Puzzle #125 - Solved! 1960 Buick Invicta

[Otto Puzzell]

Know what it is?

Please, respond below and let us know what car you think you see here.

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Thanks!

[Ultra]

Scandinavian?

[Otto Puzzell]

Um, no.

[MG]

Its American and its from the 50's. My synapses are whispering "Mercury" to me, except for those that are screaming "Oldsmobile."  Those little toggles under the dash are the key, but I can't quite place them......

[Otto Puzzell]

No, the little toggles are just that - toggles. The key goes to the right of the steering column. 

There is another feature of this dash layout that was unique to this brand at the time this car was built, as I understand it.

[billtorrance9999]

Wheel centre logo looks like Pontiac

[Otto Puzzell]

Not a Pontiac.

[MG]

Well, it has one of those "thermometer" ribbon type speedometers.........

I still say its an Oldsmobubble - a suggestion which you did NOT refute in your prior response.

[Otto Puzzell]

Not an Olds

[dtgazarek]

It is a Buick Invicta

[Otto Puzzell]

Correct! This a 1960 Buick Invicta, with it's signature 'monocle' gear indicator.

Well done, and welcome to AutoPuzzles!

Here's a morsel of Invicta Trivia:

One of the best kept secrets about the 1960 Buick was the Daytona durability run.  This scheme was the brainchild of Buick's PR director, Jerry Rideout, and was conducted during early January 1960.

The idea was to prove Buick's reliability by driving a stock 1960 Invicta coupe on the Daytona track for 10,000 continuous miles, at an average speed of 120 mph!  To accomplish this, six professional drivers were used, each in a 2-hour shift.  Pit stops were used for tires (only 1000 miles per set) and driver changes.

Refueling, however, was handled in a very different and innovative way.  Inspired by the military's mid-air refueling of planes, Buick engineers developed a method to do the same with the Invicta.  A chase car was built with a long refueling nozzle and apparatus to deliver 15 gallons of fuel in 6 seconds.  During the course of the Daytona run, 78 such refuelings were conducted at speeds between 115 and 125 mph!

The 10,000 mile run was successful, and Buick was awarded a Certificate of Outstanding Performance from NASCAR president Bill France.  The final tally was 10,000 miles in under 5000 minutes; average speed was 120.186 mph. By the way, the six drivers used on this feat include some names you will recognize: Fireball Roberts, Marvin Panch, Tiny Lund, Ralph Moody, Larry Flynn, Bobby Johns, and Larry Frank.

Unfortunately, the entire affair smelled too much like racing for GM management, and Buick was told to put a lid on it.  Not one to be shut down, Jerry Rideout "leaked" news of the accomplishment to the press.  The Detroit News broke the story (1/19/60).  Both Motor Trend (April 1960) and Mechanix Illustrated (June 1960) had feature articles.  An 18-minute movie of the event made by GM Photographic was eventually shown at dealer training meetings, but by then it was old news.