Lost Show & Concept Cars, 1952

The 1952 Buick Ranger featured a western theme. It was built from a Roadmaster convertible and was said to be painted El Rancho Beige and Canyon Brown. However, a black & white photo of this car shows it to have had a monotone scheme. The wheels were clearly darker so perhaps the brown paint was applied to them. Brown may also have been the color of the convertible top’s fabric. Fitted on at least the driver’s side door (possibly both doors) was a rifle (type unknown) and holster! This was not the last of the Buick’s with a heavy western theme. The Ranger may have been strictly a Canadian show car. This photo was taken at the 1952 Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto.

Three prototype cars - one each from Oldsmobile, Buick, and Cadillac - were shown during the 1952 auto show circuit. Pictured here is the one from Buick, dubbed "Skylark." The others, the Oldsmobile Fiesta and the Cadillac Eldorado, joined GM's lineup of 1953 models as limited production models. The Skylark as well as the other two prototypes were presumably scrapped. For more information on the 1952 Cadillac Eldorado (or El Dorado as the prototype was designated) see this link: http://www.cadillacdatabase.org/Dbas_txt/Eld53-55.htm