1997 Buick Park Avenue Fullsize Car Review & Performance

At a glance, the '97 Park Avenue looks like an evolutionary update,

but it's all new, based on the front-drive Riviera-Aurora chassis. While

this means more weight--about 250 pounds--it also means a longer wheelbase

and wider track. And a closer look shows that Buick has quietly thrown

off the shackles of ancient General Motors design traditions. Ever since

the days of the late Harley Earl, the ethic has been longer, lower, wider

and sleeker.

The Park Avenue doesn't violate all of these hallowed tenets--it is

indeed longer, wider and arguably sleeker--but it's definitely not any

lower. In fact, it's just the opposite. At 58.1 inches, the '97 Park Avenue

stands three inches taller than the '96. For contrast, the Chrysler LHS,

targeted by Buick as a key Park Avenue competitor, stands 55.9 inches.

So does the Lincoln Continental.

So why is Park Avenue design chief Bill Porter violating the gospel

of Harley Earl? Because in the evolving Buick mission, a mission driven

by GM's sharpened brand focus, comfort takes precedence over sheer style.

In the Park Avenue, the two key comfort elements in the design scheme

were interior roominess--including headroom fore and aft--and door openings

that eliminate any contortions in the process of getting in or out.

True, you could perceive these same design priorities in a basic brick

like the old Checker Marathon, qualities that made it a favorite with taxi

fleets for so long. But the new Park Avenue embodies these virtues in a

shape that's also graceful and quietly elegant.

It may not turn heads like the Riviera. But it does have an undeniable

dollop of the "muscular grace" that Buick designers want their

cars to project, particularly in the slightly more aggressive looks of

the Ultra.

And for all its mass, it's also got enough smooth, quiet power, from

GM's excellent 3800 Series II V6, to provide peppy acceleration. Available

in normally aspirated (Park Avenue) and supercharged (Ultra) versions,

the 3800 doesn't have exceptionally high horsepower numbers, but it's got

lots of low rpm getaway grunt, plus plenty of punch for passing.

Power is transferred to the front wheels through one of GM's butter-smooth

electronically controlled 4-speed automatic transmissions--they're among

the best in the business--and automatic load-leveling is standard equipment.

Buick has added four new colors to the palette for the '97 Park Avenue--silvermist

metallic, Bordeaux red (burgundy), Santa Fe red and light Autumn green

metallic. Our Park Avenue Ultra test car was black, with a tan leather

interior.

As we noted, roominess and ease of entry/egress were top design priorities,

and the car is a bullseye on both counts. Interior space is simply vast,

a word that also applies to the trunk. And getting in and out is devoid

of the simultaneous duck-and-bend move required in some swoopier designs,

even though the door sill is a trifle higher.

Like the exterior, the interior styling rates as more contemporary.

Over resistance from old line Buick owners, interior design chief Paul

Tatseos managed to break out of the old horizontal dashboard theme that

afflicted the '96 Park Avenue.

According to Buick research, those traditional owners don't like anything

that suggests the cockpit styling of a sport sedan, but Tatseos and his

staff went ahead with a modestly curved cowl over the main instruments.

Besides a more modern appearance, this allowed a bigger speed-ometer and

tachometer, which makes them easier to scan at a glance.

Another welcome change is the general appearance of the dashboard, which

shows a strong Riviera influence with its sharp color contrasts between

secondary controls (sound and climate control systems, for example) and

the interior color schemes. You'll find more woodgrain trim than in the

Riv, but the overall look is clean and tasteful, and the wood is the real

article.

Beyond that, the sound system buttons and climate controls are close

copies of the Riv, which means they're bigger, better located and far easier

to operate when the car is in motion.

As you'd expect, the Park Avenue Ultra includes a full array of luxury

goodies--premium sound system, automatic climate control, power everything--that

make the going more pleasant. For that matter, so does the standard Park

Avenue. And safety features are up to the minute.

Though it's heavy, the Aurora-Riv chassis is one of the stiffest in

the entire GM warehouse, which is a plus. A stiff chassis makes easier

for the suspension engineers to create ride and handling traits appropriate

to a particular car's target market. It also makes it easier to keep noise

out of the car, and pays long-term durability benefits.

Given this start, it was interesting to see the handling distinctions

made between the basic Park Avenue and the flagship Ultra. The ride and

handling traits of the standard '97 Park Avenue are all but indistinguishable

from its predecessors, traits that have earned big Buick sedans a stodgy

image over the years--floaty ride quality, pronounced body roll in hard

cornering and vague power steering, particularly when the wheel is at or

near dead center.

The responses of our Park Avenue Ultra test car, equipped with Buick's

optional Y56 Gran Touring suspension package, felt much more closely related

to the Riviera. The steering system, which is different from the basic

Park Avenue, varies the amount of power assist as vehicle speed and/or

steering wheel angle increases, providing a significantly better sense

of where the front wheels are pointed in the process.

More important, the stiffer Gran Touring suspension package--which also

reduces ride height--yielded much sharper responses in quick maneuvers.

It's not quite as firm as the Riv, but it's far from flabby and the tradeoff

in ride quality is minor.

All in all, the Ultra's en-hanced control and firmer ride lends a contemporary

feel that's a pleasant step forward for Buick.

Quiet operation has always been a top priority for Buick sedans, and

here too the new Park Avenues represent a step forward. Wind noise has

been reduced to a mere whisper, and the all-new unitbody does a superior

job of keeping road and engine noise out of the cabin.

Add roomy seats with real move-around comfort, and the going becomes

positively serene. The new Park Avenues aren't quite as quiet as a Lexus

LS 400, but the distinctions are academic.