The final generation of Roadmasters,1991 through 1996, really did mark the end of an era for the Buick Motor Division. 

The 1991-96 Roadmaster, Buick’s last V8 rear-wheel-drive passenger car, had an unusual launch trajectory: The Estate station wagon was the first to roll out in the autumn of 1990 as a 1991 model, followed in March by the four-door sedan, which was listed as a 1992 model. (See our feature on the entire 1991-96 Roadmaster series here.)

The Roadmaster name, introduced to the public back in 1936, hadn’t been used on a Buick model since 1958, and indeed, this latest Roadmaster was a hearkening back to an earlier time. By 1990s standards, it was almost a dinosaur. It used old-style body-on-frame construction (the GM B-Body platform shared with the Chevy Caprice) and sported a longitudinally mounted V8 up front that drove the rear wheels.

Of course, this wasn’t a traditional Buick V8. They’d gone out of production in 1980. The Roadmaster’s V8 was a corporate small-block Chevy; initially a 305 cubic-inch version with throttle-body fuel injection, then upgraded to 350 CID. In 1994, an iron-head version of the 350 CID LT1 used in the Corvette was swapped in, and with 260 horsepower, digital port fuel injection, and near-perfect road manners, it was a worthy powerplant for the final Buick land yacht. While top speed was electronically limited to 108 mph, the Roadmaster was an excellent interstate cruiser, and it has its devotees to this day.

Just as you would expect, the Roadmaster cabin featured every Buick luxury you could imagine, with power every-everything and pillow-topped upholstery in cloth or leather. There were two trim levels, Sedan and Limited Sedan, but both were loaded to the gills with comfort and convenience features. The LT-1 V8 aside, changes were minimal through the six years of production. The dash was restyled in 1994 to accommodate dual airbags, and in 1996, the previously optional electronic climate control became standard.

In short, the Roadmaster was everything the traditional Buick buyer expected in a car: It was big, roomy, and comfortable, with an eight-cylinder engine in front and the drive wheels in the rear, just as Harlow Curtice intended. And while there was a loyal market for such a Buick, it wasn’t a terribly large one as things turned out. Sales peaked in 1992 at 85,000 units, the first full year of production, and then declined by more than 50 percent the following year as the initial demand was exhausted. Fewer than 23,000 Roadmasters found homes in the final year before the line was shut down on December 16, 1996, and the Roadmaster name hasn’t been used since. Today, the best-selling Buick in the USA is the Encore, a compact SUV.