if you did you'd be opting out for a Mercedes BMW or Cadillac.
I’ve driven a lot of Buicks and the 95 Riviera is probably my favorite. I now have a 90 Reatta that I enjoy. The supercharger is the only thing I would change up to.
I live in a retirement town near the beach in Florida. I see mint Buick Reattas and Cadillac Allantes daily.
It was the mid life crisis of the eighties.
They all said *'This is the last car I will need to buy!'*
...and then lived to be 110 years old.
Wow that's awesome 😂
New neighbor moved in across the street and has a red Reatta with the headlights stuck in the up position. Haven't gotten a chance to inspect it closely, but it's used as a daily driver.
Wonder if one can swap a supercharged 3800 in it? That would amp up the fun factor.
I live near Green Valley AZ, and it is also a literal retirement town, you see a lot of mint odd rides and wanga dangas in mint condition, sometimes unrestored!. AKA how to get a low mileage low rust pristine used car. I worked for a boomer at a body shop in Nogales for some years and you saw some STUFF, DUDE! R A R E muricann stuff!
“Cars and bids” should have been named “this and this and this”
Too late. I just registered the domain.
U see that 205GTI in there ? And the JDM Sti wagon? Crazy
This video inspired me to buy a Reatta
I was already a 3800 lover, and I found out this car had one!
It took me about 2 months to find a good one. I purchased it last May for $950 dollars, talked down from $1200. He even gave me spare electronics (even a CRT screen!). The car needed some light welding on the frame, and a brakeline replaced. But other than that, I am absolutely in love with my Reatta. Its so quirky and retro, it really is a rare gem in GMs lineup.
(Interesting thing Doug missed, on the Summary screen the Radio and Climate control are stacked on top of eachother. When you switch the screen to either ‘tab’ the respective section remains in the same place as the summary screen. Just a nice touch GM put in.)
That cabriolet looks fantastic to my eyes!
As a Reatta owner. That horn is failing. The Reatta horn has 3 tones and it sounds like the middle pitch one is out
I too am a reatta owner, I have a 1989 in red, I really think that Doug score is so unfair to a unique hand crafted piece of automotive artwork, but he really needs to hone his scoring skills for all cars.
Car is fugly as hell
@Peter Evans how could you choose a car with a poorly designed rotary engine over the amazing GM 3800, more reattas exist than RX7s for a reason...none of them ran for that long. I would have thought that you were somewhat smart if you said that you had anything else, the miata started out as a reatta wannabe. For Pete's sake the Mazda company could not even hide it...miata...reatta...coincidence I think not. Sorry for your lack of automotive knowledge. The RX7 was a money pit.
@@christopherbuda6592 YUP, HE SEEMS TO KEEP FORGETTING THAT THIS CAR WAS SUPER HIGH TECH. I'D LOVE TO OWN ONE
@Peter Evans Rotary? Lol.
honestly... it looks like those 80's-90's big white running shoes
Accurate
It reminds me of those New Balance sneakers Corvette owners wear.
shoes that millenials die for nowadays
Dad shoes
Those and white tube socks with shorts came back in force last year on campus where I live. All the jocks and wannabee jocks are wearing that in the summer now.
My first car was a used 1988 Reatta/red. I did not want that thing. lol I remember an old lady giving me a thumbs up one time. My drivers side seat had an extra lumbar support and a weird power knee support that would raise up and down, which was pretty comfortable. There was an extra button next to the fog lights button, you pressed it and the glove box door would pop open. I use to press the button just to surprise who ever was in the passenger seat. It had 3 different low fuel reminders/alerts. The funniest one was the little animation of the gas tank blinking.
There was a set of spare keys made of plastic that I never trusted to use. Maybe there were only for making copies. At night if you lift the door handle the dome light would come on and a tiny light in the door lock would light up. Which was actually smart and keeps you from keying your own car. It came with combination ice scrapper/change holder/BOTTLE OPENER. lol
I have a strange craving to play Oregon Trail when watching him play with the touchscreen!
"No Smoking" was actually the owner's hope for all those 80's GM electronics
You're thinking of British cars with Lucas Electrics.
benn454 ah yes, the prince of darkness
Lucas sells replace wiring harness smoke.
Honestly for how electronically complex GM cars were at the time (I had an 89 Cutlass Supreme with almost as much technology as this car) they were amazingly reliable. The only thing that sucked were the Delco alternators (easily replaced with Bosch) ignition coils (another pretty easy fix) and fuel pumps that would go with the high sulphur fuel of the time.
Delco. Smellco when it's burning.
Wow, I had absolutely no idea that touchscreens existed in the 1980s, how cool! And honestly, it seems to be faster than a lot of touchscreens from the 2000s, and even some 2010s cars. Given, it is a lot more simple, but still.
There were a lot of touch stuff those times, not only screens - it was popular because looked modern and attracted customers, I had a rectangular table lamp made in 80s, it had metal stripes on each of the four sides and if I needed to turn the lamp on I had to quickly touch one of them, if I needed to set up a certain brightness I touched and kept a finger to slowly rise it to the necessary level.
@@freddyfriend5462 I have learned a lot today
This summer I owned a 91 Buick Reatta convertible. One of the 49 GM executive cars sold. I took it to the big Buick meet in Flint Michigan. The designer of the car was there and he picked my Reatta as his favorite out of 73 there in attendance. He signed my glove box. For a car guy, it was a once in a lifetime experience!
So this is the car that inspired the Soliad Wendover in BeamNG
Was looking for this comment
Screw a midsize SUV review...this sort of video is why I follow Doug!
I was genuinely blown away by that touch screen. So far ahead of it's time that its mind blowing.
GM at their best can be really innovative but for one reason or another they decide to cheap out the other 80% of the time
4:12 seeing 2020 in that font and in that colour in that context is just purest of arts and it makes me want to go buy a regal from buick showroom
I think you meant reatta
My first car was a used Buick Reatta. I loved this car. For my first car it was pretty good. Every time I see one it brings back fond memories.
I’m 18 right now and thinking about buying a 1990
Ive never see one in person before but ill never give up
Always admired the Reatta (or any other car with a minimal grille).
It's about 80% Riviera, repackaged.
Drove my '87 Rivi with pride for 20 years & miss it.
What you didn't mention is that GM was doing clearcoat on these way back then, before most other names, or you wouldn't have been able to show this one.
The 165 hp engine was cutting edge back then & fetched 30 to 32 mpg in a max 55 MPH world, 28 mpg in a 70 MPH world & was VERY reliable & long-lived.
The rear axle had inflatable shock abs & a compressor that automatically kept the car level.
You could fill the trunk with bricks & the headlights would still be in the right place on the road.
By holding the OFF & WARM buttons for 5 secs on the Climate screen, you could take it into "service" mode & dump codes with descriptions & overrides without plugging anything into the OBD connector.
The seat controllers matched the quirkey window & mirror controllers in 1986 - 1987.
There were 4 different lighting technologies on the dash: vacuum fluorescent, electroluminescent, CRT, & light bulbs, all made to render the exact same color & brightness (a hell of a trick).
You PUSH the slider to turn on the wipers in 'interval' mode & slide the slider to set the interval.
The flocked dashboard & door panel surfaces absorbed some sound & did not reflect sunlight on windows.
Regardless of whether these designs were of "the future", it was clear that GM put tons of effort into it resulting in a classy / functional interior that hasn't been seen since.
Did you live in Flint?
Thanks. Awesome info.
You can tell by the intro, Doug enjoys reviewing cars like this the most.
To be fair there are more 2 seater cars today that you could say that are not fun to drive if your saying that mainly on speed performance etc.
Being a car fanatic and having owned more cars than I can count in my life, even though I ever owned this car it left quite an impression on me at the time to the point I remember it very well, and if I am totally honest I would say it was very fun to drive even compared to cars 30 years newer, that is what I loved about it!! Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
How insanely cool are those electronics for that time! Really enjoyed this video.
It’s amazing to see that when auto manufacturers want to actually make something really nice and that can last a long time they can! Amazing to see this kind of tech 32 years ago and still works.
Good luck having a 2020 bmw touch screen work in 2050
Well, to be fair, the BMW won't be working in 3-4 years so 2050 is a non-starter.
Lmaooo! Touché
Ironically my coworker has a 2016 Porsche Cayenne and his screen/nav stopped working. Nicely enough they spilt the difference with him (still cost him $1,800) 🤦🏻♂️
And you can see why they don't, they put all this work into a car and were way ahead of their time but it didn't sell. Companies play it safe and go cheap because that's what's profitable.
ua-cam.com/video/2XG8MXdv_OU/v-deo.html
Boom...headshot
4:42 the spinning fan in the climate controls must be one of the coolest things i have ever seen in any cars climate control settings
He didnt show it, but if you set the trip computer you can the car icon drive down the road. That was my fav
I’m probably the only 13-year old watching Doug . I will always love your channel
10:09 my OG saab 9-3 has a thing that says info display and it tells you the message so if your low on coolant or your soft top isn't working and it tells you if your headlight is out it's pretty cool
When I was a kid in the 1980s, a friend of mine's dad had a Reatta. In addition to all the high-tech display and controls, his was fully decked out with all the options, including heated seats and an electric tire pump built into the trunk.
The cold weather in the Chicago area played havoc with the electronics though, and by the early 1990s much of the dashboard display had stopped working.
i had no idea that auto climate controls have been on cars since the 80s
Only had 2 options actually..sunroof and 16 way adjustable seats..rest was standard. The base price in 88 was 25k or 63k in today's money
It really sucks that the CRT died.
Wow, love to see that old school green screen with 2020 year on it. At this time is like Blade Runner times.
I love it too. It looks awesome, and functionally very well thought out as well. Knight Rider vibes :)
that touch screens even have auto pilot for hands free driving
Great video. Filled with retro reminders
Reminded me of its cousin the Pontiac Fiero.. loved the unique Buick branding
Pulse wipers. Auto lights. Corning lights
Many which Buick Cadillac etc had from the 60s 70 and beyond among other luxury details ..thanks again
Taste definitely comes into play on your reviews, Doug.
You dog out this car, the Chrysler Crossfire and the "retro" Ford Thunderbird - but I love all three and currently own two of them!
The touch screen blew my mind, I am one of those persons that press all screens and in some old ATMs and cellphones it takes my a while to figure out why they aren't responding, but this 80s car understands me, where would we be by now if they had used this in the c4 corvette?
Actually touchscreen technology is nothing new and has been around for a very, very long time. It is just that they were impractical due to the expense involved so you didn't see them until the cost came down. It's really not that complicated of a technology compared to some others though. Merely being able to respond to the slight electrical charge your body gives off. I'm more surprised that it was still working after all this time and that it was able to handle modern dates.
@@ram89572 The first touchscreens were developed by and for the British Army back in the late 60's. Regardless, it's amazing to see this technology already being used in 80's cars, let alone a Buick. And it still works!
@@Atombender Other Buicks and Oldsmobiles of the time shared the main viewscreen technology.
I'm seriously thinking of combining a reatta with the drivetrain and suspension of a C4 or C5. I have a spare reatta chassis that I don't want to sell for scrap... yet....
@@That_AMC_Guy Riviera was the only other one I was aware of. What others had them?
This is prime hooptie fleet material. (The new version of it where the cars are all in pristine shape)
Exhibits A through Z that you are completely clueless as to what this car is. You have access to Google and you still can't figure it out? Who ties your shoes for you??
@@houseofno I'm at a complete loss
@@houseofno Whats your problem?
@@AOL650 I think that was meant to be for Doug
@@houseofno You don't watch Hoovie's Garage eh?
Would have been so tempted to go 88 mph in a car like this.
This is the most interesting car that I've never heard of.
Idiot
Looking at that modern date in that 80’s touchscreen feels like a 80’s scifi movie: ‘Its january 2020 and LA is now a giant prison’
Hey, at least it was ready for Y2K.
Escape From New York
Lol I'm getting Running Man vibes
nerd
Not far off. It was actually in March of 2020 that LA, and most of the world, became a giant prison.
Love these cars and styling! Will look for one soon.
I used to have a 87 Buick Rivera which was basically the same car. I loved that car. Got many compliments on it. I always kept it super clean. Your video brought back a lot of fond memories. Mine was Rose in color, that’s what GM called it. Much nicer than the white.
Tfw you hear that certain sparkle in Doug's voice in the intro and you already know you're in for a treat.
He always seems more lively and excited when he reviews some weird 80s or 90s car compared to a new car.
Indeed,
I imagine the guy buying that car brand new and flexing on everyone with this screen like: "Soon every car will have screen like this".
And 30 years later it's finally happening...
I would actually pay extra to have this touch screen in my current car..... from 2015. So cool and nostalgic.
Buick should bring this and/or the Riviera back. Maybe both? A pair of coupés, one a proper muscle car and the other a small roadster, but make sure they’re both luxurious and well powered.
That would help the brand significantly, but the only cars they make are for divorced 48 year old women.
That screen is brilliant (for 1989)!
And it still works...
Can't wait for that F50 review you teased in the beginning!
Same here dude!
Nah, bring me more cars like this Buick .
More jewels like thissss one please, not crap wannabe supercars
@@e.c.listening326 Crap wannabe supercars?
Imagine if they would’ve given this Buick the Grand National engine from the same era. These things would be highly collectible.
I finally recognized where Doug was driving! In Oceanside on his way to Carlsbad, just before you get to El Camino Real and the 5 freeway! Woohoo! Love that road!