2003 Buick Park Avenue Ultra

With Ford’s Thunderbird, Chrysler’s PTCruiser, Chevrolet’s SSR pickup and the MINI Cooper all capitalizing successfully on nostalgia these days, I guess the folks at Buick looked at this growing trend and figured, “Works for them. Why not us?”

After driving Buick’s flagship Park Avenue Ultra sedan for a week, I have a few arguments “why not us.”

But first, let’s look at the good things I found about this big American luxury mainstay.

The Good News
I spent a lot of time in this Park Avenue Ultra, more than most because I didn’t have other cars I needed to test at the time. I can honestly say I didn’t mind at all.

The Ultra’s smooth, supercharged 3.8L V-6 produces 240 horses – 35 more than in the basic Park Avenue -- and 280 pound feet of torque. This engine has been dubbed “one of the 10 best of the 20th Century” by Ward’s Auto World. Never mind we’re three years into the 21st Century, it’s still a nice powerplant. Acceleration never lets you down, unless you’re prone to make obscene gestures at people in high-priced imports. Then you might wish for something a little more fleet of foot.

If self-control isn’t a problem, this V-6 holds other advantages over the V-8s most luxury cars like these days: fuel consumption. The Park Avenue Ultra is EPA rated at 18 mpg city/28 highway, which shows up the big guys.

For the everyday treks, both highway and neighborhood, the Ultra is a comfortable, gentle car without being a pushover. Despite its luxury niche, grand size and solemn ride, handling responds surprisingly well. It remains certain in the corners, all things considered, and maneuvers in tight spots with enough agility that you won’t get aggravated.

New for 2003 are three ovals ahead of each front door and a toothy grille, both reminiscent of classic Buicks from the ‘40s and 50s. Also new are 17-inch chrome-plated aluminum wheels, touring tires and “specially tuned Gran Touring suspension and rear stabilizer bar.” These improvements don’t exactly make it NASCAR material, but they don’t hurt either.

The Park Avenue also gets good marks for safety, with front and side airbags standard and commendable crash test ratings from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. But it gets its highest marks for generous interior room, which allows all the relatives to pile in for the all-you-can-eat buffet and even enjoy the ride back, too. There is definitely room to sprawl.

You can let them play with the buttons and marvel at all the graphics, too, since there are plenty of both. Mine had heads-up display which projects speed out in front of the driver, an information center, dual-zone climate control, toasty heated seats and ultrasonic rear parking assist, for a sample. It’s impressively equipped, especially with $3,020 in options. Worth noting among those options is the $500 “White Diamond” paint job, a really yummy, lustrous finish.

The Bad News
Buick’s idea of “retro” is to resurrect the three ovals on both sides that used to be trademark and to craft an ad campaign around Harley Earl, legendary GM designer, now deceased. The problem in both cases is they do nothing to advance Buick, and the Park Avenue in particular, into the 21st Century.

The success of the other retro vehicles I mentioned stems from the fact they have style, substance and youth appeal, as well. They update what were cool, hip cars to begin with. The Park Avenue was never cool or hip and seems even more mired in yesterday with the three ovals and Harley Earl. It needs a future, not memory lane.

Price
Manufacturer’s base, $39,600;
Price as tested, $42,415

Is it worth it?
There are two ways to look at the Buick Park Avenue Ultra. Either it is top-drawer American luxury for a price that undercuts its competition, or it is an unfortunate dinosaur in this day of sexy, high-performance luxury cars. Either way, I believe when a vehicle steps over that $40,000 mark, “very nice” isn’t enough. Those cars need to excite in some way.

If three ovals and hip room do that for you, here are your keys.

Beth Stein is a life-long car buff and free-lance journalist living in Nashville. She has reviewed new vehicles in print for 12 years as a weekly columnist for Nashville's daily newspapers and on television for Road Test Magazine and Motor Trend Television. Currently, her reviews appear nationally on Car And Driver Television.