For the past fifteen years or so I’ve owned a Buick Roadmaster, two in fact, but it is the end of an era a and what a fun time the House family had with these awesome vehicles.

My daughter recently got her license and it just made sense to get something a little smaller and newer. Our 1996 Roadmaster Estate Wagon checked in at just over 18 feet long, making parking a bit of a challenge, especially for a new driver. It was big and safe and had airbags, but at 27 years old, Kara and I also wanted her to drive something with some modern technology.

Our recent Roadmaster was a part of our family for the past nine years, and we took it everywhere: from Manhattan to the mountains of New Hampshire and Vermont, from New Haven to Newport. This nimble behemoth hauled furniture, surfboards, shrubs, freshly cut Christmas trees and of course people.

The Roadmaster held 8 comfortably and my kids and their friends would fight over who would sit in the rear-facing third row. I loved driving it, especially on the highway where it was the ultimate cruiser, effortlessly accelerating with its powerful engine, which is similar to the ones found in Corvettes.

The Roadmaster and the one before it served our family well. I bought #2 in 2014 with 18 thousand miles on it and sold it with just under 80 thousand. As any Roadmaster owner will tell you, it is just getting broken in. I may still own another one some day., because they are that cool. Here is the story of how I found this Roadmaster back in 2014: https://dennishouse.tv/2014/10/09/the-houses-have-a-hearse/

We traded it our beloved station wagon for a 2024 Buick Envista, which is 3 feet shorter and has all the contemporary safety features and technology. It is our 15th Buick! My first was a 1986 Buick Skyhawk, the exact model and color of which was modeled by Walter Payton. The Bears had just won the Super Bowl and the ad sold it for me!

Thanks to Mike Gallagher of Gallagher Buick in New Britain and my high school buddy Charlie Doherty who works for GM for handling the Envista sale and Roadmaster trade. Here are a few pics of Roadmaster # 2 that now someone else can make some memories in.