1963 Buick Riviera vs. 1963 Pontiac Grand Prix

Model year 1963 featured three outstanding American car designs.  One was the Studebaker Avanti that I posted about here.  The two others, both General Motors products, were the Buick Riviera (Wikipedia entry here), and the Pontiac Grand Prix (Wikipedia entry here, and a post by me here).  The latter two are today's subject.

The Riviera link above (as of early April 2025) mentions:

"Jaguar founder and designer Sir William Lyons remarked that [GM's styling director] Mitchell had done 'a very wonderful job,' and Sergio Pininfarina declared it 'one of the most beautiful American cars ever built; it has marked a very impressive return to simplicity of American car design.' At its debut at the Paris Auto Show, Raymond Loewy said the Riviera was the most handsome American production car—apart from his own Studebaker Avanti, in his view the Riviera's only real competition for 1963."

Despite all that praise, let me suggest that the '63 Pontiac Grand Prix was at least equally worthy of such remarks.  Let's take a look.

Gallery

1963 Buick Riviera - car-for-sale photos
The Riviera design originated as a potential resurrection of GM's LaSalle brand that ended production in 1940.  Then it was shopped to various General Motors brands, whereby Buick was awarded it in a competition with Oldsmobile.  The result was a sales success.

1963 Pontiac Grand Prix - car-for-sale photos
The '63 Grand Prix was a facelift of the 1962 model that greatly simplified a rather cluttered design.  This is dealt with in my post linked above.

The Riviera design is more cluttered than the Grand Prix's, but still pretty clean.  Those "air intakes" near the rear wheel opening are fakes, for instance.

No fake stuff here.  The rear fended bulges out slightly, but the horizontal mid-body crease holds the fender design together.  Note that both cars have similar passenger compartments and window framing.

The lower body design flows, whereas the after part of the greenhouse structure has English-style "razor edging."  This was a touch that Bill Mitchell used here and on other cars, especially the 1980 Cadillac Seville.

The Grand Prix's backlight window is larger than the Riviera's.  Also, it is concave, rather than the normal convex shape.  Both cars have higher rear fenders than trunk lids.  Aft ends are uncluttered, though the Grand Prix's is simpler.

1963 Buick Riviera - car-for-sale photo
Now for two overhead views.  This image shows how the Riviera's fenders bulge out from the passenger compartment greenhouse.  The hood contains two passenger compartment air intakes that relate to hood sculpting.

1963 Pontiac Grand Prix - car-for- sale photo
As usual, the Grand Prix design is simpler than the Riviera's, even when seen from this perspective.  Only one air intake.  The body sides are only slightly bulged.  Front fender tops are flatter here.  Greenhouses look pretty similar.

1963 Buick Riviera - Broad Arrow Auctions photos
Finally, some glamour photos.  Black, highly polished paint jobs on both cars.  The Riviera's shape flows, yet its front leans forward aggressively.

1963 Pontiac Grand Prix - Mecum Auctions photos
A non-aggressive front here, and the side flows only a little.  Both cars are cursed with quad headlights, but that's how things were done in those days where state laws tightly dictated headlight details.

The Riviera has plenty of detailing all around to amuse viewers, something GM's legendary styling supremo Harley Earl favored on cars such as the 1941 Pontiac.

The Grand Prix, on the other hand lacks such detailing.  The design is simple, yet it has enough shaping to keep it from being boring, unlike so many "boxy" designs of the 1960s and 1970s.
Not that it matters very much, but my preference is for the Pontiac.  I always liked it, but never really cared for the Riviera.  But from my subjective perspective, the Studebaker Avanti design is the most emotionally compelling.  See below.

A Studebaker Avanti photo I took on Baltimore's North Charles Street in May, 1963.