How To Master the Road

In 1936, the flagship marque of General Motors, Buick, did something quite unprecedented at the time. They gave each of their offered automobiles a proper name rather than a series number. Names such as the Special, the Super and the Limited were given to their Series 40, 50 and 90 cars. The Series 50 car was then retired and replaced by an all new Series 80 which was dubbed the Roadmaster.

That same year Buick had done an extensive redesign of their power plants, shrinking the number of offerings from four to two. The smallest was a 233 cubic inch straight eight that pushed 93 horse power. The larger was a 322 cubic inch straight eight that generated 120 horse power. These engines compared quite well to other motors offered throughout GM.

The Roadmaster came in either a four door sedan or convertible phaeton model. At a time of financial hardship, the Great Depression, the Buick, for its size and appointments, was something of a bargain. As in typical GM fashion, the Buick models slotted just below and cheaper than the similar Cadillacs and higher than the Oldsmobile or Pontiac automobiles. The sedan initially sold for $1255 while the convertible was priced at $1565. That equates to a little over $12,000 in today's dollars for the sedan and nearly $29,000 for the convertible.

First generation Roadmasters were made for two year, through the 1937 model year. Surprisingly there were a number of changes for its second year, unique because it was a newly introduced model. There were changes to both the styling cosmetics as well as the mechalicals.

A second generation Roadmaster was introduced in 1938 and it, too, ran for two model years. In fact a third generation did the same. A fourth generation was introduced in 1942 and obviously went on hiatus during World War II. Post war production resumed in 1946, utilizing much of what was available before the war but taking into account shortages of such things as chrome.1947 saw some styling changes as did 1948.

The car featured here is a 1948 model, a two door convertible. A four door sedan and estate was also available as was a two door coupe. Each was powered by the same 320 cubic inch Fireball inline eight engine. A choice of a three speed manual or a two speed Dynamo automatic was available.

More generations followed up through 1958 when the Roadmaster name was retired and replaced by the Electra 225. The name resurfaced for a six year run in 1991.