Buick Wildcat 1968

"Wildcat." We always thought a wildcat was one of the smallest but toughest members of the feline family, but Buick has chosen to call its big-wheelbase, bigengine car "Wildcat" and it's something of a misnomer; lion might be more like it. It's big, it's powerful, and it demands respect from most other cars on the road, but it isn't the quick-handling car that its smaller wheelbase contemporaries are. The suspension is soft and compliant, making for the typically smooth ride that has always been a Buick trademark, but, when cornered hard, there is a lot of disconcerting body lean-more so than on the other Buicks we tested. Fortunately, the Wildcat telegraphs its every move, and unless you're completely unconscious behind the wheel, you're not likely to get into trouble.

If you've got serious plans of going drag racing you'd better look somewhere else than at this heavy car, but in your block you'll be able to keep up with most every-, thing around in your Wildcat, and that includes the neighbors. The 3-speed automatic transmission can be left alone to shift by itself or it can be manually shifted for top performance. While this is is not a unique option, the console-mounted stirrup shift lever allows more precise manual shifting than comparable set-ups from other manufacturers.