1979 Buick Riviera: The Front-Drive E-Body

Riviera production for 1979 totaled 52,181, this record's own overview states, a figure the Riviera Owners Association's own table and Wikipedia's own reproduction of James Flammang's Standard Catalog of Buick table agree on; this record's own dek describes the year's redesign as a front-drive E-body Riviera that was named Motor Trend's Car of the Year, and its turbocharged 3.8-liter V-6, standard on the new S Type, was rated 185 horsepower. This record's own production notes flag that its own body-style rows are separately scoped, with the coupe row excluding the turbo model as laid out in the Flammang table.^1,2

This record's own conflicts section carries an S Type production disagreement it does not resolve: the Owners Association's own 1979 row gives 7,150 S Types while Wikipedia's own Production Figures table gives 14,300, and this record's own treatment note says it is not clear whether each source counts only turbo cars or all cars carrying the S Type trim. A second overview paragraph adds that the Owners Association itself credits 10,467 turbo V-6 engines to the model year, split as 4,200 of its own 7,150 S Types, while beforeblack.net's own production page instead gives 2,067 turbo Rivieras plus 8,400 turbo S Types, a total that also sums to 10,467 despite the different internal split.^1,2,3

This record's own conflicts section also carries a price disagreement between two Owners Association pages: its own options-and-prices transcription gives $10,099 for the coupe and $10,374 for the S-Type, while its own Evolution article instead gives $10,112 and $10,388; this record's own treatment note says both pages are shown since neither carries a stated revision date. This record's own prices section repeats all four figures as separate rows rather than picking one.^4,5

This record's own key facts section, drawn from the Evolution article, states that air conditioning reached 91.3 percent of 1979 production, a stereo tape player 65.7 percent, the factory CB radio 12 percent (its own stated peak year for that option) and a power sunroof 15.4 percent, and that sales rose 155 percent to 52,181. This record's own options section itemizes 67 entries in total, including seatback-recliner choices specific to the S-Type's bucket seats, a manual driver's-side recliner under code A79 and a manual passenger's-side recliner under code AT6, each at $62, alongside a $118 electric recliner on either side for 45/55 seating.^5,4

This record's own paint table carries 19 colours from the Owners Association's 1979 chart, its own note describing three two-tone accent treatments, Gray with Silver, Blue with Medium Blue and Brown with Tan, plus seven vinyl-top and matching body-side-molding colour codes. Its interiors section carries 29 trims, opening with five S-Type cloth bucket-seat colours, Green, Blue, Tan, Black and Red, its own note adding that the Owners Association's chart also lists a white-with-Accent-A-Color choice alongside the standard colours.⁶

This record's own specifications section carries seven 1979 figures from the Owners Association's weights-and-measures table, reflecting the E-body redesign: a 3,770-pound curb weight, a 114.0-inch wheelbase, front and rear track of 59.3 and 60.0 inches, a 206.0-inch overall length, a 70.5-inch width, a 54.3-inch height, and a GR70x15 tire size. This record's own identification and unpublished-leads sections are both empty for the year, and its own performance and transmissions sections carry no entries either.⁷