The Buick Estate was the name Buick used for its full-size station wagons. It was sold from 1940 to 1964 and again from 1970 to 1996, and for most of that time it stood at the top of General Motors’ wagon range.
Buick Estate at a glance
| Maker | Buick, General Motors |
|---|---|
| Production | 1940–1964 and 1970–1996 |
| Class | full-size station wagon |
| Name | from «country estate» and the British term «estate car» |
| First Estate | 1940 Super Estate, wooden body, 121 in wheelbase |
| 1940 price | US$1,242 |
| 1940 production | 495 |
| Bodies built by | Ionia Manufacturing (Mitchell-Bentley), 1946–1964 |
| Platforms | GM C platform, later B platform |
| Final model | Roadmaster Estate, ended after 1996 |
Based on one source, the English Wikipedia article on the Estate. The record titled «Buick caballero», the two-door wagon of 1957–58, is covered here too.
History of the Buick Estate
The Estate name came from two places: the country estates of wealthy suburbs and the British term «estate car». Buick positioned it slightly above the Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser, against the Chrysler Town & Country and the Mercury Colony Park.
The first Buick Estate was a Super with a wooden body, added in the middle of the 1940 model year on the 121-inch GM C platform. It used mahogany panels with oak trim — different from other wagons, which used a single wood — and cost US$1,242. Only 495 were built, against 95,875 four-door Touring Sedans that year. Buick had offered a two-door shooting brake on the Series 50 by special request as early as 1934.
For 1941 and 1942 the Estate moved to the B platform Special, still on the 121-inch wheelbase. The Special Estate cost US$1,463 and 838 were made. After the war the Estate returned on the C-platform Super and Roadmaster for 1946–49, and from 1946 to 1964 all Buick wagon bodies were built not by Fisher Body but by Ionia Manufacturing, also known as Mitchell-Bentley.
The 1946 Super Estate was listed at US$2,594 and 786 were built; for 1947 the body style was offered on both the Super and the Roadmaster, the latter the more luxurious of the two. From 1950 to 1953 the Estate stayed on the C platform, then moved to the shorter B platform Century and Special for 1954–58 with all-steel bodies.
From 1970 to 1996 nearly every Estate was sold with simulated exterior woodgrain, technically an option. For much of its life the wagon used the B platform; from 1971 to 1976 it also used the larger C platform, producing the longest and heaviest Buicks ever built. The name spread to other Buick wagons regardless of size, with the exceptions of the Sport Wagon and the Skyhawk wagon.
The Roadmaster Estate, twinned with the Chevrolet Caprice, was the last full-size station wagon left in production in America and the last to offer exterior woodgrain trim. Buick retired both the Roadmaster and Century Estate wagons after 1996, ending the nameplate. The next Buick wagon in the United States was the 2018 Regal TourX, a rebadged Opel Insignia Country Tourer.
Design and features
- Real wood first: the 1940 Super Estate had a mahogany and oak body.
- Woodgrain later: from 1970 to 1996 almost every Estate wore simulated panels.
- Flagship wagons: positioned above the Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser.
- Built outside GM: Ionia Manufacturing made the bodies from 1946 to 1964.
Buick Estate versions
- Super Estate (1940, 1946–49): the original wooden-bodied wagon.
- Special Estate (1941–42): the B-platform version.
- Century and Special Estates (1954–58): all-steel bodies.
- Roadmaster Estate (to 1996): the last full-size American wagon.
The Estate was the wagon counterpart of the Special and the Roadmaster, and the two-door Caballero body style belonged to the same line. More Buicks are in the Buick collection.
Sources
- Buick Estate, English Wikipedia: origins, 1940s models, platforms, end of the line
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