All American Road Trip in a Buick Roadmaster Stationwagon

Throughout history, many of the auto industry's oddities have gone on to become the most collectible. The two seat 1955-1957 Thunderbird, the 1963 split-window Corvette, and Chrysler's famous "Winged" cars. All were short lived, some often sitting on lots for long periods of time, perhaps a bit too extreme for their era. As years pass, that short production span, and lack of popularity, often works in the car's favor.

Yesterday, just prior to leaving to work, one such car pulled up and parked in front of our house. I can only assume that the California plates were proof of a road trip from the west coast leading to Detroit. The car? A 1991-1996 Buick Roadmaster Stationwagon, complete with wood paneling. Back when they were rolling off the lines, these massive Buicks, Chevy's, Cadillacs, and Oldsmobiles all were labled as grandpa-mobiles. They did not possess "chiseled" bodies, and perhaps were the car most representitive of our overweight American society.

While these cars didn't offer any ground breaking styling, they were popular in some arenas. To this day, my fellow officers with some time on the job regard them as the best scout cars the department has had in years. Outfitted with slightly detuned/iron head version of the LT1 Vette engine, they had great power, and the 9C1 police package offered handling that had them taking corners better than their genetics ever intended. With plenty of room both front and rear, they were not only police favorites, but also amongst cab drivers for obvious reasons.

I happened to spot the owner while typing up this blog, and being unsure as to how long they would be visiting at what I assumed was a couch surfing stop at our neighbors, I stepped outside to introduce myself. Most of my suspicions were confirmed after talking with the owner, Jon.

Jon, along with his wife or girlfriend, started out of Fresno, California. I soon realized, Jon and I shared the same line of thought. I have mentioned on my blog before how I would love to see the country by road, but wish to do so in the appropriate car. A few years ago, A Buick Roadmaster Wagon would have never crossed my mind, but as I looked the car over, sitting on it's American Racing wheels, this ride has grown (if that is possible) into it's Americana shoes, and a worthy car in my opinion.

John is a handy man/guy who buys and sells old cars. Because of John's self employment, he is able to plan out long trips, such as their current trip which is 5 weeks in. John stated that they actually had to find the right car for the trip. It had to be something big enough, comfortable enough, and get good mileage. The Buick fit the bill, and the search was on, for a woody version. As luck would have it, a worthy candidate would turn up in California, and $4,000 would be what it took to aquire. While John would prefer the stock wheels that came on the car, to be "less flashy," I found the American Racings to be a perfect match.

John's first modification, remove all the rear seats, build a plywood platform to store belongings below and offer sleep quarters on top. With the Big Bufford ready to go, they headed north to Vancouver, Canada, and then traveled all over the U.S., stopping to see friends along the way. Ironically, this is their fist couch surfing stop, and as luck would have it, the car woud be parked in front of this fellow gearhead's house.

John stated that he is a self proclaimed Mopar fan, and has a 1970 Roadrunner with air grabber hood as proof, I believe along with a few other Mopars. They have got plenty of compliments along the way on their car, which aside from the wheels, is all stock. It is another one of those cars that when built, missed it, and now that nearly two decades have passed, has found it. I know what "it" is, as do most of you. I promised to showed John my Camaro before they leave in a few days, and filled him in on the Walter P. Chrysler Museum which he was unaware of.

I won't lie, I am extremely jealous, and also inspired from what I saw. It was a reminder, that thinking a little outside the box, and a few decades later than I normally would, could be very rewarding. If the day ever comes when I search for that perfect piece of 4-wheel Americana to take the family on a road trip in, I think I'll broaden my search pattern.

Ironically, this is the second time I have come in touch with some stranger road-tripping across the country. The prior incident was a Highway Patrol Officer from California, again, road-tripping across the country t D.C. The only reason I came in touch with him was because of a call to our precinct, in which I answered, stating he was trying to track down somebody to exchange police patches with. Collecting patches is a hobby amongst many officers while on vacation. Having heard stories from both John, and the officer last summer, it seems like somebody is really pushing this idea of driving across the country. Though the officer did so in a Toyota Prius, nothing Ameicana about that, as they say though, it's the thought that counts!