Gene Clark White Light and Roadmaster What does the article say about white light? In 1971, Clark released his second solo album, White Light Was the album a success? Launched to considerable critical acclaim, the album failed to gain commercial success, except in the Netherlands, What did clark do after the failed album? In the spring of 1971, Clark was commissioned by Dennis Hopper to contribute the tracks "American Dreamer" and "Outlaw Song" to Hopper's film project American Dreamer. Who worked on White Light with Clark? The album was produced by the American Indian guitarist Jesse Ed Davis, with whom Clark developed great rapport, partly due to their common ancestry. What songs were on the album? the album contained many introspective tracks, such as "With Tomorrow", "Because of You", "Where My Love Lies Asleep" and "For a Spanish Guitar" ( Did he have any songs released in films? A rerecorded, longer version of the song "American Dreamer" was later used in the 1977 film The Farmer,
What does the article say about RoadMaster?
What does the article say about Gene Clark's RoadMaster?
In 1971, Clark released his second solo album, White Light (the title was not on the cover sleeve, and thus some later reviewers mistakenly assumed that the title was Gene Clark). The album was produced by the American Indian guitarist Jesse Ed Davis, with whom Clark developed great rapport, partly due to their common ancestry. An intimate, poetic and mostly acoustic work supplemented by Davis's slide guitar, the album contained many introspective tracks, such as "With Tomorrow", "Because of You", "Where My Love Lies Asleep" and "For a Spanish Guitar" (which Bob Dylan supposedly hailed as one of the greatest songs ever written). All of the material was written by Clark, with the exception of "Tears of Rage", by Dylan and Richard Manuel. Launched to considerable critical acclaim, the album failed to gain commercial success, except in the Netherlands, where it was voted album of the year by rock music critics. Once more, modest promotion and Clark's refusal to undertake promotional touring adversely affected sales. In the spring of 1971, Clark was commissioned by Dennis Hopper to contribute the tracks "American Dreamer" and "Outlaw Song" to Hopper's film project American Dreamer. A rerecorded, longer version of the song "American Dreamer" was later used in the 1977 film The Farmer, along with an instrumental version of the same song plus "Outside the Law (The Outlaw)", a rerecording of "Outlaw Song". In 1972, Clark attempted to record a follow-up album. Progress was slow and expensive, and A&M terminated the project before completion. The resulting eight tracks, including "Full Circle Song" and "In a Misty Morning", along with those recorded with the Byrds in 1970 and 1971 ("She's the Kind of Girl" and "One in a Hundred") and with the Flying Burrito Brothers ("Here Tonight"), were released in 1973 as Roadmaster in the Netherlands only. CANNOTANSWER
released in 1973 as Roadmaster in the Netherlands only.
Harold Eugene "Gene" Clark (November 17, 1944 –  May 24, 1991) was an American singer-songwriter and founding member of the folk rock band the Byrds. He was the Byrds' principal songwriter between 1964 and early 1966, writing most of the band's best-known originals from this period, including "I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better", "She Don't Care About Time", "Eight Miles High" and "Set You Free This Time". Although he did not achieve commercial success as a solo artist, Clark was in the vanguard of popular music during much of his career, prefiguring developments in such disparate subgenres as psychedelic rock, baroque pop, newgrass, country rock, and alternative country.

Biography

Life
Clark was born in Tipton, Missouri, the third of 13 children in a family of Irish, German, and American Indian heritage. His family moved to Kansas City, Missouri, where as a boy he began learning to play the guitar and harmonica from his father. He was soon playing Hank Williams tunes as well as songs by early rockers such as Elvis Presley and the Everly Brothers. He began writing songs at the age of 11. By the time he was 15, he had developed a rich tenor voice, and he formed a local rock and roll combo, Joe Meyers and the Sharks. Like many of his generation, Clark developed an interest in folk music because of the popularity of the Kingston Trio. When he graduated from Bonner Springs High School, in Bonner Springs, Kansas, in 1962, he formed a folk group, the Rum Runners.

Formation of the Byrds
Clark was invited to join an established regional folk band, the Surf Riders, based in Kansas City at the Castaways Lounge, owned by Hal Harbaum. On August 12, 1963, he was performing with them when he was discovered by the New Christy Minstrels. They hired him, and he recorded two albums with the ensemble before leaving in early 1964. After hearing the Beatles, Clark quit the New Christy Minstrels and moved to Los Angeles, where he met fellow folkie and Beatles convert Jim (later Roger) McGuinn at the Troubadour Club. In early 1964 they began to assemble a band that would become the Byrds.

Clark wrote or co-wrote many of the Byrds' best-known originals from their first three albums, including "I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better", "Set You Free This Time", "Here Without You", "You Won't Have to Cry", "If You're Gone", "The World Turns All Around Her", "She Don't Care About Time" and "Eight Miles High". He initially played rhythm guitar in the band, but relinquished that position to David Crosby and became the tambourine and harmonica player. Bassist Chris Hillman noted years later in an interview remembering Clark, "At one time, he was the power in the Byrds, not McGuinn, not Crosby—it was Gene who would burst through the stage curtain banging on a tambourine, coming on like a young Prince Valiant. A hero, our savior. Few in the audience could take their eyes off this presence. He was the songwriter. He had the 'gift' that none of the rest of us had developed yet.... What deep inner part of his soul conjured up songs like 'Set You Free This Time,' 'I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better,' 'I'm Feelin' Higher,' 'Eight Miles High'? So many great songs! We learned a lot of songwriting from him and in the process learned a little bit about ourselves."

A management decision gave McGuinn the lead vocals for their major singles and Bob Dylan songs. This disappointment, combined with Clark's dislike of traveling (including a chronic fear of flying) and resentment by other band members about the extra income he derived from his songwriting, led to internal squabbling, and he left the group in early 1966. He briefly returned to Kansas City before moving back to Los Angeles to form Gene Clark & the Group with Chip Douglas, Joel Larson, and Bill Rhinehart.

Solo career, brief return to the Byrds and Dillard and Clark
Columbia Records (the Byrds' record label) signed Clark as a solo artist, and in 1967 he released his first solo album, Gene Clark with the Gosdin Brothers. The Gosdin Brothers were selected to back him because they shared the same manager, Jim Dickson, and because Chris Hillman, who played bass on the album, had worked with the Gosdin Brothers in the mid-1960s when he and they were members of the Southern California bluegrass band the Hillmen. The album was a unique mixture of pop, country rock and baroque psychedelic tracks. It received favorable reviews, but unfortunately for Clark, it was released almost simultaneously with the Byrds' Younger Than Yesterday, also on Columbia, and (partly because of his 18-month absence from public attention) was a commercial failure.

With the future of his solo career in doubt, Clark briefly rejoined the Byrds in October 1967 as a replacement for the recently departed David Crosby; following an anxiety attack in Minneapolis, he left after only three weeks. During this brief period with the Byrds, he appeared with the band on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, lip-synching the group's current single, "Goin' Back"; he also performed "Mr. Spaceman" with the band. Although there is some disagreement among the band's biographers, Clark is generally viewed as having contributed background vocals to the songs "Goin' Back" and "Space Odyssey" for the forthcoming Byrds' album The Notorious Byrd Brothers and was an uncredited co-author, with McGuinn, of "Get to You", also from that album.

In 1968, Clark signed with A&M Records and began a collaboration with the banjo player Doug Dillard. Guitarist Bernie Leadon (later with The Flying Burrito Brothers and The Eagles), bassist Dave Jackson and mandolinist Don Beck joined them to form the nucleus of Dillard & Clark; in addition, Michael Clarke briefly drummed for the group before joining The Flying Burrito Brothers. They produced two albums, The Fantastic Expedition of Dillard & Clark (1968) and Through the Morning, Through the Night (1969).

The Fantastic Expedition of Dillard & Clark was a pivotal work of acoustic country rock. It included such enduring songs as "Train Leaves Here This Morning" (a collaboration between Clark and Leadon prominently covered by the latter in 1972 on The Eagles' debut album) and "She Darked the Sun" (covered by Linda Ronstadt on her 1970 album Silk Purse). In contrast, Through the Morning, Through the Night was more indebted to traditional bluegrass but also employed electric instrumentation. By this juncture, Dillard's girlfriend Donna Washburn had joined the group as a backing vocalist, a factor that precipitated the departure of Leadon. The shift to traditional bluegrass also caused Clark to lose interest. Written by Clark, the title song was used by Quincy Jones in the soundtrack of the 1972 Sam Peckinpah film The Getaway; it was also covered by Robert Plant and Alison Krauss (along with "Polly," another Clark-penned track from the album) on their 2007 album Raising Sand. Both albums by Dillard & Clark fared poorly on the charts, but they are now regarded as seminal exemplars of the country rock and progressive bluegrass genres.
The collaboration with Dillard rejuvenated Clark's creativity but greatly contributed to his growing drinking problem. Dillard & Clark disintegrated in late 1969 after the departures of Clark and Leadon. During this period, Clark, Leadon, Jackson and Beck contributed to the debut album of Steve Young, Rock Salt & Nails, released in November 1969.

In 1970, Clark began work on a new single, recording two tracks with the original members of the Byrds (each recording his part separately). The resulting songs, "She's the Kind of Girl" and "One in a Hundred", were not released at the time, because of legal problems; they were included later on the 1973 album Roadmaster. In 1970 and 1971, Clark contributed vocals and two compositions ("Tried So Hard" and "Here Tonight") to albums by the Flying Burrito Brothers.

Frustrated with the music industry, Clark bought a house in Albion, California and married former go-go dancer and Bell Records production assistant Carlie Lynn McCummings in June 1970, with whom he had two sons (Kelly and Kai Clark). In semi-retirement, he subsisted on his still-substantial Byrds royalties throughout the early 1970s, augmented by income from The Turtles' 1969 American Top Ten hit "You Showed Me", a previously unreleased composition by McGuinn and Clark from 1964 rearranged for the band by Chip Douglas.

White Light and Roadmaster
In 1971, Clark released his second solo album, White Light (the title was not on the cover sleeve, and thus some later reviewers mistakenly assumed that the title was Gene Clark). The album was produced by the Native American guitarist Jesse Ed Davis, with whom Clark developed a great rapport, partly due to their common ancestry. An intimate, poetic and mostly acoustic work supplemented by Davis's slide guitar, the album contained many introspective tracks, such as "With Tomorrow", "Because of You", "Where My Love Lies Asleep" and "For a Spanish Guitar" (which Bob Dylan reportedly hailed as one of the greatest songs ever written). All of the material was written by Clark, with the exception of Bob Dylan and Richard Manuel's "Tears of Rage". Launched to considerable critical acclaim, the album failed to gain commercial success, except in the Netherlands, where it was voted album of the year by rock music critics. Once more, modest promotion and Clark's refusal to undertake promotional touring adversely affected sales.

In the spring of 1971, Clark was commissioned by Dennis Hopper to contribute the tracks "American Dreamer" and "Outlaw Song" to American Dreamer, a documentary that chronicled the fractious editing process of The Last Movie. A rerecorded, longer version of the song "American Dreamer" was later used in the 1977 film The Farmer, along with an instrumental version of the same song plus "Outside the Law (The Outlaw)", a re-recording of "Outlaw Song".

In 1972, Clark attempted to record a follow-up album. Progress was slow and expensive, and A&M terminated the project before completion. The resulting eight tracks, including "Full Circle Song" and "In a Misty Morning", along with those recorded with the Byrds in 1970 and 1971 ("She's the Kind of Girl" and "One in a Hundred") and with the Flying Burrito Brothers ("Here Tonight"), were released in 1973 as Roadmaster in the Netherlands only.

Byrds
Clark left A&M in late 1972 to join a reunion of the original five Byrds. They cut the album Byrds, which was released in March 1973 by Asylum Records. While the album charted relatively well (U.S. No. 20), its placement did not live up to the label's initial expectations in the wake of the recent success of Crosby (Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young) and Hillman (a member of Stephen Stills's band Manassas). Clark's compositions "Full Circle" and "Changing Heart" and the Neil Young covers on which he sang the lead vocal ("See the Sky About to Rain" and "Cowgirl in the Sand") were widely regarded as the standout tracks on the critically divisive album. Disheartened by the bad reviews and unhappy with Crosby's performance as the record's producer, the group members chose to dissolve the band. Clark briefly joined McGuinn's solo group, with which he premiered "Silver Raven", arguably his most celebrated post-Byrds song.

No Other
On the basis of the quality of Clark's contributions to Byrds, David Geffen signed him to Asylum Records in early 1974. The label was the home of the most prominent exponents of the singer-songwriter movement of the era and carried the kind of hip cachet that Clark hadn't experienced since his days with the Byrds. While composing the album, he spent long periods with a notebook and an acoustic guitar at the picture window of his home, deriving inspiration from staring at the Pacific Ocean.

Produced by Thomas Jefferson Kaye with a vast array of session musicians (including members of The Section and the Allman Brothers Band) and backing singers, the ensuing No Other fused elements of country rock, folk, gospel, soul and choral music with poetic, mystical lyrics. Although the album was praised by critics, its unconventional arrangements (which anticipated the later innovations of Lindsey Buckingham, Stevie Nicks and Christine McVie) limited public appeal. Furthermore, its high production costs (exceeding $100,000) prompted Geffen to publicly berate Clark and Kaye. The album was minimally promoted and stalled in the Billboard album chart at No. 144. In 2013, members of the bands Beach House, The Walkmen, Grizzly Bear, and Fleet Foxes performed the album in its entirety in a series of concerts.

Clark's return to Los Angeles to record the album resulted in his reversion to a hedonistic lifestyle and accelerated the disintegration of his marriage. Disillusioned by professional and marital failure, he mounted his first solo tour by road, playing colleges and clubs with Roger White (lead guitar and backing vocals) and Duke Bardwell (electric bass, backing vocals and acoustic guitar); the drumless trio was billed as Gene Clark and the Silverados.

In 2019, a remastered/remixed version of No Other was released.

Two Sides to Every Story
After the commercial failure of No Other, Clark was confused about his artistic direction. Throughout 1975 and 1976, he had hinted to the press that he was assembling a set of "cosmic" songs fusing country rock with R&B and funk, elaborating on the soundscapes of his most recent album. In 1976, he recorded a set of ten demos that combined country and folk music with a light touch of cosmic consciousness. These were submitted to RSO Records, which promptly bought out Clark's Asylum contract and issued the long-gestating Two Sides to Every Story in 1977. The album—a melange of bluegrass, traditional honky tonk, echoes of No Other ("Sister Moon") and strident country rock (a new arrangement of "Kansas City Southern")—was produced by Kaye with an understated touch.

The emotional fallout from his divorce is reflected in the album title and several of Clark's compositions, including the aforementioned "Sister Moon", "Lonely Saturday", "Past Addresses", "Silent Crusade" and "Hear the Wind". The album also contains covers of the traditional "In the Pines" (a key component of Clark's live repertoire with the Silverados) and "Give My Love to Marie" by James Talley. Once again, his style of sensitive balladry failed to achieve success on the U.S. charts. In a belated attempt to find an appreciative public, he reluctantly overcame his travel anxiety and launched an international promotional tour with the KC Southern Band. Some six weeks before his death in 1991, Clark told interviewer Bill Wasserzieher that he considered Two Sides to Every Story his best album, rivaled only by No Other.

McGuinn, Clark & Hillman
For his British tour dates, Clark found himself on the same bill as ex-Byrds Roger McGuinn and Chris Hillman, each fronting their own bands. Shortly after returning to the United States, Clark and McGuinn began touring as an acoustic duo. After Hillman joined his former bandmates, the reformed trio named themselves McGuinn, Clark & Hillman and signed with Capitol Records. Produced by the Albert Brothers (who had recently recorded Crosby, Stills & Nash's 1977 comeback album), the ensuing McGuinn, Clark & Hillman (1979) was a rebirth in both performing and songwriting for Clark, who ensconced himself as the group's dominant creative force. He wrote four songs for the album, including "Backstage Pass" (a rumination on the ennui of touring and his fear of flying), "Release Me Girl" (a disco-inflected collaboration with Thomas Jefferson Kaye), the UFO-inspired "Feelin' Higher" and "Little Mama".

Many critics felt that the album's slick production and disco-influenced soft rock rhythms didn't flatter the group, but the album reached No. 39 on the Billboard 200 (underpinned by the McGuinn-penned "Don't You Write Her Off", which peaked at No. 33 in May 1979) and earned a RIAA gold certification, selling well enough to generate a follow-up. McGuinn, Clark and Hillman's second release was to have been a full group effort entitled City; although it was ultimately released in 1980, a combination of Clark's unreliability (including experimentation with heroin) and his dissatisfaction with their musical direction (mostly regarding Ron and Howard Albert's production) resulted in the album being credited to "Roger McGuinn & Chris Hillman featuring Gene Clark." Despite the turmoil, Clark penned the song "Won't Let You Down". By 1981, Clark had left, and the group recorded one more album as "McGuinn/Hillman".

Rehabilitation, Firebyrd and So Rebellious a Lover
Clark moved to Hawaii with Jesse Ed Davis to try to overcome his drug dependency, remaining there until the end of 1981. Upon his return to Los Angeles, he assembled a new band, the Firebyrds, and in 1982 proceeded to record what would eventually become the album Firebyrd. While waiting for the album to be released, Clark joined up with Chris Hillman and others in an abortive venture called Flyte, which failed to secure a recording contract and was quickly dissolved. The eventual release of Firebyrd in 1984 coincided with the emergence of jangle rockers like R.E.M. and Tom Petty, who had sparked a new interest in the Byrds. Clark also began developing new fans among LA's roots-conscious Paisley Underground scene. Later in the decade, he embraced his new status by appearing as a guest with the Long Ryders, in a session arranged by Saul Davis and he cut an acclaimed duo album with Carla Olson of the Textones titled So Rebellious A Lover (including the notable "Gypsy Rider" and "Del Gato") in 1986. The album included contributions from Chris Hillman, Stephen McCarthy (of The Long Ryders) and Randy Fuller (of the Bobby Fuller Four) and was produced and arranged by session drummer Michael Huey.

Later career, illness and death
In 1985, Clark approached McGuinn, Crosby and Hillman regarding a reformation of the Byrds in time for the 20th anniversary of the release of "Mr. Tambourine Man". The three of them showed no interest. Clark decided to assemble a "superstar" collection of musicians, including ex-Flying Burrito Brothers and Firefall member Rick Roberts, ex-Beach Boys singer and guitarist Blondie Chaplin, ex-Band members Rick Danko and Richard Manuel, and ex-Byrds Michael Clarke and John York. Clark initially called his band "The 20th Anniversary Tribute to the Byrds" and began performing on the lucrative nostalgia circuit in early 1985. A number of concert promoters began to shorten the band's name to "the Byrds" in advertisements and promotional material. As the band continued to tour throughout 1985, their agent decided to shorten the name to "the Byrds" permanently, to the displeasure of McGuinn, Crosby and Hillman. Clark eventually discontinued performing with his own "Byrds" band, but drummer Clarke continued on with Skip Battin (occasionally with ex-Byrds York and Gene Parsons), forming another "Byrds" group, prompting McGuinn, Hillman, and Crosby to go on the road as "the Byrds" in an attempt to establish a claim to the rights to the name. Their effort failed this time; Clark was not included in the reunion, primarily because of his involvement with the act that didn't include them. Crosby finally secured rights to the name in 2002.

Despite the critical success of So Rebellious a Lover, which led to several TV appearances (including Nashville Now), Clark was increasingly afflicted with serious health problems, including ulcers and alcohol dependence. In 1988, he underwent surgery to remove a malignant ulcer.

A period of abstinence and recovery followed until Tom Petty covered "I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better" on Full Moon Fever (1989), yielding a windfall of royalties from the album (which peaked at No. 3 in the United States) to Clark. Flush with money, he began to neglect his professional obligations. Although the circumstances remain nebulous (with Carla Olson citing alleged financial improprieties), the binge also precipitated his final break-up with Terri Messina, who had had a two-decade on-again, off-again relationship with Clark.

During this period, The Byrds set aside their differences long enough to appear together at their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in January 1991, at which the original lineup performed several songs together, including Clark's "I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better".

Clark's health continued to decline as his substance abuse accelerated, and he was diagnosed with throat cancer in early 1991. He died on May 24, 1991 at the age of 46 from a bleeding ulcer due to alcoholism. He was buried at St. Andrews Catholic Cemetery in Tipton, Missouri, beneath an epitaph that reads "No Other."

Covers and tribute songs
During his career and after his death, Clark's songs have been covered by a number of artists. Iain Matthews was an early promoter of Clark's songs, covering "Polly" on his 1972 album Journeys from Gospel Oak  and "Tried So Hard" on his 1974 album Some Days You Eat the Bear. "Tried So Hard" was later covered by Yo la Tengo on Fakebook in 1990. Death in Vegas and Paul Weller covered his song "So You Say You Lost Your Baby" on their 2003 album Scorpio Rising. In 1993 the Scottish band Teenage Fanclub recorded a tribute entitled "Gene Clark" on their album Thirteen.

In 2007, two of his songs were recorded by Alison Krauss and Robert Plant on the T-Bone Burnett–produced Raising Sand:  "Polly Come Home" and "Through the Morning, Through the Night." Also in 2007, Chris and Rich Robinson released a live version of "Polly" on their album Brothers of a Feather: Live at the Roxy. This Mortal Coil covered "Strength of Strings" from his album No Other and "With Tomorrow" from his album White Light. Soulsavers with Mark Lanegan recorded a version of "Some Misunderstanding" from No Other on their 2009 release, Broken. Title Tracks recorded a version of "She Don't Care About Time" on its 2010 release, It Was Easy. The song "Gorgeous" from Kanye West's 2010 album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is based on elements of The Turtles' cover of "You Showed Me".

Biopic
A documentary about Clark's life and career, entitled The Byrd Who Flew Alone, was released in 2013, featuring contributions from family, friends, the three surviving original members of the Byrds, latter-day Byrd John York and late-era collaborators Carla Olson and Pat Robinson. The documentary revealed that Clark was suffering from throat cancer at the time of his death.

Discography

Solo albums

Gene Clark with the Gosdin Brothers  (1967)
White Light (1971)
Collector's Series - Early L.A. Sessions (1972)
Roadmaster (1973)
No Other (1974)
Two Sides to Every Story (1977)
Firebyrd (1984)
Echoes (1991)
Gypsy Angel – The Gene Clark Demos 1983–1990 (2001)
Under The Silvery Moon (2003)
Silverado Live & Unreleased (2008)
Here Tonight – The White Light Demos (2013)
Back Street Mirror (2018)
The Lost Studio Sessions 1964–1982 (2018)
No Other (box set LP, CDs, Book, etc...) (2019)

Collaborations
The Fantastic Expedition of Dillard & Clark (1968; with Doug Dillard)
Through the Morning Through the Night (1969; with Doug Dillard)
McGuinn, Clark & Hillman (1979; with Roger McGuinn and Chris Hillman)
City (1980; with Roger Mcguinn and Chris Hillman)
So Rebellious A Lover (1987; with Carla Olson)
Silhouetted in Light – Live in Concert (1992; with Carla Olson)

References

External links
Gene Clark biography at Country Music Television
 Gene Clark discography at Byrds Flyght
 
 
Gene Clark, The once again Byrd: A true American dreamer

Gene-Clark.com

1944 births
1991 deaths
People from Moniteau County, Missouri
American country rock singers
American bluegrass musicians
American male singer-songwriters
American country singer-songwriters
Singer-songwriters from Missouri
The Byrds members
American folk rock musicians
RSO Records artists
A&M Records artists
Asylum Records artists
Columbia Records artists
American harmonica players
Tambourine players
American country guitarists
American male guitarists
American rock guitarists
Rhythm guitarists
20th-century American singers
Guitarists from Missouri
20th-century American guitarists
Alcohol-related deaths in California
The New Christy Minstrels members
20th-century American male singers
Roadmaster is an American bicycle brand currently owned by Pacific Cycle, which in turn is owned by Dorel Industries of Canada.

History

Roadmaster Bicycles were first introduced by the Cleveland Welding Company in 1936. In 1950, after purchasing the Roadmaster line of children's and youth bicycles from the Cleveland Welding Company, AMF entered the bicycle manufacturing business with its newly formed AMF Wheeled Goods Division.  In 1953, after a labor strike, AMF moved bicycle manufacturing from the UAW-organized plant in Cleveland, Ohio to a new facility in Little Rock, Arkansas.  The new plant was heavily automated and featured more than a mile of part conveyor belts in six separate systems, including an  electrostatic spray painting operation.  
   
Taking advantage of the increase in its target markets in the aftermath of the baby boom, AMF was able to diversify its product line, adding exercise equipment under the brand name Vitamaster in 1950. As demand for bicycles continued to expand, the company found the need for a new manufacturing facility to keep up with demand. As two-wheeled bicycles increased in popularity a new plant was built in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1951. In 1962, the company moved its operations to Olney, Illinois, where it built a new factory on a  site that would remain the company's principal bicycle manufacturing location into the 1990s. Products manufactured there were children's vehicles, sidewalk bikes, toy autos, tricycles, garden tractors, seat cars and wagons and playground equipment. The company produced over 100,000 miniature Mustangs for Ford Motor Company late in the 1960s. BMX bikes, mopeds and exercise bicycles were introduced in the 1970s.

After two decades of consistent growth, the AMF Wheel Goods Division stalled under the long-distance management of a parent company bogged down in layers of corporate management and marginally profitable product lines.  Manufacturing quality as well as the technical standard of the Roadmaster bicycle line - once the pride of the company - had fallen to an all-time low. Bicycles made at the Olney plant were manufactured so poorly that some Midwestern bike shops refused to repair them, claiming that the bikes would not stay fixed no matter how much labor and effort was put into them.  The division's problems with quality and outside competition were neatly summed up in a 1979 American film, Breaking Away, in which identical secondhand AMF Roadmaster track bicycles were used by competitors in the Little 500 bicycle race.  Despite this product placement, the film's protagonist expressed a decided preference for his lightweight Italian Masi road racing bike, deriding the elderly Roadmaster as a 'piece of junk'.

In 1983 AMF sold the assets to George Nebel, the General Manager and Bob Zinnen. In 1987 the company was sold to entrepreneur and merger and acquisition expert Thomas W Itin. Itin brought in two other investors Equitex and Enercorp, both Business Development Companies, under the 40 Act "BDCs" run by Henry Fong. It changed its name to Roadmaster Industries, Inc. and positioned itself as the leader in the fitness equipment and junior toy industries. Itin and Fong took the company public through an IPO in the end of 1987. Itin and Fong acquired over 20 companies in the sporting goods field.  Roadmaster grew from $40,000,00 in unprofitable sales to over $800,000,000 of highly profitable sales.  Under the symbol of RDMI it went from small cap on NASDQ to large cap on NMS to the American Stock Exchange and then to the New York Stock Exchange and became a Fortune 1000 company.

Helped by the increasing popularity of Mountain Bikes, Roadmaster experienced a 72% increase in bicycle sales in 1993.  A new bicycle production plant was built in Effingham, Illinois to keep pace with the growing demand. Roadmaster acquired Flexible Flyer Company, whose history dates back to 1889.

In 1997 the Roadmaster bicycle division was sold to the Brunswick Corporation. However, it had already become evident that production of low-cost, mass-market bicycles in the United States was no longer viable in the face of intense foreign competition, and in 1999, all U.S. production of Roadmaster bicycles ceased.  Brunswick sold its bicycle division and the Roadmaster brand to Pacific Cycle, which began distributing a new Roadmaster line of bicycles imported from Taiwan and the People's Republic of China.  Pacific Cycle still uses the Olney facility for corporate offices and as a product inventory and distribution center.

Today the Roadmaster brand has been reactivated and is basically a low-end to middle-end bike sold through big box stores.

References

External links
New Pacific-Cycles's Roadmaster official site
Roadmaster product registration
Roadmaster article at Dave's Vintage Bicycles
Pacific-Cycle official site
Dorel Industries website

Road cycles
Cycle manufacturers of the United States The Buick Roadmaster is an automobile that was built by Buick from 1936 until 1942, from 1946 until 1958, and then again from 1991 until 1996. Roadmasters produced between 1936 and 1958 were built on Buick's longest non-limousine wheelbase and shared their basic structure with the entry-level Cadillac Series 65, the Buick Limited, and after 1940, the Oldsmobile 98. Between 1946 and 1957 the Roadmaster served as Buick's flagship.

When it was resurrected for the 1991 through 1996 model years, it became the marque's largest vehicle. The Roadmaster sedan, a C-body vehicle over its eight previous generations, shared the B-body for the first time in its history. It was  longer with a  greater wheelbase than the C-body Buick Park Avenue. It was also larger both in wheelbase () and overall length () than the K-body Cadillac DeVille.

1931-1933

The Series 80, which belonged to an upper category trim package and shared with the Series 90, was the first Buick to offer the  OHV Buick Straight-8 engine developing  at 2800 rpm. It was a new approach for Buick offering a top-level luxury sedan with an eight-cylinder engine which became expected from luxury brands, similar to the Oldsmobile L-Series on the GM C platform. The next year a new high-performance engine was introduced developing . In 1933, the aesthetics of all Buicks were updated with a new, corporate "streamlined" appearance shared with all GM cars for that year due to GM's Art and Color Studio headed by Harley Earl.

1933 was the first year all GM vehicles were installed with optional vent windows which were initially called “No Draft Individually Controlled Ventilation” later renamed "Ventiplanes" which the patent application was filed on Nov. 28, 1932. It was assigned to the Ternstedt Manufacturing Company, a GM subsidiary that manufactured components for Fisher Body At the end of 1933, the 80 series was discontinued after 24,117 units produced. In 1936 the model changed its name to "Series 80 Roadmaster". Body style choices were limited to a 2-door coupe or 4-door sedan in 1931 capable of seating either 5- or 7-passengers, then replacing the coupe with a Victoria 5-passenger coupe in 1932. The 1933 model year saw convertibles for both the coupe and 4-door sedan convertible reviving the "phaeton" nameplate again, and additional manufacturing locations opened across the country under the Buick-Oldsmobile-Pontiac Assembly Division. Retail prices for the Convertible Phaeton were listed at US$1845 ($ in  dollars ). The equipment levels and refinement of materials used were on par with the top-level Limited and was a contender with the Packard Eight.

1936–1937

The origins of the Roadmaster name date to 1936 when Buick added names to its entire model lineup to celebrate the engineering improvements and design advancements over their 1935 models. Buick's Series 40 was named the Special, the Series 50 became the Super, the Series 60 was named the Century and the Series 90 — Buick's largest and most luxurious vehicle — was named the Limited. The Series 50 was retired, but new for the model year was the Series 80 Roadmaster. The 1936 Buick sales brochure describes "It literally named itself the first time a test model leveled out on the open highway." The terminology "Series 60" and "Series 70" were shared with Cadillac, while "Series 60", "Series 70", "Series 80", and "Series 90" were shared with Oldsmobile.

The Roadmaster was introduced in a year when Buick's valve-in-head straight-eight engines were heavily revised. Buick reduced the number of engines from four sizes to two: a 233-cubic-inch, 93-horsepower job for the Special, and a 320.2-cubic inch, 120-horsepower engine for the other series. Buick also adopted an all-steel "turret top" and hydraulic brakes. Coil springs were in the front.

The Roadmaster sedan weighed 4,098 pounds, about 88 pounds more than Cadillac's new Series 60. The sedan sold for $1,255 ($ in  dollars ), $440 ($ in  dollars ) less than the least expensive Cadillac. The only other body style was a four-door convertible phaeton, priced at $1,565 ($ in  dollars ) (a total of 1,064 were produced), at a time when a Cadillac in the same body style sold was priced from $2,745 ($ in  dollars ). Buick sales went from just over 48,000 to nearly 158,000 and with the new Series 80 Roadmaster contributing 16,049 units to that total.

Buick was the only GM car, along with the Chevrolet Standard, to retain the basic 1934 styling for 1935, thus the 1936 re-style brought Buick up with the rest of the GM marques. For 1937, Buick moved to newly re-styled bodies along with all other GM cars. The Roadmaster gained a divided grille with horizontal bars. The center section of the grille was painted to match the body of the car. Fenders became squared off and the headlight shells were streamlined. Overall height was reduced by  while keeping the same interior space. A new carburetor and revised camshaft raised engine horsepower to 130. The engine also received a new intake manifold, oil pump, cooling system, and a quieter overhead valve mechanism. A Formal Sedan, featuring a roll-down glass partition between the front and rear compartments, was added to the Roadmaster line for US$1,641 ($ in  dollars ), of which 452 were sold. The price of the sedan was raised to US$1,518, and that of the phaeton to US$1,856 ($ in  dollars ). Overall Roadmaster sales increased to 16,129.

1938–1939

Styling changes for 1938 were modest, with a longer hood extending to a now nearly vertical grill, taller bumper guards, and redesigned hubcaps. Changes were made to both engine and chassis. The ride was improved by replacing the rear leaf springs with coil springs and incorporating double-acting shock absorbers that were four times the size of others. The frame X-member was changed from I-beam to channel construction and all wood structural elements were replaced with steel. The engine combustion chambers were redesigned and new "turbulator" pistons raised the compression ratio from 5.9 to 6.5:1, resulting in an increase in horsepower to 141.

The 4-door convertible phaeton changed from the built-in trunk design to a "fastback" rear appearance. The Limited continued to be offered, and a new fastback sedan was added to the line with 466 being sold. The Roadmaster sedan price was increased to US$1,645 ($ in  dollars ). The overall automobile market decreased for the year, but Buicks share increased even with Roadmaster sales falling to 5,568 and now making up 3.3% of Buick's total output from its previous 7.3%.

Styling for 1939 featured a new two-piece “waterfall” grille with thin vertical bars. The hood was narrower, front door pillars were narrower and hubcaps were larger. The window area increased substantially with the rear window changing to a one-piece design. All the major gauges were relocated directly in front of the driver and the gear shift was changed to a steering column mount. The 4-door phaeton could now be ordered with the built-in trunk appearance or as a fastback, but only three of the latter were sold. Although prices were reduced to US$1,545 ($ in  dollars ), sales only rose to 6,097, with Roadmaster's share of Buick's total sales falling to 2.9%.

1940–1941

In 1940 the Series 80 was renamed Buick Limited. The Roadmaster name was transferred to the new Series 70, which was introduced at the same time as a brand new Series 50 Super. The Roadmaster featured a cutting-edge "torpedo" C-body. The new C-body that the 1940 Buick Roadmaster shared with the Super, the Cadillac Series 62, the Oldsmobile Series 90, and the Pontiac Torpedo featured shoulder and hip room that was over  wider, the elimination of running boards and exterior styling that was streamlined and 2-3" lower. When combined with a column-mounted shift lever the cars offered room for six-passengers.

The 1940 Roadmaster had a shorter wheelbase, was lighter, and was less expensive than the previous year's model. The formal and fastback sedans were discontinued. A 2-door coupe body style was newly introduced, and 3,991 units were sold. The coach-building firm of Brunn designed several custom-bodied Buicks for the Series 70, 80, and 90. Only one Roadmaster example is known to have been produced in 1940, an open-front town car, that was dubbed "Townmaster". Overall sales more than tripled to 18,345.

Styling updates for 1941 were modest, but there were mechanical changes. The compression ratio was raised from 6.6:1 to 7.0:1, the "turbulator" pistons were redesigned, smaller spark plugs were new, and "Compound Carburetion" was introduced. This Compound Carburetion was the forerunner of the modern four-barrel carburetor and consisted of twin two-barrel carburetors. One unit operated all of the time, while the other operated only under hard acceleration. The new engine delivered 165 horsepower. With five more horsepower than a senior Packard, 15 more than any Cadillac, and 25 more than the largest Chryslers, it was the most powerful engine available that year on an American car.

A new body style for this year was a two-door convertible, which sold 1,845 units. There was also a Brunn-designed convertible, but no orders materialized because of the $3,500 price ($ in  dollars ). Overall Roadmaster sales were 15,372.

1942, 1946-1948

The 1942 Roadmaster was longer, lower, wider, and roomier than before (a Harley Earl trademark), due in part to a longer wheelbase. There was also a new vertical-bar grille and "Airfoil" fenders that swept back to the rear fenders, which in subsequent generations became the chromed "Sweepspear". Both features became a Buick icon exhibited in one way or another for years to come, and were influenced by the concept car called the Buick Y-Job. The 4-door phaeton was discontinued. Coupes adopted the Sedanet fastback style that was introduced on 1941 on the Century and Special. The new one-piece hood was double-hinged so that either side of the engine compartment could be opened, while in later updates the hood would open at the front and extend up and towards the passenger compartment.

At the beginning of 1942, new automobiles were available only to those in occupations deemed essential to the war effort. By mid-January, cars with no exterior chrome trim apart from the bumpers were being produced. By February passenger car production was shut down completely. Despite the abbreviated model year, a total of about 8,400 were sold.

When postwar automobile production resumed in the 1946 model year, chrome was more sparingly applied, swept-back fenders were fitted to sedans as well as coupes, and a war-inspired "bombsight" hood ornament was adopted. The instrument panel was two-toned with woodgrain facings except on convertibles which used body-colored panels. Series identification was found on cloisonne emblems centered in the bumper guard front and rear. Compound Carburetion was discontinued and the compression ratio was reduced to 6.60:1. The 1946 Roadmaster's horsepower rating went from 165 to 144. Torque on the other hand was not affected. Nevertheless, Roadmaster's I-8 still produced more horsepower than a top-of-the-line Chrysler's. Owing to wartime inflation, prices were substantially higher than those of pre-war models. The biggest change was in sales proportions. Roadmaster increased its share of Buick sales from 4% in 1941 to 20% in 1946, with a total of about 31,400 sold.

In 1947 a new stamped grille with a separate upper bar was used. The Roadmaster name appeared in red-filled script on a chrome button within the bumper guard crossbars, front, and rear. All new was an Estate wagon body style. It sold 300 units and became the top of the line in the station wagon market.

In 1948 a series script appeared on the front fenders and the white Tenite steering wheel that had been used previously was replaced with a black version. This also matched the change from a two-tone woodgrain instrument panel to a two-tone gray instrument panel, with silver-finished instruments. A new optional custom trim option was offered, consisting of cloth upholstery with leather bolsters with the robe cord cover and lower door panels trimmed in leatherette. Convertibles acquired power windows, seat, and top as standard equipment. The Dynaflow was introduced, the first passenger car torque converter transmission. Optional on Roadmaster in its first year, it became standard equipment for 1949. Overall sales were just under 80,000 in both 1947 and 1948, over four times greater than in any prewar year.

1949–1953

The Roadmaster received its first major postwar restyling in 1949. Its wheelbase and overall length were reduced but its weight was marginally increased. The biggest change was a much larger two-piece, curved glass windshield that the sales brochure described as like an “observation car.” It was also in 1949 that Buick introduced "VentiPorts." Four were displayed on each of the Roadmaster and Century's front fenders, with three on the fenders of the Super and Special to denote junior level products. The sales brochure noted that VentiPorts helped ventilate the engine compartment, and possibly that was true in early 1949, but sometime during the model year they became plugged. 

The idea for VentiPorts grew out of a modification Buick styling chief Ned Nickles had added to his own 1948 Roadmaster. He had installed four amber lights on each side of his car's hood wired to the distributor to flash on and off as each piston fired simulating the flames from the exhaust stack of a fighter airplane. Combined with the bombsight mascot, VentiPorts put the driver at the controls of an imaginary fighter airplane. Upon seeing this, Buick chief Harlow Curtice was so delighted that he ordered that (non-lighting) VentiPorts be installed on all 1949 Buicks, with the number of VentiPorts (three or four) corresponding to the relative displacement of the straight-eight engine installed.

Dynaflow was now standard equipment, and engine horsepower was increased to 150 through a slight increase in the compression ratio. This contributed in conjunction with the now-standard Dynaflow in giving the new Buicks a top speed of . In the middle of the year, the Riviera joined the body style lineup selling 4,314 units. Featuring power windows as standard equipment, the 2-door Buick Roadmaster Riviera, along with the Cadillac Series 62 Coupe de Ville and the Oldsmobile 98 Holiday, was among the first hardtop coupes produced. The Riviera Hardtop was conceived by taking the convertible and welding a steel roof in place, which simplified manufacture and the appearance.

The Riviera was also notable for its popular optional "Sweepspear" chrome body side molding, which would soon become a Buick trademark. This chrome-plated strip started above the front wheel, after which it gently curved down nearly to the rocker panel just before the rear wheel, and then curved around the rear wheel in a quarter of a circle to go straight back to the tail-light. The "Riviera trim", as it was initially called, was also made available on the Roadmaster convertible late in the model year. With a total of 88,130 sold, the all-time annual record for Roadmaster, the model accounted for 27% of all Buick sales, a high proportion despite its price that was only slightly less than a Cadillac Series 61.

The 1950 restyling featured a "toothy" grille. The Sweepspear design was made standard on most body styles at the beginning of the 1950 model year, and on the station wagon and a new long-wheelbase sedan mid-year. The long-wheelbase sedan was lengthened by ). Like the convertibles, the Riviera and the long-wheelbase sedan came with power windows and power seats as standard equipment. Overall Roadmaster sales fell to 75,034, with Roadmaster's share of total Buick output plummeting to 12%.

In 1951 the long-wheelbase sedan was also called a Riviera although it was not a hardtop. The Sedanet and regular wheelbase sedan were discontinued.

Styling changes were minimal in 1951 and 1952. Power steering was added as an option in 1952 and horsepower climbed to 170 primarily to a new four-barrel carburetor. Sales continued to decrease to about 66,000 in 1951 and totaled 51,000 units in 1952.

A new V8 engine was introduced for 1953, Buick's Golden Anniversary year. Although the Nailhead (as it was popularly called) was nearly identical in displacement to the straight-eight Fireball (322 versus 320 cubic inches), it was  shorter, four inches (102 mm) lower, and  lighter, but with , it was 11% more powerful. The compression ratio increased from 7.50:1 to 8.50:1 and torque increased from .

The compact dimensions of the V8 engine enabled Buick to reduce Roadmaster's wheelbase by  across the line, although styling differences behind the engine cowl, apart from new V-8 emblem hubcaps, were largely nonexistent. Buick also introduced a new "Twin-Turbine" Dynaflow as a companion for the V8 engine. Estimated to increase torque at the wheels by 10 percent, the new transmission provided faster and quieter acceleration at reduced engine speeds. Both power steering and power brakes were made standard. Air conditioning was a new option and, years before many other makes, a 12-volt electrical system was adopted.

A new body style for 1953 was the Skylark convertible. The Buick Roadmaster Skylark was one of three specialty convertibles produced in 1953 by General Motors, the other two being the Oldsmobile 98 Fiesta and the Cadillac Series 62 Eldorado. The Skylark featured open wheel wells, a drastically lowered beltline, a four-inch-chop from the standard Roadmaster's windshield, the absence of VentiPorts, and a new Sweepspear that anticipated Buick's 1954 styling. Kelsey-Hayes wire wheels and a solid boot cover were standard. At $5,000 only 1,690 units were produced. The following year, and for one year only, it would become its own series built on a Century body. This was the last year for the Roadmaster Estate, and it was the last wood-bodied station wagon mass-produced in the United States. Its body was a product of Ionia Manufacturing that built all Buick station wagon bodies between 1946 and 1964. Priced at $4,031, the Estate was second in price only to the Skylark, with 670 being sold. Overall Roadmaster sales went up to 79,137.

1954–1956

In 1954 Buick Roadmaster and Super shared with Cadillac and Oldsmobile 98 the new General Motors C-body, adopting the new "ponton" appearance, and the addition of "Dagmar bumpers" to the front. These were large, roomy cars, as much as five and a half inches longer in wheelbase and more than nine inches (229 mm) longer overall than in 1953. Roadmaster script was placed on the rear quarter panels and within the rear deck ornament. Rear fenders had a blunted fin at the rear edge, with dual "bullet" taillamps below. A new panoramic windshield with vertical side pillars was used. Seats had chrome bands on 2-door models and rear seats had an armrest on 4-door models. The front suspension was refined and Roadmaster's horsepower was increased to 200. The pillared coupe and the Estate wagon were no longer offered as body styles. Overall sales dropped to 50,571 (which was 11% of model year production). Air conditioning was provided by Frigidaire optionally on sedans and hardtops, which consisted of a self-contained unit that was retrofitted at the customers' request.

In 1955 broad lower rear fender bands, gold-colored Roadmaster deck script and hood ornament, bars on the hubcaps, and a gold-accented grille were added to distinguish Roadmaster. Horsepower was increased to 236, and a new variable-pitch Dynaflow, in which the stator blades changed pitch under hard acceleration, provided quicker off-the-line getaway. Back-up lights were now standard. Overall sales were 64,527 (which was 8% of the model year production).

In 1956 Roadmaster had a shallower Sweepspear that did not dip down to the rocker panel as on other models. Twin chrome strips were on the decklid with Roadmaster spelled out between them. Roadmaster script was positioned on the doors beneath the vent windows. Fender tip dual bombsights were standard. Two stator wheels were adopted as an improvement to Dynaflow. A brand new 4-door Riviera hardtop, proved to be the most popular Roadmaster, with 24,770 units sold and beating the pillared sedan by more than two-to-one. Overall sales were 53,427 (which was 9% of model year production). A padded dash became standard.

1957–1958

A lower body graced the 1957 Roadmaster with an even more panoramic windshield equipped with reverse slanted pillars. A red-filled Sweepspear lined the bodysides and a chromed rear fender lower panel filled the area between the wheelhouse and the bumper end, continuing to offer "Dagmar bumpers" at the front. A new centered fuel filler was located in the rear bumper, the ends of which the single or optional dual exhaust passed through. Roadmaster script was placed within the deck and grille emblems. Two-door models had a trio of chevrons on the rear quarters while the four-door models had a Roadmaster emblem nestled within the Sweepspear dip. Interiors featured a padded dashboard and were broadcloth and nylon in 4-doors, nylon in 2-doors, and leather in convertibles. Front hip room was 65.3-in.

A new 364-cubic-inch engine was rated at 300 horsepower. A new ball-joint suspension system improved handling. The 4-door Riviera hardtop proved popular the previous year so that the pillared sedan was dropped from the model lineup. Also, new was a mid-year production (March 1957) Roadmaster designated as Model 75 that featured standard power seats and windows, carpeted lower doors, a one-piece rear window (instead of a three-piece that was a design feature of the smaller Special and Century models), Deluxe hubcaps, and a Series 75 script identification on the rear quarter body panel of the Roadmaster coupes and the rear door panels on the Roadmaster 4-doors, thus replacing the standard 3 chevrons found in the same location on the standard full model year Roadmaster model lines. Overall Roadmaster sales dropped to about 33,000. The overall economy was in a recession starting in late 1956 and extending into 1958.

For 1958, GM was promoting their fiftieth year of production, and introduced anniversary models for each brand; Cadillac, Buick, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, and Chevrolet. The 1958 models shared a common appearance on the top models for each brand; Cadillac Eldorado Seville, Buick Roadmaster Riviera, Oldsmobile Holiday 88, Pontiac Bonneville Catalina, and the all-new Chevrolet Bel-Air Impala.

In 1958, the Roadmaster was available in the well-equipped "75" version, and the body was adorned with bulkier and more heavily chromed styling while the top trim package Limited was the most expensive and fully optioned vehicle. A new "drawer pull" grille was used that Buick called "Fashion-Aire Dynastar", made up of rectangular chrome squares. For the first time since 1948, there were no distinguishing VentiPorts on the front fenders. On the rear deck, the Roadmaster name was spelled out in block lettering beneath a Buick emblem housing the trunk lock keyway. Wheelhouses had bright moldings, rocker panels had an ebbed molding and a large rear fender bright flash with ribbed inserts replaced the previous year's chromed rear fender lower panel. Four headlamps were standard. New brakes featured cast-iron liners in aluminum drums. Sales fell further to about 14,000.

There was a complete restyling for 1959, but this time the names of the various series were changed. Not until 1991 would there again be a big Buick known as the Roadmaster; the largest Buick models were renamed the Electra.

1991–1996

The Roadmaster name returned to the Buick line for the 1991 model year after a 33-year absence, with the third generation Buick Estate wagon becoming the Roadmaster Estate. A four-door sedan was added to the Roadmaster line for the 1992 model year, the first rear-wheel drive Buick sedan since 1985. Combined sales showed an over tenfold increase over '91 thanks in part to an extended production run which had 1992 models going on sale in March 1991.

Chassis 
As with its precursor, the new Roadmaster Estate wagon was based on GM's full-size rear-wheel drive B platform, which was closely related to the GM C-body and D-body chassis reserved for top of the line Buicks and Cadillacs. It rode on the same 115.9-inch wheelbase in use since the wagon series was downsized from the C-body in 1977, yet was three inches shorter than the 1990 model.

The Roadmaster sedan, a C-body vehicle over its eight previous generations, shared the B-body for the first time in its history. Nonetheless, it stood not only as the largest Buick, a full 10 inches longer with a 5 inch greater wheelbase than the apparent top-of-the-line C-bodied Buick Park Avenue, but larger both in wheelbase (2 inches) and overall length (6 inches) than the K-body Cadillac Sedan de Ville.

Powertrain 
The standard engine for the 1991 wagon was a  5.0 L Chevrolet small-block V8. It was replaced a year later with a  5.7 L Chevrolet small-block V8 shared by both wagon and sedan. In 1994 both received a modified version of the advanced 5.7 L sequential point fuel-injection LT1 V8, increasing output to  and improved performance.

Derived from the 300 hp LT1 debuted in the 1992 Chevrolet Corvette, the Roadmaster version was shared both with other B-and D platform luxury and performance cars such as the Chevrolet Caprice Police Package and Cadillac Fleetwood and GM's specialty F-bodied Chevrolet Camaro Z28 and Pontiac Firebird Trans Am. It differed in the use of iron heads for durability, camshafts tuned for increased low-end torque, and intake silencers to decrease drive-by noise (only in engines used in luxury-brand cars).

While installed in part to better comply with emissions and fuel-economy standards, the LT1 V8 not only offered an 80 hp power increase but raised rated fuel economy by 1 mpg, to 17 mpg city/25 mpg highway. As a result of this significantly boosted engine output General Motors limited the softer-riding Roadmaster (which ran on lower speed-rated tires than used on the Corvette) to a top speed of . For 1996, the LT1 became OBD-II compliant.

All three V-8s were paired to a four-speed automatic transmission. In 1994, the hydraulically-controlled 4L60 (700R4) transmission was replaced by the electronically controlled 4L60E.

When ordered with the factory towing package, the 1994-1996 Roadmaster was rated to tow up to . For the station wagon, this could be raised to 7,000 pounds with the use of a weight-distributing hitch, dual sway controls, setting rear tire pressure to 35 PSI, and disabling the Electronic Level Control. The towing package added 2.93 rear-axle gears and a limited-slip differential, heavy-duty cooling system including oil and transmission coolers, and a factory-installed self-leveling rear suspension called Dynaride, which consisting of air shocks, a height sensor between the rear axle and body and an on-board air compressor. Most visibly, a pair of electric fans offset to the left under the hood was replaced by the combination of one conventional fan-driven mechanically from the engine alongside one electric fan.

Body 
The Roadmaster Estate wagon shared its body with the Caprice Estate and Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser; common styling features included the Caprice's headlights and the Custom Cruiser's 2nd-row "Vista Roof" with a sunroof. Simulated woodgrain sides were standard, though the treatment could be deleted for credit. All three wagons offered an optional rear-facing third-row seat, bringing seating capacity to eight. The Roadmaster sedan had a distinct fascia, featuring its own grille and headlights stacked above running lights and turn signals. It shared a formal sedan roofline with the Cadillac Fleetwood, but rode on a wheelbase nearly six inches shorter.

The interior received a redesign for the 1994 model year which included new dual airbags, moving some instrument panel gauges closer to the steering wheel, and revisions to the radio and climate controls. The side-view mirrors were changed in 1995, changing from a "Lolipop" style mirror mounted on the door skin, to a new folding design mounted on the sail panel. The '95 Roadmaster retained its skirted rear wheels (deleted from the Caprice/Impala SS), while the sedan was updated with new bodyside moldings. Station wagons saw a shade for the Vista Roof along with a cargo cover. In 1996 automatic climate control became standard, and the rear seatbelts were redesigned with a "cinching" feature.

Discontinuation 
A combination of overcrowding among Buick's high-end sedans and pressure from full-size SUVs on the Estate wagon led to both Roadmasters being discontinued after the 1996 model year; the final vehicle was produced on December 13, 1996. With Ford stopping production of its Country Squire and Colony Park station wagons in 1991, the discontinuation of the Roadmaster Estate and Chevrolet Caprice Estate marked the end of the full-size station wagon in North America until the introduction of the Dodge Magnum in 2005.

Another factor behind the discontinuation of the GM B-body line was the growth of the full-size SUV segment, which impacted both sedan and wagon sales. Additionally, demand was increasing for the Chevrolet/GMC Suburban models that also had higher profit margins. In 1996, the Arlington Assembly facility in Texas was converted to assemble SUVs and pickup trucks, leaving the B-platform without an assembly line.

References

External links

Consumer guide to the 1991-96 Buick Roadmaster

Roadmaster
Rear-wheel-drive vehicles
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