The Buick Riviera, a personal luxury car marketed by Buick from 1963 to 1999 (excluding 1994), holds its place as General Motors’ first venture into the personal luxury car segment. Launched to critical acclaim, the Riviera witnessed a grand unveiling and distinguished itself as a ground-up design on the new GM E platform for the 1963 model year. This endeavor marked Buick's maiden foray into crafting a distinctive Riviera model.
Praised for its innovation, the Riviera diverged from its GM E platform counterparts, the Oldsmobile Toronado and Cadillac Eldorado, initially sporting a front engine/rear-wheel drive setup before transitioning to front-wheel drive from the 1979 model year onwards
