Most American cars from the 80s were hampered in every aspect, especially in terms of performance, due to the energy crisis at the time. However, the Buick Grand National was an exception to this trend. It first hit production in 1982 and was based on the Regal T-Type. In addition, the Grand National was named after the top series in NASCAR before the racing league began selling naming rights. Powering the Grand National is a 3.8-liter turbo V6 that made 175 horsepower in its early years and up to 290 horsepower and 355 lb-ft of torque toward the end of its production run in 1987. It launches from zero to 60 mph in 4.9 seconds and certainly had the performance to keep up with or even exceed European supercars of its era. Its interior is pretty typical of American cars from the 80s, which is not all that special compared to more modern vehicles. Every Buick Grand National was painted in black and didn't offer any other exterior color options.
In 1987, Buick partnered with ASC and McLaren to create a more extreme version of the Grand National known as the GNX before its production run ended that year. In total, just under 30,000 Grand Nationals were built, with 547 of them being the GNX. Current values of the Grand National range in the $40-50,000s, with some examples with low miles and in pristine condition commanding six figures. In all, the Buick Grand National is a cool and impressive 80s muscle car and one of the biggest sleepers and most underrated performance vehicles ever made. It is quite rare, and I am lucky to have seen one up close at a car show back in July. Having previously been familiar with the Buick Grand National, it was one of the vehicles on display at that specific car show that stood out to me the most.
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