1995 Buick LeSabre Custom

1995 Buick LeSabre Custom

As much as I love cool cars, I never had much luck over the years getting my parents to step up their vehicular game.  My mom probably would have branched out a little but dad was much more frugal and sensible.  He was the president of a state university in Texas for 20 years and he would only buy things like Oldsmobiles and Mercury's...and Buicks, and usually in the school colors of maroon or gold. I used to say "Dad, why don't you just get a Mercedes or a Cadillac, or at least a Lincoln Town Car?"  He would explain that since he was President of a state university, technically his salary was paid by the taxpayers and he didn't think it would be right for him to drive around in some fancy car under those circumstances. (Fortunately he didn't extend that rule to cover me while growing up.)

After he retired however, I did have a little luck getting the folks to branch out.  I talked them into trading me this LeSabre which they had purchased new a few years prior for a '95 BMW 740iL that I owned.  

I know what you're thinking - not a very shrewd trade on my part.  You're sort of correct, but I had owned the 740 for a few years and was ready for something else and I really enjoyed the idea of dad cruising around Wichita Falls in a big black 7-Series after all those years of maroon Buicks.

As for the LeSabre, it was really like a new car.  I wasn't crazy about the maroon over maroon combo, but other than that I had no complaints.  Truth be told, I hardly ever drove it.  It hung around for about five or six months until I got around to selling it.  It was a comfortable car, but floated a little too much for my tastes at the time (I kind of like that now - I'm getting old).  The 3.6-liter V-6 was surprisingly potent.

Needless to say, this car was not a chick magnet.  It was marketed for an older client, and for that demographic it made sense.  I finally sold this one to a young couple that were living with the girls' parents and had a couple of kids.  They only had one car, and in Houston that just doesn't work.  All in all, this was a very good car and I'm sure it performed well for its new owners for years.