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Buick Skyhawk - Half as bad

Name: Buick Skyhawk 1979
Brand: Buick

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Created on February 16, 2023

Text:

Paul Krüger, translated by DeepL

Photos:

Bruno von Rotz

Archiv

Bruno von Rotz

Archiv

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Buick Skyhawk (1979) - in the color "Bright Yellow"

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Buick Skyhawk (1979) - decorative strips and wheel arch chrome distinguish it from the cheaper "Skyhawk S"

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Buick Skyhawk (1979) - somewhat jagged front with many air intakes

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Buick Skyhawk (1979) - rear end inspired by European sports cars

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Buick Skyhawk (1979) - Alloy wheels from sister model Pontiac Sunbird

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Buick Skyhawk (1979) - For the 1979 model year, the twin headlights had to make way for single units

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Buick Skyhawk (1979) - German Bosch headlights surrounded by US gap dimension tolerances of the seventies

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Buick Skyhawk (1979) - The headlights sit low in a shock-absorbing nose made of soft plastic

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Buick Skyhawk (1979) - The hawk "Happy" was Buick's heraldic animal from 1975 to 1989

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Buick Skyhawk (1979) - Nameplate with interesting ligature and engine capacity in a different typeface

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Buick Skyhawk (1979) - plain folding door handle with insert in body color

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Buick Skyhawk (1979) - The end of the rear side window is covered by a slotted panel

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Buick Skyhawk (1979) - Side position lights cleverly integrated into the rear lights

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Buick Skyhawk (1979) - The hawk is also embossed in the lenses of the rear lights

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Buick Skyhawk (1979) - Lockable gas cap with conspicuous number of warning notices

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Buick Skyhawk (1979) - Emblem on the brushed "Roof Crown Molding"

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Buick Skyhawk (1979) - Cut sports mirrors in body color

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Buick Skyhawk (1979) - low, elegant rear lights

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Buick Skyhawk (1979) - "American Sunroof Corporation" sticker in the door frame, although the car has no sunroof at all

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Buick Skyhawk (1979) - Mandatory reference to mirrors with aspherical glass

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Buick Skyhawk (1979) - Optional "Rallye Steering Wheel" that looks amazingly similar to the one from the Corvette

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Buick Skyhawk (1979) - Speedometer up to 200 km/h. Rev counter and electric clock cost - how could it be otherwise? - extra charge, of course

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Buick Skyhawk (1979) - Three-speed automatic with "sporty" center shift. The lavish center console has no other purpose than to conceal the gear selector and parking brake

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Buick Skyhawk (1979) - Interior as a seventies time capsule. The variety of ways in which plastics and shades of brown can be combined is remarkable

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Buick Skyhawk (1979) - Well-hidden locking pin in the driver's armrest

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Buick Skyhawk (1979) - Filigree lever for adjusting the left exterior mirror

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Buick Skyhawk (1979) - Mono radio with "wooden" buttons. On the left the switch for the optional rear window heating

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Buick Skyhawk (1979) - Large loading hatch, small trunk. But the rear seat bench can be folded down

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Buick Skyhawk (1979) - Plush seat covers with typical period pattern

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Buick Skyhawk (1979) - Air conditioning at extra cost

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Buick Skyhawk (1979) - Imported by GM Suisse, but built in Lordstown, Ohio

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Buick Skyhawk (1979) - 3.8-liter V6 with 110 hp according to DIN

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Buick Skyhawk (1979) - Even an objectively lousy car can give great driving pleasure

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Buick Skyhawk (1979) - Driver and car with similar facial expressions

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Buick Skyhawk (1979) - Lame and poorly finished, but with great sound and a terrific "Simon & Simon" feel

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Buick Skyhawk (1979) - Is that still a happy grin or already a maniacal grimace?

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Buick Skyhawk (1979) - Swiss first delivery and 30 years in one hand.

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Buick Skyhawk (1979) - From the rear, it almost looks like an AMC Pacer Coupé

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Buick Skyhawk (1979) - Too narrow and too high. DeKon Engineering proved as early as 1976 how good an H-body can look with the right chassis height

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Buick Skyhawk (1975) - blurred factory photo

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Buick Skyhawk (1975) - Interior with "Rallye Steering Wheel"

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Buick Skyhawk (1975) - the smallest Buick for 60 years

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Buick Skyhawk (1975) - Factory photo with lady

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Buick Skyhawk (1975) - at a European motor show

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Buick Skyhawk (1975) - contemporary factory photo

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Chevrolet Monza 2+2 Hatchback Coupe (1975) - Illustration from the sales brochure

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Chevrolet Monza Towne Coupe (1976) - with notchback and straight front

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Chevrolet Monza 2+2 Hatchback Coupe (1976) - with the optional "Sport Mirrors"

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Chevrolet Monza 2+2 Hatchback Coupe (1975) - Factory photo

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Chevrolet Monza Super Spyder II (1976) - Study with 16-valve engine from Cosworth

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Buick Skyhawk (1976) - Factory photo with lady

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Buick Skyhawk 2-Door Hatchback Coupe (1976) - with tinted glass "Astroroof"

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Buick Skyhawk (1977) - Factory photo with lady

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Buick Skyhawk (1978) - with "Astroroof" and brushed roof bar

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Oldsmobile Starfire (1975) - a "super coupe" according to the brochure

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Oldsmobile Starfire Sport Coupe (1975) - functional air vent on the B-pillar

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Oldsmobile Starfire Sport Coupe (1975) - "The Oldsmobile you didn't expect"

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Oldsmobile Starfire GT (1976) - "Raised-Letter Tires", additional instruments and rally tires as standard

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Oldsmobile Starfire Sport Coupe (1975) - Factory photo

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Pontiac Sunbird 2-Door Coupe (1976) - with "Opera Windows" and vinyl roof

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Pontiac Sunbird GT (1976) - with "Raised-Letter Tires" and sport steel wheels

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Pontiac Sunbird 2-Door Coupe (1976) - Factory photo

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Pontiac Sunbird 2-Door Coupe (1976) - the upscale version of the Chevrolet Monza Towne Coupe

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Ferrari 365 GTC/4 (1971) - The stylistic role model for the Chevrolet Monza

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Summary

If you judge the quality of a car solely by how many liters of paint have been sprayed, how many cows have been skinned and how many nut trees have been uprooted, you can ignore this article. However, if you don't have such a narrow view of body fittings and plastic is your preferred material, we have something for you: a car with Italian lines and American nonchalance - and a finish to match. This article tells the story of the Buick Skyhawk and why it is almost a good car.

This article contains the following chapters

To melt away
Smooth running at last
Known from film and television
Weak sequel

Estimated reading time: 9min

Preview (beginning of the article)

Spontaneous combustion, unauthorized continuous full throttle, melting engines and rear axles that self-destruct while driving - the Chevrolet Vega is not without good reason considered the worst car that General Motors has ever built. In a desperate attempt to counter the European and Japanese import hits with a solid, lightweight, modern, reliable, fast, economical and, above all, affordable compact car from US production, Detroit had gone a little overboard. The fact that they wanted to reduce the unexpectedly high production costs by cutting back on quality control, of all things, and also botched the rust protection, didn't make things any better.

Welcome to Zwischengas!