The 1961 - 1962 Buick Electra did not have the tall tailfins and dazzling brightwork that characterized the American dreamboats of the early 1960s . In fact , on the surface , it appeared to apportion nothing with its most late ancestors .
That was n’t true , of course . Beneath that outside lurk a form and powertrain that had change small . Up top , though , was a clean and modern dead body that appeared to have chuck aside nearly all traces of puffiness and surfeit .
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Not only were the fins get , replaced by feather - off rearward quarters with ordinary horizontal rear lamp , but the entire car had a square , down - to - business look . Buick named this unexampled style " the clean look of action . "
certain , " portholes " ride the front fenders again , having experienced a reincarnation in the previous class : three of the reshaped oval accents in a row for the LeSabre and Invicta ; four for the luxury Electra and Electra 225 lines .
Front fender ended in pointy contour line that matched the projectile human body of the bumper top below . Bodyside sculpturing was n’t so deep any longer , but still served as an integral part of the design , via a trinity of parallel horizontal crease .
This year ’s quad headlight , however , sit at the sharpness of a wicket that barely compared with the floridness that had come to symbolizeBuickfront ending : just a vertically place set of dewy-eyed horizontal bars with center insignia . Compared to the recent past , here was a Buick that rank as downright plain .
Gone too was the badly wrapped windshield , supersede by a milder bod that equate the rounded triangular vent wings . riddance of the " dogleg " add almost five inches of space for entry and exit , across narrower threshold sills .
A young Hide - Away thrust Shaft lowered the tunnel pinnacle , giving center rider extra blank space . As before , two roofline treatment were useable for the hardtop sedan : Riviera - vogue with triangular rearward panes ; and the flat - roofed version with wraparound back window .
wheelbase shrunk only a fraction of an inch , but each Electra model lost a distich of hundred pound .
To learn about 1961 - 1962 Buick Electra mechanicals and production , go on to the next Thomas Nelson Page .
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Continued
Mechanical change to the 1961 - 1962 Buick Electra were minimum . king surged again from a 401 - cid " Wildcat 445 " V-8 that whipped up a rollicking 325horsepower .
Also carried over was Buick ’s Turbine Driveautomatic transmissionwith its reputation for smoothness without sluggishness . Invictas carried the Electra engine , while LeSabres again came with a 364 - cid V-8.Manual transmissionsno longer existed for any full - size models , having been installed in only a tiny fraction of recent LeSabres .
Shoppers who craved some sport along with their consolation now had the option of receive an Electraenginein a newfangled Wildcat body . diehard , on the other hired man , could feel secure in the knowledge that " their " variety of Buick would go on to be uncommitted , without drastic changes , for many years to come .
Even the pointy front - last element were gone when the restyled 1962 Buick make it with its revised roofline . VentiPorts were elongated , while back ends embrace simple trend - off quarter panels .
Rear pillars were blanket and sloping , and grille grew plainer than ever . The " Advanced Thrust " redesign also move the locomotive engine forward , reducing the transmission hump and creating a floor with a " mere ripple " obstructing the substance rider ’s ft . Base Electras were go , as each of the top manakin take on the name " Electra 225 . "
Perhaps the populace was n’t quite as impressed ab initio by the toned - down Electras as Buick hoped , since production declined by 8,391 unit in 1961 – though dropping one Electra 225 model may have lend to the expiration . After everyone accepted the new thought process , 1962 brought a leap to 62,468 Electra 225s , up from 47,923 in 1961 and well above the 1960 mark .
Pleasant cars these still - big Buicks may have been when newfangled , but their relatively prosaic profiles just ca n’t attract the kind of avid attention lavished today on the gimcrack highlife that antedate them .
What this medium generation of Electras did was set the stage for a new breed of formalize Buicks later on in the ten .
For 1961 - 1962 Buick Electra specification , go on to the next Sir Frederick Handley Page .
1961-1962 Buick Electra Specifications
On the control surface , the 1961 - 1962 Buick Electra did n’t seem to share much with its predecessors . Though the tailfins and brightwork vanish , under the tough , the full-bodied powertrain and bod remained .
Specifications
Engines : ohv V-8,401 Criminal Investigation Command ( 4.19 × 3.64 ) , 325 bhp
transmission system : Turbine Drive ( twin turbine ) automatic
respite front : upper and lower A - arm , coil fountain , connection - case stabilizer
Suspension can : 3 - link live axle , whorl springs , track bar
Brakes : front / rear drums
Wheelbase ( in . ): 126.0
Weight ( lbs ): 4,235 - 4,441
Top stop number ( mph ): 115
0 - 60 mph ( sec ): 10.0 - 11.0 ( est . )
