1954 Buick Skylark Great Running and Driving Example Ready for the Road

Created to mark Buick's 50th anniversary, the Roadmaster Skylark joined the Oldsmobile 98 Fiesta and Cadillac Series 62 Eldorado as top-of-the-line, limited-production specialty convertibles introduced in 1953 by General Motors to promote its design leadership. Of the three, the Skylark's run of 1,690 units proved the most successful, and an amazing sales feat considering the car's 1953 list price of slightly in excess of $5,000 was over 50% more than the well-equipped $3,200 Roadmaster convertible on which it was based. It was comparable in price to the 1953 Packard Caribbean with a similar retail price.

Production ran for two years. Based on the model 76R two-door Roadmaster convertible, the 1953 Skylark (designated model 76X) had identical dimensions (except height), almost identical appearance, shared its drive train, and had all its standard equipment, plus its few remaining options, including power windows, power brakes, full carpeting, and a "Selectronic" AM radio. Only air conditioning was not offered, unnecessary in either convertible.

The 1954 Skylark once again had unique sheet metal stampings for its elongated wheel cutouts and new semi-barrel trunk, though fabrication was done without hand labor. The hood ornament was unique, adopted the following year across the Buick product line.

Sales proved to be poor, reflecting the Skylark's continued high price of $4,843, coupled with a perceived step-down from the Roadmaster/Super series using the Century's chassis, slumping far enough to cause the model's cancellation at the end of the 1954 model year, with only 836 being manufactured.

This very nicely restored example has been in the current owners care for the past 25 years. He drives the car sparingly on sunny Summer days only, and has had regular maintenance done over the years including rebuilt Shocks, differential work to stop a leak, carburator rebuilt, carpets replaced, new tires installed about 18 months ago, seat belts installed, and an auxiliary fan installed in front of the radiator to assist with cooling when driving in slow parades. The hydraulic system controlling the top windows and seats is inoperable, as is the radio and heater. SInce he only drives the car in fair weather this has not concerned him but he is looking into getting this fixed and I will update as time progresses..