Buick Riviera - Origin of The Name

Origin of The Name

The Riviera name first entered the Buick line in 1949 as the designation for the new two-door pillarless hardtop, which was described in advertising as "stunningly smart." The Buick Roadmaster Riviera coupe (along with the Cadillac Coupe de Ville and Oldsmobile 98 Holiday coupe) constituted the first mass production use of this body style, which was to become extremely popular over the next 30 years. Buick would add a 2-door Riviera hardtop to the Super the following year, the Special in 1951 and the Century upon its return, after a 12 year absence, in 1954.

From 1951 to 1953 the "Riviera" designation was also used on long wheelbase versions of the 4-door Buick Roadmaster and Super sedans (a long wheelbase sedan was offered on both lines in 1950 but they were not called Rivieras). The 1951-53 Buick Roadmaster and Super 4-door Riviera sedans featured more standard features, more plush interior trim and, most significantly, a wheelbase (and overall length) that was 4 inches (102 mm) longer than a regular Buick Roadmaster or Super 4-door sedan. The 1951-52 Buick Super 4-door Riviera sedan was still 0.75 inches (19 mm) shorter in wheelbase and length than the regular Buick Roadmaster and 4.75 inches (121 mm) shorter than the Roadmaster 4-door Riviera sedan. In 1953, with the move from the Fireball straight-eight to the more compact Nailhead V8 engine, the Roadmaster and Super 4-door Riviera sedans became the same length.

In the middle of the 1955 model year Buick and Oldsmobile introduced the world's first mass-produced four-door hardtops, with Buick offering it only on the Century and Special models, and the "Riviera" designation was also applied to these body styles. Four-door Riviera hardtops were added to the Roadmaster and Super lines at the beginning of the following model year. However, since it was a body style designation and not a model, the Riviera name did not usually appear on the car.

In 1959, Buick became much more selective in applying the Riviera name. From then until 1963 it only was used to denote a premium trimmed 6-window hardtop style which it initially shared exclusively with Cadillac (the Oldsmobile 98 would receive it in 1961) and was available only on the Electra 225. The last usage of the term "Riviera" to describe hardtops was 1963, as the formal designation of the #4829 Electra 225 Riviera four-door hardtop. Coincidentally, this was the same year the Riviera would become a separate model in its own right.