On paper, the Fifties was a golden era in everything from entertainment to urban development, job opportunities to automobile production. Among the latter was the cornerstone of General Motors: Buick, which seemed to do everything right beginning in 1949, when Flint unleashed the revolutionary“Riviera”—or hardtop—styling on a mass-produced scale. Buick set new divisional production records in successive years (1949–’50) in addition to leading, at one time or another, both hardtop and convertible output, all of which helped keep Buick firmly entrenched in fourth place in the domestic industry through the early part of the decade.
Not one to rest on its laurels, Buick released the 1954 line with great fanfare. A new greenhouse with a “Panoramic” windshield, completely restyled wider bodies with sleeker trim outside plus improved shoulder room inside, and a flight-deck-like instrument panel all ushered in a new era of modern design. Add to that the reintroduction of the
