Riviera Owners Association Feedback

Charlie,
To respond to your question of how many active ROA members own gen8 Riv's:
About 9%...over 250 of 2800 members...pretty good representation of the gen8 Riv's in my book.

Well said AA. Even though I couldn't attend the national events, I learned a lot about the Buick and Riviera communities through the ROA, and they did have local meets periodically. I'm pretty sure I met Ship at one. The BCA is an excellent group as well, but covers a whole different scale of car. I may join them again when my kids are a little older and I can participate with my '73.

Greetings, I sold my '95 some time ago and it's been a while since I posted.   I thought that I'd add some to what Ship said about the number of 8th generation cars that attend the ROA's annual events.
 
     I don't have the exact mileage but I do know that in 2012, the long distance award went to a family from Nova Scotia who drove their '99 from their home to Monterey, CA and back, round trip just about 7,500 miles.
 
     I looked at the pictures from the 2014 meet in Colorado Springs and there were 11 8th generation Rivieras there; that's well over 10% of the total cars in attendance.  These numbers don't count the six 7th generation cars that were there as well.  One of the 8th generation cars was the Class Winner in the modified category.  All ballots in ROA meet judging are done as "peer judged" events.  It's a popularity contest for the best liked car in each class.

     In the most recent Riview , the ROA's magazine, one third of the Q&A pulled for publication came from this Riviera Performance forum.

     From what I can tell, the 8th generation cars are getting a lot of attention from the ROA.  The only difference that I see between the ROA and this group is the intention of the car's owner.  The ROA is, as stated in their mission statemet "The ROA.....dedicated to the preservation, restoration, promotion, and enjoyment of the Rivieras built by Buick."  Most ROA members are restorers where as, from my observations, most of the members of this forum are performance enthusiasts (as indicated in your name) and are more interested in modifications to gain performance.  This I don't know, but I'm going to take a wag (wild assed guess) that the Rivieras owned by ROA members are collectibles that are rarely driven where as, still a wag, the Rivieras owned by members of this forum are for the most part daily drivers.  

As Trustees, Darrel, Randall, and myself are privy to what's being planned for the ROA meets for a couple of years in advance. The 2015 meet will be just outside of Chicago - don't tell me your family can't find something to do in Chicago. We know that the 2016 will be in a great family location, and the 2017 meet is being planned around how much of a "WOW" factor the area will have for families. Suggestions are being considered at this time.
 
Ed

Rivnut wrote:

The ROA is, as stated in their mission statemet "The ROA.....dedicated to the preservation, restoration, promotion, and enjoyment of the Rivieras built by Buick."  Most ROA members are restorers where as, from my observations, most of the members of this forum are performance enthusiasts (as indicated in your name) and are more interested in modifications to gain performance.  This I don't know, but I'm going to take a wag (wild assed guess) that the Rivieras owned by ROA members are collectibles that are rarely driven where as, still a wag, the Rivieras owned by members of this forum are for the most part daily drivers.

I think that is an accurate statement. To clarify, "gaining performance" by our definition means more than making it a faster car. We acknowledge that a late '90s Riviera (or most any '90s car for that matter), while impressive for its day, doesn't really compete with cars being sold in today's market - in terms of acceleration, handling, fuel economy, and technology. A lot of the modifications we do are ways of updating the car to be nearer to today's standards. An example might be a set of aftermarket 18" wheels with lower profile rubber, or the addition of a back-up camera.

We also acknowledge these cars were not without faults. A lot of what we do here is learning from each other what's wrong, and sharing ways to deal with the car's shortfalls. An example of this would be something like the plastic intake manifold gasket, or the dreaded steering column slop issue.

Whatever camp you're in, we all love these cars. We welcome those who want to keep their cars original, or those who want to gear up for the drag strip, road course, or high-speed mile.

AA wrote:

I think that is an accurate statement. To clarify, "gaining performance" by our definition means more than making it a faster car.

I agree wholeheartedly.  I've install an electric fuel pump and electronic ignition on my '64.  Presently I'm working on converting the master cylinder to a dual reservoir system as a safety factor.  I have the parts to convert the car to four wheel disk brakes and install a late model o/d transmission. I'm doing this all in the name of driveability;  nothing to make it any faster; just safer and more reliable.  

In the Riview, there is a list of Tech Advisors for each generation Riviera.  You should not rule out tech advice from the ROA.  Of the Tech Advisors for the 8th generation car, one is a certified GM service writer, one is a retired GM engineer who was in engine development in Flint, and the other owns his own garage.  They have answers to questions most of us can't even think of.  

The ROA welcomes stock and modified cars.  In Colorado, there were enough modified cars that they had to be broken into two classes (based on year.)  

For the past four years, I've sat on the tech advisory board at the national meets.  The questions we get are mostly centered around keeping the older cars roadworthy and finding parts; used, NOS, and reproductions.  Rarely to we get any questions regarding "enhanced performance."  I'm sure that most of the contributors on this forum would be able to find something of value in some kind of association with the ROA as well.

I'm just here for the emoticons Oh yeah, and the only remaining calendar  Just kidding

Lov ROA and it's Riview, bought a very nice fender cover from the club shoppe, (of course had to modify it to accommodate gas struts and short depth fenders) , Joining BCA adds the monthly Bugle to read and enjoy.

I lurk in on AACA ROA forum and follow Rivnut and others on a regular basis and am amazed at their expertise and knowledge. They frequently refer individuals to this forum for Gen 8 questions.  

ROA in every Riview issue credits"Riviera Performance" as another forum and discussion group for readers/viewers to seek out and explore. Riview Q&A page (compiled by the late great Phil Cooley (RIP ) usually, if not always gleans something from RP to share with readers. I've enjoyed and continue to enjoy every aspect of Riviera ownership and am thankful for all the folks I've met and who have helped me maximize my Riviera ownership experience from all forum, associations, clubs and car show arenas. It's all good and it's great to be a part of this Riviera glue that has bonded (to varying degrees) all of us together!! RP is still home, but I'm glad there's other venues out there. Nuff said, we now return to our ongoing emoticons

PS: If you haven't already done so,,, Order your (only Riviera dedicated) Calendar NOW.   Hey Darell, Hey Ed, throw RP's calendar link in the next few Riview "classifieds"  for ROA members to consider purchasing, since ROA isn't publishing/selling their own any more.

Sounds like I'm wayyyy too crude and rough around the edges to be on the ROA website. Right now, I'm putting a Steering Gear in an Acadia, listening to Five Finger Death Punch Most of the people here can deal with me I could probably help a ton when it comes to technical concerns (I'm a tech at a Buick-GMC dealer), but I doubt people of the ROA could handle my bluntness. I might go and check out the site....

Not that anything I just babbled matters. I'm just sayin. I love caffeine....

Ignore me

I keep meaning to re-join ROA. I was a member in the 90s when I had the 63, but let the membership lapse.

I attended the national meet in Lake Tahoe and had a great time, and would go again if given the chance.

I agree about most of the points made, and I think as time passes and the 8th generation cars become (have become) considered classics we'll see the communities come together more and more.

Al

My wife and I were on vacation in Florida and another ROA member spotted my Tag. He waited by my car just to meet us (we were inside having a lengthy breakfast). Nice guy.

That was worth $30 alone. I need to re-up at ROA as well.

This site (Riv Performance) is not replaceable. Great advice from people who don't feel the need to be condescending like a lot of sites with a veteran membership. (no site in particular, I'm sure everyone knows what I mean)

Old thread ....

Who says RivPerformance doesn't publish?? Looking at some of these fabulous write-ups I'd say you're producing some extremely informative publishing.

Thanks to everyone that has contributed so folks like me can learn.