1954 Buick Series 100 Skylark Sport Convertible

Buick produced 836 examples of the Convertible Skylark in 1954. It was produced in an era when America was more prosperous than at any other time in its history. American's celebrated the prosperity by flooding carmakers' showrooms and purchasing new cars and trucks that replaced the stodgy early post-war models carried over from the early 1940s. Detroit offered a wide array of glitzy showcars and concept vehicles that predicted future designs. General Motors took it to a new level with its famous Motorama, held each year at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City, where a new Buick model, the Skylark, made its debut in 1953. The model was inspired by Buick's XP-300 show car. The Skylark was built as part of Buick's 50th anniversary celebration and helped establish the success of GM's contemporary 'flagship' marketing philosophy. It featured an innovative Dynaflow automatic transmission and power steering, which was the work of Chief Engineer Charlie Chayne and his staff, whose most importation creation was the new 322 cubic-inch overhead valve Fireball V8 engine that powered Buicks from 1953 to 1970 and was better known as the 'Nailhead.'

This example wears a recent frame-off restoration and is finished in Lido Green with a new White power soft top, a two-tone Green interior, wide whitewall tires and chromed Kelsey Hayes wire wheels. It is fully loaded with power steering, windows and antenna, AM radio and clock.

By Daniel Vaughan | Dec 2014