Our family owned one for many years. As it got passed down from family member to family member it was utterly reliable and solid. The touch screen self-diagnosis feature was awesome! Best paint and body finish I've ever seen in the 80s GM car. Met its end when it got rear-ended on the highway at just under 200k. Great Car!
A couple at church had one if these brand new. They were revolutionary & unbelievable modern for its time. I find it very elegant for the 80s. If you drove this or the Cadillac back then! You were absolutely noticed & you were very wealthy
Seriously ahead of their time. They were like 20-30 years ahead of the screen thing. So cool how they got it to work, too. A TOUCH crt? Crazy stuff. GM really was a technology leader at one time. Sadly, that trait left GM as time went on.
When they turned it in to a drop top it really made a difference in looks, I believe. Wouldn't mind finding one of those and swap in a supercharged 3800 and make a sleeper no one would expect.
Nice reaction review Jon. I agree with you on about everything. I really liked how GM managed to integrate the 5 mph bumper into the style and look. At the time the 5 mph bumper always looked like it was just hung at the ends of the body. At $25K this price defines its market. Which probably accounts for its short life. I remember this 'unique' Buick for the era of GM cars. No rebadged copy-cat, here. Yes. This is the personal car for the Yuppies of the era.
I didn’t even know this existed before this video.😂But I love those pop up headlights and the technology in there is cool. I wish Buick made something quirky like this today.
These didn't really have a competitor. 🤔 Maybe the non-turbo versions of 300ZX or RX-7, neither of which had any sporting pretenses. Those had better driving characteristics and vastly superior interiors.
This is for someone that's wanted a 2 door buick but didn't need the backseat and didn't want to pay $5-10K more for a Riviera and the Reatta was produced from 1988-1991 it was Hand-assembled in Lansing Michigan with fewer than 20,800 units sold over four years
The Allante came out 1 year before the Reatta. I always thought the Reatta (even when seen from the side with the traditional roadster proportions of long hood/short rear deck) were beautiful - the coupes were nice, the convertibles were even better. Keep in mind what most of the rest of Buick's (and GM as a whole for that matter) lineup looked like - then look at the Reatta. Stunning. They were sporty but comfortable (for two) cars, interior was aimed at more mature (35-45) buyers rather than younger (18-30) buyers. Later on, they got rid of the touchscreen and LED dash - replaced by a more conventional radio/HVAC control stack and analog gauges in the dash due to buyers not being so fond of the extensive electronics. The powertrain was extremely reliable - the bulletproof 3.8L 3800 V6 mated to a 4 speed Turbo-Hydramatic transmission. The Reatta was a two seat luxury sporty cruiser - it's $25K price would work out to just shy of $50K today (and closer to $65K for a convertible). Finding one in decent shape today is a task though, especially since they only built 21,751 (coupes and convertibles combined) over a 4 year production run. The target audience was as a 2nd or 3rd car for a young (35-45 year old), fairly well-off/affluent buyer - something with just 2 seats that doesn't take a daredevil to drive, something that doesn't ride rock hard, or that has to be manually shifted (especially for those city dwellers who have to deal with bumper to bumper traffic on the daily. The Fiero was for the 18-30 year old buyer, and the Allante was for the 45-65+ year old buyer who either couldn't bring themselves to shell out 25% more for a Mercedes SL class or wouldn't buy a Mercedes SL (and back in the late 80's you still had a fair number of older affluent buyers who wouldn't go with anything other than a Cadillac or Lincoln).
The Allante WAS OVERPRICED and a very complicated manufacturing process. Body made in Europe, THEN FLOWN !!! to US for the Caddy mechanicals. Better to say GM / Pininfarina. BETTER TO BUY THE DESIGN, MAKE IT HERE. Streamline production, lower cost thereby increase unit sales.
@@adrianmonk4440 Cadillac had Pininfarina make the body in Italy and then flew it via specially modified Boeing 747 for prestige reasons. Not cost effective, but Caddy figured that if you are in the Allante's target market (the same folks that would normally buy a Mercedes SL or Jaguar XJS Convertible) then a few thousand extra dollars that the body from Italy cost wouldn't matter. You have to realize that the $54K-60K that the car stickered for in 1987 is equivalent to $150K-$165K today. Even then, the Allante didn't come into it's own until it's last year of production when it got the 295 hp/290 ft-lb torque Northstar V8. Prior to that it had used the 4.1L HT-4100 V8 (1987 and 1988, rated at 170hp/235 ft-lbs torque) or the 4.5L HT-4500 V8 (1989-1992, rated at 200 hp/270 ft-lbs torque). which was well behind that of the SL or XJS convertible.
@jameshastey3058 /// Thumbs Up. Excellent. WHEN the Lexus LS 400 launched (Ad, car on dynamometer with Champaign glass tree on hood), No vibration .... It came at a moderate discount.
@@adrianmonk4440 I remember that ad! Lexus did indeed change the luxury car game (and expectations) when it came out - and made luxury car buyers demand more from traditional luxury car brands. Acura had come out first back in 1986 model year, and while it was a distinct step above other Japanese cars, it was still very Japanese in nature. The Lexus was far more like a Mercedes-Benz - but more reliable and smoother - at a price that was about 10% less than a Mercedes.
I liked them when they came out. At one point I considered buying one to commute back and forth to work. But I bought a hatchback Mustang instead because it was just more functional.
When I think of this car, the closest approximation I can come up with is Acura. The styling is not stodgy General motors styling of this era particularly under Buick, the focus on using a V6 engine, and I can see where a company That made the t-type LeSabre would consider this to be a very sporty car. The things that destroy it like you pointed out are the rear window, the dash, the lack of a manual transmission option, the lack of serious performance. I think that there could have been a place for this car even using front wheel drive if the allante didn't exist as a front wheel drive vehicle as well. If this had come with either a supercharged or turbocharged variant of the 3800 and had an optional manual transmission, Lost the rear window design and put in a sporty dash, I think this could have had potential. I think Buick was trying to go in the direction that Oldsmobile ultimately went in but at the last minute they switched strategies. Buick had been building up an attempt to be sportier with the t-type, the Grand national, and this. Then suddenly they decide to take away the performance credentials from Buick and focus the more youthful direction towards Oldsmobile. That's my observation at least. Let me know what you think.
The best the about the car was the powertrain. had the same set up in a lesabre I owned. Use to be a gm tech before alot of the dealers got shut down in 2009. the boss had one and picked up another that had a bad engine because of poor workman ship from another repair shop . They were the only 2 that I saw in person. i agree with you on the rear end styling, could have been better. Looks like it should have had a hatchback.
Jon, if this car had gotten the supercharged 3800 V6 it would have survived a lot longer. Even the Series 2 supercharged 3800 V6(240hp) would have made the Reatta a much better car. By the way, the Cadillac Allante actually came a year earlier than the Reatta(in 1987).
I think like shooing flies away, GM / Chevrolet tries to keep models AWAY from or substitute for the Corvette. A hot engine Regatta would probably been too close for comfort.
I thought these were really striking when they came out - a true WOW car. Agree there were some bad angles, but overall they were a knockout. Knew someone who bought two; one to drive, one to save. Lost track, don't know what happened to them. But the CRT, ugh. Well, it was the late 80s, and I'm a button guy anyway - menus are distracting, and I resent having to look aways from the road. And it just wasn't sports enough - at the very least, they could have given it some extra hp to compete at the price. I BS'd my way into a test with accompanying song and dance about the craft center, but $$ well beyond me at the time.
In 1983, the good old Britsh Leyland Maestro had what they proudly announced was "the worlds first talking dash". However, in foreign markets, when converted to different languages, it told people to more or less F**K off. But this Buick looks to be an attractive design. Dare I state it though: this was from a time of variety when manufacturers felt free to take chances and produce something that might appeal to the market. Going forward, with all of this hybrid/EV global warming dogma, it seems they are no longer permitted to make what most people feel comfortable about buying, let alone actually want to own.
AFTER 120 YEARS, One would think Automotive Management WOULD BE A LITTLE MORE INSIGHTFUL. That all said.... there is Group Think, Committees, Bean Counters, & Layers of Approval required. To their credit.... THEY ARE ROLLING THE DICE ON 10s of Millions of Dollars. No one wants to be the scapegoat or fall guy. Rarely does an Exec want to be the Champion on a vehicle project.
@wescam2958 // DeLorean was The Man with the Pontiac GTO. That said, the DeLorean DMC-12 was a convulsion of British Investment, Innovation, Faults, High price, Uniqueness, inexperienced Irish Assembly, and underpowered, Euro 6 cylinder engine. IF IT WASN'T FOR BACK TO THE FUTURE...
There was one in our family ... after driving a friends Riv... I was completely underwhelmed - this thing needed the GNX drivetrain and ditch the digital bs.
I agree with you Jon, it always was a good looking car, makes the Allante just look ugly. Typical GM decisions of the 80's killed it (too much design interference, way too expensive, way too much unnecessary technology).
3:20 - That front end, with 29 feet (or whatever it is) of overhang in front of the wheels, looks awful because the rear end, with 8 inches of rear overhang, is so short. I like some details of this car, but hate it overall. There was no muscle; handling was pitiful; fit, finish, and layout of the dashboard is poor... The interior was nowhere near as pleasing as the exterior (despite the awkward proportions.)
Our family owned one for many years. As it got passed down from family member to family member it was utterly reliable and solid. The touch screen self-diagnosis feature was awesome! Best paint and body finish I've ever seen in the 80s GM car. Met its end when it got rear-ended on the highway at just under 200k. Great Car!
A couple at church had one if these brand new. They were revolutionary & unbelievable modern for its time. I find it very elegant for the 80s. If you drove this or the Cadillac back then! You were absolutely noticed & you were very wealthy
This car, the Riviera and the Tornado are the first mass production cars to have the touch screen. So ahead of the times.
Seriously ahead of their time. They were like 20-30 years ahead of the screen thing. So cool how they got it to work, too. A TOUCH crt? Crazy stuff. GM really was a technology leader at one time. Sadly, that trait left GM as time went on.
When they turned it in to a drop top it really made a difference in looks, I believe. Wouldn't mind finding one of those and swap in a supercharged 3800 and make a sleeper no one would expect.
Nice reaction review Jon. I agree with you on about everything. I really liked how GM managed to integrate the 5 mph bumper into the style and look. At the time the 5 mph bumper always looked like it was just hung at the ends of the body. At $25K this price defines its market. Which probably accounts for its short life. I remember this 'unique' Buick for the era of GM cars. No rebadged copy-cat, here. Yes. This is the personal car for the Yuppies of the era.
Yes. The market was yuppies. Unfortunately they were in love with BMW and couldn't be persuaded.
I didn’t even know this existed before this video.😂But I love those pop up headlights and the technology in there is cool. I wish Buick made something quirky like this today.
👍
Green horn. LoL
@@8corymix8Haha. Yeah…
My final video before bed. This is a really interesting looking car, a 280Z competitor?. _Buicks are exotic to me._ 😊
These didn't really have a competitor. 🤔 Maybe the non-turbo versions of 300ZX or RX-7, neither of which had any sporting pretenses. Those had better driving characteristics and vastly superior interiors.
This is for someone that's wanted a 2 door buick but didn't need the backseat and didn't want to pay $5-10K more for a Riviera and the Reatta was produced from 1988-1991 it was Hand-assembled in Lansing Michigan with fewer than 20,800 units sold over four years
The Allante came out 1 year before the Reatta. I always thought the Reatta (even when seen from the side with the traditional roadster proportions of long hood/short rear deck) were beautiful - the coupes were nice, the convertibles were even better. Keep in mind what most of the rest of Buick's (and GM as a whole for that matter) lineup looked like - then look at the Reatta. Stunning. They were sporty but comfortable (for two) cars, interior was aimed at more mature (35-45) buyers rather than younger (18-30) buyers. Later on, they got rid of the touchscreen and LED dash - replaced by a more conventional radio/HVAC control stack and analog gauges in the dash due to buyers not being so fond of the extensive electronics. The powertrain was extremely reliable - the bulletproof 3.8L 3800 V6 mated to a 4 speed Turbo-Hydramatic transmission. The Reatta was a two seat luxury sporty cruiser - it's $25K price would work out to just shy of $50K today (and closer to $65K for a convertible). Finding one in decent shape today is a task though, especially since they only built 21,751 (coupes and convertibles combined) over a 4 year production run. The target audience was as a 2nd or 3rd car for a young (35-45 year old), fairly well-off/affluent buyer - something with just 2 seats that doesn't take a daredevil to drive, something that doesn't ride rock hard, or that has to be manually shifted (especially for those city dwellers who have to deal with bumper to bumper traffic on the daily. The Fiero was for the 18-30 year old buyer, and the Allante was for the 45-65+ year old buyer who either couldn't bring themselves to shell out 25% more for a Mercedes SL class or wouldn't buy a Mercedes SL (and back in the late 80's you still had a fair number of older affluent buyers who wouldn't go with anything other than a Cadillac or Lincoln).
The Allante WAS OVERPRICED and a very complicated manufacturing process. Body made in Europe, THEN FLOWN !!! to US for the Caddy mechanicals. Better to say GM / Pininfarina. BETTER TO BUY THE DESIGN, MAKE IT HERE. Streamline production, lower cost thereby increase unit sales.
@@adrianmonk4440 Cadillac had Pininfarina make the body in Italy and then flew it via specially modified Boeing 747 for prestige reasons. Not cost effective, but Caddy figured that if you are in the Allante's target market (the same folks that would normally buy a Mercedes SL or Jaguar XJS Convertible) then a few thousand extra dollars that the body from Italy cost wouldn't matter. You have to realize that the $54K-60K that the car stickered for in 1987 is equivalent to $150K-$165K today. Even then, the Allante didn't come into it's own until it's last year of production when it got the 295 hp/290 ft-lb torque Northstar V8. Prior to that it had used the 4.1L HT-4100 V8 (1987 and 1988, rated at 170hp/235 ft-lbs torque) or the 4.5L HT-4500 V8 (1989-1992, rated at 200 hp/270 ft-lbs torque). which was well behind that of the SL or XJS convertible.
@jameshastey3058 /// Thumbs Up.
Excellent. WHEN the Lexus LS 400 launched (Ad, car on dynamometer with Champaign glass tree on hood), No vibration ....
It came at a moderate discount.
@@adrianmonk4440 I remember that ad! Lexus did indeed change the luxury car game (and expectations) when it came out - and made luxury car buyers demand more from traditional luxury car brands. Acura had come out first back in 1986 model year, and while it was a distinct step above other Japanese cars, it was still very Japanese in nature. The Lexus was far more like a Mercedes-Benz - but more reliable and smoother - at a price that was about 10% less than a Mercedes.
I think the market was your typical Buick buyer, not a conquest car. My neighbor has the convertible and drives it daily all summer.
I liked them when they came out. At one point I considered buying one to commute back and forth to work.
But I bought a hatchback Mustang instead because it was just more functional.
One major weakness of Reatta is the rear taillight, sun damage after 3 yrs.
When I think of this car, the closest approximation I can come up with is Acura. The styling is not stodgy General motors styling of this era particularly under Buick, the focus on using a V6 engine, and I can see where a company That made the t-type LeSabre would consider this to be a very sporty car. The things that destroy it like you pointed out are the rear window, the dash, the lack of a manual transmission option, the lack of serious performance. I think that there could have been a place for this car even using front wheel drive if the allante didn't exist as a front wheel drive vehicle as well. If this had come with either a supercharged or turbocharged variant of the 3800 and had an optional manual transmission, Lost the rear window design and put in a sporty dash, I think this could have had potential. I think Buick was trying to go in the direction that Oldsmobile ultimately went in but at the last minute they switched strategies. Buick had been building up an attempt to be sportier with the t-type, the Grand national, and this. Then suddenly they decide to take away the performance credentials from Buick and focus the more youthful direction towards Oldsmobile. That's my observation at least. Let me know what you think.
I liked it back then and still do today.
But everytime, it would have fitted to my life (no kids), I couldn't afford it.
The best the about the car was the powertrain. had the same set up in a lesabre I owned. Use to be a gm tech before alot of the dealers got shut down in 2009. the boss had one and picked up another that had a bad engine because of poor workman ship from another repair shop . They were the only 2 that I saw in person. i agree with you on the rear end styling, could have been better. Looks like it should have had a hatchback.
Love the styling, gives me serious Rover SD1 vibes. Shame about the interior tho.
OMG. When it braked, I thought it was going to stand on its front. That rear went WAY up.
Jon, if this car had gotten the supercharged 3800 V6 it would have survived a lot longer. Even the Series 2 supercharged 3800 V6(240hp) would have made the Reatta a much better car. By the way, the Cadillac Allante actually came a year earlier than the Reatta(in 1987).
Oh... what could have been. Reatta T-Type. :)
@@AllCarswithJon I agree with you. A Reatta T-Type would have been an interesting touring car. Especially if it had the Series 2 supercharged 3800.
I think like shooing flies away, GM / Chevrolet tries to keep models AWAY from or substitute for the Corvette. A hot engine Regatta would probably been too close for comfort.
I thought these were really striking when they came out - a true WOW car. Agree there were some bad angles, but overall they were a knockout. Knew someone who bought two; one to drive, one to save. Lost track, don't know what happened to them. But the CRT, ugh. Well, it was the late 80s, and I'm a button guy anyway - menus are distracting, and I resent having to look aways from the road. And it just wasn't sports enough - at the very least, they could have given it some extra hp to compete at the price. I BS'd my way into a test with accompanying song and dance about the craft center, but $$ well beyond me at the time.
In 1983, the good old Britsh Leyland Maestro had what they proudly announced was "the worlds first talking dash". However, in foreign markets, when converted to different languages, it told people to more or less F**K off. But this Buick looks to be an attractive design. Dare I state it though: this was from a time of variety when manufacturers felt free to take chances and produce something that might appeal to the market. Going forward, with all of this hybrid/EV global warming dogma, it seems they are no longer permitted to make what most people feel comfortable about buying, let alone actually want to own.
American TR7??
I have never heard of this car!
Classic GM mess up. They did not come out with the convertable until it was canceled
AFTER 120 YEARS, One would think Automotive Management WOULD BE A LITTLE MORE INSIGHTFUL.
That all said....
there is Group Think, Committees, Bean Counters, & Layers of Approval required. To their credit.... THEY ARE ROLLING THE DICE ON 10s of Millions of Dollars. No one wants to be the scapegoat or fall guy. Rarely does an Exec want to be the Champion on a vehicle project.
@@adrianmonk4440 True. But, Delorean was a good champion.
@wescam2958 //
DeLorean was The Man with the Pontiac GTO. That said, the DeLorean DMC-12 was a convulsion of British Investment, Innovation, Faults, High price, Uniqueness, inexperienced Irish Assembly, and underpowered, Euro 6 cylinder engine. IF IT WASN'T FOR BACK TO THE FUTURE...
@wescam2958 //
Lee Iacocca was champion of the Mustang. Henry Ford II said to him, "This better sell, or it's your hide.
@adrianmonk4440 And it sold, but ultimately it was still his hide. :)
Awesome
There was one in our family ... after driving a friends Riv... I was completely underwhelmed - this thing needed the GNX drivetrain and ditch the digital bs.
I mostly saw 40 to 55 year old professional woman driving them .
I agree with you Jon, it always was a good looking car, makes the Allante just look ugly. Typical GM decisions of the 80's killed it (too much design interference, way too expensive, way too much unnecessary technology).
1st comment!
The car has FWD proportions. You can tell the rear wheels are not powered.
A sad result of a FWD Fiero "poser" was my original opinion in 1987...
If you say this car is posing...is it fair if we say that you are posing as well?
3:20 - That front end, with 29 feet (or whatever it is) of overhang in front of the wheels, looks awful because the rear end, with 8 inches of rear overhang, is so short.
I like some details of this car, but hate it overall. There was no muscle; handling was pitiful; fit, finish, and layout of the dashboard is poor... The interior was nowhere near as pleasing as the exterior (despite the awkward proportions.)