1995 Buick Park Avenue Base from Germany - Comments

The original battery had to be replaced at 78,000 kilometers.

No other defects have occurred so far.

The Buick Park Avenue is the best car I have ever owned, in terms of reliability, affordability, performance, comfort, safety - you name it.

It's got all the advantages of a full-size American cruiser from the so-called "good old days", namely the 1950s and 1960s, but none of the disadvantages.

The Park Avenue is lavishly equipped with all the goodies anyone could possibly ask for, and more. It's quiet, roomy, highly comfortable, quick, and very, very, stylish in a suave, sophisticated way. So far, so good.

On the other hand, the traditional drawbacks of older American cars are simply non-existent in the Buick. It's big on the inside without being uselessly oversized on the outside. I once had a '73 Chevy Impala Custom Coupe which was a full 40 centimeters (15.7 inches) longer, 10 centimeters (4 inches) wider than the Park Avenue and had a wheelbase more than 21 centimeters (8.5 inches) longer to boot - not to mention the extra 500 U.S. pounds of weight on the Chevy. Still, the Park Avenue offers just as much room on the inside and even as much usable trunk space. Rear seat legroom is actually better in the Buick even with myself (I'm 6'4") in the driver's seat. The Park Avenue with its 205 inches of length is also much easier to maneuver and to park in our congested cities, although it's still a borderline case. After all, people over here don't buy small cars for no good reason.

The Park Avenue's ride is at least as comfortable as that of any of its full-size predecessors from 30 or 40 years ago.

Performance is fully satisfactory and certainly up to par with most of the big muscle cars from the Sixties. My car has the normally aspirated version of Buick's venerable V6 which dates back to 1962. It will go from 0-60 in less than 9 seconds and tops out at 127 mph on the autobahn. It's an export model with auxiliary engine and transmission oil coolers. That means it won't overheat during sustained high-speed runs, one of the long-time common ailments of American cars over here, as uncounted numbers of U.S. car enthusiasts in Germany have had to learn the hard way.

As far as the Park Avenue's handling is concerned, it's certainly no sports sedan in the BMW, Mercedes-Benz, or Jaguar manner, but then again, no big American sedan ever was or is or should be. Cornering ability is markedly lower than in good German sedans, but who cares? My personal preference has always been going towards the comfort- rather than driver-oriented suspension design that makes American cars so unique and desirable, in my view. I say, leave the sportiness to the Bimmers et al. and keep on cruisin'.

One of the most heartwarming aspects of owning the Park Avenue is fuel economy. Over here, a liter of unleaded regular costs 1.02 euros, which converts to approx. 4 dollars per gallon. I get 25 mpg on the highway (average speed 75 mph - I don't engage in too many high-speed runs) and 20-22 mpg in the city. European or Japanese cars of comparable size and weight can't do much better, either. The Buick is a surprisingly efficient automobile, something that not too long ago was a contradiction in terms when it came to American cars.

Fit and finish of the Park Avenue are definitely better than on any 1960s U.S. car, though not quite up to German luxury car standards. Some of the plastic inside the cockpit looks and feels cheap by comparison. The plastic is also rather hard and creaks from time to time. However, the Buick's much lower price is ample compensation for those imperfections.

I'm an automotive writer and an American car nut. In the last 20 years, I've owned and/or test driven around 300 cars, old and new, of all shapes and sizes, from all corners of the world. All in all, the Park Avenue is the perfect choice for me. It proves that nobody needs 4,000 pounds of steel to go from A to B comfortably, safely and quickly. It also proves that you don't have to pay 60,000 dollars for a car that will meet all the demands one could reasonably make in his or her everyday driving.

I have a 1995 Buick park avenue and I get to 60 m.p.h. a lot faster then 9 seconds try 7 seconds. But the best thing is stepping on the gas at 70 and hearing the downshift and going like a bat out of hell. Can you say torque?