1985 Buick Riviera: Record Sales in the Last Big E-Body Year

Riviera production for 1985 totaled 65,305, 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; the turbocharged 3.8-liter V-6 was again rated 200 horsepower in the T Type. This record's own dek describes 1985 as the last big E-body year and its record sales figure, with 1,069 T Types built and the convertible's turbo count itself disputed between 47 and 49 depending on which Owners Association page is read.^1,2

This record's own key facts section, drawn from the Evolution article, states that 1985 set the all-time Riviera sales record at 65,305 and was the first year Buick sold more than one million cars in a single model year; the same entry gives the Astroroof option at $1,195 and the Delco/Bose sound system at $895, both figures drawn from the Evolution article rather than the options-and-prices page. This record's own production section separately reports 400 convertibles for the year, sourced to both the Owners Association's own production row and Wikipedia's own Production Figures table.^3,1

This record's own production section carries a convertible-engine dispute between two Owners Association pages: the archived 2007-capture page gives 47 turbo convertibles, while the current live page instead gives 49 turbo and 351 V-8 convertibles, summing with the record's own 400 convertible total; the original 47-turbo row remains in the production table, marked disputed. This record's own conflicts section restates the same figures formally, its own treatment note saying both Owners Association versions are shown and the existing row stays marked disputed.^1,4

This record's own prices section carries five figures for 1985: $17,044 for the sport coupe, $17,995 for the T-Type and $27,335 for the convertible in the options-and-prices transcription, against $16,710 for the standard V-8 coupe and $27,457 for the turbo convertible in the separately written Evolution article. This record's own options section itemizes 68 entries in total, opening with matching $145 Electric Seatback Recliners for the driver's and passenger's sides under codes A80 and A81, each row priced individually by the Owners Association's own transcription of the 1985 order form.^5,3

This record's own paint table carries 15 colours from the Owners Association's 1985 chart, every entry sourced to the same color-and-trim page. Its interiors section carries 9 trims, opening with a standard 45/45 Prima-cloth seat in Dark Sage, Blue and Gray among its listed colours, its own note adding that the Owners Association also lists a leather 45/45 interior for the convertible without a code of its own.⁶

This record's own specifications section carries seven 1985 figures from the Owners Association's weights-and-measures table: a 3,697-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 72.8-inch width, a 54.3-inch height, and a P205/75-15 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, leaving the key facts, production and conflicts sections as this record's own richest sources for 1985.⁷