1975 Buick LeSabre

The Buick LeSabre was produced from 1959 to 2005 and its name originated with the 1951 GM Le Sabre show car designed by Harley Earl.

For 1975, the Buick LeSabre received a new grid-style grille with under the headlamp extensions. The turn signals were positioned within the front bumper. The square dual headlamps were again mounted beside one another instead of individually. The three-hole ventiports were relocated from the hood to the front fender sides. A Buick tri-shield hood ornament was standard on the Custom Series and optional on the base series. In the back were slightly larger and narrower taillamps with back-up lights positioned in the center, with a license plate in between.

The 1975 Lesabre was part of the fourth generation of styling, growing larger and heavier with curved body sides, abundant glass, and long hoods. Although the designs were new, the 350 and 455 CID V8s were carried over but with lower compression ratios and various other modifications to enable the use of lower-octane low-lead or unleaded gasoline in compliance with a General Motors corporate mandate. 1975 was the first year the LeSabre required the use of unleaded gasoline, due to the advent of the catalytic converter.

All LeSabres received power front disc brakes and variable-ratio power steering as standard equipment for the 1971 model year. A Turbo Hydramatic transmission became standard mid-year.

The 1975 Buick LeSabre was available in several body styles including a sedan, hardtop coupe and sedan, convertible, and station wagon (with seating for either 6 or 9 passengers). The Lesabre was built on the B-Body and the convertible body style was exclusive to the LeSabre Custom line. All LeSabres rested on a 123.5-inch wheelbase (though the Estate Wagons had a larger 127-inch platform which they shared with the Electra) and was powered by a 350 cubic-inch V8 or the optional '455' V8 with a four-barrel carburetor.

The four-door hardtop sedans had new opera windows while the four-door pillared sedan had a new small third window to emulate the six-window 'Colonnade' styling of GM intermediates.

The interiors had a new flat instrument panel that was shared with Electra and Riviera and replaced the previous wrap-around cockpit dash. The horizontal sweep speedometer, which could also be read in kilometers, reached a maximum of 100 mph, down from 120 mph in previous years. The other interior updates were minimal.

This was the last year the Buick LeSabre convertible was produced. The previous upscale LeSabre Luxury designation was no longer used and replaced by the LeSabre Custom nameplate. 1975 was the first year for the high energy ignition which was part of GM's Maximum Mileage System at the time Introduced in September 1974. The GM Efficiency System was standard on the LeSabre and included High-energy ignition, steel-belted radial tires, and a catalytic converter.

by Daniel Vaughan | Nov 2020