A Driving Force in Automotive Heritage - November 29, 2023

Story of the Week

The Buick Reatta: A Short-Lived But Legendary Design

by Jeffrey D. Brasie

Seventy years ago, General Motors entered the two-seater market with the Chevrolet Corvette. The iconic vehicle was first assembled in Flint, Michigan with 300 units being shipped to dealerships.

Today, the Corvette lives on.

Since the 1980s GM’s various divisions have introduced and mass-produced a number of two-seaters. Among these are the Cadillac Allante and XLR-V, Pontiac Fiero and Solstice, and Saturn Sky.

In 1954 Oldsmobile built a two-seat prototype called the F-88, which never made it to the market. Not a true two-seater, but with a single bench seat was Chevrolet’s El Camino.

What about GM’s Buick division developing a two-seater?

GM floated the idea in the early 1980s to develop a stylish two-seater using the Buick Riveria, Oldsmobile Toronado, and Cadillac Eldorado’s platform.

To learn more about this car and see more images, click below.

This Week's Story

Join MotorCities Now as a Member! Early Bird Drawing Deadline is Friday, December 15

For 25 years, MotorCities has told the story of how Michigan put the world on wheels.

For 25 years, MotorCities has helped preserve and maintain buildings and historic places essential to the automotive and labor story.

For 25 years, MotorCities has promoted auto heritage tourism into our 16-county region.

For 25 years, MotorCities has funded educational programs that tell these important auto and labor stories to future generations.

The bottom line is that the MotorCities National Heritage Area has a 25-year legacy of impacting thousands of lives to the tune of thousands of jobs and millions in grants that stimulated millions of additional dollars in our local economy.

You can support our work and join a growing number of people passionate about the automobile and its history by renewing your MotorCities membership. Your support allows us to make an even greater impact.

If you renew your membership by Friday, December 15, you’ll qualify for our Early Bird Drawing for a chance to win one of five great prizes:

- Family four-packs of tickets for both the Sloan Museum of Discovery and the Longway Planetarium, part of the Flint Cultural Center (a $74 value);

- A 2024 Accelerator Membership for the Ford Piquette Plant Museum (a $100 value);

- A package of NASCAR memorabilia from the ROUSH Automotive Collection in Livonia (a $156 value);

- A private New Center or Dearborn Walking Tour for up to 12 people from City Institute (a $750 value);

- A customized guided tour of Detroit with Local 4/WJR Radio personality Greg Russell for up to 10 people on a party bus, including food and water, courtesy of Russell Brothers City Tours ($750 value).

Thank you in advance for your support.

Watch your email next week for the launch of our annual Membership campaign, your chance every year to help support our mission of preserving Michigan's automotive and labor heritage.

Join MotorCities Now!

This Week in Auto Heritage

On December 1, 1913, Henry Ford completed installation of the first moving assembly line for mass production of an entire Model T at Ford Motor Company's Highland Park plant. This innovation reduced the time it took to build a single car from more than 12 hours to two hours and 30 minutes.

Introduced in 1908, the Model T was simple, sturdy and relatively inexpensive – but not inexpensive enough for Ford, who was determined to build cars for the masses. To lower the price of his cars, Ford thought, he would need to find a way to build them more efficiently.

The most significant element of Ford’s efficiency effort was the assembly line. Inspired by the continuous-flow production methods used by flour mills, breweries, canneries, industrial bakeries and the like, he installed moving lines for bits and pieces of the manufacturing process. One example was workers building motors and transmissions using rope-and-pulley–powered conveyor belts. In December 1913, Ford unveiled final piece of the puzzle: the moving-chassis assembly line.

Hey Kids!  Become a MotorCities Junior Ranger! Click here for details!

Saturday: Open House at the Pontiac Transportation Museum

The Pontiac Transportation Museum continues to make progress working toward a goal of a phased opening starting in May 2024. This Saturday from noon to 4 p.m., you can witness their progress first hand by attending their Open House.

Building enhancements have been the headline story in 2023. Renovations of note include bathrooms, a heating and cooling system, a theater, main gallery lighting, paint, a wonderful outdoor mural, and critical roof repairs. Remaining work includes floor finishing, additional lighting, and final exhibit configurations to meet our intended May 2024 opening.

The Museum has also continued growing their collection with fascinating artifacts.

For more information, click here.