That system was far ahead of it's time. The heart of it was based on a 5" Zenith TV...but you could pull up diagnostics better than a current OBD2 reader. You could pull codes (of course), view real time data and voltages from every engine and transmission sensor, shut off individual injectors, override various functions by tripping relays, and snapshot data. The touchscreens today are much more advanced, but you still have to take your eyes off the road to change something today. Never had to take that car to my mechanic.
I also own an ‘88 Reatta. Loved it when it was introduced & finally bought one in 2014. The GCC/CRT is a marvelous feature, far ahead of any other competitor, Toronado notwithstanding. It’s not any harder to use than the touchscreens on my 2022 Kia EV6! It also will provide diagnostic codes, so repairs are easier to make.
I was impressed with how sophisticated it was for its time. I remember I was on a business trip to Raliegh, NC in July in one of the hottest summers in years, 1998 I believe. I was stuck in traffic and the screen beeped and flashed 'AC Refrigerant overheated-AC clutch disengaged' I think you had to acknowledge the message. I miss my old Riv. Was looking at a really nice '90 about 10 years ago, but didn't have the screen. One of the other things I really liked about it was in winter that thing would start throwing heat within 10 minutes or so of starting it.
My Dad bought a used 1988 Riviera in the early 1990's. It lasted 250,000 miles before he sold it to a high school friend. That touch screen might have been cringe at the time but it operated better than my current "5G Smartphone" touchscreen.
@@Mabeylater293 Yes, the trans went out 20,000 miles after he sold it to my friend. He then scrapped the car. It surprisingly was not rusted out being a Midwestern car
My Dad purchased the car with 50,000 miles. The engine was serviced with conventional oil every 3000 miles and he serviced the transmission every 30,000 miles from the time he bought it to the time he got rid of it.
I feel the same way about touch screen technology. In older cars I could control everything by tactile touch and keep my eyes on the road. I don’t understand how cars can be so heavily regulated, yet nobody is concerned with the negative affects touch screens can have in addition to another pet peeve of mine, bright led headlights that are blinding to my oncoming car and my review mirror.
Right, everybody knows how dangerous it is to text and drive. Yet, these touch screens are nearly as dangerous because there is no fixed location for each button, and it forces your eyes off the road. Yet, no safety engineers seem to care. Yea, add a dozen more airbags, that'll make it safe! Make it impossible to see out the rear window, but add a backup camera, that will make it even more safe!
Try hitting those touchscreen buttons without looking while bouncing around on a SMOOTH road in a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon. You'd pay extra to have buttons again.
@@belliduradespicio8009 The newer Escalades are the worst. I recently read a GM model was recalled to adjust the brightness of the LED headlights.....and it wasn't even the Escalade, the Yukon I believe.. I truly believe there will be upcoming law regarding this. Those lights are BLINDING.
@@robk9685 Headlights should be bright, even the low beams. However, the problem is in the beam pattern. The brightest part of the (low) beam should be pointed DOWN and a little to the RIGHT so oncoming traffic only sees the lowest intensity of the beam. Many pickups and SUV's have their headlights mounted 3 to 4 feet high, so it's impossible to aim them down far enough to avoid blinding other drivers. Regulations? If done properly, they might be necessary. But, I hate to have to go back to the old sealed beam days of the 60's and 70's, when headlights by law were so terribly DIM that you couldn't safely go over 40MPH on a rainy night. The so-called safety engineers at the DOT are letting some pretty bizarre things happen nowadays, and I hate to see what they might do to headlights. All that said, I agree with you that these lights are too bright, for oncoming drivers anyway.
I got to see the new '86 Riviera at a GM training center. The instrument cluster and CRT were removed and setup on a table, but still connected to the car so an instructor could show everyone the features. Most amazing things I remember were the diagnostic mode, how you could test a window motor, or turn a single light on and off by using the screen. I can't remember if this was the first GM car with multiplexed wiring, but I can remember (somewhat!) about how the wiring in the driver's door was reduced from 18 wires down to 3! Plus it could do things like if you burnt out a headlight, and if you had fog lamps, the car would automatically turn on the fog lamp on the side with the headlight out! It was really quite a thing to see back in 1986!
...and in 1987 I special ordered a RWD G-Body Cutlass with the somewhat rare whopping $42 extra fiber optic lamp monitor option that made you aware immediately that a headlight, brake light or turn signal was out whether front or rear. And today, almost 2023, it takes a cop or gas station attendant to tell you your headlight is out on a $100,000 vehicle. Have we really "progressed"?
That’s odd, because the CCT never controlled the windows or headlights/fog lamps. The window buttons were behind the console gear shift and lights were on the dash. Also the diagnostics were fluid levels and door ajar prompts. It wasn’t that detailed in terms of bulbs or detailed engine warnings.
I bought my mother's an 1989 Buick Riveria. I picked it up back in 1997 for 4400 dollar's. It only had 72k miles and was a one owner senior citizens car. They also had a 1993 Riveria and did not need both cars. My moms car had the touch screen and we never had any problems with it. My mom kept driving the car until about 2015 when she became frail from her battle with breast cancer. The 1989 Riveria was a very reliable car for her. Far more reliable than many of todays cars.
Great video once again! I remember seeing GCC as a kid at my local 1987 auto show and loved how futuristic it was for the time. I recall asking my technology-adverse parents if they would buy the car and my Dad said never in his lifetime, but “in 30 years you’ll be driving cars with tv screens everywhere.” Amazing how spot-on he was!
I was in elementary school in the mid '80s and as a fan of Knight Rider I remember thinking a car with a TV screen was as close as you could get to a Knight industries 2000. I honestly love it
It was the mid 90's when I first set eyes on one of these systems. I was about 13 and me and grandmother would get rides to church from one of the elders who had the system in her Buick Rivera. Even though it was quite antiquated even back then, I still found it amazing just how in depth the system was with its functionality and features. It literally ran every major system in the car including engine, transmission, suspension, hvac, brake and electrical with pinpoint problem diagnosis. Some very advanced stuff for its time. Personally, I would argue that the system was in fact not a failure. Rather, the demographic who purchased these cars, generally older folks of retirement age, did not mix very well with computers and technology back then, either out of mistrust of computers, or simply not having or wanting to develop the skills necessary to use them.
I was a salesman at a Chevy/Olds/Buick dealer in the fall of '85 and remember the biggest sales obstacle the '86 Riviera and Toronado faced was that they were way to close to size and appearance to the new '85 N body Buick Somerset Regal and Olds Calais. I had a customer interested in a Riviera but changed his mind about it immediately when he spotted a new Somerset nearby.
That era Riviera/Toronado just reminded me of an upscale Grand Am. Girl I worked with in 1987 that was fresh out of college had the Buick Somerset too.
@@Seventizz Considering the considerable price difference if you didn't need the room......those damn ugly cars looked alike. I had a '92 Toronado Trofeo.... definitely an improvement over these things.
@@robk9685 Size isn’t the only reason why some people prefer a midsize over a compact. You get less in every category. I love the Sommerset - wish I owned one, but I’m having difficulty seeing a Riv/Toro customer downgrading to a compact in the 80’s/90’s. Ford - and to a lesser extent - Chrysler had their offerings as well.
My first car was a $300 1960 Buick LeSabre. I did get an "86 Riviera in '1989. I paid for both. We are all created equal, But in the eyes of our parents...?? P.S., I loved my Riviera, I loved my LeSabre!!
I currently own an ‘88 Reatta and think the touchscreen is really cool and more user friendly than it may seem. I also own a ’66 Skylark GS with old school switches and levers. It’s really interesting when I drive them both on the same day…
A 1965 or 1966 Skylark 2 door Hardtop has been my dream car for decades. Never got around to owning one. I did make a clone of my 65 Skylark, even went so far as to put a boxed frame under it. I did the body off frame restoration myself. So I built up the chassis around that boxed GS frame and restored the body and interior while it as still on its stock frame. Then I lifted the body off the stoc frame and placed it on the fully restored chassis based on the boxed frame. Worked like a charm. Sold it though a few years later. But it was much easier for me to use a 1971 Buick 455 engine (which I rebuilt) rather than a period correct 401 due to engine mounts, and accessory locations. I put a Muncie M20 behind it. It had factory air and power windows PS and PB. As time went on, I started to prefer the 1966 over the 1965 styling.
@@MostlyBuicks Cool, I think ’66 is a pinnacle year for GM A-body styling although I also like the ’65 Skylark. I came across the ’66 GS convertible 22 years ago and it’s a keeper, totally stock. I have to admit that the hardtop design really is more striking though with the sail panels and inset rear window.
I owned a 1990 Oldsmobile Tornado Trofeo with the CRT touchscreen. It was an awesome car. Loved the touchscreen. Lots of information. Traded it at 218000 miles. Still worked great.
The GCC was originally shown to the public in the 1983 Buick Questor concept car and the 50 or so prototype 1985 Rivieras were equipped with one and sent out for evaluation. The later Oldsmobile Toronado color VIC fixed some of the issues by add "shortcut" buttons for the most functions like the climate and radio asking with steering wheel controls.
I also prefer dials and buttons to control functionality on a car. A touchscreen is ok for navigation and diagnostics, but that is all I would want to see.
I think its cool they tried it. You need buttons for basic functions that are common and can't be searching around because you can't do 2 visual tasks at once, but it definitely was ahead of its time.
My mother had traded her 1980 riviera for a 1986 Riviera, that was the coolest car ever and was quite reliable as well. I had an opportunity to buy it back several years later and everything still worked. Unfortunately I didn’t have the cash to buy it back but wish I did. It was black cherry red with burgundy velour and a white carriage top. Damn I miss that car.
You are so right about the lack of tactile feedback on today's offerings. In a moving vehicle, virtual buttons are harder to engage than any old-fashioned knob.
I’m not even 30 and I prefer having the screen just operate the radio, and physical gauges for everything else. If it operates multiple systems it renders the vehicle useless if it goes bad or is broken.
8:22 - I'm with you on that comment - buttons and dials one can operate by FEEL, without having to take eyes off the road, even for a half second, to accomplish whatever needed to be done - volume up or down, more heat, more A/C, etc.
I was once working on an old Reatta, and encountered this early touch screen. While test driving the car the touch screen suddenly displayed the message "I love you". Kinda freaked me out a little bit...
I purchased a beautiful , very low mileage white 1986 Riviera with wine colored suede leather interior in the summer of 1988. During my ownership, I was neither here nor there in regards to the touchscreen control panel. It was certainly a novelty and conversation piece. However, even in my younger days (I was only 23 when I purchased the car), I rarely played the radio and once I set the climate controls, I tended to leave them alone. I never experienced any problems with my unit but I always lived in fear that it would one day malfunction and leave me with a whopping repair bill. That never happened as I sold the car in 1992. Whenever I did use the screen, I found it to be very user friendly and couldn't understand the negative press it received. Perhaps, because of my age, I was more open to new technology. Everyone seems to pile hate on this generation of Riviera and say it was too close in appearance to the "N" body Somerset Regal. Yes, there were some definite design similarities, but the Riviera (I felt) had a much more commanding presence due to it's larger size and overall more upscale attributes. I was always partial to the '86 models with their 4 individual sealed beam headlamps. The aero lamps in later years spoiled the front end appearance for me. I always felt like a million bucks driving this car and was very proud to own it. I only wish I had kept it along with the 1977 Cadillac Coupe DeVille (Naples Yellow, 425 EFI and most options) I had prior to this Riviera.
I also set my climate controls on automatic and rarely have to touch a thing. Each driver has their own preferences, so they don’t have to fuss with them either. Most of those that complain about having no switchgear have never owned anything else. I like a clean look that doesn’t get old fashioned in a couple years.
I worked part time for Avis Rent-A-Car back in the 80's/90's and drove many of these Riviera's. Never had any issues when using the touch screen and thought it was pretty cool when it came out. Course I'm in the IT field and tech doesn't scare/bother me. Kinda reminded me of my screen on my desk at work. haha.
The lady who drove my friend and I to Bible School during summer breaks in the early 1990s had this system in her car. As I recall being as fascinated by it as she was terrified by it. I got the impression that in her eyes’ it was basically Scotty’s console on the Enterprise and if you hit the wrong thing you might bypass the EPS relays and ruin her gas mileage.
I'm with you on this Adam. Touch screens need to go away in favor of no-look tactile controls which do not require taking the eyes from the classic *Watch where you're going* scenario. As a CHP print ad once said under a photo of a cute little kid: "Do you want to tell his mother you only looked down for a second?"
I'm also a lover of dedicated switchgear and controls for anything that moves. I worked for AMX Corp in Dallas in the late 80's, who built a touchscreen control system for the conference rooms at the Nissan north American hq's in late '86. I now wonder if the Buick system helped Nissan decide to buy the AMX system, which had previously only existed as prototypes. Thanks for the great videos
Great video Adam, I worked at a Buick dealer in the 80s and you are correct, once customers got over the "wow" factor they hated the CRT. If i remember correctly, the CRT was manufactured by Magnovox and a replacement CRT dealer price was $1000 in 1988. As usual, great vid!!
@@Rick-S-6063 Yes, I would really like to hear about their *reliability.* It seems many commenters had good experiences with these first touch screens. But I was *_sure_* I'd heard numerous times over the years about one of the *new 'digital dashes'* on one or other high end G.M. vehicles that *were notorious for their failure rates.* Was that not this system?? One particular story a mechanic friend told me was about a customer with an almost new [Riviera?] that had constant troubles with their digital dash conking out. They had had it replaced under warranty several times, and after yet another replacement, had been told by the dealership that they were on their own---no more warranty repairs, regardless of whether the car was legally entitled to it or not. Of course, at that point it was one customer against a billion dollar company. So you can guess what (didn't) happen. Again, were those not this system?
In the mid 90's we had an older lady with an 8 Reatta and she drove me nuts trying to keep the GCC working properly. We replaced it several times with rebuilt units that had different problems every time. One time while I was changing it I watched a static electrical spark travel from my finger into the circuit board of the GCC. That was the only one that worked properly.
Looks like you had the magic touch after all. But yiu can"t blame the system on a bad rebuilder. At one point in my life I purchased a manual transmission car because I couldn't find a good starter motor rebuilder and concluded I could always start a "stick shift" with a push.
My parents owned an 86 Riv with the GCC and we loved it. I liked driving it as well. It was comfortable with the inflatable lumbar support in the seat. We liked the auto leveling rear suspension so if you have people in the back seat and luggage in the trunk the car, it did not sag back like others would. For us ,it was not hard to use the screen and we did not need to go into multiple screens all the time. The summary screen was really what it stayed on. It had temp up down along with some radio controls with volume. Rarely did we go to the climate menu for fan or other stuff as auto setting worked just fine. If you needed defrost it was a button second up from the bottom on the right side of the dash. You could pull pretty much all sensor data in diagnostic mode by pressing and holding climate off and warm at the same time. It was great for trouble shooting. I ended up getting a 91 Riv and my Mom and Dad got another 93 Riv. We loved them.
I had an '86 and totally agree. Comfortable and quiet too. Cars today are noisey and harsh riding. And the '86 to '93 Rivieras had the rust problem licked along with the '79 to '85. Unfortunately the rust problem returned in the 1995 Riviera and remained till the end in'99
As a french guy who owned a Buick Century 86 and a Park Avenue 92,let me tell you that your vids are amongst the best of the net, besides Hagerty's ones. You display great knowledges, humor, sense, and first hands accounts. Extremely enjoyable 👌Huge kuddos to you.
You are correct about operating standard switches, buttons, & knobs by feel. Younger people today never had the chance to compare them against the screens. So now we have drivers looking at screens instead of the road. Nevermind the screens being a single point of failure. At least with standard switches a failure killed one function. Not everything.
The Oldsmobile Toronado Trofeó in the late '80s had the GCC setup as well. I distinctly remember that the dealership I was working at had a blackand another burgundy Trofeó parked on the "Pad" in front of the showroom. I still remember the awesome smell of that Olds leather during those years. Something I would love to experience again one day. The GCC display in those cars left a huge impression on my 19 year old mind. It was mind blowing at a time when digital dashes were a step above the ordinary. These displays took it to a whole different level in my youthful mind back then. I would love to find a nice Trofeó or an International Series Olds 98 of that era with the FE3 option.
I agree that some functions should remain as physical buttons. For instance volume control and temperature controls are much easier to use with muscle memory as opposed to having to visualize them.
The best car I ever had! I had the ultra rare collector's edition. White with blue padded top and pillow blue cloth and the turbo option 3.8 V6 fuel injection and ride control. Fully loaded luxury and quick!
I love the look of this CRT panel, but I'd have a hard time using one. (I assume... I haven't had the pleasure of trying). Physical buttons, dials, and switches have the tactile advantage. With time, the driver can memorize the controls and operate them by feel alone. I feel like the side buttons on 80s fighter jet screens would be a good solution here. :3 Love this video! Always a treat to catch a glimpse of fledgling technology that became mainstream today!
Very good once again Adam. I remember GCC. I liked it because it was a revolutionary idea at the time. It is interesting how Buick and GM was ahead of the curve and now others have followed since. I was so glad when GM upsized Riviera in 1989. when they redesigned it for 1995, it was big as the 1979-1985 model. Also I am sure you know the GCC was tested out and offered in the 1984 or 1985 Buick Riviera before the 1986 downsizing. There is a video on You Tube for it under Motorweek. Buick tested it out before putting it in the 1986 model. I am sure you are aware of the VIC that was in the Toronado. It was like GCC at Buick. Oldsmobile made changes. It ran up until Toronado was dropped in 1992. It appeared in 1989 if I recall. It also had more buttons too. There are videos of it here on You Tube. There are articles online too. Thank you once again Adam.
You are correct, 1989 was the first year for the VIC. And these were WAY ahead of their time without a doubt. And I can say from personal experience being the only one servicing these screens now 30+ years later that a ton of time and money went into development of these as even by today's standards they are extremely complex.
I agree with you 100%about tactile controls being preferable to a touch screen. While I was driving my friend's 2019 Fusion on the interstate (75 mph) the weather changed and the windows began t to fog quickly. Well yeah try to figure out software while you are driving that fast. I had to ask her to turn on the defroster, which she did but then my side of the car started to get too hot. Shop I embarrassingly ask her to change my side to cooler. At least with the old switchgear once you've found it you can usually fumble with it without taking your eyes off the road and get something to work. Usually there is sound or tactile feel (like the notches in the mode selector) and an idiot can usually figure them out. But when you have nothing but a smooth surface and you start to randomly push something that might turn on your phone... What the hell are engineers thinking?
I’ve owned 3 Riviera’s. 86, 89, 95. The two earlier ones had the screen and everyone loved it. Seeing the fan animation fascinated passengers - especially when you turned the fan up and the animation went faster. The screen became very easy to navigate and I could use it w/o talking my eyes off the road. The dash had a Defrost button which would turn the heater and fan on high automatically. Also, the blinker sound was an electronic ding noise and not a click. Passengers thought that was cool too. Absolutely loved my Rivs!
I have a 1988 Reatta with the CRT. It is pretty cool to use and a novel feature for the time. Hopefully it will continue to operate correctly. I wonder if anyone services these now?
Great video!! I will just keep running my 2003 Town Cars with the climate and radio buttons on the steering wheel...... These GCC units were so neat, as I remember being a little kid and seeing the commercials for them, and even the Mercury Cougar tried to "fancy" up their interiors with all buttons and digital displays, but it wasn't touch screen, like Buick.....
"Fingerprint screens" are one of the worst things. Having to take your eyes off the road, so you can dig through menu after convoluted menu, just to change the radio station. Bring back buttons, knobs and switches. A driver that knew their car, could easily operate things by feel without looking away from the road.
Great vid ! I remember all too well the mid-80s CHOP on body size and style. So many amazing and unique design shapes all started looking the same. All-hail the memory of the American land yacht.
THE TOUCH SCREEN OF 1986-89 WAS SIMPLY AHEAD OF ITS TIME. However, this video does point out a problem with touch screens: They do cause the driver to shift his/ her eyes from the road to the screen in order to scroll to different screens and select options. The benefit of physical controls is they are easily recognized and operated by touch, and thus allowing the driver to focus on the road.
Fascinating that such similar systems are becoming mainstream 30 years later. That technology back then is amazing. It was the dawn of the computer age so maybe it didn’t seem so far out.
You mention the name briefly, but could you do video about the Buick Reatta? I think it's a really beautiful car. And I love the touch screen. It was simply well ahead of its time.
You could also have mentioned the stacks of buttons used for the lights and wipers. These also required the driver to take his eyes off of the road and were also disliked.
I like the Close Encounters of the Third Kind-esque music in that commercial at the beginning. Closest thing we had was my Dad's '91 Regal GS four door.
As a kid in the '80s, I was enthralled by an '86 Riviera with the GCC that belonged to an older kid's mom in the neighborhood. Back then, I watched every episode of Knight Rider and read every issue of Popular Science magazine and was obsessed with digital dashes and cutting-edge automotive technology. I loved the color version of the GCC found in the Toronado - the VIC (Visual Information Center). I've moved on from the GM brand, but I'll never forget the mid-1980s to early-1990s Oldsmobile, Buick, and Cadillac models.
What amazes me about the current touchscreen faze is how the manufacturers are getting around interior safety issues. Instead of a padded dashboard, some are so large they’d almost have to be a hazard in a bad crash. Am I missing something?
No, not at all. Was in a major crash with a previous car, the fault of another driver who decided not to stop at the stop sign, not insured and a lot of money out of my pocket to replace the car. Now, since I was properly restrained and the airbags went off, the touch screen did not move did not bump into it or anything of that sort. One just has to wear the seatbelt and I don't even start the engine and move the car without it. Older cars are much, much more dangerous than today's models.
In this time frame I was driving a loaded GMC Jimmy because I needed a 4wd to reach my country house. The Jimmy impressed me most in that I could drive it for long durations and feel no fatigue. I really admire the interiors you display.
GM had some really good seats in their cars in the 80's and 90's. My father had astro-vans in that period. He did lots of open-road traveling and loved those vans for the good seats in them too
I remember the olds toronado had a similar setup and it had a map feature which was pretty cool for the time, however, it was limited in memory size, and if you went to another large city, the map had to be upgraded for the city you were visiting or moving to. That was only done by the dealerships and I would guess was an expensive upgrade.
@@atikovi1 Yes and no for both. The regular Toronado VIC only had a compass function under the navigation page, there were however a few test cars given to rental fleets in areas like Orlando that did have a limited navigation system built into them.
My 89 Olds. Toronado Trofeo had a similar system, it was called the VIC, Visual Information Center, and it was the coolest thing for me. It had a car phone option, the same diagnostics, radio, a "navigation" system (it was just a digital compass), a programable calendar with alarms and reminders you could set.... It was a fancy car. I still gush about that car. Kind of wild the tech that existed at the time. Gah, and the seats! It had these little inflatable bladders all throughout them, and could be adjusted to a ridiculous degree of comfort. Though... It looks like the Toronado system may have been more different in how it functioned. On my car, the bezel around the screen had little IR lasers that drew a grid, when your fingers intersected the light, the sensors new which 'button' you were pressing. The bezel on the Riviera doesn't look as deep as my Toros were, and I don't see the little pips that were the tell-tale sign of that system.
I bought an '86 Riv in the late '90's. What a road car! I would frequently drive between the Twin Cities and Des Moines and get great gas mileage. I never felt fatigued. Comfortable seats, good climate control system. It even has AM stereo! When I bought it did have some electrical gremlins. I solved a lot myself. I never got the Twilight sentinel working. Took it to a local Buick dealer and they didn't solve the issue either. The car finally succumb to a broken timing chain. It was never the same after that. I traded the Buick along with a '91 Quad 442 for a new Monte Carlo. Wish I still had the Olds and Buick! When was the last time you saw a Olds Quad 442!
My dad had a slightly later Toronado with Olds’ version VIC. I LOVED VIC!! It worked beautifully, was easy to use & at least 19 yo me found it incredibly intuitive.
Oh yea, I remember those like it was yesterday. As I look back now Buick was way a head of it's time offering the CRT. Also it was a shame the designers sure missed the boat with the small Rivi.
A friend of my parents bought a new Riviera with one of these and I remember being wowed by it, but only a little. It was a leap forward from the Lincoln/Mark VI digital dash but seemed a bit clunky to use. Now, it seems quaint.
Great video! A generation raised playing computer games craves games in their vehicles. I can remember reading when GM first introduced the tilt wheel in the early sixties, and showed it to a Benz engineer, he said, "We spent years finding the perfect steering wheel angle!" A solution to a problem that really doesn't exist.
I owned a 1989 Riviera with the GCC and I knew that was the future. The system was great since it had automatic climate control and memory you didn't need to use it while steering the car but was actually easy to use. That car was my favorite car I ever owned. If they would have had memory, heated and cooled seats, rain sense wipers, steering wheel buttons and touch start it would have been the perfect car. The 89 was longer by way of body panels so was a looker at the and really still is. Mine had a power seat with extra functions, anti lock brakes and very expensive remote entry added not too mention the leather and I think it suede like seats.
I owned a 1987 Buick Riviera T-Type for several years here in Munich: A fine car with good road manners for the low appearance and I enjoyed the screen and the digital instruments very much, also a head turner at stop lights! 👍🏼🏁🇺🇸 Btw it had reversible seat cushions leather / fabric and a very complicated electric driver seat!
I was a GM Master Tech at a Buick/Pontiac dealer during the entire 80's. I might have to challenge your conclusion to why it did not take off in the Rivera. As a tech then I was in my 20's and had yet to have anything with a touch screen, as is much different now in that by the time kids are 10 they are given a device that is a touch screen, so when those kids that are now adults they buy cars with the same tech they have in their hands all day long. Again being a tech in the 80's I was always the one they gave the cars that started to get onboard computers to. The older techs in the shop would always say "its time to get out of the business with all the computer stuff". They were old school and I embraced the tech and enjoyed toying with them. Had a trainer in the GM training center that would take young techs like me and others and show them the new stuff about to come out. It was impressive stuff that died on the vine as it was way ahead of its time. Too bad the public didn't get it then!
I have mixed feelings about the proliferation of touch screens. Yes, they allow for human interface with a lot of functionality that would otherwise be an impossibly dizzying array of buttons. Look at a GM or Volvo car from the late 90s or early 00s to see where that nightmare was headed. But operating a touchscreen at speed, especially over uneven pavement where your finger isn't steady, is challenging af. I think there's a sweet spot in there somewhere, a balance between physical buttons and display screens, but I have yet to see it.
One thing that could improve these interfaces would be more tactile or audio feedback so that you'd have some idea of what you were doing without taking eyes off the road. But you know what they say about good intentions.
Or on my 2021 car, I go to press a button on the screen and the screen changes to another mode which results in pressing the wrong button and have to fight with UI to return it to the intended mode. Poorly thought out, poorly executed and dangerous. Another issue, never the same screen twice, different screen designs for the garage door/gate buttons. Horrendous execution of Apple CarPlay resulting with massive fiddling and about a minute for the music app to start playing, I could go and on. Touch screens are they are now are simply a hazard.
@@kennixox262 My Jeep will suddenly leave FM and jump to AM on random occasions. I have little faith in the long term viability of computer controlled cars. I am used to working on third owner cars where everything is busted. I think the 9 speed auto is very sketchy too.
I too prefer actual buttons to touchscreens, and I sell them for a living. Unfortunately from a cost perspective the screens are now cheaper than actual buttons. They’re also considerably glitchy, I have numerous customers with software issues and my service dept can’t even force an update. It’s all done by satellite and my customers sometimes have to wait weeks before an update comes over the air.
ב''ה, before G-d decided to let everything be terrible clown world forever, tactile displays both for accessibility (blindness) and to address this problem were an up and coming thing. However, as with the problem you describe, technologies such as NeuraLink will simply be cheaper and more profitable for your owners, allowing you to navigate without taking your eyes off the road or continue to work the assembly line even without a head.
I recall that an insurance General manager that I have known in 1988 at mutual of omaha in Carmel California owned a Buick Riviera like this and same color which was red but his had a moon roof and a aftermarket car phone. Nice car! I saw some other luxury cars at the parking lot like a Buick Park Avenue, Mercedes 190E, Cadillac Deville, Cadillac Brougham, Mercedes 420 SEL, Jaguar Vandan Plas, Jaguar XJ12, Volvo 760 Turbo, Volvo 264 Bertone coupe, and more. There was a Merrill Lynch, Charles Schwab, and ML Stern and many more high end offices that staffs drove these cars and had reserved parking spaces. I worked in Carmel during that time and met some wonderful people that owned these nice cars. Thanks for reading!
I'm with you on touch screens. They are a distraction for the most part. I'm a fan of buttons and levers for anything with a focused/basic function. Washing machine or stove? Zero need for touch screens here. More components that can break/wear out that you most likely wouldn't be able to fix yourself. Part of the issue with car touch screens is the lack of intuitive interfaces available right now. Most of them seem too layered and all over the place. I imagine more high end vehicles have solved this but most people aren't spending 70 grand on a vehicle.
There is a junkyard in Tucson full of 1986-1992 Rivera and 1988-1991 Reatta parts. He has a shelf full of these CRT units. He repairs them too. He also rebuilds the complex anti-lock brake units of these cars.
It amazes me that HVAC controls are on many touch screens today. Sandy Munro on his channel constantly chastizes auto companies that do NOT put HVAC controls on a touch screen. Moving through multiple screens to adjust temperature is lunacy to me. It is almost as annoying as the insistence on having piano black trim on dashes.
The 86 GCC didn't have any raised buttons to change functions between climate control, gages etc. Later iterations would have a revised surround that contained tactile buttons for the 6 different function modes. A small improvement. I briefly owned an 88 Reatta, and the screen worked well. I had always been intrigued by these screens when they first came out, but now I prefer cars that have button and separate controls for everything. No screens me.
From what I can remember, one of the main reasons for having this display was that it was going to utilize the screen as a GPS. By making it large enough for the GPS to be readable (no voice guidance), other functions were added to the screen instead of taking up additional real-estate... The mishap and tragedy of the Challenger Shuttle delayed the deployment of the 4th navigation satellite needed to run the global system. (You needed 3 satellites - 2 for position and 1 to confirm and missing satellite prevented it from being a true global tracker) So, had the Challenger disaster not happened, things may have been very different. Also, as someone had mentioned, the screen included OBD-I diagnostics which were much easier to use than the Cadillac's on-board OBD-I diagnostics...
Not sure why it wasn’t well received? It was amazing technology for the time and had lots of functionality that included real time engine diagnostics. I remember being thoroughly impressed at the time with the units in the Reattas. The boys from Flint had it right in my opinion.
I worked at a Buick dealership as well back in the 80s. I owned 2 TTypes, an 84 Skylark and an 88 LeSabre. It was always my understanding the T stood for Touring. Someone else mentioned an 85 with the CRT. I do remember this as well. A salesman works remember this better, but it was my understanding that some E bodies were made with the CRT screen set up for demonstration purposes, and where referred to as CRT Rivieras. I'm sure they were all crushed, but they did exist.
The GCC would probably be easy to get used to in 2022. Not a fan of the everything on an LCD touchscreen in a car. But then again, I don't have to worry about it unless I get a rental. It's a tribute to GM/DELCO that so many of the GCCs astill function.
About 10 years ago I sold cars for a couple of months at a Buick, GMC dealership. Hated every minute of it! All anyone cared about was the Gameboy in the middle of the dash. Blue Tooth, etc. The driveability, even the styling, never came up. We had better get to autonomous vehicles soon, because most buyers just want something to take them there and back; they have no interest in actually driving the thing. End of rant!
Even without touchscreens, one deficiency of most modern cars is the inability to easily reset the tone controls on the radio for speech VS music. On a lot of talks stations, especially the ones that claim to be "listener supported" the voices are intolerably bassy for the equalization many like for music. I'd like all radios to have a music/speech mode switch to make that transition without having to go into the tone control menu.
I agree that the system was a valiant attempt by Buick at inserting higher technology into its cars. The concept was sound but it failed because of the screen size. The crt’s size was limited because of the limitations on its mounting depth. As it was, the production versions were probably at the limit allowed by the depth of the dash. Larger screens would’ve needed a tunnel in the firewall or a clumsy extension of the screen further into the passenger compartment.
I bought a new 1989 Buick Riviera and LOVED the GCC. Unfortunately, the automotive press disparaged it and ruined it, just like they did to larger, luxury cars. If it didn't have a full compliment of 48 gauges and handle like a Ferrari, the automotive press called it trash. Very sad. Now we have cookie cutter cars that all look the same and offer no inspiration. I would love to have my 1989 Riviera back!!!
My ex had a buick similar year to my '88 cadillac and they put a touch screen in her's and another thing that was also in mine. I was rather excited about showing her that we had the exact same thing in our cars. She was quite surprised.
My neighbor had one of these, and it was generally well-regarded by him and the folks who experienced it. GM pitched it as being similar to the cockpit displays on US fighter jets. It had lots of extras, as mentioned in the review that startled at the time. (diagnostics was just one of them). I remember the only issue he had over the life of the car was the unit's reliability. They would break, and the Buick dealer told him the price to repair it outside of warranty would be insane. (not sure if that was true or not). Anyway, sitting in a new VW Golf yesterday and noted it has all of the same flaws as the buick system despite 40 more years of progress!
Hi Adam, good video! I was a mechanic at a large Chevrolet dealer when Buick Motor Division came out with the GCC-CRT (Graphic Control Center-cathode-ray tube). I was introduced to it at a GM training center. I thought it was the largest gimmick that GM ever came out with and a bad driver safety distraction as well. I also figured that the cost to repair or replace would send the car to the junkyard early. At that time, the Buick Riviera, Oldsmobile Tornado and the Cadillac Eldorado where on the GM "E" platform, transvers engine, front wheel drive with a 108" wheel base. In the mean time, the Chevrolet Beretta/Corsica and the Pontiac Tempest where on the GM "L" platform with a 103" wheel base. The Chevrolet Cavalier, Oldsmobile Firenza, Buick Skyhawk and the Cadillac Cimarron were on the GM "J" platform 101" wheelbase. With all due respect, all the cars that just I listed above are about 80-99% the same car mechanically, so that GM could save cost. Please reply. Dave...
That Tesla touch screen will look just as silly and outdated in 36 years. Automakers were demonstrating how silly they were when they aimed their brands, which were popular with older folks, towards younger folks. New flash: old people have money!
What gets me is the older population is only growing larger and larger and you'd think corporations would want to capitalize on that, not see it as a negative.
Buick and Cadillac's target market was getting increasingly older and dying off. They had to do SOMETHING to appeal to a younger (and larger) market or else face extinction within one generation. It's sad the younger generations wanted aggressive styling instead of quiet, dignified luxury (as these cars originally had in spades). Instead of a nice, soft ride that absorbed the rough pavements, the younger generations bought into the priorities of Car & Driver testers and demanded firmer suspensions for aggressive driving and handling. In all honesty, Buick, Cadillac, Lincoln, etc. would probably gladly go back to building old school luxury cars (think of the engineering money they'd save), but how many would buy them today? That's why the old models have such a devoted clientele in the old car hobby.
That system was far ahead of it's time. The heart of it was based on a 5" Zenith TV...but you could pull up diagnostics better than a current OBD2 reader. You could pull codes (of course), view real time data and voltages from every engine and transmission sensor, shut off individual injectors, override various functions by tripping relays, and snapshot data. The touchscreens today are much more advanced, but you still have to take your eyes off the road to change something today. Never had to take that car to my mechanic.
Proof todays cars are still garbage. Polished turds for sure.
I also own an ‘88 Reatta. Loved it when it was introduced & finally bought one in 2014. The GCC/CRT is a marvelous feature, far ahead of any other competitor, Toronado notwithstanding.
It’s not any harder to use than the touchscreens on my 2022 Kia EV6! It also will provide diagnostic codes, so repairs are easier to make.
1986 Cadillac Fleetwood have the same system but without the touch screen.... it's push button digital
I was impressed with how sophisticated it was for its time. I remember I was on a business trip to Raliegh, NC in July in one of the hottest summers in years, 1998 I believe. I was stuck in traffic and the screen beeped and flashed 'AC Refrigerant overheated-AC clutch disengaged' I think you had to acknowledge the message.
I miss my old Riv. Was looking at a really nice '90 about 10 years ago, but didn't have the screen. One of the other things I really liked about it was in winter that thing would start throwing heat within 10 minutes or so of starting it.
I wonder if someone could update the screen somehow
My Dad bought a used 1988 Riviera in the early 1990's. It lasted 250,000 miles before he sold it to a high school friend. That touch screen might have been cringe at the time but it operated better than my current "5G Smartphone" touchscreen.
Same engine and transmission?
@@Mabeylater293 Yes, the trans went out 20,000 miles after he sold it to my friend. He then scrapped the car. It surprisingly was not rusted out being a Midwestern car
My Dad purchased the car with 50,000 miles. The engine was serviced with conventional oil every 3000 miles and he serviced the transmission every 30,000 miles from the time he bought it to the time he got rid of it.
@@jeffrobodine8579 maintenance is key. So it did have the original engine and transmission at 250,000 miles?
@@Mabeylater293 Yes, unless it was unknowingly changed out for some reason before my Dad bought it with 50,000 miles but that is unlikely.
I feel the same way about touch screen technology. In older cars I could control everything by tactile touch and keep my eyes on the road. I don’t understand how cars can be so heavily regulated, yet nobody is concerned with the negative affects touch screens can have in addition to another pet peeve of mine, bright led headlights that are blinding to my oncoming car and my review mirror.
Right, everybody knows how dangerous it is to text and drive. Yet, these touch screens are nearly as dangerous because there is no fixed location for each button, and it forces your eyes off the road. Yet, no safety engineers seem to care. Yea, add a dozen more airbags, that'll make it safe! Make it impossible to see out the rear window, but add a backup camera, that will make it even more safe!
I literally lost interest in new cars after 2020
Try hitting those touchscreen buttons without looking while bouncing around on a SMOOTH road in a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon. You'd pay extra to have buttons again.
@@belliduradespicio8009 The newer Escalades are the worst. I recently read a GM model was recalled to adjust the brightness of the LED headlights.....and it wasn't even the Escalade, the Yukon I believe.. I truly believe there will be upcoming law regarding this. Those lights are BLINDING.
@@robk9685 Headlights should be bright, even the low beams. However, the problem is in the beam pattern. The brightest part of the (low) beam should be pointed DOWN and a little to the RIGHT so oncoming traffic only sees the lowest intensity of the beam. Many pickups and SUV's have their headlights mounted 3 to 4 feet high, so it's impossible to aim them down far enough to avoid blinding other drivers. Regulations? If done properly, they might be necessary. But, I hate to have to go back to the old sealed beam days of the 60's and 70's, when headlights by law were so terribly DIM that you couldn't safely go over 40MPH on a rainy night. The so-called safety engineers at the DOT are letting some pretty bizarre things happen nowadays, and I hate to see what they might do to headlights. All that said, I agree with you that these lights are too bright, for oncoming drivers anyway.
I got to see the new '86 Riviera at a GM training center. The instrument cluster and CRT were removed and setup on a table, but still connected to the car so an instructor could show everyone the features. Most amazing things I remember were the diagnostic mode, how you could test a window motor, or turn a single light on and off by using the screen. I can't remember if this was the first GM car with multiplexed wiring, but I can remember (somewhat!) about how the wiring in the driver's door was reduced from 18 wires down to 3! Plus it could do things like if you burnt out a headlight, and if you had fog lamps, the car would automatically turn on the fog lamp on the side with the headlight out! It was really quite a thing to see back in 1986!
...and in 1987 I special ordered a RWD G-Body Cutlass with the somewhat rare whopping $42 extra fiber optic lamp monitor option that made you aware immediately that a headlight, brake light or turn signal was out whether front or rear. And today, almost 2023, it takes a cop or gas station attendant to tell you your headlight is out on a $100,000 vehicle. Have we really "progressed"?
@@robk9685 That's a nice option to have! No moving parts or electronics to go bad either.
That’s odd, because the CCT never controlled the windows or headlights/fog lamps. The window buttons were behind the console gear shift and lights were on the dash.
Also the diagnostics were fluid levels and door ajar prompts. It wasn’t that detailed in terms of bulbs or detailed engine warnings.
@@Seventizz I have a Riviera GCC manual and it does have a lamp monitor function.
@@rafaelfiallo4123 That's incorrect then. The headlamp/park/twilight sentinal buttons were on the left dash - not on the CCT.
I bought my mother's an 1989 Buick Riveria. I picked it up back in 1997 for 4400 dollar's. It only had 72k miles and was a one owner senior citizens car. They also had a 1993 Riveria and did not need both cars. My moms car had the touch screen and we never had any problems with it. My mom kept driving the car until about 2015 when she became frail from her battle with breast cancer. The 1989 Riveria was a very reliable car for her. Far more reliable than many of todays cars.
Great video once again! I remember seeing GCC as a kid at my local 1987 auto show and loved how futuristic it was for the time. I recall asking my technology-adverse parents if they would buy the car and my Dad said never in his lifetime, but “in 30 years you’ll be driving cars with tv screens everywhere.” Amazing how spot-on he was!
Washing machines now commonly have touchscreens. WTF?
@@rogersmith7396 and are connected to the internet.... can even be hacked lol
@@kainhall the problem with the Buick setup back then was no internet, hence no porn.
@@MrTheHillfolk very true, needed a vhs in the glovebox
Backward parents you got.... My parents specially my dad was always eager yo buy the newest stuff back then
I was in elementary school in the mid '80s and as a fan of Knight Rider I remember thinking a car with a TV screen was as close as you could get to a Knight industries 2000. I honestly love it
It was the mid 90's when I first set eyes on one of these systems. I was about 13 and me and grandmother would get rides to church from one of the elders who had the system in her Buick Rivera. Even though it was quite antiquated even back then, I still found it amazing just how in depth the system was with its functionality and features. It literally ran every major system in the car including engine, transmission, suspension, hvac, brake and electrical with pinpoint problem diagnosis. Some very advanced stuff for its time. Personally, I would argue that the system was in fact not a failure. Rather, the demographic who purchased these cars, generally older folks of retirement age, did not mix very well with computers and technology back then, either out of mistrust of computers, or simply not having or wanting to develop the skills necessary to use them.
@@belliduradespicio8009 I have to agree
I agree with you in that I prefer yesteryear's dashes with actual gauges and actual buttons and knobs to today's touch screens.
I was a salesman at a Chevy/Olds/Buick dealer in the fall of '85 and remember the biggest sales obstacle the '86 Riviera and Toronado faced was that they were way to close to size and appearance to the new '85 N body Buick Somerset Regal and Olds Calais. I had a customer interested in a Riviera but changed his mind about it immediately when he spotted a new Somerset nearby.
I had an 86 blue Buick Somerset and that car at the time was like a space ship with everything digital! That car was so futuristic at the time!
That era Riviera/Toronado just reminded me of an upscale Grand Am. Girl I worked with in 1987 that was fresh out of college had the Buick Somerset too.
I never would’ve thought the Sommerset or Calais were substitutes for the Riv/Toro. They had much smaller interiors, engines. and features.
@@Seventizz Considering the considerable price difference if you didn't need the room......those damn ugly cars looked alike. I had a '92 Toronado Trofeo.... definitely an improvement over these things.
@@robk9685 Size isn’t the only reason why some people prefer a midsize over a compact. You get less in every category. I love the Sommerset - wish I owned one, but I’m having difficulty seeing a Riv/Toro customer downgrading to a compact in the 80’s/90’s. Ford - and to a lesser extent - Chrysler had their offerings as well.
This was my first car when I got my drivers license in 1986 my parents bought me a new riviera I loved that car so much
Must be nice, my parents threw me out of the house.
@@ericbitzer5247 how old were you when they threw you out of the house
@@freddyhoyt1849 18
My first car was a $300 1960 Buick LeSabre. I did get an "86 Riviera in '1989. I paid for both. We are all created equal, But in the eyes of our parents...?? P.S., I loved my Riviera, I loved my LeSabre!!
I currently own an ‘88 Reatta and think the touchscreen is really cool and more user friendly than it may seem. I also own a ’66 Skylark GS with old school switches and levers. It’s really interesting when I drive them both on the same day…
I love the Reatta and am thrilled that you own one. It was made in the Reatta craft center.
I own a 88 as well and love the crt screen
A 1965 or 1966 Skylark 2 door Hardtop has been my dream car for decades. Never got around to owning one. I did make a clone of my 65 Skylark, even went so far as to put a boxed frame under it. I did the body off frame restoration myself. So I built up the chassis around that boxed GS frame and restored the body and interior while it as still on its stock frame. Then I lifted the body off the stoc frame and placed it on the fully restored chassis based on the boxed frame. Worked like a charm. Sold it though a few years later. But it was much easier for me to use a 1971 Buick 455 engine (which I rebuilt) rather than a period correct 401 due to engine mounts, and accessory locations. I put a Muncie M20 behind it. It had factory air and power windows PS and PB. As time went on, I started to prefer the 1966 over the 1965 styling.
@@MostlyBuicks Cool, I think ’66 is a pinnacle year for GM A-body styling although I also like the ’65 Skylark. I came across the ’66 GS convertible 22 years ago and it’s a keeper, totally stock. I have to admit that the hardtop design really is more striking though with the sail panels and inset rear window.
@@nailhed6628 I do not like the 66 and 67 GTO. I prefer the 65 and 68 to 69.
I owned a 1990 Oldsmobile Tornado Trofeo with the CRT touchscreen. It was an awesome car. Loved the touchscreen. Lots of information. Traded it at 218000 miles. Still worked great.
The GCC was originally shown to the public in the 1983 Buick Questor concept car and the 50 or so prototype 1985 Rivieras were equipped with one and sent out for evaluation. The later Oldsmobile Toronado color VIC fixed some of the issues by add "shortcut" buttons for the most functions like the climate and radio asking with steering wheel controls.
I also prefer dials and buttons to control functionality on a car. A touchscreen is ok for navigation and diagnostics, but that is all I would want to see.
I think its cool they tried it. You need buttons for basic functions that are common and can't be searching around because you can't do 2 visual tasks at once, but it definitely was ahead of its time.
My mother had traded her 1980 riviera for a 1986 Riviera, that was the coolest car ever and was quite reliable as well. I had an opportunity to buy it back several years later and everything still worked. Unfortunately I didn’t have the cash to buy it back but wish I did. It was black cherry red with burgundy velour and a white carriage top. Damn I miss that car.
You are so right about the lack of tactile feedback on today's offerings. In a moving vehicle, virtual buttons are harder to engage than any old-fashioned knob.
I’m not even 30 and I prefer having the screen just operate the radio, and physical gauges for everything else. If it operates multiple systems it renders the vehicle useless if it goes bad or is broken.
8:22 - I'm with you on that comment - buttons and dials one can operate by FEEL, without having to take eyes off the road, even for a half second, to accomplish whatever needed to be done - volume up or down, more heat, more A/C, etc.
The steering wheel is very cool, looks comfortable for a long drive
I was once working on an old Reatta, and encountered this early touch screen. While test driving the car the touch screen suddenly displayed the message "I love you". Kinda freaked me out a little bit...
I purchased a beautiful , very low mileage white 1986 Riviera with wine colored suede leather interior in the summer of 1988. During my ownership, I was neither here nor there in regards to the touchscreen control panel. It was certainly a novelty and conversation piece. However, even in my younger days (I was only 23 when I purchased the car), I rarely played the radio and once I set the climate controls, I tended to leave them alone. I never experienced any problems with my unit but I always lived in fear that it would one day malfunction and leave me with a whopping repair bill. That never happened as I sold the car in 1992. Whenever I did use the screen, I found it to be very user friendly and couldn't understand the negative press it received. Perhaps, because of my age, I was more open to new technology. Everyone seems to pile hate on this generation of Riviera and say it was too close in appearance to the "N" body Somerset Regal. Yes, there were some definite design similarities, but the Riviera (I felt) had a much more commanding presence due to it's larger size and overall more upscale attributes. I was always partial to the '86 models with their 4 individual sealed beam headlamps. The aero lamps in later years spoiled the front end appearance for me. I always felt like a million bucks driving this car and was very proud to own it. I only wish I had kept it along with the 1977 Cadillac Coupe DeVille (Naples Yellow, 425 EFI and most options) I had prior to this Riviera.
I also set my climate controls on automatic and rarely have to touch a thing. Each driver has their own preferences, so they don’t have to fuss with them either. Most of those that complain about having no switchgear have never owned anything else. I like a clean look that doesn’t get old fashioned in a couple years.
I basically set the power seat and power mirrors once then go years without touching them. Not a real important item to me.
@@rogersmith7396 You are a smart man, not a complainer
I thought these were extremely cool and way, way ahead of its time. Love 80s GM interiors. Luxurious, colorful, quiet, and beautiful
I worked part time for Avis Rent-A-Car back in the 80's/90's and drove many of these Riviera's. Never had any issues when using the touch screen and thought it was pretty cool when it came out. Course I'm in the IT field and tech doesn't scare/bother me. Kinda reminded me of my screen on my desk at work. haha.
The lady who drove my friend and I to Bible School during summer breaks in the early 1990s had this system in her car. As I recall being as fascinated by it as she was terrified by it. I got the impression that in her eyes’ it was basically Scotty’s console on the Enterprise and if you hit the wrong thing you might bypass the EPS relays and ruin her gas mileage.
I'm with you on this Adam. Touch screens need to go away in favor of no-look tactile controls which do not require taking the eyes from the classic *Watch where you're going* scenario. As a CHP print ad once said under a photo of a cute little kid: "Do you want to tell his mother you only looked down for a second?"
I'm also a lover of dedicated switchgear and controls for anything that moves. I worked for AMX Corp in Dallas in the late 80's, who built a touchscreen control system for the conference rooms at the Nissan north American hq's in late '86. I now wonder if the Buick system helped Nissan decide to buy the AMX system, which had previously only existed as prototypes. Thanks for the great videos
Great video Adam, I worked at a Buick dealer in the 80s and you are correct, once customers got over the "wow" factor they hated the CRT. If i remember correctly, the CRT was manufactured by Magnovox and a replacement CRT dealer price was $1000 in 1988. As usual, great vid!!
@@Rick-S-6063 Yes, I would really like to hear about their *reliability.*
It seems many commenters had good experiences with these first touch screens. But I was *_sure_* I'd heard numerous times over the years about one of the *new 'digital dashes'* on one or other high end G.M. vehicles that *were notorious for their failure rates.* Was that not this system??
One particular story a mechanic friend told me was about a customer with an almost new [Riviera?] that had constant troubles with their digital dash conking out. They had had it replaced under warranty several times, and after yet another replacement, had been told by the dealership that they were on their own---no more warranty repairs, regardless of whether the car was legally entitled to it or not.
Of course, at that point it was one customer against a billion dollar company. So you can guess what (didn't) happen.
Again, were those not this system?
It's Zenith.
In the mid 90's we had an older lady with an 8 Reatta and she drove me nuts trying to keep the GCC working properly. We replaced it several times with rebuilt units that had different problems every time. One time while I was changing it I watched a static electrical spark travel from my finger into the circuit board of the GCC. That was the only one that worked properly.
Looks like you had the magic touch after all. But yiu can"t blame the system on a bad rebuilder. At one point in my life I purchased a manual transmission car because I couldn't find a good starter motor rebuilder and concluded I could always start a "stick shift" with a push.
My parents owned an 86 Riv with the GCC and we loved it. I liked driving it as well. It was comfortable with the inflatable lumbar support in the seat. We liked the auto leveling rear suspension so if you have people in the back seat and luggage in the trunk the car, it did not sag back like others would. For us ,it was not hard to use the screen and we did not need to go into multiple screens all the time. The summary screen was really what it stayed on. It had temp up down along with some radio controls with volume. Rarely did we go to the climate menu for fan or other stuff as auto setting worked just fine. If you needed defrost it was a button second up from the bottom on the right side of the dash. You could pull pretty much all sensor data in diagnostic mode by pressing and holding climate off and warm at the same time. It was great for trouble shooting. I ended up getting a 91 Riv and my Mom and Dad got another 93 Riv. We loved them.
I had an '86 and totally agree. Comfortable and quiet too. Cars today are noisey and harsh riding. And the '86 to '93 Rivieras had the rust problem licked along with the '79 to '85. Unfortunately the rust problem returned in the 1995 Riviera and remained till the end in'99
I remember this being a big deal back then and well ahead of its time.
I appreciate that a young man like yourself, enjoys the older full size cars.
As a french guy who owned a Buick Century 86 and a Park Avenue 92,let me tell you that your vids are amongst the best of the net, besides Hagerty's ones.
You display great knowledges, humor, sense, and first hands accounts.
Extremely enjoyable 👌Huge kuddos to you.
Merci!
You are correct about operating standard switches, buttons, & knobs by feel. Younger people today never had the chance to compare them against the screens. So now we have drivers looking at screens instead of the road. Nevermind the screens being a single point of failure. At least with standard switches a failure killed one function. Not everything.
I sold Buicks in the '80's. This was state of the art at the time, and you can still find cars that these systems still work 40 years later.
The Oldsmobile Toronado Trofeó in the late '80s had the GCC setup as well. I distinctly remember that the dealership I was working at had a blackand another burgundy Trofeó parked on the "Pad" in front of the showroom. I still remember the awesome smell of that Olds leather during those years. Something I would love to experience again one day. The GCC display in those cars left a huge impression on my 19 year old mind. It was mind blowing at a time when digital dashes were a step above the ordinary. These displays took it to a whole different level in my youthful mind back then. I would love to find a nice Trofeó or an International Series Olds 98 of that era with the FE3 option.
Trofeo's are still out there if you know where to look 😉
garbage, look out the windshield if you drive or call a taxi.
@@thefarcenteristhepartyyoun4787 Be gone troll! Don't care about your opinion.
@@glennirvin271 Actually, I am an ogre and am offended that you mispronouned me.
I agree that some functions should remain as physical buttons. For instance volume control and temperature controls are much easier to use with muscle memory as opposed to having to visualize them.
THANK'S ADAM,, FOR TALKING ABOUT THE 70--80S BUICKS .. GREAT VIDEO!!!
The best car I ever had! I had the ultra rare collector's edition. White with blue padded top and pillow blue cloth and the turbo option 3.8 V6 fuel injection and ride control. Fully loaded luxury and quick!
I love the look of this CRT panel, but I'd have a hard time using one. (I assume... I haven't had the pleasure of trying).
Physical buttons, dials, and switches have the tactile advantage. With time, the driver can memorize the controls and operate them by feel alone.
I feel like the side buttons on 80s fighter jet screens would be a good solution here. :3
Love this video! Always a treat to catch a glimpse of fledgling technology that became mainstream today!
Very good once again Adam. I remember GCC. I liked it because it was a revolutionary idea at the time. It is interesting how Buick and GM was ahead of the curve and now others have followed since. I was so glad when GM upsized Riviera in 1989. when they redesigned it for 1995, it was big as the 1979-1985 model. Also I am sure you know the GCC was tested out and offered in the 1984 or 1985 Buick Riviera before the 1986 downsizing. There is a video on You Tube for it under Motorweek. Buick tested it out before putting it in the 1986 model. I am sure you are aware of the VIC that was in the Toronado. It was like GCC at Buick. Oldsmobile made changes. It ran up until Toronado was dropped in 1992. It appeared in 1989 if I recall. It also had more buttons too. There are videos of it here on You Tube. There are articles online too. Thank you once again Adam.
You are correct, 1989 was the first year for the VIC.
And these were WAY ahead of their time without a doubt. And I can say from personal experience being the only one servicing these screens now 30+ years later that a ton of time and money went into development of these as even by today's standards they are extremely complex.
I agree with you 100%about tactile controls being preferable to a touch screen. While I was driving my friend's 2019 Fusion on the interstate (75 mph) the weather changed and the windows began t to fog quickly. Well yeah try to figure out software while you are driving that fast. I had to ask her to turn on the defroster, which she did but then my side of the car started to get too hot. Shop I embarrassingly ask her to change my side to cooler.
At least with the old switchgear once you've found it you can usually fumble with it without taking your eyes off the road and get something to work. Usually there is sound or tactile feel (like the notches in the mode selector) and an idiot can usually figure them out. But when you have nothing but a smooth surface and you start to randomly push something that might turn on your phone... What the hell are engineers thinking?
I’ve owned 3 Riviera’s. 86, 89, 95. The two earlier ones had the screen and everyone loved it. Seeing the fan animation fascinated passengers - especially when you turned the fan up and the animation went faster. The screen became very easy to navigate and I could use it w/o talking my eyes off the road.
The dash had a Defrost button which would turn the heater and fan on high automatically.
Also, the blinker sound was an electronic ding noise and not a click. Passengers thought that was cool too.
Absolutely loved my Rivs!
I have a 1988 Reatta with the CRT. It is pretty cool to use and a novel feature for the time. Hopefully it will continue to operate correctly. I wonder if anyone services these now?
yes! see Marc @ east coast reatta...Marc has a website..
Thanks Dave
Great video!!
I will just keep running my 2003 Town Cars with the climate and radio buttons on the steering wheel......
These GCC units were so neat, as I remember being a little kid and seeing the commercials for them, and even the Mercury Cougar tried to "fancy" up their interiors with all buttons and digital displays, but it wasn't touch screen, like Buick.....
"Fingerprint screens" are one of the worst things. Having to take your eyes off the road, so you can dig through menu after convoluted menu, just to change the radio station. Bring back buttons, knobs and switches. A driver that knew their car, could easily operate things by feel without looking away from the road.
Even better when the controls have a different shape such as a round knob for the lights and a hex knob or slide lever for the wipers.
Exactly. Simple is better. Too much un-tested tech in new cars, that tends to glitch out.
Great vid ! I remember all too well the mid-80s CHOP on body size and style. So many amazing and unique design shapes all started looking the same. All-hail the memory of the American land yacht.
THE TOUCH SCREEN OF 1986-89 WAS SIMPLY AHEAD OF ITS TIME.
However, this video does point out a problem with touch screens: They do cause the driver to shift his/ her eyes from the road to the screen in order to scroll to different screens and select options.
The benefit of physical controls is they are easily recognized and operated by touch, and thus allowing the driver to focus on the road.
Fascinating that such similar systems are becoming mainstream 30 years later. That technology back then is amazing. It was the dawn of the computer age so maybe it didn’t seem so far out.
We had a Oldsmobile toronado trofeo with the VIC center. To me as a kid I felt like I was in knight rider.
You mention the name briefly, but could you do video about the Buick Reatta? I think it's a really beautiful car. And I love the touch screen. It was simply well ahead of its time.
Thanks Adam for this interesting history of eighties Buick!!! 🎄⛄🤶
You could also have mentioned the stacks of buttons used for the lights and wipers. These also required the driver to take his eyes off of the road and were also disliked.
I like the Close Encounters of the Third Kind-esque music in that commercial at the beginning.
Closest thing we had was my Dad's '91 Regal GS four door.
As a kid in the '80s, I was enthralled by an '86 Riviera with the GCC that belonged to an older kid's mom in the neighborhood. Back then, I watched every episode of Knight Rider and read every issue of Popular Science magazine and was obsessed with digital dashes and cutting-edge automotive technology. I loved the color version of the GCC found in the Toronado - the VIC (Visual Information Center). I've moved on from the GM brand, but I'll never forget the mid-1980s to early-1990s Oldsmobile, Buick, and Cadillac models.
What amazes me about the current touchscreen faze is how the manufacturers are getting around interior safety issues. Instead of a padded dashboard, some are so large they’d almost have to be a hazard in a bad crash. Am I missing something?
No, not at all. Was in a major crash with a previous car, the fault of another driver who decided not to stop at the stop sign, not insured and a lot of money out of my pocket to replace the car. Now, since I was properly restrained and the airbags went off, the touch screen did not move did not bump into it or anything of that sort. One just has to wear the seatbelt and I don't even start the engine and move the car without it. Older cars are much, much more dangerous than today's models.
airbags
@@ButterfatFarms Lol… Don’t read too much into my question. I’m not worried… just asking a question.
@@Primus54 Answer: They don't care.
@@Primus54 Was a very good question.
In this time frame I was driving a loaded GMC Jimmy because I needed a 4wd to reach my country house. The Jimmy impressed me most in that I could drive it for long durations and feel no fatigue. I really admire the interiors you display.
GM had some really good seats in their cars in the 80's and 90's. My father had astro-vans in that period. He did lots of open-road traveling and loved those vans for the good seats in them too
I remember the olds toronado had a similar setup and it had a map feature which was pretty cool for the time, however, it was limited in memory size, and if you went to another large city, the map had to be upgraded for the city you were visiting or moving to. That was only done by the dealerships and I would guess was an expensive upgrade.
If you're talking about the GuideStar system, that was completely different from this, and is a GPS navigation tool.
@@atikovi1 Yes and no for both. The regular Toronado VIC only had a compass function under the navigation page, there were however a few test cars given to rental fleets in areas like Orlando that did have a limited navigation system built into them.
I worked on 2 of those I remember how taken back it said on the unit danger high voltage Zenith television it was a mini tv
My 89 Olds. Toronado Trofeo had a similar system, it was called the VIC, Visual Information Center, and it was the coolest thing for me. It had a car phone option, the same diagnostics, radio, a "navigation" system (it was just a digital compass), a programable calendar with alarms and reminders you could set.... It was a fancy car. I still gush about that car. Kind of wild the tech that existed at the time. Gah, and the seats! It had these little inflatable bladders all throughout them, and could be adjusted to a ridiculous degree of comfort.
Though... It looks like the Toronado system may have been more different in how it functioned. On my car, the bezel around the screen had little IR lasers that drew a grid, when your fingers intersected the light, the sensors new which 'button' you were pressing. The bezel on the Riviera doesn't look as deep as my Toros were, and I don't see the little pips that were the tell-tale sign of that system.
I bought an '86 Riv in the late '90's. What a road car! I would frequently drive between the Twin Cities and Des Moines and get great gas mileage. I never felt fatigued. Comfortable seats, good climate control system. It even has AM stereo! When I bought it did have some electrical gremlins. I solved a lot myself. I never got the Twilight sentinel working. Took it to a local Buick dealer and they didn't solve the issue either. The car finally succumb to a broken timing chain. It was never the same after that. I traded the Buick along with a '91 Quad 442 for a new Monte Carlo. Wish I still had the Olds and Buick! When was the last time you saw a Olds Quad 442!
My dad had a slightly later Toronado with Olds’ version VIC. I LOVED VIC!! It worked beautifully, was easy to use & at least 19 yo me found it incredibly intuitive.
Thank you for this presentation. I'm also thankful that my cars are so old that they don't have these modern and up to date technologies. Thank you,
I am not much impressed by them. The only one I really like is electronic ignition. Screwing with points is a hated task.
Oh yea, I remember those like it was yesterday. As I look back now Buick was way a head of it's time offering the CRT. Also it was a shame the designers sure missed the boat with the small Rivi.
Learn something new every day. Never heard of the GCC till today.....
A friend of my parents bought a new Riviera with one of these and I remember being wowed by it, but only a little. It was a leap forward from the Lincoln/Mark VI digital dash but seemed a bit clunky to use. Now, it seems quaint.
Great video! A generation raised playing computer games craves games in their vehicles. I can remember reading when GM first introduced the tilt wheel in the early sixties, and showed it to a Benz engineer, he said, "We spent years finding the perfect steering wheel angle!" A solution to a problem that really doesn't exist.
I owned a 1989 Riviera with the GCC and I knew that was the future. The system was great since it had automatic climate control and memory you didn't need to use it while steering the car but was actually easy to use. That car was my favorite car I ever owned. If they would have had memory, heated and cooled seats, rain sense wipers, steering wheel buttons and touch start it would have been the perfect car. The 89 was longer by way of body panels so was a looker at the and really still is. Mine had a power seat with extra functions, anti lock brakes and very expensive remote entry added not too mention the leather and I think it suede like seats.
I owned a 1987 Buick Riviera T-Type for several years here in Munich: A fine car with good road manners for the low appearance and I enjoyed the screen and the digital instruments very much, also a head turner at stop lights! 👍🏼🏁🇺🇸
Btw it had reversible seat cushions leather / fabric and a very complicated electric driver seat!
I was a GM Master Tech at a Buick/Pontiac dealer during the entire 80's. I might have to challenge your conclusion to why it did not take off in the Rivera. As a tech then I was in my 20's and had yet to have anything with a touch screen, as is much different now in that by the time kids are 10 they are given a device that is a touch screen, so when those kids that are now adults they buy cars with the same tech they have in their hands all day long.
Again being a tech in the 80's I was always the one they gave the cars that started to get onboard computers to. The older techs in the shop would always say "its time to get out of the business with all the computer stuff". They were old school and I embraced the tech and enjoyed toying with them.
Had a trainer in the GM training center that would take young techs like me and others and show them the new stuff about to come out. It was impressive stuff that died on the vine as it was way ahead of its time. Too bad the public didn't get it then!
I have mixed feelings about the proliferation of touch screens. Yes, they allow for human interface with a lot of functionality that would otherwise be an impossibly dizzying array of buttons. Look at a GM or Volvo car from the late 90s or early 00s to see where that nightmare was headed. But operating a touchscreen at speed, especially over uneven pavement where your finger isn't steady, is challenging af. I think there's a sweet spot in there somewhere, a balance between physical buttons and display screens, but I have yet to see it.
One thing that could improve these interfaces would be more tactile or audio feedback so that you'd have some idea of what you were doing without taking eyes off the road. But you know what they say about good intentions.
Or on my 2021 car, I go to press a button on the screen and the screen changes to another mode which results in pressing the wrong button and have to fight with UI to return it to the intended mode. Poorly thought out, poorly executed and dangerous. Another issue, never the same screen twice, different screen designs for the garage door/gate buttons. Horrendous execution of Apple CarPlay resulting with massive fiddling and about a minute for the music app to start playing, I could go and on. Touch screens are they are now are simply a hazard.
@@kennixox262 My Jeep will suddenly leave FM and jump to AM on random occasions. I have little faith in the long term viability of computer controlled cars. I am used to working on third owner cars where everything is busted. I think the 9 speed auto is very sketchy too.
@@rogersmith7396 I'm not a car expert but over the long term supporting the electronics may be a major problem.
@@kennixox262 That and getting gas once the oil companies close down.
I too prefer actual buttons to touchscreens, and I sell them for a living. Unfortunately from a cost perspective the screens are now cheaper than actual buttons. They’re also considerably glitchy, I have numerous customers with software issues and my service dept can’t even force an update. It’s all done by satellite and my customers sometimes have to wait weeks before an update comes over the air.
ב''ה, before G-d decided to let everything be terrible clown world forever, tactile displays both for accessibility (blindness) and to address this problem were an up and coming thing.
However, as with the problem you describe, technologies such as NeuraLink will simply be cheaper and more profitable for your owners, allowing you to navigate without taking your eyes off the road or continue to work the assembly line even without a head.
I recall that an insurance General manager that I have known in 1988 at mutual of omaha in Carmel California owned a Buick Riviera like this and same color which was red but his had a moon roof and a aftermarket car phone. Nice car! I saw some other luxury cars at the parking lot like a Buick Park Avenue, Mercedes 190E, Cadillac Deville, Cadillac Brougham, Mercedes 420 SEL, Jaguar Vandan Plas, Jaguar XJ12, Volvo 760 Turbo, Volvo 264 Bertone coupe, and more. There was a Merrill Lynch, Charles Schwab, and ML Stern and many more high end offices that staffs drove these cars and had reserved parking spaces. I worked in Carmel during that time and met some wonderful people that owned these nice cars. Thanks for reading!
I'm with you on touch screens. They are a distraction for the most part. I'm a fan of buttons and levers for anything with a focused/basic function. Washing machine or stove? Zero need for touch screens here. More components that can break/wear out that you most likely wouldn't be able to fix yourself. Part of the issue with car touch screens is the lack of intuitive interfaces available right now. Most of them seem too layered and all over the place. I imagine more high end vehicles have solved this but most people aren't spending 70 grand on a vehicle.
There is a junkyard in Tucson full of 1986-1992 Rivera and 1988-1991 Reatta parts. He has a shelf full of these CRT units. He repairs them too. He also rebuilds the complex anti-lock brake units of these cars.
It amazes me that HVAC controls are on many touch screens today. Sandy Munro on his channel constantly chastizes auto companies that do NOT put HVAC controls on a touch screen. Moving through multiple screens to adjust temperature is lunacy to me. It is almost as annoying as the insistence on having piano black trim on dashes.
The 86 GCC didn't have any raised buttons to change functions between climate control, gages etc. Later iterations would have a revised surround that contained tactile buttons for the 6 different function modes. A small improvement. I briefly owned an 88 Reatta, and the screen worked well. I had always been intrigued by these screens when they first came out, but now I prefer cars that have button and separate controls for everything. No screens me.
From what I can remember, one of the main reasons for having this display was that it was going to utilize the screen as a GPS. By making it large enough for the GPS to be readable (no voice guidance), other functions were added to the screen instead of taking up additional real-estate... The mishap and tragedy of the Challenger Shuttle delayed the deployment of the 4th navigation satellite needed to run the global system. (You needed 3 satellites - 2 for position and 1 to confirm and missing satellite prevented it from being a true global tracker) So, had the Challenger disaster not happened, things may have been very different. Also, as someone had mentioned, the screen included OBD-I diagnostics which were much easier to use than the Cadillac's on-board OBD-I diagnostics...
Not sure why it wasn’t well received? It was amazing technology for the time and had lots of functionality that included real time engine diagnostics. I remember being thoroughly impressed at the time with the units in the Reattas. The boys from Flint had it right in my opinion.
I worked at a Buick dealership as well back in the 80s. I owned 2 TTypes, an 84 Skylark and an 88 LeSabre. It was always my understanding the T stood for Touring. Someone else mentioned an 85 with the CRT. I do remember this as well. A salesman works remember this better, but it was my understanding that some E bodies were made with the CRT screen set up for demonstration purposes, and where referred to as CRT Rivieras. I'm sure they were all crushed, but they did exist.
This interior was also in the Buick Reatta.
The Reatta was a very fragile car.
The GCC would probably be easy to get used to in 2022. Not a fan of the everything on an LCD touchscreen in a car. But then again, I don't have to worry about it unless I get a rental. It's a tribute to GM/DELCO that so many of the GCCs astill function.
About 10 years ago I sold cars for a couple of months at a Buick, GMC dealership. Hated every minute of it! All anyone cared about was the Gameboy in the middle of the dash. Blue Tooth, etc. The driveability, even the styling, never came up. We had better get to autonomous vehicles soon, because most buyers just want something to take them there and back; they have no interest in actually driving the thing. End of rant!
Even without touchscreens, one deficiency of most modern cars is the inability to easily reset the tone controls on the radio for speech VS music. On a lot of talks stations, especially the ones that claim to be "listener supported" the voices are intolerably bassy for the equalization many like for music. I'd like all radios to have a music/speech mode switch to make that transition without having to go into the tone control menu.
I think a lot have auto low volume compensation which boosts the bass. I never use that on my home stereo.
I agree that the system was a valiant attempt by Buick at inserting higher technology into its cars. The concept was sound but it failed because of the screen size. The crt’s size was limited because of the limitations on its mounting depth. As it was, the production versions were probably at the limit allowed by the depth of the dash. Larger screens would’ve needed a tunnel in the firewall or a clumsy extension of the screen further into the passenger compartment.
My mother had one on a 1988 Buick Reatta. Lasted for 10+ years.
Can't fault that.
I think Douglas did one of these. Really amazing they implemented this tech at the time as well as they did.
Another great video! 😁
I bought a new 1989 Buick Riviera and LOVED the GCC. Unfortunately, the automotive press disparaged it and ruined it, just like they did to larger, luxury cars. If it didn't have a full compliment of 48 gauges and handle like a Ferrari, the automotive press called it trash. Very sad. Now we have cookie cutter cars that all look the same and offer no inspiration. I would love to have my 1989 Riviera back!!!
My ex had a buick similar year to my '88 cadillac and they put a touch screen in her's and another thing that was also in mine. I was rather excited about showing her that we had the exact same thing in our cars. She was quite surprised.
My neighbor had one of these, and it was generally well-regarded by him and the folks who experienced it. GM pitched it as being similar to the cockpit displays on US fighter jets. It had lots of extras, as mentioned in the review that startled at the time. (diagnostics was just one of them). I remember the only issue he had over the life of the car was the unit's reliability. They would break, and the Buick dealer told him the price to repair it outside of warranty would be insane. (not sure if that was true or not). Anyway, sitting in a new VW Golf yesterday and noted it has all of the same flaws as the buick system despite 40 more years of progress!
2:10 "Buick became known a company that catered to the older driver."
My grandfather always drove a Buick ... so there's that.
The green monochromatic CRT certainly looks more aesthetically pleasing than Toys'R'Us inspired aesthetics of today's interfaces.
We were a Buick family. My mom had the 1988 Buick Reatta with the GCC.
they also had the first back up camera in 1956. never went into production but still way ahead of its time.
@2:16 The 1974 Electra 225 was a sharp car, much nicer that the 1980's Buicks.
I remember that Car & Driver reviewed one of the Buick T Type cars with this screen, and called it "Buick TV Type."
Hi Adam, good video! I was a mechanic at a large Chevrolet dealer when Buick Motor Division came out with the GCC-CRT (Graphic Control Center-cathode-ray tube). I was introduced to it at a GM training center. I thought it was the largest gimmick that GM ever came out with and a bad driver safety distraction as well. I also figured that the cost to repair or replace would send the car to the junkyard early. At that time, the Buick Riviera, Oldsmobile Tornado and the Cadillac Eldorado where on the GM "E" platform, transvers engine, front wheel drive with a 108" wheel base. In the mean time, the Chevrolet Beretta/Corsica and the Pontiac Tempest where on the GM "L" platform with a 103" wheel base. The Chevrolet Cavalier, Oldsmobile Firenza, Buick Skyhawk and the Cadillac Cimarron were on the GM "J" platform 101" wheelbase. With all due respect, all the cars that just I listed above are about 80-99% the same car mechanically, so that GM could save cost. Please reply. Dave...
That Tesla touch screen will look just as silly and outdated in 36 years. Automakers were demonstrating how silly they were when they aimed their brands, which were popular with older folks, towards younger folks. New flash: old people have money!
What gets me is the older population is only growing larger and larger and you'd think corporations would want to capitalize on that, not see it as a negative.
Buick and Cadillac's target market was getting increasingly older and dying off. They had to do SOMETHING to appeal to a younger (and larger) market or else face extinction within one generation. It's sad the younger generations wanted aggressive styling instead of quiet, dignified luxury (as these cars originally had in spades). Instead of a nice, soft ride that absorbed the rough pavements, the younger generations bought into the priorities of Car & Driver testers and demanded firmer suspensions for aggressive driving and handling. In all honesty, Buick, Cadillac, Lincoln, etc. would probably gladly go back to building old school luxury cars (think of the engineering money they'd save), but how many would buy them today? That's why the old models have such a devoted clientele in the old car hobby.