FASTER THAN A FERRARI: WHY DID THE BUICK GNX FAIL?

[@toddosborne8546]

87 Buick grand national......my dream car as a youth....t-tops, digital dash and all black ⚫️ yes 80's good Time to be alive 😀 🎉

[@jerrydavis3202]

Yes it was. I grew up with muscle cars that you can't afford today. I still have my dad's show car, a 72' Buick GS 455 convertible. And my 86' Trans Am that I liked so much back then , 34 years later it's in my driveway. Still all original but with a few tweeks!!

[@Roaddawg68]

Hell yeah , a buddy of mind just recently sold his GNX , bad ass ride , cool as ice.

[@SquirminHermanthe1eyedGerman]

@@jerrydavis3202 wish I had kept all the cars I had from the late 60s & 70s that I got for cheap! There were a couple cars of the 80s that I would like back too like my 1st brand new car a 1985 Bandit II Trans Am & my 2nd new car a 1988 IROC-Z

[@RUfromthe40s]

@@Roaddawg68 cold as ice , cool as ice, never had heard of it but makes sense, cool as the Fonz, no ,it also sounds bad to me but it was cool but maybe cooler than ice,ice is cool in a coke in a sunny afternoon after working for two hours in the sun, or coke and a smoke after two lines of it in a colder place out of the sun

[@RUfromthe40s]

@@jerrydavis3202 that´s when i bought dozens and sold them in Europe

[@michealettinger1862]

These cars "failed" because Buick went to Front Wheel Drive.

[@shaunjones3036]

In no way was it a failure. Buick set a limit of 500 units for it, but ended up selling an additional 47 for their top dealerships. Production of that platform was scheduled to end to make way for the GM 10 cars; Regal, Monte Carlo, Cutlass, & Grand Prix. The car was an instant legend & they are highly sought after today! Your title is pure click bait

[@bettyball2649]

Excuse me sir ,but this car never ever was a failure your stats are totally wrong

[@SquirminHermanthe1eyedGerman]

yup, just discontinued because Buick was going to front wheel drive platforms

[@worldtraveler930]

I second that motion!!! 🤠👍

[@I8ITSK8N]

My car collection will one day include a grand national GNX, a Super low mile, original 96 Chevy Impala SS and a Super low Mile, original mercury marauder.. not extremely expensive or very rare cars, but I always wanted them when I couldn’t afford them..

[@keonwells934]

Car didnt "fail". GM decided to go to a front wheel drive platform for the 1988 model year.

[@500erider]

That was a corporate GM move for a couple of reasons, but you can bet that at least a small part of that reasoning was to put the Corvette back on its throne as the GM performance flagship. As far as straight line performance was concerned, the Grand National embarrassed the Corvette in acceleration, never mind the GNX, which could lay waste to even a Lamborghini Countach, in a drag race. There was, and still is an edict at GM, that says "Thou shalt not outshine the Corvette". Pontiac only got away with it for one model year, in 1989, with the Turbo Buick powered 20th Anniversary Trans Am. No car that beat the Corvette had a long life at GM.

[@brandond73]

Buick built some of the fastest cars of the late 60's and early 70's as well! The GSX comes to mind. My dad had a 67 Riv GS that would scream.

[@eddiestanley135]

Sales increased immensely from 86 to 87...so, in typical GM fashion, stop making it!!! GM... General Morons!??

[@toddcorrigan4874]

As with all GM did make it great then discontinue and sell shit.

[@SquirminHermanthe1eyedGerman]

only reason they canceled it was because they were going to a front drive platform but 3.8 came back in the '89 Turbo Trans Am

[@toddcorrigan4874]

@@SquirminHermanthe1eyedGerman Common problem with all car companies especially GM is you have a good thing, but instead of making it better eliminate it. Was not a fan of older Buick's because bearing failure but the V6 was impressive and improvement could been done.

[@knytrydr73]

It was eliminated because it was faster and cheaper than the Corvette.

[@toddcorrigan4874]

@@knytrydr73 The Corvette was running old tech, heavy V8 and so restricted. Similar to the Buick design with the V8 could have made it impossible to beat but cost would be far higher than it was.

[@Bluecedor]

The GNX “failed”? At what? It was an intentional send-off special because Chevy said “cut that ish out” over the GN stealing Vette spotlight. It also ended because it was extremely expensive at the time, partly due to the insane dealer markups (car guy legend has it one was sold for $100k in 1987 dollars). The only thing it “failed” at was being different enough from the normal GN so that every GN owner couldn’t fake the GNX’s look. It’s something that actually harms the GNX’s legacy to a degree. Other than maybe the Fiero owners making Lambo or Ferrari conversions out of their cars, the GNX was probably the first modern example of a car’s fan base trying desperately to make their lesser, more common cars into believable counterfeits of the holy grail model. Still happens to clean GNs today.

[@paulmahon1613]

Speaking of markup... My dad worked at a Buick/Pontiac/GMC dealership and sold the first one they got in. He got a $5,000 commission.

[@Bluecedor]

@@paulmahon1613 $5k in 1987 dollars…no small thing. If I recall correctly, Buick MSRP on the GNX was around $30k, which was quite a hefty uptick over the GNs, which were in the $17-19k range at the time. The dealer markups and the fact that it was a new age powertrain in a muscle car package enshrined the car’s future value and a permanent spot in the annals of performance history for Buick.

[@TylerGamer765]

My dad had a best friend who ran a Chevy Buick Oldsmobile dealership and they ordered a T type and made it to look just like a grand. They even had the seats grille and steering wheel and rims! That’s how she goes when your best friend owns a dealership in the heart on nascar country in the mid 80s! Then he lent it to my uncle who had no idea about how to take care of a turbo car and ran it hard and put it away wet and blew the turbo then parked it on his property…. Dad was gunna fix it up for me to drive when I was 16 but then a tree fell on it. I did get grandmas 1990 lx 5.0 (AOD). He said it was his favorite car until his STS V. That was his baby and he left it to me. That car is an American M5!

[@georgehgordy1690]

It got out in the automotive press in 1987 A representative for Sylvester Stallone contacted GM management letting him know Sly wanted a GNX and the man told him to contact his local Buick dealer... Lol

[@Bluecedor]

Sounds like an urban legend, but also pretty believable.

[@georgehgordy1690]

@@Bluecedor Wish I could remember what magazine it was, but it was dad ( he's no longer with us ) reading it aloud because he was so impressed with the car and was probably trying to educate me about it, but at the time honestly to me it was just a V6 with a turbo and I was on the hunt for nice $2,000 - $3,000 383 - 440 E-Body's. That were surprisingly plentiful at that time.. And i had no interest in new cars with a V6 power plant .. He knew how special it was then and what it would become... I didn't see it.. If you were a gearhead that was a teenager like me in the 80's it was all about late 60's early 70's muscle cars.. And the good thing about that then was that they were very affordable.

[@robertelmo7736]

@@georgehgordy1690 That was a Hot Rod Magazine I am pretty sure...cover said "Buick V6 beats Corvette"...long time ago and I was on a bicycle then so.....but my parents ended up getting an 84' Turbo Regal, and I absolutely decimated some musclecar egos back in the day lol..car ran 9.18 in the eighth bone stock it was fast fast fast back then.

[@Kopernicus67]

Why did it fail? It was a one-trick pony and a dangerous one at that. People would mod and tweak them, and not do anything with the brakes, aerodynamics or suspension. All cars are effectively airplane wings, at speed you get lift. Hit the 1/4 at 100+ and there was very little pressure on the front steering of these cars, and many of them flipped. They only thing these cars had were acceleration numbers, and that doesn't make a drivers car or one that sells many units. Wow, you can stand on the gas and beat someone to the next light. The hot hatches of the 90s put these behemoths to bed. Fast, maneuverable, safe, carry a lot of stuff and get good mileage, all with low insurance costs. People who like these cars only judge them by one very unidimensional metric, and it has zero to do with driving excellence.

[@mlc7boosted]

I was going to say the same exact thing, "one trick pony" laying a single tire drag. I had one for about a year that I bought from a pawn shop for $3500. It was a real WE-2 package GN. Point is for years I had been driving a '86 Mitsubishi Starion. The build quality of the Starion was much better, but not quite as fast from a start. That's why everyone always sees a GN taking off from a standing start; on the highway going 65 and floor it, the Starion was faster than the GN. I sold the GN to a guy who rapped with Gucci Mane and it was re-done in silver with huge wheels and put in a music video. Now my DD is an '04 C5 Corvette with 400hp and it is a true sports car. The GN was just some boat with a turbo V6. Pure hype that is kept alive so people don't get just how pathetic that car really is and the values plummet. For a short while I was on a GN forum years ago and people were friggen crazy overboard; one guy talked about jacking his garage queen GN up and waxing the gas tank! Give me a friggen break! Drive the MF'er!

[@Lightning546]

You forgot to mention the optional performance package that made the GNX faster than the Corvette at a cost of $38K, that package wasn't available very long.

[@worldtraveler930]

The GNX had what was considered to be a Stupid computer as it did Not understand Emission Control Systems it's just understood how to dial the engine according to its Octane So if you wanted a car that could Beat Anything that was on the road in that day Anywhere on earth just give it some Aviation Gasoline and it would become an Instant Slayer of Anything that was dumb enough be put up against it!!! 🤠👍

[@HWolfeIII]

The GNX could smoke a twin turbo Calloway Corette. GM didn't want the old man division to upstage it's halo car. Good documentary, especially about the development of the 3.8 turbo V6.

[@kosmashionidis]

Fail? They go for 150k-200k for the gnx. 50k for regular gn

[@automotiveaffairsshorts]

They failed at the time, because GM didn’t sell as many as they wanted! Many failed cars eventually find an enthusiast following, which then drives up prices!

[@msk3905]

Sales weren’t what they expected because it was a turbo 6, we were ignorant back then but a few years after 87 when we saw the potential they were highly sought after and still are.

[@publicenemynr5]

​@@automotiveaffairsshortsDidn't sell as many as they wanted? My dude, the GNX was a limited production car and they sold all of them....

[@danziger69]

Had a 1986 GN...what a great car.

[@blackericdenice]

4:05 Buick didn't have a v8 to put in the Regal. This is why they install a turbo v6. Full size Buick cars used Oldsmobile v8. 7:11 GM had planed to go fwd well before 1987. GM didn't stop making the GN because it was faster than the Corvette.

[@Whyteeford]

This AI was actually hard to listen to...

[@sartainja]

Because it is so wrong on so many points.

[@johnnyquid-xj4kk]

I notice it’s a lot of yelling w AI

[@nickg0411]

it didnt fail...it was discontinued with the g body platform when GM went to FWD. They built Grand Nationals till the end of Dec 87 when the normal changeover was august. So please, get your facts right. It wasnt a sports car by any means, muscle car? yes...but a v6 camry today would blow its doors off in most all categories . sorry but not sorry . ( former owner of 3 Gn's)

[@plap.]

No doors blown off

[@PhilipMcCaig]

Buick engineers turbocharged a nailhead in the late '50s or the early '60s. It made over 600ft.lbs., way too much torque for their drivetrains.

[@joshscallorn6104]

Tim Szabo. Detroit power.

[@m1t2a1]

I had a house mate for a while that had a yellow 70 Buick GSX and a black GNX. We had the fastest driveway in town. The GNX was his daily! In the spring and fall he took the GSX to put away for the winter. Hour and a half drive of me driving the GNX so he'd have both cars all summer. I took the scenic route with the most stop signs. It's Canada, and the GNX rusted into scale years later.

[@TylerGamer765]

What a shame….. fuck salt

[@m1t2a1]

@@TylerGamer765 Worse part is he had a beater late 70s Crown Vic that was supposed to be his winter car. It just sat. He still has the GSX though.

[@Bluecedor]

@@m1t2a1You sure it was an actual GNX? Not to say your friend is a liar, just that there are a crap ton of fakes out there.

[@nickg0411]

@@Bluecedor yup all 2500 of the 547 made are still out there

[@paulstewartcrane]

How those Falklands doing ? Or as you want to spell them ?

[@emersonmayeaux2482]

Poor marketing. GM didn't want to unseat the Corvette flagship which the Grand National did handily.

[@intheshadow1200]

Beautiful car and design.....❤️🔥👌

[@guidosarducci3047]

Speaking as someone who grew up in 70's 80's 90's. The late 70's and early 80's being my formative years. All of these so-called muscle cars from 71-72 through early 90's were real dogs. Even the corvettes sucked. A few rare examples in early 71 being the exception. My High School buddy got his dads old 70' work truck as a gift for 16th B-day. So, that would make it 15 years old in 1985. Ya gotta understand that back then, a 15 year old vehicle was considered to be an ancient relic. But it consistently ran 12's in the 1/4 mile. High 12's, but 12's none the less. and it was bone stock except for the headers and a Holley double pumper. It would've beat the Buick GNX easily. We would take brand new Corvettes with that old Chevy all the time. The look on their faces was priceless.

[@georgereginald6084]

It was fast but looked like grandma’s grocery getter dressed in black

[@donwrinkles717]

My absolute DREAM RIDE.

[@sidvicious647]

It Didnt fail Buick came to the wise decision to moving the regal to front wheel drive in 88 and thats a fact .

[@motmontez2695]

It was the last year they were making it, so they wanted to go out with a bang. And I would say mission accomplished.

[@jefife750]

What was wise about moving the regal to front wheel drive? Hopefully that was sarcasm?

[@TheREALJosephTurner]

Buick didn't make that decision- GM corporate did. GM corporate designs the platforms and allocates where they are used. The entire G-body range was being replaced with a FWD platform, leaving only four rear-wheel drive car platforms: D-body (which was used exclusively for Cadillac), B-body (which was GM's large car platform), F-body (which was exclusive to Camaro/Firebird), and the second Y-platform (which at the time was used only for Corvette). There was literally no mid-sized RWD platform left for Buick to build a new Grand National on, and the only RWD platform left that they were allowed to use was the B-body, which would mean a new GN would have to be built from a Buick Roadmaster if it were to remain RWD.

[@sidvicious647]

@@TheREALJosephTurner Whoever made the call blew it and have been blowing it ever since !!! A new GN was a no brainer .

[@sidvicious647]

@@jefife750 DEFINITELY sarcasm

[@danielserra8827]

Always loved this car

[@davidbRichardson-ph3jk]

Did, the V6 change-over the end of Such, a powerful & beautiful machine?

[@classified70]

The only thing that failed here was GM itself! Stories like this aren't anything new to the GM world, whenever other divisions in the GM world created such monsters like the GNX and going back even further the 1970 GSX! The top brass at GM would always axe those cars because God forbid any other GM brand produce a car better than Chevrolet or in particular the "Corvette" those other brands would not be allowed to pursue future development.For this reason and reason only I have never had any respect for the Chevrolet brand.

[@knytrydr73]

This guy gets it.

[@Saint-Christopher]

The GNX didn't or wasn't a fail. At the time, it was more going out with a bang as everyone knew starting in 1988, the Rwd G body was no more.

[@rangerlobo5402]

Buick was not known for performance cars? Umm, what about the Skylark GS in the early 70's?

[@RichardStanton-c3j]

What the hell is this, the GNX wasn't a failure. It might have been a bit pricey for some at the time, but you got what you paid for in performance. I guess the 959 was a failure too, according to whoever runs this channel...

[@bruceallen6016]

I've always been an Oldsmobile/Pontiac performance guy but these Buicks caught my attention. Never bought one though. 😒

[@cdubs9918]

In the late 80's it was all about IROC's and Mustang 5.0's. But everyone knew the true GOAT was GN or GNX. They were Unicorns. Although...I was always told that the Regal T Type was faster because it was lighter.

[@walterspaceman5592]

$ 36,000 new. Like $ 90,000 today. Not pocket change. Best wishes. Everyone said, " Get out ! How much ? ".

[@ryanmiller2143]

How did it fail?

[@RichardStanton-c3j]

It didn't fail, this is probably one of those lame AI generated BS channels.

[@knytrydr73]

It could outperform the Corvette so it's production was limited.

[@gracien2008]

The HELLCAT of the 80s pretty much sums that up.

[@ro307805]

It wasn’t a failure. GM just Chose not to advertise it

[@blackice7408]

They seem to have a history of shutting down what ppl really want n forcing down what is complete garbage or crap

[@TEverettReynolds]

Oh, but wait... no mention that Chevy (also owned by GM) also produced the modified Caprice, which became the Impala SS from 84 to 86, which had the Corvette LZ1 engine in it. I think GM had to make a choice.

[@stephenp8644]

Aaaaaand look at Buick today... all cheap compact cars made in China with the Buick badge on them... I got my mom's '67 Buick Skylark in high school. It looked like a full-size luxury sleeper (which attracted the girls) but it had the get-up-n-go when I wanted it.

[@oscarwalton1188]

It didn't fail it sold well enough the problem was the g body platform it was based on was on its way out and the front wheel drive platform that replaced it just didn't appeal to the performance buyers and then there was dealing with chevys favorite child status within gm itself.

[@markhellman-pn3hn]

once upon a time ago - a manufacturer only purpose was to MAKE A PROFIT !! ..... there was no such thing as "limited production cars" ..... 3,000,000 of these things could have been built if politics didn't get in the way !! .....sad this is the world we live in

[@keithstevens5614]

103 miles per hour? I was stopped speeding at 107 through icy mountains in a 90 T-bird SC and I could have pushed it much further.

[@fixer1972]

Not the famous McLaren car builder.

[@Bluecedor]

Yes, ASC McLaren is very different than the British engineering consulting and manufacturing outfit. ASC touched so many American specials in the 80s.

[@Atomwaffen-y3s]

Today on "Internet Revisionism For Clickbait.."

[@showtimewest1940]

Dream car

[@Marc816]

Poor marketing, maybe

[@DucatiPaso750]

I was 18 when the GNX came out. I somehow convinced a dealer to let me test drive one. In reality, I think he was looking for an excuse to take it out. Either way, it was an incredible car in s straight line and it looked sinister!! But, I'd have to say that most people who went to Buick dealerships were in the 40 to 60 year old range.

[@knytrydr73]

It could out perform the Corvette. That's a big no no at GM.

[@plap.]

It didn't fail they sold all they made. GNX was limited production

[@paulmahon1613]

How was it a failure? It was a limited run vehicle. No more, no less. The things people post to get views is shameful.

[@matzrat5006]

They didn't fail, GM failed the GNX and GN , turned around and built some crappy FWD, that then failed.

[@crankychris2]

The GNX was too expensive, twice the price of a Regal, which it was.

[@rossm8231]

It’s failed simply because going fast in a straight line is easy and boring. Throw a single turn in the mix and the GNX is a turd.

[@SuperLuckyCat7]

Quite a Sleeper 🏁

[@trnlft]

These cars are 6 figure cars now.

[@RUfromthe40s]

not usually talked about either than the corvette and trans am was and is the more refered car from the 80´s not by the same reasons as the fiero that i liked it and had a ford ...like in the early 60´s convertible, the....hum! THUNDERBIRD what a car big powerfull and bad on turns but nothing related with the ancient model

[@299charles]

I wouldn’t say it FAILED 😂

[@kr2513]

The car didn’t fail. Chevrolet whined to daddy and got it pulled.

[@MichaelCoughlanmusic]

#THING #OF #BEAUTY

[@geraldscott4302]

It is no longer being made because everybody wanted TRASH technology. Front wheel drive is part of that TRASH technology. As a mechanic I have worked on thousands of those things. They are many times harder and more expensive to work on than rear wheel drive cars. And they handle like a grocery cart. A car like the Grand National has to be a bit on the primitive side to be fun. Would you want a hybrid one with a 24" touch screen, and loaded with spy devices and driver interference systems? Simply putting the name on any of the GARBAGE being made today would not make it what it was.

[@keithleeuwen877]

Great story !

[@SteveMorgenthaller]

owned one with methanol injection, hot ride

[@skeetersaurus6249]

I was in my 20's when the GNX first came out...and it had stiff quarter-mile competition...contrary to what 'muscle magazines' of the day might have said. At the time, I LIVED racing...both track and street. A 'magical' time when there were still 426 Hemis and 428 CobraJets still prowled around, but 13-14 second 'slightly modified' Mustang GT's did too. At the time, I had a 1970-1/2 AAR Cuda with a 340 six pack that was 'far beyond stock'. The number one thing the GNX had against it (other than the outrageous price compared to Corvettes, Mustangs, Starions and Shelby Chargers) was GM's 'pathetic quality control' towards performance. Off the line, the turbo was a gigantic question-mark...would it 'choke' and give you a 15-second run, or would it spool up as expected and deliver a high 12-second run? How many runs would you get out of it, before the turbo turned into an oil-starved toaster? Would GM honor your 5th attempt at 'warranty claims' on that turbo...whether you were still 'in-warranty' or not? The only trick to running a GNX, was to running them for best '2-out-of-3'...guaranteed, most ANY OTHER muscle car could take 2 of the 3 runs before the Buick realized it was being expected to run that little mouse 3.8-liter engine WITH the turbo ON DEMAND. Total junk...and can PROUDLY SAY that I NEVER had one beat my old Cuda! Damn pathetic cars...and thus, the car that occupied hundreds of pages of propaganda muscle magazine 'headlines' died with a whimper, only 2 years later...

[@john91z]

The only thing that was a ''failure'' is this video.

[@justanother9184]

pretty sure it was 546 but i could be wrong

[@nickg0411]

547

[@trnlft]

The GNX was anything but a failure. WTF!

[@ChadHargis]

Nice engine in a crap car. Fast, provided you didn't have to stop or turn. Comparing this heap of crap against a Ferrari is blasphemy. Take the cars to Laguna Seca and see which one crosses the finish line first. Same goes for the Corvette.

[@jamesziegler2763]

😮😮

[@MrFargo1001]

Price hurt GNX.

[@Bluecedor]

It was supposed to be expensive.

[@markhellman-pn3hn]

politics before profit !!

[@RUfromthe40s]

ahahahah!!!even with a 2cv from citroen i would win a race in any circuit it´s called 2 cv but as 4 cv or h.p., it´s fast but doesn´t turn

[@johnnyquid-xj4kk]

Cholo car

[@roddycreswell8613]

V6 is why it failed. I wish they would have put that induction on a 350 of the time, that would have made me buy one.

[@TheREALJosephTurner]

That may be true in your particular case, but the V6 isn't why it "failed". The end of the G-body RWD platform is why it quit being made. It has among the highest resale values of 80's-era GM vehicles, save for a few editions of the Corvette. Hardly a failure.

[@roddycreswell8613]

​@TheREALJosephTurner yep, a definite failure. A friend of mine blew one up with me in it.

[@redbuick]

The fact your saying the legendary turbo 3.8 was a failure, an engine with mods that is still drag raced? And still high demand with a great aftermarket? Id say you need to read up on buick or stop using the Internet. Mostly every v8 in the 80's was a smog choked boat anchor from gm.

[@roddycreswell8613]

​@@redbuick​ pos, my buddy blew one up with me in it. That was a new car at the time. I speak from experience, the v6 won't stay together.

[@Bluecedor]

There was no “failure”, especially not on the part of the Buick 231.

[@haywoodyoudome]

Lame AI voice over.

[@richardpare3538]

They failed simple because they were a Buick.

[@trnlft]

Nothing about them was a fail.

[@kurtwise7356]

Um the GNX has twin turbos dude!

[@redrum2204]

Nope

[@msw7021]

What?

[@Bluecedor]

It very much does not.

[@knytrydr73]

It should have, but it didn't