The Buick Park Avenue is a full-size

luxury car A luxury car is a car that provides increased levels of comfort, equipment, amenities, quality, performance, and associated status compared to moderately priced cars. The term is subjective and reflects both the qualities of the car and the ...

built by

Buick Buick () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Started by automotive pioneer David Dunbar Buick in 1899, it was among the first American marques of automobiles, and was the company that established General ...

. The nameplate was first used in 1975 for an appearance option package on the Electra 225 Limited. It became an Electra trim level in 1978 and its own model starting in the 1991 model year after the Electra was discontinued. There were two generations of the Park Avenue that were manufactured in the United States until 2005. In 2007, the nameplate was revived on a large Buick sedan built by

Shanghai GM SAIC General Motors Corporation Limited (More commonly known as SAIC-GM; ; formerly known as "Shanghai General Motors Company Ltd", "Shanghai GM"; ) is a joint venture between General Motors Company and SAIC Motor that manufactures and sells Chev ...

for the Chinese market based on the

Holden Caprice The Holden Caprice is a full-sized car which was produced by Holden in Australia from 1990 to October 2017. The similar Holden Statesman, which was also introduced in 1990 as a model below the Caprice, was discontinued in September 2010. Betwe ...

from the WM/WN range. The nameplate is derived from the affluent

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

boulevard A boulevard is a type of broad avenue planted with rows of trees, or in parts of North America, any urban highway. Boulevards were originally circumferential roads following the line of former city walls. In American usage, boulevards may ...

Park Avenue Park Avenue is a wide New York City boulevard which carries north and southbound traffic in the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. For most of the road's length in Manhattan, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the west and Lexington Av ...

As a sub-model (1975-1990)

1975-1976 Park Avenue first appeared as an appearance package on the 1975 Buick Electra Limited. It included similar seats to the

Cadillac Sixty Special The Cadillac Sixty Special is a name used by Cadillac to denote a special model since the 1938 Harley Earl– Bill Mitchell–designed extended wheelbase derivative of the Series 60, often referred to as the Fleetwood Sixty Special. The Sixty S ...

, optional full center console, Buick 455ci V8, posi-traction, 15" rallye sport wheels, rear automatic leveling, optional leather, optional Air Cushion Restraint System, remote mirror with thermometer, and automatic climate control. The 1976 cars were largely the same except for some styling revisions and added emissions systems. 1977-1984 Park Avenue, previously an appearance option package, became an official trim level on the Electra in 1978. Cosmetically, a different grille and redesigned tail lights were the only notable cosmetic changes that year but 1979 brought a redesigned, flat front end and a subtly different taillight treatment featuring a Buick crest and bisecting horizontal silver line. A more extensive redesign occurred for the 1980 model year. 1985-1990 Park Avenue remained the top trim on the Buick Electra, it was redesigned along with the rest of the Electra line up moving to the front wheel drive GM C-Body. It featured upgraded upholstery/seating, premium sound, optional leather, and standard Buick 3800 V6. The coupe version was discontinued in 1987. For 1989, Buick introduced the Park Avenue Ultra trim level. The Ultra was essentially an upgrade to the Electra Park Avenue line, and featured a standard leather interior with dual 20-way power front seats (shared with Cadillac's restyled 1989 Cadillac Fleetwood Sixty Special), lower-body accent exterior paint treatment, distinctive thick-padded vinyl top with limousine-style rear-window surround (available only on Ultra), simulated burled elm trim on the doors and instrument panel, unique aluminum wheels, anti-lock brakes, chromed B-pillar moldings, specific grille and tail lamps, leather-wrapped steering wheel, electronic instrumentation, padded glove-compartment door, unique interior door panel trim, and a variety of otherwise minor changes. With its long list of standard equipment, the Park Avenue Ultra carried a higher base price than Cadillac's Sedan de Ville. The Park Avenue Ultra did not gain much popular recognition, however, until the following generation of Park Avenue where the "Ultra" badge offered even more features.

Essence concept car

The Buick Park Avenue Essence was a

concept car A concept car (also known as a concept vehicle, show vehicle or prototype) is a car made to showcase new styling and/or new technology. They are often exhibited at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or ...

designed and engineered by the

division of

General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...

to showcase advanced technology and styling. First shown in 1989 in a light green metallic color, the Essence made rounds through the auto show circuits later in a light white. Inside the Essence was a wide, sweeping instrument panel that housed a prototype Delco Navicar navigation system among other innovations. Smooth, graceful body lines forecast the eventual production Park Avenue, introduced in 1990. The Essence was powered by the then-new 165 hp version of Buick's 3800 OHV V6 engine.

First generation (1991–1996)

The 1991 Park Avenue, introduced in July 1990, used GM's C platform and was previewed by the 1989 Park Avenue Essence show car. With its large grille, rounded lines, and full-width tail lamps, the Park Avenue's styling cues made their way to subsequent Buick models restyled in the 1990s. The Park Avenue was Buick's largest front wheel drive sedan, but the even larger rear wheel drive Roadmaster returned to the line in 1991 for the station wagon and 1992 for the sedan. The largest Buick was the Roadmaster; its Park Avenue trim was the most luxurious and considered the flagship of the marque. This generation saw the installation of Dynaride, which was an air compressor that would pressurize the rear Chapman Struts to maintain a level overall ride height. A badge was installed on the dashboard to the left of the steering column on all vehicles equipped. It was not available on vehicles equipped with Gran Touring Suspension. The base model Park Avenue came with a 3.8 L naturally-aspirated V6 engine and plush velour interior upgradeable to leather. Starting in 1992, the ''Ultra'' came with a 3.8 L Supercharged V6 engine and standard leather interior. The Park Avenue received various exterior and interior cosmetic changes, as well as powertrain updates, during this run. Some of the new options and features added to the first generation included driver (and later passenger) airbags, dual zone climate control, traction control, and variable-effort steering (Ultra only). Production Figures:

Europe

The Park Avenue was available in Europe from 1991 until 1996 and varied from the North American version by featuring a truncated taillamps with separate amber turn signal indicators and red brake lamps, wider numberplate bezel, fitment of rear red fog lamps, headlamps with different lens pattern, white front side running markers, amber front turn signal indicators, side turn signal repeaters, "flagpole" external rear-view mirrors (mirrors on US version are fixed and do not turn), stronger seat belt and anchors, "softer" air bags, metric speedometer and gauges. They are to comply with the European regulatory and safety standards. This generation of the Park Avenue was the last Buick to be officially marketed by GM in Europe. This move was to reduce the "cluttered" model range that confused the European consumers. After 1996, Cadillac and Chevrolet remained the sole General Motors North American brands to be sold in Europe. File:Buick Park Avenue 1.Version front.jpg, European- spec Park Avenue File:Buick Park Avenue 1.Version rear.jpg, European- spec Park Avenue

Second generation (1997–2005)

An updated Park Avenue was released in October 1996 as a 1997 model and was now built on GM's G platform; however GM chose to continue to refer to it as the C platform, but was stronger and more substantial than its predecessor. This new generation was powered by updated Series II variants of the 3800 and as before, only Ultra models were supercharged. The base trim featured a hood ornament while the Ultra had a less conspicuous tri-shield inset on the upper edge of the grille. The base Park Avenue was the last USDM Buick to carry a factory hood ornament. For 2001, the base model's cloth interior was dropped as an option in favor of now standard leather trim. Ultrasonic rear park assist was a new option that year as well. For 2003, trademark Buick " Ventiports" returned on the Park Avenue Ultra along with a bolder grille that carried a larger monochromatic tri-shield badge in the center. New 17 inch wheels, a revised interior and revised instrument cluster were changed for the 2003 model year on the Ultra. For 2005, the final model year in North America, base Park Avenues received a revised grille, and the previously Ultra-exclusive Ventiports. Also, the rear fascia was redone across the model line with a prominent chrome bar above the license plate holder with an embossed ''Park Avenue'' script and amber turn signal flashers. The last 3,000 of 7,000 Park Avenues carried Special Edition badging that featured the namesake script underneath a silhouette of the

skyline. 300 of these were painted with a special two-tone black-on-platinum finish. Production ended on June 18, 2004. The Park Avenue was discontinued after 2005 in the North American market and was replaced in 2006 by the

Buick Lucerne The Buick Lucerne is a full-size car manufactured by General Motors from 2005 to 2011. Named for the city of Lucerne, Switzerland, it served as Buick's top-of-the-line sedan until it was replaced by the second generation Buick LaCrosse. History T ...

Third generation (2007–2012)

In April 2007, General Motors reintroduced the Park Avenue nameplate in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

on a luxury sedan that replaced the

Buick Royaum The Holden Caprice is a full-sized car which was produced by Holden in Australia from 1990 to October 2017. The similar Holden Statesman, which was also introduced in 1990 as a model below the Caprice, was discontinued in September 2010. Betwe ...

. Like its predecessor, the vehicle is based on the

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

n-built

(this time on the contemporary WM/WN generation), though, unlike the Royaum, it was assembled by

from CKD kits shipped from Holden's Elizabeth factory in South Australia. It is offered in five trim levels: 舒适型 (Comfort), 精英型 (Elite), 豪华型 (Luxury - 2.8 only), 旗舰型 (Flagship) and 旗舰版 (Ultimate - 2010 only) The Park Avenue was powered by Australian-built versions of the

GM High Feature engine The GM High Feature engine (also known as the HFV6, and including the 3600 LY7 and derivative LP1) is a family of modern General Motors DOHC V6 engines. The series was introduced in 2004 with the Cadillac CTS and the Holden Commodore (VZ). It ...

. The standard engines were the 2.8 L ''LP1'' and the 3.6 L ''LY7'' engine available as an option on the Elite and Flagship models from 2007 to 2009. The

engine control unit An engine control unit (ECU), also commonly called an engine control module (ECM), is a type of electronic control unit that controls a series of actuators on an internal combustion engine to ensure optimal engine performance. It does this by ...

is a Bosch E77 32-bit ECM processor. In 2010, only one engine option was offered, a 3 L SIDI (251 bhp) replacing the old 2.8 V6 and 3.6 V6 due to fuel consumption with the 2.8 litre engine rated at 11.4 litres per 100 kilometres (20.6 MPG US) and the 3.6 litre engine rated 11.6 litres per 100 kilometres (20.3 MPG US) respectively. The 3 litre engine was rated 10.9 litres per 100 kilometres (21.6 MPG US). The third-generation Park Avenue remained a China exclusive and was never offered by Buick in North America. A version of the car did eventually see release in the US market as the stripped down, rebadged

Chevrolet Caprice PPV The Chevrolet Caprice is a full-sized automobile produced by Chevrolet in North America for the 1965 to 1996 model years. Full-size Chevrolet sales peaked in 1965 with over a million sold. It was the most popular car in the U.S. in the 1960 ...

(Police Patrol Vehicle). It was discontinued in China in October 2012.

References

External links

1991-1996 Buick Park Avenue: Overview
*Buick official page
China
{{Authority control

Front-wheel-drive vehicles Full-size vehicles Sedans Motor vehicles manufactured in the United States Cars introduced in 1990 2000s cars Park Avenue