European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 21, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Car Corne Buick s Park avenues pretender to the Jaguar throne the new Park Avenue four door Sedan is set Low and Flat to the ground. By Paul Dean the los Angeles times Jaguar cars Are losing their looks to general motors. Or More specifically to this year s Chevrolet Caprice and next year s Cadillac Seville and now Buick s new Park Avenue. These beamy four door american whoppers is by enough of the slopes and bulges of the Jaguar xj6 to bristle the wig of any British barrister  gun plagiarism suits. They also display that Coventry trademark of setting a car Low and Flat to camouflage its weight and bulk. The Slink is further accentuated by full use of horizontal styling lines. Look once there a aristocratic tradition in the cars fluted and heavily chromed Grilles. Look again their wheels Are reverse dishes of polished aluminium while a Small wind spoiler lurks beneath the front bumpers. Both items incorporate the Subtle hints of High Speed. See the whole package  flattering imitation of the Jaguar Aura of elegant performance. A fire up the new v-6 engine of the Buick Park Avenue and it even has that distinctive gurgling purr of the venerable straight six that was in Jaguar s 3.5-Ltter saloons of the 40s and the xk120s of the 50s. The irony is that general motors simply swiped these handsome visuals to compete on its own shores against the classier More expensive Jaguar. Ford on the other hand which purchased the British company lock Stock and look for $2.6 billion last year has not announced any intentions of producing a Domestic car with the. Coventry lines. Difficult to understand. Buick s 1991 Park Avenue is probably closer to Bond Street than anything else coming out of Michigan these Days it s a four door Notchback More than 16 feet Long and 6 feet wide and is available with leather upholstery. So is the Jaguar xj6. The Windshield on the grand touring Jaguar has a Long sporty Rake Quarter panes in the rear windows so doors can be made larger and passenger visibility increased enough hip room for three adults in the rear seats and narrow door pillars to lighten the roof line. The same goes for the Buick Park  looks however do not prove the car any More than. They Marketh the Man. So How can any Domestic car. Pretend to that throne of Quality occupied by Jaguar since it was Swallow coach building and making. Motorcycle sidecars a. It can to but the Buick Park Avenue is the one Domestic vehicle that comes closest to catching and Matching the european combination of Grace Pace and luxury. It in t a perfect clone. The Park Avenue cannot compete with Jaguar or w Ith Mercedes Benz Bow. Lesus and inti Nili for that matter when the Road beckons Broad and straight and is empty of police. In. Fact full stretch for the Park Avenue in t much More than 110 Mph which Lor mightier machines is about time to be a a shilling into fifth. Also in its passion to be considered modern Buick has pursued the traditional gospel according to pm by piling on conveniences that Are Little More than dime store novelties. A nobody really needs an overhead warning panel to glow when a parking Light has burned out. Nor is there the slightest need for a tachometer in a basically uns Porty car equipped with automatic transmission that will shift exactly when and where it chooses. On the other hand what the Park Avenue can do it does for a base Price of $24,385. Including Driver Side air bag and anti lock brakes. At $39,900, the sobriety of a Jaguar xj6 might not appear quite so attractive. Despite ghastly touches of plastic burled Walnut trim in  dash Buick has built a pleasant Uptown Interior for its Park Avenue. Fabrics and some of the fittings the Center armrest has a tendency to wobble Don t feel quite As substantial As the europeans. Bench seats Are a definite anachronism offering precious Little seat and body grip during Quick mane vering. A gearshift mounted on the steering column is another relic of the pre columbian Era of motoring. A. A a a a a a a a. A. A but the living quarters of the Park Avenue Are definitely Superior to most run of Detroit interiors. Knobs Are not threatening to drop. Plastic and Chrome do not appear ready to Peel. Flush fitting decorous finish and tight Cabin sealing have attained that level of excellence where quiet  allowed when cruising. May it All be the 1 Start of a Quality trend that will eventually trickle South to less expensive cars in the pm lineup. Mechanically the Park Avenue is based upon a front drive platform it shares with the Oldsmobile 98, the by United press International the Road master is  motors Buick division has announced that the first sedans to carry that name in More than 30 years will go on Sale May 1, with prices starting at $20,890 for the Road master Sedan and $23,245 for the More posh. Limited version. A. /. I. Even before its official introduction the Road master. Has been held up As an example of exactly the kind of car american automakers should Stop producing because of concerns Over fuel Economy. Cadillac Seville and other Broad shouldered stablemates from pm. It plows no new soil. The engine is a port injected 3.8 liter v-6 producing 170 horsepower., refined but far from Radical. The powertrain however is an electronically controlled Smoothie and the automatic transmission has caught up with one of the Best and most sophisticated features of Japan s enormously successful luxury car the lexus ls400 from Toyota. Simply put Buick s new Hydra Matic transmission developed in the pm shop that in 1939 produced the world s first automatic transmission is a system of computers and solenoids that thoroughly controls the shift pattern. The system is Crisp Quick and free of the surges and sags of lesser automatics. ,. On the Road the Park Avenue is smooth and magnificently mannered. From rest to 60 Mph it will run alongside a Jaguar until the final split second. Hard mid Range acceleration from 60 to 80 Mph takes 20 seconds. These Are not exactly Roger Ramjet figures but i hey Are quite respectable for a car of this size weight a and purpose. A a a. A a that purpose of course is to carry a half dozen souls. In quiet Undra Matic fashion Over fairly Long distances without requiring the services of a chiropractor at. Journeys end. A a this the Park Avenue achieves and with a reasonable consumption of regular unleaded. The Epa figures Are 1f mpg City and 27 mpg Highway. A a a a a. / a a a a a for full details on the Buick Park Avenue Sedan its special military prices Quot ejc"2il? buyers May Contact general motors sales representatives  cafes new car sales Points on the various bases in Europe. But  Mertz Buick general manager said the new sedans reflect Buick s responsiveness to the. Marketplace. A / a a. A a a All other bricks except the Road master station Wagon introduced earlier this year have front wheel drive a which Many customers prefer Mertz said. But he stressed that the new Road master series is in response to a significant number of buyers who either prefer the ride and handling characteristics of rear drive or who want More towing capacity. Buick also insists that the Road master which retains a v-8 engine and seats six is among the most efficient Large cars now on the Market with a projected Epa a rating of 16 Miles per gallon in  and 25 mpg on the Highway. A for those who prefer full Frame vehicles with rear drive these models perfectly define Buick s Mission of providing contemporary cars that ,a distinctive powerful and mature Quot Mertz said. A the Road master name first appeared in 1936 on i Premium Buick sedans and Road master models a i remained in the Buick lineup through 1959, when Model names were changed. Quot a i the new Road master sedans Are being built at pm s i Arlington tex., Plant. I first Road master Sedan in More than 30 years. Revived Road master to hit showrooms on May 1 8 stripes Magazine March 21, 7991