Javillac
Year is 1961. The United States inaugurates with enthusiasm and optimism the mandate of its youngest president, John Fitzgerald Kennedy. The tensions of the Cold War would reach their most tense point with the Cuban missile crisis that same year, and from the other side of the iron curtain the first cosmonaut, the Soviet Yuri Gagarin, walks through outer space under the envious gaze from the west
The space race is still in full swing and so is the arms race. Despite this peak moment in terms of these technological advances, their point of greatest influence had already passed, with 1959 like a last gasp of the excesses of the “jet age” in the automotive sector. In that year came the release of Harley Earl as chief designer of General Motors, and whose most representative work is the 1959 Cadillac, being the production car with larger tail fins, a stylistic trend that he himself created and popularized.
In the years to come fins in american cars they would be more and more hidden or would they end up disappear completely, being by the middle of the 60's a relic of another time.
Maybe the car that changed the canon of design in the American automobile was the 1961 Lincoln, as sober as elegant, and which stood out for its square shapes, which completely broke with the ornate, almost baroque styling of the previous year's model. 
This as far as design is concerned, but in United States began to emerge new kind of car that until then had not considered manufacturing until then; the compacts. But the concept of compact in America has nothing to do with what it means in Europe. To put things in perspective, the new range of compacts from General Motors presented in 1961replaced the British Vauxhall Victor, which was imported from United Kingdom and that for that country it was considered a large family model.
for the season of 1960 the "Big Three” of the United States present compact models affordable on their access brands. Ford presents the successful FalconWhile chrysler corporation enter the Valiant as a new brand, although it would become a model of Plymouth from 1961. Meanwhile it was General Motors who else innovated in the traditional US market with the Chevrolet Corvair, with a very European conception as it is a car of traction and rear engine whose mechanics were air-cooled.
Given the success in sales of compacts in America, General Motors shown in 1961 a new chassis platform for compact cars, the “Y Platform” or “Y body”. In this chassis for smaller vehicles, models from three different firms of General Motors: The Pontiac Tempest, Oldsmobile F-85/Cutlass and Buick Special.
This new range of compact Americans would be offered in the typical bodies of any other American car of the moment: sedan four-door, disconnected two-door, convertible two-door and ranchera.
El Buick Special differed from the cars introduced by Oldsmobile and Pontiac by having a nomenclature that had been used by the brand years ago, specifically from 1936, applied at that time to a large car.
El design of the new models General Motors for the years 1960-62 had been supervised by Harley Earl, But Bill Mitchell he was the company's new chief designer and his attitude towards design was much more sober.
This sobriety would be reflected in the new compacts of GM, especially when compared to products the company was making a year and two earlier. Although perhaps of the three cars presented in 1961, Buick Special was the one I still had a design more reminiscent of the Jet-Age, with sharp edges and shapes in many parts of the vehicle, but maintaining the quadrangular profile How fashionable was it at the time? Though para 1963 the body of the model would change remarkably, happening to have some even more straight and serious strokes.
In that desire to innovation that he had General Motors at the beginning of the 60, the new cars manufactured on the "Y-Body" would go down in history for presenting some remarkable novelty. The Buick and Oldsmobile mounted on that platform could be equipped with a motor V8 de aluminum block de 215 cubic inches or 3.500 cubic centimeters, something unusual for the United States not only because of the material used but also because of its relatively small displacement. Interestingly, although the engine was the same, many components and specifications varied between the engines mounted on the Buick and Oldsmobile.
It is worth mentioning that until 1963 that Pontiac Tempest could be equipped with this engine, instead of the 3,2-liter inline four-cylinder that it featured, it was offered as an access mechanic, and at that time the only American car to offer engines of this type.
By 1962 Oldsmobile would make history with this aluminum engine becoming the first manufacturer of history in offering a turbocharger in their cars. The car was Oldsmobile Jet Fire, derived from F-85 and whose mechanics was baptized as "turbo-rocket”, a finish of which few units were sold. 
In the middle of 1961 Buick presented a more luxurious finish for the Special, Skylark, a name that, again, they had previously used and that would only be offered in two-door bodies, both coupé and convertible, going through a unique “hardtop” for this finish. It was in 1962, that he Skylark it becomes a own model, and who made history by being the first american car to offer himself with a V6 engine, although it was no longer aluminum.
Pontiac also featured its own special version of the Tempest; the LeMans. For 1963 Pontiac developed a V8 engine de 336 cubic inches for this compact that was very popular, due to moderate consumption and brilliant performance.
Finally, this generation of American compacts was discontinued in 1963, because although one New Generation of these cars was presented in 1964, its chassis was different and its size now became medium.
Although these cars had great popularity in sales, General Motors opted for more conventional models, and also in 1963 stopped offering the engine aluminum V8 y 215 cubic inches presented in 1961, due to high production costs among other factors.
A V8 for the UK
However the history of this V8 aluminum it doesn't end herebecause he had a long life across the Atlantic. In 1964 the head of operations in America Rover, J.Bruce McWilliams, had permission from the brand for the possible acquisition of a V8 engine U.S..
The propellant that best suited the English models was the small aluminum V8 developed by Buick, very low weight and good performance. Initially General Motors refused. to cede these engines to the British, but after continued insistence on the part of Rover they ended up accessing 1965.
And motor would debut in the UK with the Rover P5B de 1967, and from then on it would be used in vehicles of all kinds; from the sports MGB, TVR, Morgan y Triumph, going through the Land Rover y Range Rover, to industrial and military vehicles, finally being discontinued in 2006.
Aboard the 1962 Buick Special
The protagonist of the report is a Buick Special from the second year of production of the model, 1962. For that season the car underwent a small redesign modifying some elements such as the radiator grille.
The particular unit belongs to Manuel Valiente, who has already collaborated with The Escudería with its Dodge Dart Line 69 stretched, only one in the world. Their Buick was registered as historic, but was previously registered in Barcelona back in the year 1979, but previously had some registration related to some official service, perhaps "PMM" or "ET".
Its paint is two-tone, black for the bodywork and white for the roof, a very common combination in those years and whose tune continues inside, of similar tones that complement the colors of the exterior.
Once seated inside the car, you are surprised by its huge breadth interior, which together with the front bench seat makes it possible to travel inside six adults quite comfortably. Although perhaps what is most surprising is his dashboard, which continues with present forms in the calender y back of the car and what is it extremely simple, with the box displaying basic information; with needles for speed and gasoline.
El Buick Special de 1962 ride the famous engine V8 de 215 cubic inches that it produced in that year 155 horses of power This particular unit has the automatic transmission de Two speeds "dual-path”, whose lever is integrated into the steering column, as was the norm in automatic models of General Motors of the moment. This model was also offered with three- and four-speed manual gearboxes.
once running the car stands out for its smoothness, both in its suspension and in its sonority, with a slight roar by the V8 engine only if it is throttled. This comfort is complemented by the gearbox, which only has to change gear once and is barely noticeable when you select another gear.
The test took place on a mountain road in Toledo, and the car climbed a steep pass with great ease, perhaps more easily than other contemporary Americans thanks to their weight light y small dimensions, which allow a better handling.
For most of the photos Manuel decided to climb a windmill like those of Don Quixote de La Mancha. To get there you had to access an old and steep path, along which the Buick he showed a surprising facility to move through said lands, at a calm rhythm, but without pause, and demonstrating again his incredible comfort even on the worst roads.
Un economical price, One adequate benefits or with a relatively small size were some of the reasons why they converted the Buick Special en a success of sales, because for example for that same year of 1962 the model sold more than 110.000 units.
An American of a different conception that, despite having been very popular among consumers, perhaps ceased its production before its time, as time showed that in the following decades American buyers preferred smaller foreign cars to the gigantic Detroit land yachts, and that today is a classic with a history as important as it is unknown.
Finally, thank Manuel Valiente for his kindness in lending the car for the report and for being a great host at Los Yébenes, taking us to the privileged environments in which the Buick has been the true protagonist.
Photographs: Javier Ramiro, GM Media Archive, Look, Ford Motor Company
