“Land yacht” is a term applied to large domestic sedans built during a bygone era when gas was cheap and creature comfort was a much bigger factor for an upscale buyer.
Buick answered the bell in the GM lineup because it offered luxury in a large package when it built the 1964 Buick Electra 225 cruise ship.
Jim Sutherland
The typical buyer was an upwardly mobile older male who was mature enough to surround himself with luxury instead of tire-melting and neck-snapping performance. Therefore, a large-and-in-charge 1964 Buick Electra 225 appealed to him in a big way from a customer’s point of view.
Turn the clock ahead 59 years when Krista Ransome began her search for a car that “was something new to drive”, in her words. Her search ended when Krista spotted a 1964 Buick Electra 225 4-door hardtop in a popular online social media buy/sell ad and was totally taken with the car.
Her idea of a new car turned out to be a classic big Buick that will be 60 years old in 2024, but Krista knew immediately that she wanted to be the owner of the ’64 Electra 225.
Krista bought the car in the spring of 2023 and “has driven it everyday and not just for a special occasion”, in her words. For the record, Krista is a young woman with children and not a typical owner of a 1964 Buick Electra 225-then or now, but she loves a car built many years before she was even born. In fact, she has even picked up her kids from school in her classic Buick, an experience that undoubtedly raises their cool factor whenever she uses the car as a kid transporter.
Krista told MyStarCollectorCar she had made a few changes in her personal life and wanted something that was totally for her in terms of ownership and personal choices. A ’64 Buick most certainly qualifies as a unique possession for a young woman from the Millennial generation.
A 1964 Buick Electra 225 left the factory with a boatload of whistles and buzzers, including power steering, power brakes, power seats, tilt steering, and air conditioning, to name a few of them. Even better, all of them still work on her ’64 Buick, according to Krista.
The car still has its original power train, namely the famous Buick 401 Nailhead big block engine, also known as the 445 to reflect its torque numbers. The engine is coupled to the Electra’s Super Turbine 3-speed automatic transmission and the combination provides plenty of power for the road.
Speaking of the road, Krista grew up in Canada and was not even born when that country switched to kilometers per hour from miles per hour in 1977, so she had to learn how to understand her car’s speedometer because it reads in miles per hour.
She was a quick study and now knows what 60 mph means on a Canadian road that lists 100 km/h.
The most important part of the equation is Krista thoroughly enjoys driving her classic Buick from a bygone era because she chose to go down that road at this point in her young life. It was a great choice in our opinion here at MyStarCollectorCar.
Jim Sutherland
BY: Jim Sutherland
Jim Sutherland is a veteran automotive writer whose work has been published by many major print and online publications. The list includes Calgary Herald, The Truth About Cars, Red Deer Advocate, RPM Magazine, Edmonton Journal, Montreal Gazette, Windsor Star, Vancouver Province, and Post Media Wheels Section.
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