1972 Buick Centurion - vintage road test

[Sail8410]

USS Buick 

[VictrolaJazz]

I know this may be a very early production model, but I thought the 455 equipped Centurions had the "455" numbers below the word Centurion on the side? I think the 455 was standard in '71 and '72, then became an option in '73.

[citrusparkguy]

love those rims

[VictrolaJazz]

@citrusparkguy Those are the beautiful Buick road wheels which the division began using with very slight alterations to the hub design each year since 1963.

[MNBluestater]

Haha 4:36 left driver's door paint doesn't match rest of car....typical GM !!! LOVE IT, HATE IT !

[VictrolaJazz]

@MNBluestater Same on the right side, too! '71 was the beginning of GM's poor quality. This generation of GM cars rusted where the "C" pillars joined the body, across the front of the hood and around the rear window. In '74, all GM models except for Cadillacs had side trim that was stuck on with glue and within about six months pieces would start falling off both sides, leaving ugly black marks where they had been.

[redbuick]

although i love my lesabre t-type coupe,and super charged regal gs sedan, i would have loved to drive a big burly 455 powered brute like that. to see these cars perform that good back then makes me wish i could go back in time.

[VictrolaJazz]

@redbuick I owned a base-trim level '73 LeSabre from '93 to about '98 that had the optional 455 and 2.75 axle instead of the 3.08 that came with the 350. It ran effortlessly but in the summer when I'd stop after being on the highway, the water would surge out of the overflow jug--it may have had a bad radiator cap I'm think after all these years.

[edgarsterling]

From a styling standpoint, it's... OK HAHA

[PotatoGunsRule]

In 1999 I had the opportunity to buy a 1973 225 Limited, 4 door, with all options. It needed a new top and hood, but everything else was great, even plastic still on the seats. I wanted that car (back when gas was .85 cents/gallon) but had no place to store it. Oh well...

[KA1040]

Holy cow, my dad had one of these. I remember it was brown, and while the paint wasn't holding up the greatest, it definitely hauled ass. My old man loved the passing power and loved to show it off when I'd ask him "let's see what she can do". 

[TheMrBennito]

hehe, the slalom in slo-mo. great vid, fantastic american car. love the centurion, more than say the pontiac GTO. The decals in itself are museum pieces LOL

[durko83]

pure gold!!!! what a tank!

[OldCarsAreBest]

We had a Centurion when I was growing up in the late 80's/early 90's, it was a beast, it handed Camaros and Mustangs their asses on numerous occasions, it's a shame some gook  totalled it.

[hamster700]

its a nice car

[dkamcomie]

Sorry about the double post, hit the button twice. Stupid double click habbit.

[dkamcomie]

I had the Really big brother of this car, a 72 4 door lesaber. when I pulled the motor and trans out of the Lesaber, It still tipped the scales at 5700 lbs when I sent it to the crusher. I still have the 455 in a Nova and that motor (Even with the 8-1 compression) is still a stump puller. may have only had 250 HP but it turned a whopping 480 lbft of toqure.

[Seattlecarnut]

I find the performance of this Buick Centurion to be quite impressive considering that the car weighs over 4,000lbs and that emissions requirements reduced horsepower considerably. It's a vintage American car I would love to have.

[Seattlecarnut]

Like a lot of people, I like comfortable ride. At the same time, though I also like being able to take a corner at moderate speeds without feeling like I'm going to slide off the pavement.

[Joe6packAmerican]

Brings back memories. These types of rides were my teenage rides. I had one of these, a 72 Electra 2 door, a 72 Impala 2 door, and a 74 Cutlass... Drifting these big boats was a blast and I didn't have a closed course LOL

[isaiah213]

at 4:29 not too many test drivers can drift a big body car like this guy did excellent driving

[rever65]

Very well built and could go like a bat out of HELL considering the weight. Remember these types of cars well in the mid 80's as high school cruisers, usually hand me downs from dad or grandpa.

[16924fps]

@MaximusRelaximus - That was par for the course back then. Most cars were rather softly sprung. @Monk543 - It's partly bias-ply tires and the rest is basic Newtonian physics - Large mass = big momentum. @snowman4839 - 4,500 lbs was average for this size car at the time. The four door version probably had a few extra pounds added on.

[MaximusRelaximus]

"body lean was not excessive" LOL really? Wow, obviously "excessive" had a whole different benchmark 38 years ago, but still...REALLY???

[Monk543]

The Buick 60-0 braking distance: 204 ft. 

A 2002 Ford Focus: 118sf. Yow.

[tommylord]

It would have done even better in the slalom if it had radial tires.

That's got a ton of body roll, but didn't they all.

[snowman4839]

SHIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 4500lbs??!?!?!?

[bannol]

When cars were cars and not generic-looking plastic bubbles on wheels.

[9lateralus]

bought one of these when I was 16yrs old,,,back in 1982,,,for about $400,,,,yes,,,the good old days?? when a 16yr old started with a 455 engine in his first car

[FURY1958]

Beautiful, exciting and elegant from every angle.

[isaiah213]

i want one so bad

[Seattlecarnut]

Even luxury cars need not be so soft in ride. To be able to stop is every bit as important as the ability to go. Why it took so damn long for Detroit to realise that is beyond me.

[iluvbuickgnx]

9.4 seconds...wow. My 95 LeSabre with a 231 V6 could beat a Wildcat with a 455 big block in it.

and you haters say cars haven't been improved since then.

[85buickV8]

@iluvbuickgnx I like the brand new Buicks, the ones from 1992-2008 can go straight to the scrapyard as far as I'm concerned. The 455 wasn't prone to chronic intake manifold gasket failure followed by engine destruction like the motor in your '95. My 1985 Le Sabre is slower than this '72 and almost twice as slow as your '95, but the interior and body aren't falling apart like almost all cars from the late 1980's until recently. There's more to a car's quality than acceleration.

[iluvbuickgnx]

@85buickV8 my 1995 has no rust, the interior is in great shape, (could use vacuuming though) the 3800 series 1 doesn't leak anything, the tranny shifts great. not bad considering its got 284000 miles on the odometer. as for that gasket failure, if you avoid the orange dexcool antifreeze, you'll never have that problem. Its a great car if you can live with ugly.

[iluvbuickgnx]

@iluvbuickgnx I'd still rather have a 455 though.

[VictrolaJazz]

@iluvbuickgnx That's true, but your 231 V6 couldn't pull a 7,500 lb. trailer, either.

[iluvbuickgnx]

What's wrong with a floating ride? I happen to dislike feeling bumps.

[gitrdone1975]

dang with todays cars...! i don't believe to many people that could handle such a big car no car leans like that anymore,great car,

[85buickV8]

@gitrdone1975 I'd like to see today's average teenage suburban yuppie kid do driver's ed in one of this things! they'd be lost in the sauce. I'm only 31, but I grew up on cars like this and learned to drive in cars that actually took some skill to drive.

[Seattlecarnut]

If only all American cars of the period performed as well as this. I thought the Electra and the LeSabre were better looking than the Centurion.

[biglinc1]

@Seattlecarnut this was the same car as the LeSabre with a nicer interior. Was basically lined up like the Olds models - delta 88 and delta royale. Centurion competed against the Olds 88 Royale

[Seattlecarnut]

@biglinc1 Nice!

[biglinc1]

@Seattlecarnut yeah... i love old rides, wish i had the money to buy up everyone i saw on ebay... :)

[Seattlecarnut]

@biglinc1 So do I. My favourites have always been the Buicks and Oldsmobiles of the 1960s up to 1971.

[DiGreco]

I loved this video clip!!!!

[cadrolls1]

@DiGreco Isn't it great?

[Tcamp95818]

Love the anti lock brake j/k LMAO

[maddog24637]

I own a 72 Lesabre Conv..

THESE ARE AWSOME CARS!!!!!!!!!!

[DiGreco]

@maddog24637 I own a 72 LeSabre 4dr Hardtop custom!

[BNforever2009]

that big mf runs and handles like a 80's Z-28!! Hahaha! I remember these when i was in grammar school.

[JET997u]

NASA doesn't even build anything this powerful.

[ClefDeDavid88]

Something is wrong with that difference between 50 and 60 mph. I do know the 455 was a huge torque monster because that engine warped the body on my Trans Am. I can also attest for the Buick brakes.

My first car was a 68 LeSabre and it could lock up the front brakes and make smoke. Thing stopped on a dime!

[landyachtfan79]

I sure would love to know what orchestra is performing the background music for these tests!!!!!!!!!

[CSXRockford]

@landyachtfan79

Yea that cracks me up, That music while they flog the piss outta this car..lol

[cadrolls1]

@CSXRockford Why would you want to flog the piss out of this car? If you spent 10 hours behind the wheel of this car, you would BURN the car your driving now. In this car, a passenger could actually sleep at 70 M.P.H. while rolling down the highway. Many people did just that while on long trips. It was not an unusual sight back in this car's day. On day long trips, people brought pillows and slept well. Cup holders? People put there drinks on the dashboards. They were safe there most of the time

[CSXRockford]

@cadrolls1

Do you have a problem reading? I said They where flogging it as in DRIVING the wheels off of it, and I would drive it the same way. SIDEWAYS.

[cadrolls1]

@CSXRockford Do I have a problem reading? When did the term "flogging" suddenly take on the new meaning: to drive a car in a rough manner? If you are going to make up words, you can not possibly expect people to know what you are writing. Does that make sense to you? The word "flog" means: "1. To beat severely with a whip or rod." So, when I questioned why you would want to beat this car with a whip or a rod, I had good reason. I think the word you should've used, in your case, would be "drift".

[CSXRockford]

@landyachtfan79

Wonder if they seen the testing going on while they played..lol

[piper4seeformerly]

does anyone have any idea what group is playing the soundtrack at 1:05 to 1:55?

[dynaflow1960]

There is something wrong with the numbers: 0-50 in 5.2 seconds, 0-60 in 9.4 seconds. It could not take 4.2 seconds to go from 50 to 60 which is sllloww. Same with the brakes: 93 feet to stop from 50 and 204 feet to stop from 60.

[F150MikeFX4]

Body lean was NOT excessive?!!! WTH? Too funny....my parents had one of these and it was like driving a mattress.  I loved that car though...hilarious!

[that70sshow89]

@F150MikeFX4 the handeling probably got far worse because the suspension is well worn out by now lol

[cadrolls1]

@F150MikeFX4 The more the body leaned, the better the ride on the straight-a-ways. It's a shame that the new cars are designed as if everyone took corners at break-neck speeds.

[85buickV8]

@cadrolls1 Most people do take corners at break neck speeds. That's why today with all the modern innovations like ABS, traction control and stability control people still need to push their vehicle beyond its designed limits. Today in rainy, snowy and icy conditions, you still see as many people in the ditch smashed up or dead as you did in 1972.

[cadrolls1]

@85buickV8 You could take corners fast with this Centurion too. The only difference is that you floated around them without the whiplash affect that the new cars give. The highway ride was supreme. Many families back then slept well while the Father drove them on vacation. Name one car where anyone can sleep anymore while going down the highway.

[IstvanN1961]

@85buickV8 Ain't that the truth! I have never owned a FWD or AWD car..always RWD And I have never had anti-lock brakes until my 2010 Mercury and I never get stuck in snow or spin out of control? Why? because I know how to drive. I love passing SUVs off the side of the road on snowy days because they think they are invincible. Or FWDs that spin the front wheels when accelerating because they don't have enough sense to downshift.

[IstvanN1961]

Not to mention the number of people that do not know that an automatic transmission can be shifted!

[marilyn69monroe]

Great car ! Better that the cars today , it has more styling.

[StoneCold75]

"Although we did find that the power steering unit would hesitate and cut out halfway thru the run".....Uhhh what?...Isn't this suppoed to be a NEW CAR!..LOL

[swmdal]

@StoneCold75 : We used one of these for driver's ed in high school. That must have been why we kept running it over the curb on a winding road near our school. If the dealer who loaned it to us planning to resell it had known...

[cadrolls1]

@StoneCold75 That was a common problem with all G.M. cars back then. It was like that on my "71" Fleetwood and my "76" Coupe DeVille too. G.M. had another problem with fuel starvation on hard right turns that lasted at least 'till "95" as it was the case on my "95" Brougham. I have read in recent auto magazines that it still effects certain G.M. models. Big Luxury cars of that era were never supposed to be driven the way they did for this test so they saw no reason to change anything at G.M.

[pdennis93]

LOL 204 feet to stop from 60. cars now do it in half that distance.

[MajorKoenig2]

"If youre a bettle driver..you'll be thankful to stretch your legs" lol classic

[Seattlecarnut]

(laughs) "Ole softy got some leg muscles." I like that. I'm not against luxury car ride and styling. But drivers also want to be able to avoid trouble without feeling as though you're going to flip over or slide into whatever it is you're trying to avoid.

[cadrolls1]

@Seattlecarnut Believe it or not though, this car has a higher safety rating than either B.M.W. or Mercedes. B.M.W. consistantly is in the top ten cars for having more fatalities per mile driven than any other make of car. The autos with the lowest? They are all softly sprung cars. People tend to drive them differently.

[Seattlecarnut]

@cadrolls1 Really? I didn't know that. But then I've never driven either a Mercedes-Benz or a B.M.W.

[centurion1479]

I love the comment from this cornball,the styling is OK! Other then a skylark its the best looking Buick or full size GM car of the 70s

[goony2345]

i like a 75 lesabre just as much!

[centurion1479]

Awesome car!I LOVE MY 72!

[Doobie1975]

How much power did the 455 have from the Centurion? Some sources say it has only 225 net hp and others say it has 250 net hp

[shibbyman8787]

The 455 has almost 400 horses after the emissions control equipment is stripped. A 455 can be tuned similar to a stage 1 455.

[Doobie1975]

I've never known that removing the emissions control equipment would increase alot more power

[cadrolls1]

@Doobie1975 Yes, it would but, it would not pass emissions.

[Doobie1975]

@cadrolls1 Would it be able to pass emissions today if they would stripp off the emission controls equipment?

[cadrolls1]

@Doobie1975 I am not sure about the state that you live in but, here in Connecticut, I believe that they don't check after a certain age. I recently sold a "71" Fleetwood and a "76" DeVille and neither had to go through emissions. They did have to pass the regular safety inspection though.

[Doobie1975]

@cadrolls1 I'm from Washington State (Pacific Northwest)

[cadrolls1]

@Doobie1975 They had enormous amounts of torque back then. These big Buicks were able to tow a 7,000 lb. trailer and when "properly equipped" could go as high as 9,000lbs. No car of today can tow even half of that. VERY few people towed with a pickup truck back then so the auto companies had to gear them accordingly.

[laidback72]

i have a 72 lesabre. looks the exact same. small block is the only difference i see. i love my clean ass buick!

[VictrolaJazz]

@laidback72 I actually like '72s better because they don't have those idiotic vent holes in the trunk lid.

[Silvertrine]

I had a friend with one of these and a drunk in a 80's Suburban hit him head on. The Suburban crumpled like a tin can the Centurion had minor damage and drove away from the accident.

[Doobie1975]

I also wish they can make cars as big and powerful like they used to back in the 1960s and early 1970s, I would love to own a 1971-72 Buick Centurion with a 455, I wish they didn't make the 350 standard for the 1973 Centurion

[VictrolaJazz]

@Doobie1975 The Centurion ostensibly replaced the Wildcat that ended in 1970, but nothing could really replace that high compression 455 with 370 HP! The '71 and '72 Centurions were decent cars even with a low-comp 455, but by '73 with the 350 standard, it was just a glorified under-powered LeSabre--performance was dead by that time.

[harley1450000]

motated by a 455

[spotbelly]

ah, yes, the 4-barrel Rochester carb

[Bag0fRats]

My father bought one new in '72 and it had the Stage 1 option which was available in the Rivera also.

[storrs19]

They called it Centurion for a good reason, it is built like a tank. What a shame we don't have nice big comfortable cars like this any more. Thanks for bringing back good memories.

[mastertung7]

ah good stuff, the very first car of mommas i drove. what a treasure,.but i was looking for the trade mark buick port holes i dont see them.

[EagleEyedRanger]

The Centurion did not have portholes, all the other Buicks did however.