Bobbi and I were having a late lunch at Twenty Tap back in July of 2021 when this Fire Red '70 Buick LeSabre ragtop rolled past. Fortunately I was able to stand up and grab a shot before the light turned green. I had the EF-S 18-135mm IS travel zoom on the Canon EOS Rebel T1i, and that let me take a shot that didn't require trying to crop a bunch of diners out of the picture.
The LeSabre nameplate denoted the most basic of Buick's full-size cars, originally beneath the Invicta and Electra. The Invicta eventually got subsumed by the Wildcat (which was in turn replaced in '71 by the Centurion.) Now that I know to look for the "Sweepspear" on Buicks, I can't not see it.
Also note the three vestigial chrome "Ventiports" on the fender behind the front wheel well. If it were the more upmarket Electra, it would have had four.
The base engine would have been a 260bhp 350 with a 2bbl carburetor. There were two optional 4bbl 350s; a low-compression one that would run on regular gas that was rated at 280 SAE gross horsepower, and a premium-fuel-only 10.25:1 compression version rated at 315. Top of the line was the then-new 370bhp Buick 455cid V-8, which was also a high-compression engine that required premium gas. The dual exhausts on this car mean it's most likely either the 455 or the higher output 350.
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