My mom owned a 1987 Somerset with a 2.5 "Tech 4". when I was growing up. I'm a mechanic now and this was the first car I ever worked on. The only things needed replacing in 150k miles were an oxygen sensor, oil pressure sensor, and the headlight switch. Very simple to work on. She traded it in for a 1993 Grand Am with a 2.3L Quad OHC, and that engine was a nightmare to work on. I was 16 and the head cracked, and this was the first major repair I ever did and it was soo difficult. I went for a job interview once and was asked about my experience and I stated that I replaced the head on a Quad4 by myself when I was 16 and was hired on the spot.
What a coincidence. A friend of mine had the same experience. They had a white Somerset Regal that served them well until it was broadsided by a red light runner, replaced with a Grand Am that was the butt of endless jokes.
Hey I didn’t know Diane Chambers from Cheers also did car vids for Buick in the 80’s. Anyways, I remember seeing a Somerset at the yearly new car show in 1985. It was powered up and they had the pod radio playing and I remember the awesome look of the interior and the blue-green digital everywhere. The stereo sound of that delco was pretty amazing too, at the time.
I love your 80’s-centric content Adam. Growing up in this era, it’s a great trip down memory lane for some very obscure cars. Having owned a K-car 1985 Reliant wagon and H-body 1988 LeBaron GTS, it’s nice to remember some of these extinct cars that were once a dime a dozen on the road.
The Buick Somersets with the standard AM radio had a built in extra. The radio functioned as a police radar detector. With the radio turned on when the car approached police radar in use the radio sound would turn to static. Great video Adam.
Thank you once again Adam. You can see the downsized 1986-1988 Buick Riviera inside and outside on this car. The 1989 Riviera model could not come fast enough. I also know that standard digital gauges went away in 1987 or 1988 and switched to analog cluster. They used to call this car Buick's little limousine. The sedan looked like a pint sized downsized 1985-1990 Buick Park Avenue. I did like the interior door handles and digital cluster. They car finally got power eventually. This car was forward thinking. It is interesting how the downsized Riviera took this theme and scaled it up in size. That hurt Riviera too. It was the same at Oldsmobile at the time because the Oldsmobile Toronado and Oldsmobile Calais were the same way with different interiors. The sedan Calais at Oldsmobile looked like a pint sized Oldsmobile Ninety Eight. These were so difficult times for GM indeed. GM was hurting itself. I also know that these cars the N Bodies were supposed to replace the G Body cars, but did not. The Grand Am was supposed to replace Grand Prix and Calais was supposed to replace Cutlass Supreme and this car was supposed to replace the Regal. Hence.. Somerset Regal. Thank you Adam. You have had some great content.
My general impression of the N bodies was that GM had gone too far with the downsizing and that the discontinued Omega was a better car for the money, although it lacked some of the innovative features of this car. Car & Driver complained that the driver's seats in the N bodies made the driver slide forward into a hunch, so one had to keep pushing back to maintain a tolerable driving position and that didn't surprise me. GM probably tried too hard to carve out some of the limited legroom for the rear passengers and ended up making both front and rear passengers a little uncomfortable.
@@pcno2832 very well stated. The whole downsizing era at GM 1985-1987 went way too far. GM suffered and paid for it big time. Ford and Chrysler cashed in. They( GM) had to spend money upsizing the cars from 1988-1992. They then were right sized. The new issue was in the 1990's and 2000's the midsized cars were too close in size to the full size models and then the suv and crossover era took off.
Ordered a 1985 Somerset Regal Limited coupe in March and it arrived a month later . It was loaded with every option including US Royal self sealing tires with very subtle, small white lettering. Kept it 2 years and drove it 24,000 miles. Loved how it rode and drove. Only warranty repair was replacement of the right Bose door speaker with a built-in amplifier because it developed a buzzing noise shortly after delivery. Thanks Adam for this great video, I had forgotten some of the unique instrument panel features.
Adam, writing from Australia...your channel has really grown over the past 12+ months and nicely filled a niche particularly for your overseas subscribers who never saw these cars on our roads. Your quality presentations and lack of ego is a breath of fresh air.
We had one of these! Dad drove the family to Disney World in 1986 for Easter. I was a nine year old in third grade. It was on that trip that Dad played The Beatles Greatest Hits 1962-1966. I became a drummer on that trip and continued to this day. After our Somerset Regal, we got a white Buick Century. In 1988, my Dad bought my mom a Regal for Christmas. I drove that car through high school. I really loved those cars. My Dad taught me how to wax a car with the Century. My best friend showed me how to use an orbital buffer on the Regal - and I make my living polishing and coating cars these days... A lot of my life happened in these 80's GM cars. After the Regal, I got a 93 GMC Safari, then a 99 Cavalier off the lot, a 2003 Monte Carlo SS red, my late father's 2006 Dodge Charger, and just recently my gf's old 2004 GMC Canyon. Next car might be an older Monte Carlo again, or a Charger in better condition.
This video brings back good memories. My ex-brother-in-law (now deceased) worked at the GM Tech Center. He bought an 84 Skylark T-Type with a manual, but soon sold it to a close friend of mine and we had a blast driving that car around town, even taking it to Chicago, very quick with a cool interior.
The same digital cluster was also used in the LeSabre and Electra as the optional digital cluster. The 86-89 Riviera used a slightly different version with the gauge options on the right replaced with a digital clock since the gauges were in the GCC.
I had seen the 1985 Buick sales training video before, so I knew about most of the Somerset Regal's features before watching this video. However, watching this video does give me some slight renewed appreciation for this car. The Somerset Regal name started life in 1980 as an optional package on the 1980 Buick Regal. This was an appearance package with a 2 tone navy blue and tan paint scheme, along with 2 tone navy blue and tan seats. I personally was never very impressed with the N body cars - but being reminded of some of the technology they used in the Buick version may have changed that slightly. The styling was, in my opinion, generic and not very inspired. They could have done better there. The powerplants, as you mentioned, were not all that impressive - though at least they used fuel injection on both the available powerplants, and not a carburetor, like they did on the base engine in the 1985 Electra! It amazes me that they had a fuel injected 3.0L V6 available in 1985 and they didn't use it as the flagship Buick, the Electra's, base engine! It also sort of amazed me that GM and Buick put so much effort into this car that is really just an economy car. But making smaller, more fuel efficient cars was the way the market was going at the time. I also think GM knew that at some point, the ultra popular rear wheel drive Regal was going to be replaced by a smaller front wheel drive car. That did ultimately happen when the W body came out in 1988 - but maybe the N body car, by calling it the Somerset Regal, gave customers the idea that, here is a smaller, more fuel efficient version of the then very popular Regal for your consideration. The high level of technology did not continue on this car very much past 1985 though. By the time the Skylark name was put on the coupe as well as the sedan in 1988, these cars had standard instrumentation. Adam, you get credit for praising some things about an 80s GM car that many people would have either dismissed or bashed. I personally liked the Buick brand in the 80s. They were a full line brand with 7 or 8 different models throughout the 80s. Any Buick model with a Limited trim level came with a very nice interior. And as you mentioned - they offered the interesting T Type models for a number of years on most of their models. I think the CRT in the downsized 86 Riviera and later Reatta, as well as what they did here on the Somerset Regal, were honest attempts at keeping Buicks modern and forward thinking. If someone hadn't bought a car since 1980 and walked into a Buick dealership in the mid 80s, I think the technological advancement would be evident.
Adam this was so awesome!!! So glad you’re venturing more in depth with BUICK! My favorite GM brands! Still restoring my 1990 Electra Park Avenue with the 3.8! Can’t wait til she’s ready! ❤️❤️ hope to see more! And more of your Buicks in your collection! My grandma had a 1985 Buick Skylark that looked like some that you showed. It was a nice little comfortable car! Very reliable too!!! ❤
I always look forward to your productions; they are consistently engaging and thought-provoking, but they often make me a bit too nostalgic for my youth. Looking forward to your next installment!
I was in college when this came out but didn't even look at American cars at the time, having been burned in the seventies. You're educating me with these excellent videos!
I loved the 2 door Somerset with the V6. It was a quick car for the day and quite well built. Most all Buicks were well built when compared to other GM's as component failure rate seemed way better. I say that as a dealer tech in the late 80's at a Buick, Pontiac, Cadillac, GMC dealer. Cadillac was the worse for quality and Pontiac was next with assembly quality being their main issue. GMC, even though built at the same plant, seemed to have better assembly quality than the Chevy. That said, my Dad's 89 Lesabre that he put a little over 200K on before wrecking had 3 PCMs and 5 alternators replaced in it's life. LOL The crappy TH440 trans lasted the life of the car though with services performed religiously every 15-20K miles. And of course there were a couple of waterpumps. Loved the sporty Somerset though. Probably the only front drive classic I wouldn't mind having. Well, maybe a Reatta if I could live with the inop screen. Thanks Adam!
Gotta love the thumbnail image... Buick Mom chillin' on the beach, leaning on her car, half full of Sangria, and laughing at everyone that is running toward the crazy person that was driving on the beach. 🤣 So much advertising during this period was just bonkers.
If I recall the 79-80 Buick regal had an Somerset trim package that looked very similar to the 78-79 Ford's Bill Blass Lincoln MK Vs, with that white and deep navy blue trim patterns externally and in cabin also. Saw a 1980 Buick Somerset at Syracuse Nationals 3 or 4 yrs ago , reminded me alot like the Bill Blass color scheme. I understand they are quite rare.
I was working as a mechanic at a Ford dealer during this time. I worked there from 1983 - 2006. Buick was at the top of their game in the 1980s, they were certainly offering more than Ford was putting out there. Thankfully, Buick.didn't offer trucks or they would have cleaned Ford's clock. I had a friend that worked at a Buick & Olds dealer during that time so I had an inside look at what they were selling. I wasn't aware that the Somerset came with an automatic trans. I didn't know much about the car anyway, but the two that Mike showed me were both manual transmissions. I just figured all of them were. It looks like a cool little car; a bit ahead of its time. The 1980s weren't a good era for any domestic automaker, but Buick sure made the best of it.
Love these videos and the ones focused on the 80/90's era of tech and advancement. I found a 85 Somerset in a junkyard a few years ago. Sad one as it was very rare. Dark green with tan cloth, 5 speed manual with power windows/locks. It had this same beautiful cluster and radio pod. Also a 4 cylinder car.
Buick has always been one of my favorite makes... as well as radwood era cars... Oddly enough when you showed the CRT on the riviera the date April 19th was my birthday
That interior is pretty rad for 1985. Kind of cracks me up how many different variations GM offered on lights, wipers, cruise control functions over the years. You get into a Toyota or Lexus from the 80's until perhaps 2017 and the controls for the lights, wipers, and cruise control are EXACTLY the same. Yeah the stalks might look a wee bit different over the years but they work the same and all of them have the same high quality feel, from a base pickup up to a Lexus LS460.
I really liked the mid 80s gm interiors, especially the somerset and camaro berlinetta. Also the photo shown of the gorgeous burgundy velour interior is simply awesome. Really wish modern cars had half the luxury these cars offered. Novel, interesting video
Wow, this brings me back to my younger days. Back in 85 I was 21 and I was a mechanic for Grand Buick, in Jamaica Queens. I remember all of these cars.
Buick salesman: Check out this beautiful instrument pod, inspired by the Porsche 928. Prospective buyer: 9:28? I’m in bed by then! But I do like sitting on my porch.
That clunky GM door slam she does @ 8:57 is hilarious 🙂On presumably a brand new car! I remember all GMs of that time period having that. Took GM abut 20 years to finally solve that "clunky" door closure on SOME of their Buick's and other offerings.
Oh you caught that too??? LMAO. I was thinking damn now I know what turned me off to these cars and era. At the time I was driving a 73 Delta 88 Royale Coupe and a 70 Mark lll.
You might remember Adam has both of those cars in his collection too and has even reviewed them on this channel. (black 75 Olds 88 coupe I think that he got in my home state of Wisc!). He points out the difference in the door closures and over all build quality in both in reviews🙂 His Mark lll is built significantly better.....
@@jakereal3604 By the time these Somerset Regals went to full production, Roger Smith's destruction of General Motors was in full force. He'd have ordered every car be built out of paper mache if they could just to save money.
I really liked the Somerset. In fact they were introduced when I worked for a Buick dealership. We got a one-year used one on the lot which had everything, including the color (charcoal gray), that I wanted. The dealer let me drive it home one night. As much as I really, REALLY liked it I was afraid there was no way I could afford it. I didn’t care for what came after it. So it was a desire that I had to pass on regrettably. Thank you for this story.
We had a 1986 Somerset from new until a drunk driver totaled it while parked in front of our house in 2001. White with a blood red interior. Started with my mom, then dad, brother, sister, before finally ending up with me. Loved the way it looked and drove, even with only four cylinders. Most comfortable car I've ever owned. Survived three student learners and at least 200k miles. Our Custom had crank windows and just the pod radio. Looked cool as hell, but there was no easy way to add a cassette or CD. It was a good little car, until I had it at the end of its life. Left me stranded many times. Loved that car, but it taught me that sometimes its best to walk away, before you spend three times what you paid for it in repairs!
Funny to call it tech centric. I remember these having a hot electronics smell in the winter, with the windows up and heater on. My 69Cadillac had more features but definity did not have dull blinking green and orange LEDs.
Such wonderful ideas and features -- I wonder if most buyers shopping for a car in this class considered it or knew of the high level of content. They were such "me too" GM cars it would have been very easy to pass it up. I will say I knew some folks who had the Pontiac and Oldsmobile versions -- long and pleasant ownership experiences for them.
Had a friend that had a 85'. It had a rare padded landau roof with smaller side windows. He had a lot of trouble with it, but it was a nice looking car.
These were nice little cars...my Grandfather (Mom's side) bought an '87 Limited new in Rosewood in and out. The color was quite attractive. They were much fancier than any of the competition inside, and fairly comfortable. The options list was very long...his car had about half the equipment. It was on the lot vs ordered personally or even searching inventories nearby. I wanted him to buy one with the 6 cylinder, but he said he would save gas with the 4, along with the equalizer and Concert Sound (if not Bose), but his had the regular cassette radio with extended range speakers in the rear. It sounded decent as I recall, aside from that exaggerated mid bass to make up for not having actual bottom. We had it even after he passed on at the end of 2000, where at the beginning of 2003 my father was using it and got into a bad accident, which totaled it.
My Uncle Bill was in charge of that CRT however, he was not real impressed and was provided a large sum to come up with something to bypass it altogether. Not real clear on what happened however, he ended up taking over all European Operations for most of the eighties until he was brought back to oversee some new designs such as, the Pontiac Bonneville convex cluster and hid then the presidential limo. Ive made comments about some of his history before, he only thought of his work as "just a job" He passed away last Sept at the age of 87.
I miss this old car,I had a 1985 Buick Somerset Regal,2 door, V6 2 tone blue car with aluminum spoiler,and aluminum rims.. Pretty peppy car,but had 13 inche rims,used tires like a siv.. Eventually I will buy another to relive my teenage yrs..
I remember in auto tech school in 1985 at milford nebraska started a gm school. They had these cars.The instrument panel and rear taillights had a wow factor.
My dad bought a red one in late January 1985. The next model year, 1986, the mandatory high-center brake light was standard. That year, 1986, everyone knew who had a new car. Airwolf was on TV at that time. We used to turn the car on and play with the digital dash (I was 13 at the time). The interior sucked. The plastic covering on the center console withered away. He junked it about 10 years after purchase. I learned how to drive in that car.
Adam what happened to your interview with Dennis Burke on the Cadillac Escalade? I enjoy all your videos and thanks for time and effort you put into them.
Adam Thanks we really appreciate you videos and your collection of pristine survivor cars. Most of us grew up with these cars and many of us drove them. You are the only one I know on You Tube with a channel dedicated to these cars.
For an 80s GM car that interior looks pretty plush. The electric window switches in the centre console was something GM Europe and Australia did. Saves money. Fancy having a digital am only radio as standard. BTW how futuristic did the Camaro Berlinetta's dash look! Reminds me of the same period Mazda 929 (Luce?) Dash or the XF Ford Fairmont Ghia dash.
I had a Somerset with the tech 4 that car was my main street drag car,I'd race red light to red light thru Warren Ohio, only thing I ever had to replace was the fuel pump ..the digital dash didn't work all the time a good smack on the dash would make it work again...if I could buy another one I'd buy it in a heartbeat..I got into these because they looked like luxury grand ams of the era but cheaper
I took my first driver's test and passed in my sister's 84 Z24. I was a Ford guy but thought it was nice and sporty at the time. It was a good car for her too, until it got enough age on it.
I had a somerset . The low travel switches were recalled and replaced. I drove the car to 165k miles. That’s when the radio quit and I wasn’t going to fix it. The 4 cylinder was ok . MY next car was a 4 door skylark with the train grill and 3.3 v6. I saw one on the road today.
The Skyhawk that I had Iwas a 3.0 multiport injected nice little car, my wife's grandmother gave it to me because no mechanic could figure out why it would stall at stop lights. Torque converter clutch was sticking so I simply unhooked the wire and off we went.
Always a great video, I wish you could use the same microphone throughout. The varying quality of the sound in all of the videos is very distracting from an otherwise excellent history lesson. We would all benefit.
The first new car I ever bought was a blue 1986 Buick Somerset 2-door. My daily driver when my wife and I got together was a 1978 New Yorker. I still had my first truck, a 1979 F-150. (don't be stupid, aint givin' that up) We loved the Somerset. Until. One night we were driving down a highway in BFE during a starless, moonless night. Pitch black outside was an understatement. Without warning, all the dashlights went out. They came back on about 30 seconds later. My wife turned up pregnant (she swore I had sumpin' to do with it) , and we wanted a 4-door car anyway. The next week, we traded it in on a 1987 Subaru GL Wagon. We drove the Subaru until 1998, when we gave it to one of my nephews.
My mom owned a 1987 Somerset with a 2.5 "Tech 4". when I was growing up. I'm a mechanic now and this was the first car I ever worked on. The only things needed replacing in 150k miles were an oxygen sensor, oil pressure sensor, and the headlight switch. Very simple to work on. She traded it in for a 1993 Grand Am with a 2.3L Quad OHC, and that engine was a nightmare to work on. I was 16 and the head cracked, and this was the first major repair I ever did and it was soo difficult. I went for a job interview once and was asked about my experience and I stated that I replaced the head on a Quad4 by myself when I was 16 and was hired on the spot.
That’s awesome
I would have hired you too! That's kinda impressive.
What a coincidence. A friend of mine had the same experience. They had a white Somerset Regal that served them well until it was broadsided by a red light runner, replaced with a Grand Am that was the butt of endless jokes.
I had a 1987 Somerset, too. The first car I ever bought. Had it 10 years and never any major trouble.
The 2.5 iron Duke was awesome, especially the late 80s one with balance shafs.
Adam is putting out content at an amazing rate. All of it quality too.
So true and it's great content too!
One of the best car channels on RUclips
Almost at 100,000 subs.
I look forward to the weekends when he posts the most.
Hey I didn’t know Diane Chambers from Cheers also did car vids for Buick in the 80’s.
Anyways, I remember seeing a Somerset at the yearly new car show in 1985. It was powered up and they had the pod radio playing and I remember the awesome look of the interior and the blue-green digital everywhere. The stereo sound of that delco was pretty amazing too, at the time.
I love your 80’s-centric content Adam. Growing up in this era, it’s a great trip down memory lane for some very obscure cars. Having owned a K-car 1985 Reliant wagon and H-body 1988 LeBaron GTS, it’s nice to remember some of these extinct cars that were once a dime a dozen on the road.
The Buick Somersets with the standard AM radio had a built in extra. The radio functioned as a police radar detector. With the radio turned on when the car approached police radar in use the radio sound would turn to static. Great video Adam.
Wow that's cool. Love the radio in this car
Thank you once again Adam. You can see the downsized 1986-1988 Buick Riviera inside and outside on this car. The 1989 Riviera model could not come fast enough. I also know that standard digital gauges went away in 1987 or 1988 and switched to analog cluster. They used to call this car Buick's little limousine. The sedan looked like a pint sized downsized 1985-1990 Buick Park Avenue. I did like the interior door handles and digital cluster. They car finally got power eventually. This car was forward thinking. It is interesting how the downsized Riviera took this theme and scaled it up in size. That hurt Riviera too. It was the same at Oldsmobile at the time because the Oldsmobile Toronado and Oldsmobile Calais were the same way with different interiors. The sedan Calais at Oldsmobile looked like a pint sized Oldsmobile Ninety Eight. These were so difficult times for GM indeed. GM was hurting itself. I also know that these cars the N Bodies were supposed to replace the G Body cars, but did not. The Grand Am was supposed to replace Grand Prix and Calais was supposed to replace Cutlass Supreme and this car was supposed to replace the Regal. Hence.. Somerset Regal. Thank you Adam. You have had some great content.
My general impression of the N bodies was that GM had gone too far with the downsizing and that the discontinued Omega was a better car for the money, although it lacked some of the innovative features of this car. Car & Driver complained that the driver's seats in the N bodies made the driver slide forward into a hunch, so one had to keep pushing back to maintain a tolerable driving position and that didn't surprise me. GM probably tried too hard to carve out some of the limited legroom for the rear passengers and ended up making both front and rear passengers a little uncomfortable.
@@pcno2832 very well stated. The whole downsizing era at GM 1985-1987 went way too far. GM suffered and paid for it big time. Ford and Chrysler cashed in. They( GM) had to spend money upsizing the cars from 1988-1992. They then were right sized. The new issue was in the 1990's and 2000's the midsized cars were too close in size to the full size models and then the suv and crossover era took off.
Ordered a 1985 Somerset Regal Limited coupe in March and it arrived a month later . It was loaded with every option including US Royal self sealing tires with very subtle, small white lettering.
Kept it 2 years and drove it 24,000 miles. Loved how it rode and drove. Only warranty repair was replacement of the right Bose door speaker with a built-in amplifier because it developed a buzzing noise shortly after delivery.
Thanks Adam for this great video, I had forgotten some of the unique instrument panel features.
The Bose option was pretty rare on these.
I really miss those mid to late 80's GM's where even the advertising was "the great American road belongs to Buick".
Adam, writing from Australia...your channel has really grown over the past 12+ months and nicely filled a niche particularly for your overseas subscribers who never saw these cars on our roads. Your quality presentations and lack of ego is a breath of fresh air.
Thx!
My Mom had an '86 Calais with the Tech 4, and it was a really good car.
You should do a video on the Reatta, cool little cars
THE best in-depth automotive styling/features channel...thx Adam...
We had one of these!
Dad drove the family to Disney World in 1986 for Easter. I was a nine year old in third grade. It was on that trip that Dad played The Beatles Greatest Hits 1962-1966. I became a drummer on that trip and continued to this day.
After our Somerset Regal, we got a white Buick Century. In 1988, my Dad bought my mom a Regal for Christmas. I drove that car through high school.
I really loved those cars. My Dad taught me how to wax a car with the Century. My best friend showed me how to use an orbital buffer on the Regal - and I make my living polishing and coating cars these days...
A lot of my life happened in these 80's GM cars.
After the Regal, I got a 93 GMC Safari, then a 99 Cavalier off the lot, a 2003 Monte Carlo SS red, my late father's 2006 Dodge Charger, and just recently my gf's old 2004 GMC Canyon. Next car might be an older Monte Carlo again, or a Charger in better condition.
This video brings back good memories. My ex-brother-in-law (now deceased) worked at the GM Tech Center. He bought an 84 Skylark T-Type with a manual, but soon sold it to a close friend of mine and we had a blast driving that car around town, even taking it to Chicago, very quick with a cool interior.
Nice little car. I like the radio arrangement too.
The same digital cluster was also used in the LeSabre and Electra as the optional digital cluster. The 86-89 Riviera used a slightly different version with the gauge options on the right replaced with a digital clock since the gauges were in the GCC.
Another great video about features that fly under the radar! Adam is building us an unmatched archive! Bravo!
I had a Somerset in high school. It was a pretty cool ride!
That pod radio looks like it would be a pain in the butt to adjust the volume or stations while driving.
I had seen the 1985 Buick sales training video before, so I knew about most of the Somerset Regal's features before watching this video. However, watching this video does give me some slight renewed appreciation for this car. The Somerset Regal name started life in 1980 as an optional package on the 1980 Buick Regal. This was an appearance package with a 2 tone navy blue and tan paint scheme, along with 2 tone navy blue and tan seats. I personally was never very impressed with the N body cars - but being reminded of some of the technology they used in the Buick version may have changed that slightly. The styling was, in my opinion, generic and not very inspired. They could have done better there. The powerplants, as you mentioned, were not all that impressive - though at least they used fuel injection on both the available powerplants, and not a carburetor, like they did on the base engine in the 1985 Electra! It amazes me that they had a fuel injected 3.0L V6 available in 1985 and they didn't use it as the flagship Buick, the Electra's, base engine! It also sort of amazed me that GM and Buick put so much effort into this car that is really just an economy car. But making smaller, more fuel efficient cars was the way the market was going at the time. I also think GM knew that at some point, the ultra popular rear wheel drive Regal was going to be replaced by a smaller front wheel drive car. That did ultimately happen when the W body came out in 1988 - but maybe the N body car, by calling it the Somerset Regal, gave customers the idea that, here is a smaller, more fuel efficient version of the then very popular Regal for your consideration. The high level of technology did not continue on this car very much past 1985 though. By the time the Skylark name was put on the coupe as well as the sedan in 1988, these cars had standard instrumentation. Adam, you get credit for praising some things about an 80s GM car that many people would have either dismissed or bashed. I personally liked the Buick brand in the 80s. They were a full line brand with 7 or 8 different models throughout the 80s. Any Buick model with a Limited trim level came with a very nice interior. And as you mentioned - they offered the interesting T Type models for a number of years on most of their models. I think the CRT in the downsized 86 Riviera and later Reatta, as well as what they did here on the Somerset Regal, were honest attempts at keeping Buicks modern and forward thinking. If someone hadn't bought a car since 1980 and walked into a Buick dealership in the mid 80s, I think the technological advancement would be evident.
Adam this was so awesome!!! So glad you’re venturing more in depth with BUICK! My favorite GM brands! Still restoring my 1990 Electra Park Avenue with the 3.8! Can’t wait til she’s ready! ❤️❤️ hope to see more! And more of your Buicks in your collection! My grandma had a 1985 Buick Skylark that looked like some that you showed. It was a nice little comfortable car! Very reliable too!!! ❤
Love the Buick Somerset, great vid!! 👍👍
Adam finding the dash and instrument pod from a '93-'95 928 GTS in the public domain! 928s pod did move up and down with column when it was tilted.
Owned a silver 85 Somerset…I remember the digital high tech interior very well! Had a 5 speed in it as well…enjoyed that car a lot!
I always look forward to your productions; they are consistently engaging and thought-provoking, but they often make me a bit too nostalgic for my youth. Looking forward to your next installment!
I was in college when this came out but didn't even look at American cars at the time, having been burned in the seventies. You're educating me with these excellent videos!
I loved the 2 door Somerset with the V6. It was a quick car for the day and quite well built. Most all Buicks were well built when compared to other GM's as component failure rate seemed way better. I say that as a dealer tech in the late 80's at a Buick, Pontiac, Cadillac, GMC dealer. Cadillac was the worse for quality and Pontiac was next with assembly quality being their main issue. GMC, even though built at the same plant, seemed to have better assembly quality than the Chevy.
That said, my Dad's 89 Lesabre that he put a little over 200K on before wrecking had 3 PCMs and 5 alternators replaced in it's life. LOL The crappy TH440 trans lasted the life of the car though with services performed religiously every 15-20K miles. And of course there were a couple of waterpumps.
Loved the sporty Somerset though. Probably the only front drive classic I wouldn't mind having. Well, maybe a Reatta if I could live with the inop screen.
Thanks Adam!
Gotta love the thumbnail image... Buick Mom chillin' on the beach, leaning on her car, half full of Sangria, and laughing at everyone that is running toward the crazy person that was driving on the beach. 🤣
So much advertising during this period was just bonkers.
I had a 1990 Buick Skylark Custom Coupe with the 2.5, it was loaded and it was a very reliable and comfortable car.
Wow ! Who ever saved these oddball cars do have great cars ! Very interesting cars !
If I recall the 79-80 Buick regal had an Somerset trim package that looked very similar to the 78-79 Ford's Bill Blass Lincoln MK Vs, with that white and deep navy blue trim patterns externally and in cabin also. Saw a 1980 Buick Somerset at Syracuse Nationals 3 or 4 yrs ago , reminded me alot like the Bill Blass color scheme. I understand they are quite rare.
had an 86 slylark , wife had the 86 somerset. we loved those cars . both had the 2.5 L four cyl . a good engine .
I was working as a mechanic at a Ford dealer during this time. I worked there from 1983 - 2006. Buick was at the top of their game in the 1980s, they were certainly offering more than Ford was putting out there. Thankfully, Buick.didn't offer trucks or they would have cleaned Ford's clock. I had a friend that worked at a Buick & Olds dealer during that time so I had an inside look at what they were selling. I wasn't aware that the Somerset came with an automatic trans. I didn't know much about the car anyway, but the two that Mike showed me were both manual transmissions. I just figured all of them were.
It looks like a cool little car; a bit ahead of its time. The 1980s weren't a good era for any domestic automaker, but Buick sure made the best of it.
Love these videos and the ones focused on the 80/90's era of tech and advancement. I found a 85 Somerset in a junkyard a few years ago. Sad one as it was very rare. Dark green with tan cloth, 5 speed manual with power windows/locks. It had this same beautiful cluster and radio pod. Also a 4 cylinder car.
Buick has always been one of my favorite makes... as well as radwood era cars... Oddly enough when you showed the CRT on the riviera the date April 19th was my birthday
That interior is pretty rad for 1985. Kind of cracks me up how many different variations GM offered on lights, wipers, cruise control functions over the years. You get into a Toyota or Lexus from the 80's until perhaps 2017 and the controls for the lights, wipers, and cruise control are EXACTLY the same. Yeah the stalks might look a wee bit different over the years but they work the same and all of them have the same high quality feel, from a base pickup up to a Lexus LS460.
I really liked the mid 80s gm interiors, especially the somerset and camaro berlinetta. Also the photo shown of the gorgeous burgundy velour interior is simply awesome. Really wish modern cars had half the luxury these cars offered. Novel, interesting video
Wow, this brings me back to my younger days. Back in 85 I was 21 and I was a mechanic for Grand Buick, in Jamaica Queens. I remember all of these cars.
Buick salesman: Check out this beautiful instrument pod, inspired by the Porsche 928. Prospective buyer: 9:28? I’m in bed by then! But I do like sitting on my porch.
That clunky GM door slam she does @ 8:57 is hilarious 🙂On presumably a brand new car! I remember all GMs of that time period having that. Took GM abut 20 years to finally solve that "clunky" door closure on SOME of their Buick's and other offerings.
And a bad sounding squeak when she gets out and closes the door again.
Oh you caught that too??? LMAO. I was thinking damn now I know what turned me off to these cars and era. At the time I was driving a 73 Delta 88 Royale Coupe and a 70 Mark lll.
You might remember Adam has both of those cars in his collection too and has even reviewed them on this channel. (black 75 Olds 88 coupe I think that he got in my home state of Wisc!). He points out the difference in the door closures and over all build quality in both in reviews🙂 His Mark lll is built significantly better.....
@@jakereal3604 By the time these Somerset Regals went to full production, Roger Smith's destruction of General Motors was in full force.
He'd have ordered every car be built out of paper mache if they could just to save money.
My 2005 Monte Carlo had it 😂
Adam, I highly recommend subscribers visit and enjoy Somerset County in England when they get the chance. The Buick Somerset... less so. 😁
Not New Jersey?
@@DanEBoyd 😂
@@DanEBoyd Ha Ha... Greetings from Monmouth County.
The lady hosting that dealer training video has the classiest accent. It's sort of like an 80's version of the transatlantic accent of old.
Love that sales pitch, Adam. Very cool 😎
I really liked the Somerset. In fact they were introduced when I worked for a Buick dealership. We got a one-year used one on the lot which had everything, including the color (charcoal gray), that I wanted. The dealer let me drive it home one night. As much as I really, REALLY liked it I was afraid there was no way I could afford it. I didn’t care for what came after it. So it was a desire that I had to pass on regrettably. Thank you for this story.
We had a 1986 Somerset from new until a drunk driver totaled it while parked in front of our house in 2001. White with a blood red interior. Started with my mom, then dad, brother, sister, before finally ending up with me. Loved the way it looked and drove, even with only four cylinders. Most comfortable car I've ever owned. Survived three student learners and at least 200k miles. Our Custom had crank windows and just the pod radio. Looked cool as hell, but there was no easy way to add a cassette or CD. It was a good little car, until I had it at the end of its life. Left me stranded many times. Loved that car, but it taught me that sometimes its best to walk away, before you spend three times what you paid for it in repairs!
Funny to call it tech centric. I remember these having a hot electronics smell in the winter, with the windows up and heater on. My 69Cadillac had more features but definity did not have dull blinking green and orange LEDs.
Digital gages framed in brushed aluminum with Allen bolts.
A curious and interesting premise. I look forward to more great content.
Such wonderful ideas and features -- I wonder if most buyers shopping for a car in this class considered it or knew of the high level of content. They were such "me too" GM cars it would have been very easy to pass it up. I will say I knew some folks who had the Pontiac and Oldsmobile versions -- long and pleasant ownership experiences for them.
Had no clue that was the Grand Am platform!
Had a friend that had a 85'. It had a rare padded landau roof with smaller side windows. He had a lot of trouble with it, but it was a nice looking car.
These were nice little cars...my Grandfather (Mom's side) bought an '87 Limited new in Rosewood in and out. The color was quite attractive. They were much fancier than any of the competition inside, and fairly comfortable. The options list was very long...his car had about half the equipment. It was on the lot vs ordered personally or even searching inventories nearby. I wanted him to buy one with the 6 cylinder, but he said he would save gas with the 4, along with the equalizer and Concert Sound (if not Bose), but his had the regular cassette radio with extended range speakers in the rear. It sounded decent as I recall, aside from that exaggerated mid bass to make up for not having actual bottom. We had it even after he passed on at the end of 2000, where at the beginning of 2003 my father was using it and got into a bad accident, which totaled it.
My Uncle Bill was in charge of that CRT however, he was not real impressed and was provided a large sum to come up with something to bypass it altogether. Not real clear on what happened however, he ended up taking over all European Operations for most of the eighties until he was brought back to oversee some new designs such as, the Pontiac Bonneville convex cluster and hid then the presidential limo.
Ive made comments about some of his history before, he only thought of his work as "just a job"
He passed away last Sept at the age of 87.
I had a Buick Electra T-Type in 1985... it was a great car
I miss this old car,I had a 1985 Buick Somerset Regal,2 door, V6 2 tone blue car with aluminum spoiler,and aluminum rims..
Pretty peppy car,but had 13 inche rims,used tires like a siv..
Eventually I will buy another to relive my teenage yrs..
There are many adjectives that come to mind when trying to describe this car, but "luxurious" is probably not one of them.
I remember in auto tech school in 1985 at milford nebraska started a gm school. They had these cars.The instrument panel and rear taillights had a wow factor.
Changing the name between the 2 and 4 door versions was confusing. Why would Buick do that?
LOVE the N-body❤, and great video
GM named a lot of cars "Cutlass" and "Regal". Confusing and brand diluting.
This was the only other car with the Regal name besides the regular G/W body Regals and only for one year.
Ahhhh, 'Somerset'!
What a way to make the Regal sound even MORE Regal-er, as if Regal wasn't regal sounding enough...😁
Buicks marketing surveys indicated 80 year olds held the word Somerset in high regard.
80s were FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Owned an 86’ Chevy Z24 with a digital dash/speedometer. At about 5k miles it went dark and had to replace it. But it was cool when it worked!
My grandparents owned a Somerset..I can't remember what year. I loved that car. It was black with red interior.
Well done!
"Electronics are designed to last a long, long time." Oh, you sweet summer child.
A similar radio "head" and remote tuner and casette setup were also used in the 88 - 94 trucks.
My dad bought a red one in late January 1985. The next model year, 1986, the mandatory high-center brake light was standard. That year, 1986, everyone knew who had a new car.
Airwolf was on TV at that time. We used to turn the car on and play with the digital dash (I was 13 at the time).
The interior sucked. The plastic covering on the center console withered away.
He junked it about 10 years after purchase. I learned how to drive in that car.
Adam what happened to your interview with Dennis Burke on the Cadillac Escalade? I enjoy all your videos and thanks for time and effort you put into them.
Upcoming
Adam Thanks we really appreciate you videos and your collection of pristine survivor cars. Most of us grew up with these cars and many of us drove them. You are the only one I know on You Tube with a channel dedicated to these cars.
Trivia: when you exceeded 85 mph, the digital dash would blink “85.” Some of them had 5 speeds.
For an 80s GM car that interior looks pretty plush.
The electric window switches in the centre console was something GM Europe and Australia did. Saves money.
Fancy having a digital am only radio as standard.
BTW how futuristic did the Camaro Berlinetta's dash look!
Reminds me of the same period Mazda 929 (Luce?) Dash or the XF Ford Fairmont Ghia dash.
Beautiful video. Thank you Adam for being a historian and keeping this history and automotive story alive...
I had a Skyhawk of that era and it had the Pod style radio premium Dolby.
My family has only bought Datsun/Nissan and Honda cars since the 1970’s. Seeing these videos on American cars is a lot of fun.
So did any discriminating car buyer- or Toyota
My aunt had a new blue Somerset. I thought it was such a pretty car. I had a blue Skyhawk coupe myself.
Buick originally designed this car as the replacement for the rwd Regal and it's original name was 'Regal'
Competing names with "Somerset" was the "Mao" and "The Long March".
I had a Somerset with the tech 4 that car was my main street drag car,I'd race red light to red light thru Warren Ohio, only thing I ever had to replace was the fuel pump ..the digital dash didn't work all the time a good smack on the dash would make it work again...if I could buy another one I'd buy it in a heartbeat..I got into these because they looked like luxury grand ams of the era but cheaper
My cousin had an 83 Cavalier Z24 and I thought her interior was awesome.
I took my first driver's test and passed in my sister's 84 Z24. I was a Ford guy but thought it was nice and sporty at the time. It was a good car for her too, until it got enough age on it.
I though the N cars were supposed to replace the A Special's (Cutlass Supreme, Buick Regal, and Pontiac Grand Prix), not the X Cars
It's an odd mix of standard and optional equipment. Digital dash is standard but rear defogger and FM radio are optional?
WAY better than the Ford Tempos my parents each ended up getting around this time.
5:57: I know this might seem weird, but I actually kinda still like that digital gauge.
The summerset with the 3.0 was a great car. Snappy and comfortable, unfortunately my ex got it in the divorce. Worth it!
this is the model and year car i was brought home from the hospital in when i was born...yes it was a t type, i rememberthis car was plus and fast
If you want quirky you should do a video on the 80’s Pontiac 6000 STE
What's the sleek coupe at 0:58
I had a somerset . The low travel switches were recalled and replaced. I drove the car to 165k miles. That’s when the radio quit and I wasn’t going to fix it. The 4 cylinder was ok . MY next car was a 4 door skylark with the train grill and 3.3 v6. I saw one on the road today.
The Skyhawk that I had Iwas a 3.0 multiport injected nice little car, my wife's grandmother gave it to me because no mechanic could figure out why it would stall at stop lights. Torque converter clutch was sticking so I simply unhooked the wire and off we went.
Always a great video, I wish you could use the same microphone throughout. The varying quality of the sound in all of the videos is very distracting from an otherwise excellent history lesson. We would all benefit.
My friend Patrick had one , it was rose colored 🥰
My dad owned Oldsmobile,Pontiac and Buicks
The first car I rode in with a digital dash was 1980 thunderbird. Weird car
I've always loved 80's Buicks, but I'm not feeling the comparison to the 928 interior, which looks amazingly modern by comparison.
I enjoyed the dealer film. The way the lady enunciates her words is something one does not hear much today.
Is that Shelley Long on the commercial?
Man I wish I had a map strap on my Silverado!
My mom had a 1986, two tone green... she only kept it one year and she traded it for a 1987 GNX.
The first new car I ever bought was a blue 1986 Buick Somerset 2-door. My daily driver when my wife and I got together was a 1978 New Yorker. I still had my first truck, a 1979 F-150. (don't be stupid, aint givin' that up) We loved the Somerset. Until. One night we were driving down a highway in BFE during a starless, moonless night. Pitch black outside was an understatement. Without warning, all the dashlights went out. They came back on about 30 seconds later. My wife turned up pregnant (she swore I had sumpin' to do with it) , and we wanted a 4-door car anyway. The next week, we traded it in on a 1987 Subaru GL Wagon. We drove the Subaru until 1998, when we gave it to one of my nephews.