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All employed a new-generation A-body with so-called “Colonnade” styling that did away with pillarless coupes and sedans. Arriving for mid ’73 as the Apollo, it was just a rebadged clone of the 111-inch-wheelbase X-body Chevrolet Nova from 1968, with the same three body styles (two- and four-door sedans and a hatchback two-door) plus, initially, the same 250-cid Chevy straight six as standard power. Convertibles were no more, GM reacting to a proposed federal rule on rollover protection that would have outlawed ragtops but which ironically never materialized. Bolstered by spiffy Luxus and Regal submodels (the latter made a separate series after ’74), the midsize Centurys sold well through 1977, providing an important “safety net” at times when inflation and rising fuel prices sent would-be big-car buyers scurrying for thriftier alternatives. A compact also returned to Buick, its first in 10 years.
Special retained its 93-bhp 233-cid eight. Other ’36s carried a new 320-cid unit with 120 bhp. Putting it in the lighter Special body made the new ’36 Century a fast car, with genuine 100-mph top speed and 10-60 acceleration of 18-19 seconds. Besides good performance and sleek good looks, Century was attractively priced: as little as $1035 for the sport coupe and $1135 for the rakish convertible. It quickly became known as a “factory hot rod” (arguably Detroit’s first) — about the fastest thing you could buy for $1000 or so. The latter would be a Buick mainstay through the ’50s.
While holding on to an old design might seem questionable, Buick couldn’t afford to let this one die, because the Century had come to have great appeal for rental-car companies and other fleet buyers; in fact, they now accounted for the majority of sales. The improved workmanship was just a timely bonus, the result of a gradual but wholesale reengineering effort for both Century and Oldsmobile’s related Cutlass Ciera. And it paid off.
The division’s 1955 volume was another record: 781,000, nearly 50 percent higher than the previous best. This success was owed largely to the Special, which had become one of America’s most popular cars. Over 380,000 were built for 1955, Detroit’s banner year of the decade, including 155,000 Riviera two-door hardtops, that season’s single bestselling Buick. A deft ’55 restyle kept sales booming, aided by even-more-potent V-8s delivering 188 bhp on Specials, 236 bhp elsewhere. For mid-’55 came four-door Riviera hardtop sedans in the Special and Century series; Super and Roadmaster versions followed for ’56.
