Background: Shoppers comfortable with traditional American large-sedan luxury need look no further than the nearest Buick dealer. General Motors' Buick is one of only a handful of automotive nameplates without a minivan or sport utility vehicle dotting its showroom floor. In fact, after Buick discontinued the slow-selling Riviera coupe a few months back, it became an exclusive division of four-door, front-wheel-drive sedans. Buick's lineup for 1999 includes: Century's, Regals, LeSabres and Park Avenues. The larger-than-life, rear-wheel Roadmaster sedan was dropped a couple of years back. The front-wheel drive Park Avenue represents the most opulent and expensive on the lot. Still, prices fall under the $40,000 range, comparing favorably with domestic and foreign rivals. General Motors, the world's largest automaker, expects to sell 400,000 cars in 1999. Buick celebrates its 100th birthday in 2003.
Trim Levels: Park Avenue, as in years past, continues offering two trim levels: a well-equipped Base edition and the opulent Ultra edition featuring bells and whistles found on many competing luxury sedans.
Safety features: Driver and passenger-side air bags, daytime running lights, keyless remote entry, theft deterrent system, energy-absorbing steering column, front and rear crumple zones and anti-lock brakes come standard in both trim levels. Traction control and a tire monitoring system warning of low tire pressure come standard in Ultra while optional in Base. Also, all four Park Avenue doors automatically unlock within 15 seconds of air bag deployment.
Standard equipment: Both trim levels come well equipped and include four-speed automatic transmission, air conditioning, climate control/air conditioning, power steering, heavy-duty battery, tilt steering wheel, electronic cruise control, 10-way power seats, intermittent front windshield wipers, power mirror, windows and door locks; rear window defogger and tinted glass. Uplevel Ultras also include digital driver information center, heated front seats, heated outside mirrors and a right-side outside mirror that automatically tilts down when in reverse for better rear-view sightseeing when backing up. All these nuances come optional in Base Park Avenue. AM/FM/cassette six-speaker sound systems provide audio comfort in Base models while Ultra substitutes a compact disc player for the cassette player. For a few bucks extra, you can enjoy both systems.
Options: OnStar, General Motors' global satellite positioning system coupled with cellular phone technology, is optional in both trim levels as are sunroofs ($1,095), front window heads up digital display projection ($275) and chrome-plated alloy wheels ($695). A Gran Touring package including heavy-duty suspension, and 16-inch aluminum wheels is also an across-the-board option.
Price: Buick provided the Daily Herald with an up-level Park Avenue Ultra with a starting price of $36,025. After factoring options including: chrome plated wheels ($695) heads up display and upgraded suspension ($200), the bottom line totaled $38,150 including a $670 destination charge. Base Park Avenues start at $31,130.
Engines: Each trim level includes its own unique powertrain. Base models feature a 205 horsepower, 3.8-liter 3800 Series II V-6 while uplevel Ultra offers the supercharged, 240 horsepower Series II 3800 V-6. Both available engines are carryovers from previous years. Buick also offers the supercharged V-6 in the smaller Regal GS.
Seating comfort: Ultra's leather seating distinguishes itself from Base models cloth variety. Both can hold six passengers. Lightweight doors swing out effortlessly during entry and exit and drivers have good visibility in all directions. Our test-drive Park Avenue Ultra included an optional convenience console between the front bucket seats, reducing passenger capacity to five. This huge plastic center console's front portion flips forward revealing two cup holders while the backside, hinged at the right, contains a storage area and writing surface at the top. Somehow, the large console seems a bit cumbersome and out of place in an opulent luxury vehicle. Opt for six passenger comfort unless the extra power outlets inside for portable computers and fax machines head your priority list. In back, Three adult riders travel in comfort. Plenty of head and legroom comes standard. A arm rest folds down for added comfort, and cloaks a pass through window leading to the trunk for transporting skis and other long items.
Interior: Burled walnut trim extends from the doors to the center of the instrument panel on a traditional dashboard design extending from driver's door to passengers door. It's not the wrap-around dash design found in many mid-size and some large competitors. Our Ultra trim level included a far right, dashboard located slide lever for front seat passengers to regulate temperature settings. The turn signal stalk, home to windshield wiper controls and all cruise control functions, makes room for the gear shift found on the steering column's right side. The driver's door includes a barrage of buttons and dials controlling memory seat settings, and power window, locks and mirror controls. The chrome interior door handle rests low on the door parallel with the driver's knee. The traditional, rectangular-shaped instrument panel included four analog dials: speedometer, tachometer fuel gauge and temperature gauge. Along the bottom, the panel includes digital gearshift readout and optional digital message center providing fuel economy, range and miles-per-empty messages among others. Vertical push bottom selections, right of the instrument panel, allow drivers to choose what message pops up in the display. A digital compass is built into the rearview window's upper right-hand corner. Our test-drive Ultra also included the optional heads up display, which projects digital speeds on the windshield's lower area in front of the driver. This system turns on and off via a ceiling slide lever near the rearview mirror. Secondary radio volume and selection buttons, found on the steering wheel, allow the driver to change stations without hands ever leaving the wheel. A secondary fan speed control is also mounted on the steering wheel. The stereo system situates in the center of the dashboard above the climate control's square and toggle buttons. The radio's huge frequency display doubles as the digital clock. Two buttons switching on the heated front bucket seats are located on the dashboard, one on each side of the stereo. Buick positions circular trunk and fuel release buttons on the dashboard's underside, left of the steering column. A headlight pull knob is also left of the steering column on the dashboard.
Exterior: Both power side-view mirrors and four oval, flush-mounted exterior door handles are body colored. Mirrors fold in when brushed against immovable objects; a nice touch. The circular, locking fuel tank is found on the left, back fender and includes a tethered gas cap. Buick molds the radio antenna into the back windshield, averting possible car wash mishaps. The Park Avenue Ultra's front grille consists of vertical bar progressions with the familiar, center-mounted three shield Buick logo. Rectangular halogen headlights wrap around into the side fenders. New paint hues for 1999 include: silver metallic, blue metallic, gold metallic and bronze mist metallic. Park Avenue Ultra also adds Michelin tires as standard equipment.
Dimensions: Wheelbase: 113.8 inches Overall length: 206.8 inches Overall width: 74.7 inches Overall height: 57.4 inches Curb weight: 3,850 pounds
Trunk: The long, flat-floored trunk holds 19.1 cubic feet of luggage space while stowing a temporary spare underneath. It's the Buick family's largest trunk. Comparatively speaking, it's 3.0 cubic feet larger than the Oldsmobile Aurora's and 5.0 cubic feet more than the Lexus LS 400 offers. However, Mercury Grand Marquis and its sister car, the Ford Crown Victoria remain one of the largest with 20.6 cubic feet.
Fuel economy: Our up-level Ultra test drive car with the supercharged V-6 enjoyed 18 miles to the gallon in city driving and 27 m.p.g. highway. Base Park Avenues featuring the standard V-6 registers a gallon better in both city and highway travel. The Ultra's fuel tank holds 17.5 gallons of Premium unleaded fuel. Base Park Avenues utilize regular unleaded juice.
Final thoughts: Park Avenue's silky-smooth ride and traditional good looks aim at an more mature, over 50 audience seeking American-built comfort and convenience. It's spacious seating arrangement allows three back-seat riders to travel with head and leg room to spare. Ultra's $38,000 price tag compares favorably with several foreign and domestic competitors. A fully-loaded Oldsmobile Aurora, with its more radical interior and exterior layout shares the same $38,000 range while the Lexus LS 400 charges in excess of $60,000 with all the extras. |