American Car Spotters Guide - 1971

he Riviera was radically redesigned for the 1971 model year with flowing and dramatic "boat-tail" styling. Designed under Bill Mitchell's direction, it was penned by Jerry Hirshberg, future head of design for Nissan, mating the two-piece vee-butted fastback rear window, inspired by the 1963 Corvette Sting Ray split window coupe, to the Riviera's platform. The design was originally intended for the smaller GM A platform, and the use of the Riviera's body - expanded for 1971 by 3 in (76 mm) in wheelbase and more than 120 lb (54 kg) heavier—produced controversial looks. The 455 engine had a lower compression ratio to meet EPA emissions requirements, reducing power to 255 hp (190 kW), with 265 hp (198 kW) in the Gran Sport.

he Riviera was radically redesigned for the 1971 model year with flowing and dramatic "boat-tail" styling. Designed under Bill Mitchell's direction, it was penned by Jerry Hirshberg, future head of design for Nissan, mating the two-piece vee-butted fastback rear window, inspired by the 1963 Corvette Sting Ray split window coupe, to the Riviera's platform. The design was originally intended for the smaller GM A platform, and the use of the Riviera's body - expanded for 1971 by 3 in (76 mm) in wheelbase and more than 120 lb (54 kg) heavier - produced controversial looks. The 455 engine had a lower compression ratio to meet EPA emissions requirements, reducing power to 255 hp (190 kW), with 265 hp (198 kW) in the Gran Sport.

The performance of the Riviera remained reasonably brisk, but the Riviera's sporty image was rapidly fading. One noteworthy advance was Buick's Max Trac, a traction control system that prevented wheelspin during acceleration on slippery surfaces. The 1971 Riviera also features GM's "Full-Flo" ventilation system and two large deck lid louvers are prominent on the trunk lid. (Unfortunately, under certain conditions a vacuum was created that sucked rain and exhaust back into the car and the "Full-Flo" ventilation was redesigned and the louvers were removed from trunk lid for the 1972 model year.)

The 1971 Caprice was completely restyled on a longer 121.5-inch (3,090 mm) wheelbase and featured more rounded fuselage styling similar to that pioneered by Chrysler Corporation on its 1969 full-sized cars, along with new flush "pull-up" exterior door handles and double-shell roofs - both features first appearing on the 1970 1/2 Camaro and Pontiac Firebird. The basic "Full-Perimeter" frame and all-coil suspension were refined for improvements in ride and noise reduction. The new styling was highlighted by a Cadillac-like eggcrate grille with a "Caprice" emblem in the center and brushed metal trim surrounding the taillights on the rear deck. Inside were revised interiors featuring a two-spoke cushioned steering wheel and new instrument panel with horizontal sweep speedometer and instrument placement similar to previous full-sized Chevrolets. Caprices continued to feature higher grade interiors than their Impala counterparts with luxurious cloth-and-vinyl upholstery on both sedans and coupes and a center front seat armrest on sedans, along with woodgrain trim on dash, steering wheel and door panels plus carpeting on floor and lower door panels. Station wagons now used a unique 125" wheelbase and were bigger than ever before. As with the year before, station wagons continued to use unique model names, however, the Kingswood Estate wagon was considered to be equivalent to the Chevrolet Caprice being the top level wagon. Unlike the years previous, station wagons used unique rear suspension, using a solid axle with leaf springs as opposed to the sedans and coupes coil springs and trailing arms. Also new was the "Glide-Away" clamshell style disappearing tailgate. This design had the glass upper portion of the tailgate slide into the roof, and the lower steel portion slide into a compartment under the floor, providing a completely open space with no tailgate in sight.

The Chevy Vega was conceived in 1968 to utilize the newly-developed all-aluminum die-cast engine block technology. The first sand cast aluminum blocks were actually produced a full two years prior to the corporate decision to build the Vega. The decision was made to go with a relatively large displacement engine with good low speed torque. Economy would be achieved through the use of low numerical gear ratios, which would keep engine rpm low. The Vega engine itself went through 6,000,000 driving miles of testing. The earliest, or pre-test, version of the engine was tested in a Fiat 124 sedan. This car was used for development of the aluminum block, while several 1968 Opel sedans were used for drive train development. All Vega models have a 97.0-inch (2,460 mm) wheelbase and a 65.4-inch (1,660 mm) width. The 1971–1972 models have a 169.7-inch (4,310 mm) overall length or just over 14 feet (4.3 m).