In the 1980s, General Motors inexplicably went crazy for two-seaters. The Chevrolet, Pontiac, Cadillac, and Buick divisions all offered two-place sporty cars, each one totally different. Buick’s offering was the Reatta.
With the exception of Chevrolet’s Corvette, all these two-seaters flopped in the marketplace. In an objective analysis, the Reatta in particular is a textbook example of everything that was wrong with GM in the 1980s. By a number of car-making metrics the Buick two-stooler was an abject failure, missing important targets by a country mile:
+ Originally given the green light for production in August 1981 for introduction as a 1984 model, the Reatta did not make it to market until January of 1988—a development period of seven years. The glacial lead time was especially shameful in that the Reatta was not a new design, merely a Riviera variant.
+ Against an original sales target of 22,000 units per year, the Reatta actually sold 21,751 units in total over four years of production, 1988-1991. In the Reatta’s best year, 1990, only 8,515 cars found buyers.
+ While the Reatta’s list price was originally projected at $20,500, when the car hit the showrooms the sticker was an even $25,000, missing its price point by oh, nearly 25 percent.
But hey, we’re car enthusiasts. We don’t have to be objective. If you admire the Reatta and would like to own one, there’s no reason you shouldn’t. All the above issues notwithstanding, It’s actually a well-built and enjoyable car.
Buick Reatta fiberglass styling model
Here’s one reliable way to take the typical mid-’80s Detroit production car and reduce its weight, increase its torsional rigidity, and improve its ride and handling: Whack about a foot of real estate right out of the middle. Mechanically and structurally, the Reatta is essentially a Buick Riviera E-body platform minus its rear seat, which few will miss anyway. Instead, there’s a handsome parcel shelf with a ski door and privacy bins.
The result will never be mistaken for a real sports car, but the Reatta is fun to drive and very comfortable. Responses to inputs are crisp and the ride is superb, with only a hint of freeway hop to betray the stubby wheelbase. (The Riviera’s wheelbase is 108 inches; the Reatta’s is 98.5 inches.) It truly feels of a piece.
1988-89 Reatta Graphic Control Center
One more novel feature of the Reatta, shared with its Riviera sibling, was the stone-age monochrome touchscreen for the climate control, trip computer, and stereo. Way out in front of the available technology, the system required a 20-pound, foot-deep CRT crammed into the center dash cavity, with a transparent capacitance grid to provide the touch functions.
The Graphic Control Center, as it was called, works fine and has proven surprisingly reliable over the years, but it’s proof that driver controls should not require taking eyes off the road. In 1990 the boob tube was replaced with conventional climate control and radio head units. Other detail improvements that year included a driver’s side airbag and available 16-inch wheels.
In 1990 the Reatta also picked up a convertible model. Since a ragtop was never in the original plan, the convertible’s folding top mechanism is a minor engineering marvel. However, now we take back all the nice things we said about the Reatta’s structural integrity, for the topless version is your classic dishrag convertible, rumbling down the road like a coffee can of loose screws. If you simply want a convertible for gentle Sunday morning open-air cruising, fine; but if you enjoy the feeling of one solid car under you on the highway, select the coupe.
Yes, by all means: If you’ve been harboring a secret hankering for a Reatta, buy one. You really can’t go wrong. The price is right. And with its 3800 Buick V-6 and four-speed Hydramatic transmission shared with the Riviera, indeed, with much of the GM lineup for years, the Reatta is cheap and painless to operate. Any tire store can handle the routine service. Just don’t let anyone tell you the Reatta is the next big collector car. That’s never going to happen. Just buy it, drive it, and enjoy it. Gallery below.
I was interested in a Reatta about fifteen years ago and the word then was that the digital dashboard was a weak point and was difficult to repair because the technology had moved so quickly that little was adaptable to repair it. Whether that was true or not, at the turn of the millennium the car was still priced as a collector’s item. This was the height of the dot-com era, everything was priced for explosive growth. I never bought one but I’ve always thought it was a great design and should have been a hit. The reincarnated Thunderbird also failed to hit the target so I guess there’s really not a market for mid-priced two seaters. Let’s hope that Alfa Romeo takes note.
The Cadillac Allante had no panache. It looked like a Chevrolet.. I’d forgotten about it and had to consult Wikipedia. The marque was sorely lacking in prestige at that time as well.
The Eighties is why GM went bankrupt.
I bought an ’89 Reatta new and have kept it all these years. It has proven to be a VERY reliable vehicle. The reputation of the powertrain is well documented (ie rock solid). The electronics, at least on mine, have NOT been an issue. The CRT has proven to be VERY repairable and affordable ($150 on ebay). Will this ever be a true collectors car, probably not, but it is a rarity these days and still looks stylish 25 years after its introduction.
FYI, I also own a C5 vette and while the Reatta is not even close in performance and handling, it rides worlds nicer.
Thanks for the great input!
I was the comm. photographer for Buick from 1980 – 1999. I photographed this car from the drawing board until the last prototype in 1992. The Reatta was cancelled in early 1991. I own a 1991 red convertible. This article is pretty accurate and several pictures here I took.
I’ve got to drive a Buick Reatta a few years ago for a few days and for a car that was already 15 plus years old but still drove like it was new.