#buickwildcat

#WATCHMOVIE HERE: Hammond Report May 20 2020 From Pandemic Quarantino Jon Hammond Jon's archive https://archive.org/details/hammond-report-may-20-2020-from-pandemic-quarantino-jon-hammond Youtube https://youtu.be/EaHe6jLtal4

Hammond Report May 20 2020 From Pandemic Quarantino Jon Hammond

by

 Jon Hammond 

Hammond Report May 20 2020 from Pandemic Quarantino Jon Hammond 

Jon Hammond Band

"Thing in C minor"

Original music and stories from organist / accordionist 

Jon Hammond

#ThingInCminor

#Stories

#OriginalMusic

#HammondReport

#PandemicQuarantino

#HammondOrganist 

Publication date

 2020-05-20

Usage

 Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International

Topics

 Hammond Report, Original Music, Stories, Organist Jon Hammond, Buick Wildcat, Lumix DMC-zs50, Jon Hammond Band

Language

 English 

Addeddate

 2020-05-20 17:46:29

Identifier

 hammond-report-may-20-2020-from-pandemic-quarantino-jon-hammond 

That Time Forgot: Buick Wildcat

Okay, who would have thought that there was a possibility for you to say “Buick” and “McLaren” in the same sentence? Well, this is quite possibly the only time you can do that. Today, let’s talk a bit about the nameplate’s history... as well as the casting, in today’s installment of That Time Forgot.

Before we talk about the Wildcat in question, let’s go back in time to 1953, when the first Wildcat was introduced.

Enter the 1953 Buick Wildcat, internally known as the Wildcat I. Designed under the direction of GM head of design Harley Earl, the Wildcat was designed for the sole purpose to see if it was feasible to put a fiberglass bodyshell on top of a car. The car was powered by a 322 ci (5.3L) Nailhead V8 producing 188 horsepower. With a wraparound windshield with a 60° slope, the Wildcat successfully influenced the design for Buick’s 1954 cars. After its tour of the auto show circuit complete, the Wildcat was sentenced to the scrapper, but was saved and is now in the hands of Joe Bortz.

1954 came another Wildcat, internally dubbed the Wildcat II. Also designed under the direction of Earl, this Wildcat was a styling exercise, combining modern elements with classic styling from years gone past; it was because of this that Buick billed the Wildcat as an “American Adventure in Tomorrow's Design”. The car was powered by a 322 ci (5.3L) Buick Nailhead V8, producing 220 horsepower, and was specifically made to be fully functional (like the Wildcat I) in the event that GM chief Harlow Curtice wanted one for his own.

In 1955, another Wildcat came, internally designated... guess what. Also designed by Earl, the Wildcat III was probably the most conservative of the three 1950s Wildcat concepts, although it was quite a bit larger and longer than the previous two Wildcats. Powered by the same 322 ci (5.3L) Buick Nailhead V8 as the previous two Wildcats, the Wildcat III’s V8 was boosted to 280 horsepower with the help of a quad-carburetor setup. Nicknamed the “Toy Convertible”, the Wildcat featured a Twin Turbine Dynaflow 2-speed automatic transmission and featured rear seats, allowing for four passengers. After its tour of the auto show circuit was over, the Wildcat III was ordered to be junked; however, nobody really knows for sure what happened to it.

The Wildcat name was subsequently used for a number of full-sized automobiles produced by Buick from 1963 to 1970, but that’s not what you’re here for. Instead, you’re here for this: the 1985 Buick Wildcat.

Some fifteen or so years after production of the Wildcat had halted, Buick came out with another Wildcat. This was a futuristic sports car featuring swoopy lines and a canopy which tilted forward for entrance and exit.

Two prototypes were produced; one non-running one that was showcased at SEMA in 1985, and one fully-functional prototype. The running prototype was powered by an experimental 3.8L Buick V6 built by McLaren Engines (no relation to the British car company).

This exposed engine generated some 360 horsepower at 7,000 rpm and 398 lbf⋅ft (540 Nm) of torque. However, given the hardware this thing ran on, performance for the Wildcat... wasn’t that spectacular, with 0-60 mph (0-96 km/h) taking 8.6 seconds. The top speed for the Wildcat was actually electronically restricted to 70 mph (112 km/h); top speed figures for an unrestricted Wildcat remain unknown.

The body was made of fiberglass and carbon fiber, and the car featured a 4-speed transmission which could be manually shifted.

The interior of the Wildcat was highly advanced for its time, with a screen in the middle of the steering wheel display information such as G-force, torque, oil pressure and a compass. To add to that, a heads-up display was also added, displaying speed, mileage and gear selection on the glass canopy.

Despite all the high-tech features, all the Wildcats remained prototypes, and they now sit among a sea of other cars at the GM Heritage Center, with the exception of the Wildcat III (which isn’t there).

The Wildcat got its big break in the film industry when it appeared briefly in a scene in the 1993 film Demolition Man alongside some seventeen other GM concepts.

Okay, now that we’ve gotten all of this info out of the way, let’s get to the real reason why you’re here.

This casting was introduced in 1993 in the Demolition Man series, alongside eight other cars that appeared in the movie: these were the Oldsmobile Aurora, Olds 442 W-30, GM Ultralite, GM Lean Machine, Corvette Stingray III, Pontiac Salsa, Pontiac Banshee and the Chevrolet ACC Camaro (’93 Camaro), intended to represent the Chevrolet California IROC Camaro Concept. This casting was designed by Larry Wood. Something notable about the Wildcat was the “canopy” piece, which was simply the car’s body painted black.

This casting has a metal base and plastic body. Early versions will say "'93 WARNER” instead of “'93 MATTEL INC” and “BUICK WILDCAT”; I presume the license with Warner Bros. had expired, so they just scrubbed off the Warner licensing information and put their own on.

The Wildcat enjoyed the privilege of being released quite often when it was in the lineup, but ultimately this casting was doomed in 2005 for one reason, and one reason only: the Final Run Series.

The Final Run Series started in 1999 and acted as what I would consider a very glorified funeral for a casting; Hot Wheels would give these cars special tires and paint, in exchange for vowing to never produce them again by cutting their toolings in half. The Wildcat was unfortunately one of the castings to fall victim to the Final Run Series, and although it might not have been one of the more popular castings to retire that year, it was still retired regardless. As the final batch of cars to be Final Run, having been introduced in the 2005 series, the Wildcat will never be seen again in the Hot Wheels lineup unless a new tool and die is created for it, which I believe is highly unlikely. The Final Run Series itself has been on hiatus since 2006. In total, the Wildcat had eighteen releases.

Of note is that the image above says that Tropicool (Good Humor Truck) is one of the castings that was intended to be Final Run; the actual casting that was Final Run was the Treadator, while Tropicool remains in the lineup to this day.

Always on the receiving end of very loud decals due to the large amount of space on the car, perfect for tampos, the Wildcat will be dearly missed (by me, at least) in the Hot Wheels lineup, and I wouldn’t mind seeing a modern recreation of the Wildcat return to the Hot Wheels lineup as a premium piece.