One of the television ads for the 1968 Buick LeSabre said, “Have you’ve ever owned a car that you liked to wash, simply because you were so proud of it?”
It’s true, and any car-guy or gal can relate, there is satisfaction to be found in meticulously maintaining a new car. Today, we’ll take a closer look at one of Buick’s offerings from the late-1960s. The ‘68 LeSabre was available in coupe, convertible, sedan, and station wagon variants.
Similar to what Oldsmobile was doing with its extensive model lineups in the mid-to-late 1960s, Buick had somewhat of a “something for everyone” approach with its offerings, and page two of the sales brochure showed profiles for 35 different models.
During my recent visit to Desert Valley Auto Parts, I was greeted by a young man named Diesel who was the son of one of the property owners. He walked me through a few rows of cars and stopped to talk proudly for a few minutes about a 1968 Buick LeSabre that still ran and drove.
The car was sun-baked but complete. It had impressive presence: The LeSabre coupe, convertible, and sedans all had the same exterior length of 217.5 inches. In fact, LeSabre variants had similar specs across the board with the exception of height (and even by that metric, they were within one inch of one another).
Features included chrome brightwork, signature (non-functional) Ventiports, driver side mirror, swooping body crease, and dual exhaust system. I liked the narrow-slit taillights shrouded in chrome trim.
I split away from Diesel and went about my business of kicking a few more old-car tires. About 30 minutes later, I heard the rumble of a V-8 heading my way down the gravel pathway. I turned around and it was Diesel, driving the LeSabre. The car sounded great. It had a 350ci V-8 with a two-barrel carburetor (rated at 250 horsepower with 350 lb-ft of torque).
Diesel invited me to get in, and he took me for a lap around the property. I glanced over at the odometer which said 8,059 miles — more than likely indicative of 108,059, but still a relatively low reading for a nearly-six-decade-old car.
When I got out of the car, I asked Diesel to see if the headlights worked and to give it a little rev. He did both, and I felt myself getting the itch to acquire a new (old) car. One day I’d like to own something from the 60s. Here’s a video of my visit to DVAP, and the LeSabre rev is at time stamp 11:20.
I guess the TV advertisements were right; I’m sold on a 1968 Buick even after 58 years.
