One Sweet Ride
/The research for Murder on the Steel Pier, the first of my upcoming series, has taken me down some amazing and fascinating rabbit holes. When I decided to give my main character the car pictured here, a 1940s Buick Roadmaster, I scoured YouTube for video of that particular car.
In my search, I stumbled across a video by Nick Ernst of Classic Nation, a channel devoted to vintage cars. Nick just happened to be waiting for the arrival of the same Buick Roadmaster my character drives. While the video was helpful—and exciting to watch—I had so many questions about what driving such a car would be like. I reached out to Nick and sent him a bunch of questions, which he answered in great detail. Here’s what he had to say about the car’s engine:
What is unique about these old Buicks is the configuration of the engine. Most 8 cylinder engines today are configured in an V pattern (called a v8) which has many advantages, and inherent characteristics pertaining to performance and sound. The old inline 8 cylinder engines in these Buicks were known for being very "smooth" and powerful, and their sound is unique. They don’t have the deep rumble associated with a V8, rather they have a more mellow tone, with a more steady note. I've come to really enjoy how a Buick sounds and feels.
And thanks to Nick, this writer now has a much better idea of what it’s like for her character to own such a beauty.
