The Skylark nameplate was a staple in the Buick lineup from the 1950s to the 1990s. Its sixth and final generation debuted in 1992, continuing as a front-wheel-drive compact with interesting “new age” styling that was a departure from its corporate cousins, the Olds Achieva and the Pontiac Grand Am. This Gran Sport edition is fully decked out and in great survivor condition with just 41,000 miles. Located in Wichita, Kansas, this interesting Skylark is available through a dealer here on euroasianauto.com for $7,995. Kudos to Rocco B. for turning up this later edition of Buick’s famed GS!
When the Gran Sport name comes to mind, car fans usually think of the mid-size muscle machines of the 1960s and 1970s. The 1992 version of the GS was quite different, a luxury sedan that was powered by a peppy V6 instead of a fire-breathing 455 cubic inch V8. The styling was considered a bit unorthodox, but they said the same thing about the 1968-69 Skylarks, too. Base and GS editions came in 2- and 4-door sedan body styles but with different powerplants. The base models got a Quad OHC 2.3-liter 4-cylinder engine, while the Gran Sports got a 3.3-liter V6.
In the past 30 years, this GM product has had only three owners, all of whom must have babied the automobile while in their possession. We’re told that Carfax has no reports of any accidents or body damage and the red and grey two-tone paint could very well be original. The interior presents extremely well, too, although the velour and leather upholstery look a tad stretched on the driver’s seat.
We’re told this Buick runs and drives excellent and the 160 hp engine is reasonably easy on gas, getting more than 25 mpg on the highway. These motors were naturally aspirated along with fuel injection. The Skylark here has all kinds of goodies, such as premium alloy wheels and a deluxe audio system. This vehicle also has ABS brakes on all four wheels, a new safety feature in the late 20th Century. Given what used cars go for these days, is this Gran Sport a good buy at $8,000?
Now like then I want to like this car and it’s odd styling, I really do, but it’s tough with the pointed beak. The later refresh smoothed that out a bit. This is one of those “nicest one left?” examples, and someone will be happy with it.
A HS friend of mine, who drank himself into a nut house, nice retirement, Jim,,anyway, his mom, who lived to be 96, smoked and drank EVERYDAY,btw ,,go figure,,had this exact car. She bought it new, and also had about 40K. “Jim” ended up inheriting the car, and was a good car. I don’t care for the “droopy” styling, but people who still wanted a Buick, old folks, mostly, this is what they bought. These were incredibly popular, and I’m sure many still sit in garages across this country, waiting for the elderly owner to die. Great cars, for FWD, comfy, nice seats, dynamite heat/ac, good( not great) mileage, and dependable as a, well, as a Buick. In this age of uncertain modes of transportation, until “they” get “their” heads out of their rears, and create a PLAUSIBLE solution to our transportation crisis, you can’t go wrong here. Can you imagine, as far as we’ve come in certain aspects of life, a 30 year old sedan is still your best bet. Nice.
My elderly landlady and friend had one of these. Hers made it to about 36,000 miles before its complete inability to pass SMOG checks meant that it was traded in for a token amount on a KIA. We didn’t even have it at the dealer when they appraised it at $400 with multiple CARB SMOG failures on its record and thousands wasted at the Buick dealer trying to get it certified. There next suggestion was a $2K ‘dashboard’ replacement that ‘might’ have allowed the CEL to go out. It had spent its life garaged in San Diego, but it was still a constant source of inconvenience. Her friends would open the power windows, which only went down. AAA dropped her after she exceeded her number of allowed tows because it didn’t start when the engine was warm. My then-girlfriend and I drove the car to the dealer after the sale was complete. The heater core blew even though it was an A/C day, and I made my way to National City with my head out the side window like Casey Jones.
“These motors were naturally aspirated which is another way of saying they came with carburetors, not fuel injection”
Fuel injection is also naturally aspirated. Naturally aspirated just means it’s not forced fed air as in turbo or supercharged.
Corrected.
Also, the 3300 V6 in this car is fuel injected, not carburated.
No mention of a supercharger but they were fuel injected. Not too sure why this simple label is confusing. Buick used GS name that’s grand sport back in 1964 on naturally aspirated 400 cubic inch nailhead. Also threw it on the Riviera, pretty lame on these, but maybe it sold a few cars. The beak nose on these was a horrible styling exercise maybe helps MPG by breaking the air!
These cars got the hearts pumping of many 75 year old grandmothers. Back in the day.
I thought GS stood for Ghetto Sled. .
Another low mileage offbeat gem from Euroasian Bob. Maybe the Car Wizard will feature this one on his show.
I think Buick did a nice job styling these, though they still look a little stubby to me, like all N-platform cars do. The Skylarks look the best out of the three ’92 N-cars, IMO. But the Buick GS version, unfortunately, did not get the high performance Quad-4s that the Achieva SCX and Grand Am GTs got. The 3300 was probably smoother, but was a lot slower than the H.O. Quad 4s. You couldn’t get a manual either.
Urination Bob!
“You couldn’t get a manual either “. Nobody, and I mean NOBODY, would want a manual transmission in this car. This is a ridiculous observation! Really, no offence, but if you have any understanding about the market for a 1992 Skylark, you’d know it’s 110% automatic transmission.
Cool car, great options and condition. The GM N bodies were a car that I could never get comfortable in, no matter what seat or tilt wheel or whatever position I tried ( and I’m an average 5’8″, 200 lbs guy) They would scoot, and handled pretty well and I always wanted to love them more but…
Why bother with a write-up if you just make it up anyway? – just wow.
“These motors were naturally aspirated which is another way of saying they came with carburetors, not fuel injection”
Corrected.
What part of the photo of that engine made you think it had a carburetor?
I’m curious.
This is the car we drove in high school for driver’s education. Although I had driven a few cars in my youth already, my father was driving a ’79 Olds Delta 88 when I got my permit. Made taking my driver’s examination in that little Skylark a breeze!! I remember there being a lot of dashboard to look over… like a spaceship…
Sorry, but..YAWN!!!
Iv’e always kind of liked these, especially in 4 door form. Stylewise they seemed (a little) radical for Buick- but it worked great… in my opinion much better looking than the Olds Achieva and Pontiac Grand Am.. it looks like a great daily cruiser!
I appreciated what I perceived to be a nod to Skylarks of the 60-70’s. The beak and taillights reminded me of my 71 Skylark, kinda like retro styling before retro was a thing. I’d put the Buick behind the Grand Am in terms of styling though. I felt the Grand Am was consistently a handsome car all throughout its run. The Achieva never struck me as a good looking car which surprised me, Olds usually put out a good looking car. The Alero and Intrigue which came later were nice looking IMO.
Complete agree with you -the Alero and Intrigue looked good from all angles but the Achieva really missed the mark!! The Grand Am was nice, but this generation Skylark had a certain “Intergalactic Ground Chariot” look to it that struck me just right!
Is this available??
What I appreciate about this car is the unique styling. I prefer the coupe. With the GS package and teal paint.
Buicks of the early to mid 90’s had their attributes, at least to someone like me who’s a big fan of the GM full size and intermediates of the 70s and loves the soft ride these cars had. My 94 Regal Custom coupe, which I bought brand new Nov 1st 1994, rides like a much bigger car, but with the 3.8 engine, I’ve gotten up to 30 MPG on some long trips. It was my daily driver for the first 3 years, till I felt it was too nice a car to run into the ground, so I bought a commuter car to drive every day and made the Regal a second car. Today, almost 29 years later, it sits in my garage and I rarely drive it anymore. It has 85000 miles on it and it looks great. The original black paint shines like a mirror, and the tan leather bucket seats aren’t cracked or faded. I had the alloy wheels refinished a few years ago and they, too, look great. But it hasn’t been an easy car to keep into its old age. If I don’t keep the battery on a tender, it’ll run down in a few weeks. It has just enough electronics to drain the battery if it sits too long. But the biggest problem is that there are virtually no trim or body hardware parts around anymore. GM doesn’t produce them because there’s virtually no following for their cars of the 90s. So I’m dreading the day something goes wrong that requires taking apart the dash, since most of the trim and hardware is plastic, and if some key component should break in the process, I’m up the proverbial creek without a paddle. I’m trying to talk myself into selling it, but I can’t bring myself to do it, since it was my first brand new car. Bottom line is that anyone who is considering buying a GM car of the 90’s should be aware of the lack of parts availability, since the need may come up unexpectedly. Like the commercial says – life comes at ya fast…
I was always indifferent on these cars…. I didn’t like them nor hate them. A friend had a 2 door version years ago and I can’t remember how his overall experience with it was.
$8000? No Way. I could imagine $2500-3500. It’s not a particularly special car. They were moderate in terms of quality and reliability.
Agreed. While the engine was arguably reliable, these were HORRIBLE cars! Ugly, obsolete when introduced, poor driving characteristics, etc. This also applies to the GM corporate cousins the Grand Am and Achieva as well. They helped GM lose market share and profits.