For many enthusiasts—ourselves included—the most enjoyable car shows to attend offer more than just the opportunity to ogle other peoples’ shiny vehicles. We love car shows that include a for-sale section, where we can peruse cars and trucks that are available to buy and bring home. That’s what the Rhinebeck Car Show offers in May each year, with a genuine corral stocked with automotive treats for sale. Among the classic and vintage vehicles on offer at the most recent show was a genuine, if little recognized, piece of U.S. automotive history.
General Motors made a big deal about the 1976 Cadillac Eldorado being the final new domestic drop-top, and for a spell, it was. But with a change of decade came a change in attitude, and Buick jumped back into the convertible game with crucial help from the American Sunroof Company: the 1982 Riviera personal-luxury coupe would be the first American car to go topless again in official production form. The ASC-converted Buick was a pricey prize for a lucky few, its MSRP of nearly $24,000 starkly contrasted the $14,468 charged for a base, solid-roof Riviera. An example of that special open car—according to the Rivera Owners Association, one of 1,248 built that year—had people talking in Rhinebeck.
While this generation of Riviera was offered as a convertible through 1985, the example we spotted was a low-mileage, little-touched survivor from the initial year. Head-turning in white over a Maple red interior, it wore the more popular of the two paint colors the car came in (Firemist Red was the other). This car’s power-operated black vinyl top was a wrinkle-free replacement for the white original, and the optional 15-inch chrome road wheels added a sporty look. Its well-appointed interior looked very tidy. As the windshield writing noted, the car’s optional four-barrel-carbureted, 140-hp, 307-cu.in. V-8 and column-shifted four-speed automatic overdrive transmission had given around 60,000 miles of service. There was precious little to critique: minor creasing was visible in the front-seat leather, the Buick’s body-color impact-bumper filler panels were a bit wavy (typical of a GM product this era), and purists might object to the changed color of its convertible roof.
While this Riviera opened the door to a new generation of domestic convertibles, it’s reasonably accessible in today’s collector-car market. Recent selling prices have varied considerably depending on mileage and condition: Hemmings.com sold a pristine, sub-22,000-mile white example as a Make-Offer listing in July for $31,500, while an original-condition Firemist Red 70,224-mile ’82 brought $17,640 though Hemmings Auctions in August. Classic.com notes six other public first-year Riviera soft-top sales since 2018, five of which were less than $10,000. Online value guides suggest “average” values fall between $6,000 and $11,000; considering the recent sale results and this car’s desirable options, we feel the asking price was fair.
1982 Buick Riviera Convertible by ASC
Asking price: $14,900
Seller description: “60,000 miles, Real Convert, Top Goes Down”
Known issues: None
Why buy? Representing the first regular-production domestic convertible since the mid-1970s, this attractively presented Riviera was a collectible time capsule.
Price new: $23,944 ($75,849 in 2023 dollars)
Values now: $4,000-$32,000
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