Here’s a tale of how the Buick Electra and Electra 225 got their names.
The 1958 model year was a tough one for the Motor City in general—there was a recession in full swing, after all—but the Buick division of General Motors took an especially hard beating. Sales had tumbled from more than 700,000 in 1955 to a mere 250,000 vehicles in ’58. In an effort to stanch the bleeding, Buick’s product team radically overhauled the product line for 1959. Striking new sheet metal arrived, and meanwhile, the base model Special became the LeSabre; the midrange Century was renamed the Invicta; the Super and Roadmaster were replaced by the Electra; and the top-of-the-line Limited was now the Electra 225.
Of course, how the carmakers come up with their model names is quite a story in itself. The designations can carry tremendous meanings or tradition, or they can mean absolutely nothing at all. They might be nothing more than a random sequence of letters or numbers. In the case of the Buick Electra and Electra 225, there’s a bit of a tale behind the names.
As one story from her family goes, the Electra was named not after the character in Greek mythology as we might expect, but after a specific American: Electra Waggoner Biggs (1912-2001). A fabulously wealthy Texas heiress and socialite, she was the owner of the half-million acre Waggoner Ranch northwest of Dallas. She, in turn, was named after her aunt, Electra Waggoner, from whom the town of Electra, Texas also takes its name.
Among her talents, Electra Waggoner Biggs was an accomplished sculptor. Notable subjects included Will Rogers, Dwight Eisenhower, and Harry Truman, below. She also happened to be the sister-in-law of General Motors president (and former Buick chief) Harlow Curtice, which seems to tie our fanciful story all together. (We can neither confirm nor dismiss the claim, which has never been confirmed by General Motors to our knowledge. It wasn’t a normal GM policy.) According to the family, the Lockheed Electra L-188 turboprop airliner (pictured with the convertible above) was also named after her, but we know the Electra name was already a familiar one with the aircraft maker by that time.
As most every American gearhead knows, the 225 designation also carries a specific meaning. It signified the vehicle’s length, a whopping 18 3/4 feet, or 225 inches—nearly five inches longer than the standard ’59 Electra. Other distinguishing features included prominent “Electra 225” badges on the front fenders and thicker, heavier rocker panel bright metal than the regular Electra. Both the Electra and Electra 225 were based on GM’s luxury C-body shell shared with Oldsmobile and Cadillac, and they were powered by a 325 hp, 401 CID version of the familiar nailhead V8. (Read about the trusty nailhead V8 here.)
As most every car buff also knows, the 225 model designation eventually picked up a slang version: “Deuce-and-a-Quarter.” (Among the excessively hip, this was shortened to “Nine.”) Developing its own inertia over time, the Electra name lived on at Buick well into the 1980s, when it was last used on the division’s C-body, front-drive V6 sedans. Could we ever see the Electra and Electra 225 names again? Sure, why not? Model names have their way of circling back into use now and again.
In all my years as a car guy, I believe this is the first I’ve heard of the origin of the name of the Electra! Thanks for that bit of history! Pardon my ignorance, but when did the low line Special get promoted to mid line status, and the Century demoted? In the early days the Century (so named for its capability to attain that speed) was a Special with a Roadmaster engine, a hot rod of sorts, and as such cost more than the Special. Also, I’m familiar with “deuce and a quarter”, but what is the correlation of “nine”? Thanks for any enlightenment.
The Special/Century reference was a mistake. Somehow they got transposed. Thanks for the correction. “Nine” refers to 2+2+5. Pretty corny huh.
Only if you’re L7
My dad had just purchased a new 1959 Invicta convertible before he and my mom got married. In the early 60’s I can recall riding everywhere in that car and loving it. Came hom from 1st grade one day in May of 1966 and my dad had traded it for a beautiful 1966 Riviera.
As a little kid, my friend across the street’s dad had a new black ‘59 Invicta two door hardtop. What a sharp car. My friend always hoped his dad would save this Black Invicta for him (he was several years away from getting his first driver’s license) but alas, one day in 1965 his dad came home with a new Lincoln Continental. My friend felt nostalgic about the lost Invicta for many years.
I was running too long, so I left this out: The Electra 225 lineup for ’59 consisted of just three body styles: a convertible, a four-door flat-top hardtop, and a four-door six-window hardtop. All three are shown in the story, coincidentally. The top photo with the flat-top was staged at Cranbrook. — McG
Deuce and a Quarter:
Enjoyed your Electra story very much. The correct designation for the aircraft is L-188. The L1011 was a different beast altogether.
Not all 1959 Buicks had the 401 nailhead. LeSabres came standard with the 364 nailhead in with 2bbl or 4bbl.
Early 80s I went to an auction of classic and older cars owned by a well known country Holden dealer. Over a 100 cars.
The biggest car was a Electra 225 bought by a youngish woman who would have been no more than 5 foot tall.
As always prices were hot and cold, the ones that interested me made too much. The Buick was one of the better buys but not me.
Would it be likely that “deuce and a quarter” sprang from “deuce and a half” slang for military truck; two and a half ton 6×6? Just a thought.