A few days ago, I made it to 30,000 words in the Riviera Project. I’ve made a few more design decisions, including solving a basic book formatting issue that had been bothering me for months.

I’ve been getting more of the option tables done, which only reveals how inconsistent some of the data is. I’ve also become resigned to the statement under Selected Available Equipment in many Buick brochures:

This is a partial list.
See your dealer for details.

One thing that helps with getting accurate options data is scans and photos of the original window labels (the famous Monroney sticker), which sometimes turn up in the strangest places. I’ve gotten to the point where I hope for a heavily optioned car when I do find a window sticker—it’ll give me more data!

Options available in a Riviera of any generation are somewhat strange to our modern eyes, where reduced choice is often the watchword. Even at the very end in 1999, the Riviera was available with 12 exterior colors, six optional accent stripe colors, and five interior colors. Contrast that with Buick’s current top-of-the-line car, the 2019 LaCrosse sedan: 10 exterior colors, no accent stripes, and four interior colors.

A few statistics while we’re at it: revision 12 of the book sits at 106 pages. The two longest chapters are on the sixth generation and the seventh generation cars. Unsurprisingly, by far the most pages per year are for the first generation. The eight chapters on each generation currently make up 82% of the book.

After returning from the delightful Riviera Owners Association’s International Meet in Gettysburg last month, I’ve struggled just a little to translate my post-event excitement into action. The Riviera Project progresses, but not as quickly as I’d like.

As I look back, one of the things the meet did provide me with was a lot of context around various Rivieras and their features. One small example: photographs from period brochures don’t give a great sense of how the fourth generation (1974-1976) Rivieras integrated their high-mounted taillights.

At first, I wasn’t sure if there would be any of the fourth generation Rivieras at the meet—there are a lot less of them being collected than the 1973 and prior cars. However, on Wednesday evening I came out to my car to see a handsome Judicial Black (oh, those bicentennial Buick color names) 1976 parked next to it. So I got some good pictures and, more than that, I got a good overall feel for these cars—I don’t believe I’d seen one in decades.

This example also speaks to the value of attending something like the ROA’s International Meet. Information about some parts of the Riviera’s history is readily available. However, other parts such as the 1974-1976 cars are not nearly as well-covered.

Some statistics for the Riviera Project; as of this morning, we’re at 27,000 words and 81 pages.

Yesterday I made it to 25,000 words in the Riviera Project. It’s been slower going than I expected, but the results are satisfying. I’ve also made a couple of design decisions, moving to separate tables for options (and learning how to create tables in InDesign) and refining my chapter headings.

I continue to learn a lot, both about the Riviera itself and about all the context around it. I’m also learning that accurate data will be a problem, but for different reasons. With the earlier cars, it’s disagreements about the data while with the newer cars, it’s often a lack of any data at all—especially for the seventh and eight generation Rivieras.

A few statistics while we’re at it: the book sits at 75 pages. The longest chapter so far is on the seventh generation cars, which makes sense since—at nine years—they were the longest-lived generation. The eight chapters for each generation currently make up 81% of the book.

I’ve made some progress on the Riviera Project recently, but I am not as far along as I had hoped to be as April turns into May. The book does continue to form, and I am getting more of a sense of what it may end up being.

About a week ago, I pushed past a 20,000 word total for the entire book. I’ve done a good bit of background research over the last few days, including some on the Riviera’s competitors such as the Ford Thunderbird and the Cadillac Eldorado. I’m also continuing to gather relevant material—adding both primary and secondary sources. Finally, I’ve been asking a lot of questions on the Antique Automobile Club of America’s forums.

So, still moving along, but the results are not very visible. Hopefully, I’ll have more to report in a few days.

With the help of my lovely wife, I’ve reached a decision on the Riviera Project. It’s a go, though I’m still not what avenue I’ll end up using to print and/or publish it. Now, time to get serious.

The book/not book I’m working on is a complete study of the 1963-1999 Buick Riviera, attempting to place it within its times, context, and competition. I’m currently at 16,300 words/49 pages, and trying to make a decision by the time I get to 20,000 words.

Update: it’s a go!

Not nearly as chastening as Nightmare At 20,000 Feet, but I got to my 10,000 word phase gate on the book I’m not sure I’m writing … and … well … I’m still not sure. So, I’ll keep writing and hope it’s clearer by 15,000.