The 3.8L turbocharged V6 engine that powered the Grand National and GNX was a unique creation in an era still recovering from the muscle car collapse. Unlike most performance cars of the time, it didn’t rely on a big V8. Instead, Buick engineered a torquey, boost-happy V6 that could blow the doors off cars with twice the displacement (1987 GNX #51 produced of 547 built - lead photo).

In the haze of underwhelming American cars of the 1980s, Buick—a brand long associated with elderly buyers and soft luxury—did something unthinkable. It unleashed a pair of performance monsters that tore through quarter miles and took down Corvettes, Mustangs, and even European sports cars. These were the Buick Grand National and the ultra-rare, legendary GNX (1987 GNX in lead photo).

The Buick Regal, introduced in 1973 (1978 Regal shown above), emerged during one of the most tumultuous eras in American automotive history. Stretching across the tail end of the muscle car era into the smog-choked malaise years, the first few generations of the Regal prioritized style, comfort, and luxury over outright performance. From 1973 through 1987, the Buick Regal became a case study in how government regulations, economic shifts, and changing consumer tastes could transform a car from a potential performer into a cruiser fit more for Sunday drives than drag strips.

Though we spend our five- and six-day work weeks catering to the needs of our honored customers who own and are working on, driving, showing, and enjoying American muscle machines, many Classic Industries employees are wrenching away, driving, and enjoying our own vintage vehicles in our free time. Some of us drive our old cars daily.