[Ming]

Has anyone else seen this? I don't recall hearing about it beforehand...and it isn't shown at Buick: http://www.buick.com/regal/photogallery/ Saw it at a local dealership -- a dealer installed add-on perhaps?

Large Image

 

[MCGARRETT]

They look like some dealership aftermarket add-ons. Probably some that were taken off the Park Avenue, some holes drilled through the fender, and Park Avenue portholes drilled in. Tell ya the truth..it does not look that bad

From whaT I have read, Buick is going to bring back the portholes on all the cars, the LACROSSE was a little to late to recieve them, but the LeSabre and Park Avenue replacement will have them, Lutz wanted them back on Buicks after he saw Maserati stole them on to the new Quatroporte.

 

[Ming]

Originally posted by MCGARRETT@Jun 5 2004, 02:19 PM
Lutz wanted them back on Buicks after he saw Maserati stole them on to the new Quatroporte.

Ain't it sad? GM needs to take its lead from Imports....

"OK so NOW its OK to bring back portholes..."

I agree, I like them and think they give Buicks some distinction, esp. the more typical looking cars in their lineup.

I do hope that they will be functional to some degree (heat release, etc.), not just stick on / drill on plastic trim bits.

 

[SaabKing]

Originally posted by Ming@Jun 5 2004, 12:25 AM
Has anyone else seen this? I don't recall hearing about it beforehand...and it isn't shown at Buick

I saw them on a Rendezvous at a local dealership over a month ago and thought it was odd.

 

[MCGARRETT]

Ain't it sad? GM needs to take its lead from Imports.... 

"OK so NOW its OK to bring back portholes..."

I agree, I like them and think they give Buicks some distinction, esp. the more typical looking cars in their lineup.

I do hope that they will be functional to some degree (heat release, etc.), not just stick on / drill on plastic trim bits.

I hope that your being sarcastic....

Is'nt it sadder that the "great European design houses" like Guigaro or Fettuchini or whoever designed the Quattroporte needed to look to a 1955 Buick Special for inspiration?

Buick decided to bring them back before they were stolen by Maserati, remember that the Park Avenue Ultra had them 1st in 2003, before the Maserati came out with them.

They will now designate the number of cylinders that a Buick has, 3 for 6 cylinder models and 4 for 8 cylinder models, before they used to designate the series of cars, low-end cars like the Super and Special had 3 and upline cars like the Roadmaster had 4.

The 2005 Park Avenue will have them standard in all models not just the Ultra, I saw one at a Buick dealership a few weeks ago, the grille has been slightly re-designed and the tailights were changed the top half of the tailamps are "smoked" with the reverse lamp and a new amber turn signal in the smoked area and a red bottom half of the tailamps, there also were re-designed wheels, I could not see any interior changes since it was already dark, but it was a 2005 Park Avenue for sure.

So please dont assume that GM is stealing design ideas from the Imports, they stole the idea from GM 1st, and since Buick had "ventiports" on their cars from 1949 through 1983, and then brought them back on the Roadmaster from 1992 through 1996, though they were mounted on the C pillar. Though of course, out of every article that I have read about the Quattroporte in every car "rag" , only one pointed out the blatant rip off of a Buick design hallmark. I guess that it's tough for some magazines to admit that.

But hey....doesnt GM own part of FIAT, which in turn owns Maserati, Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, and Lancia?

 

[silverado_13]

I think that all Buicks should come with them. It gives character.

 

[Ming]

Originally posted by MCGARRETT@Jun 6 2004, 03:39 PM

I hope that your being sarcastic....

Is'nt it sadder that the "great European design houses" like Guigaro or Fettuchini or whoever designed the Quattroporte needed to look to a 1955 Buick Special for inspiration?

Buick decided to bring them back before they were stolen by Maserati, remember that the Park Avenue Ultra had them 1st in 2003, before the Maserati came out with them.

So please dont assume that GM is stealing design ideas from the Imports, they stole the idea from GM 1st, and since Buick had "ventiports"

I knew this, of course - anyone even casually following Buick would have seen that way back in their model year 2003 Park Ave. brochures, if memory serves. Still can never find one on my dealer's lot - they are always ordered and spoken for. Some of my favorite old Buick designs had big prominent portholes.

I was responding to your own quote:

Lutz wanted them back on Buicks after he saw Maserati stole them on to the new Quatroporte

Lutz shouldn't have needed that as motivation, that's all. Some European car company decides it is "fashionable" and suddenly Lutz wants to follow suit on all Buicks?

Or perhaps you meant Lutz wanted the portholes on all Buicks so he could defend one of Buick's trademarks more openly and visibly - across the lineup. I'm not sure that would stop anyone, though -- Pontiac shares its "twin port grille" with a couple of other makes.

Either way, I'm glad to see them coming back.

 

[Bladon]

Could it be an '05? '05 Park Avenues (In addition to Ultras) have them and are on dealers lots, also new chrome spoke wheels. I have a friend that already bought one a couple weeks ago.

 

[paul8488]

i think they look okay... but there are civic owners who think their 5-inch exhaust tips look okay. they should at least be functional... though i wonder how much function they could ever have. i guess a a purely nostalgic touch they're acceptable, but buick has to decide if they wanna be "lexus fighter" or "classic american"... i don't know if they can be both.

 

[GN6]

I just saw a '00-'04 LeSabre with the portholes yesterday (in Maple Grove, MN...a northwestern suburb of Minneapolis). It was silver with dark tinted windows. It really looked like a luxury car, as opposed to the usual geriatric cruiser. (Now if it only had those 18" chrome Mille Miglia F20 turbine style wheels, lowered 1.5", SC 3800 V-6 modified to put out a modest 290hp...)

 

[wroberts]

Originally posted by LakeMichigan@Jun 7 2004, 07:36 PM
no listings in the GM Parts catalogs so I've been told for the Regal...jus the Park Avenue....unless it is part of the Abboud Spring Special package and not svc'd by GM????

no listings in the GM Parts catalogs so I've been told for the Regal...jus the Park Avenue....unless it is part of the Abboud Spring Special package and not svc'd by GM????

You can order them from GM. on the now gone gmforums.com there was a Park Ave group that I belonged to and a guy on there had added portholes onto his 93 park Ave and he got them from a GM Dealer.

 

[T-Keith]

Dealers have been adding portholes like this for a least 10 years. Now that portholes are more easily available it has increased in popularity.

-T

 

[atomicshark]

Originally posted by SaabKing+Jun 5 2004, 08:27 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (SaabKing @ Jun 5 2004, 08:27 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-Ming@Jun 5 2004, 12:25 AM
Has anyone else seen this?  I don't recall hearing about it beforehand...and it isn't shown at Buick

I saw them on a Rendezvous at a local dealership over a month ago and thought it was odd. [/b][/quote]
I have seen them on the Rendevous here on Long Island too. It must be a dealer add on since I saw this a few months ago.

 

[AMcA]

Originally posted by MCGARRETT@Jun 6 2004, 08:39 PM
Isn't it sadder that the "great European design houses" like Guigaro or Fettuchini or whoever designed the Quattroporte needed to look to a 1955 Buick Special for inspiration?

Really, what's sad is that GM isn't producing shapes that lead the industry anymore.

For a solid 30-40 years, GM did some of the best design on the planet. But frankly, since the '76 Seville, they haven't had a real landmark of a car.

That's what's really sad.




OH, and while we're on the subject, PORTHOLES RULE! At least as long as they are on Buicks.

 

[montguy215]

They were on the 87 GNX too. The portholes can be put on any buick they are adhesive backed and can be bought at the dealer.

 

[calleryce]

how much are these portholes

Has anyone else seen this? I don't recall hearing about it beforehand...and it isn't shown at Buick: http://www.buick.com/regal/photogallery/ Saw it at a local dealership -- a dealer installed add-on perhaps?

Large Image

 

[VortecMAN]

Very interesting. If that was a dealer installed option, I would have liked to have those on my Rainier.

 

[Buicktech]

We call that the Quebec package, because nearly every Buick we get from Quebec auction seems to have them!

 

[Butz]

They don't look drilled in..

 

[sicgurl]

No, they are 3-D stickers.