1986 Buick Riviera “Graphic Control Center”
“GCC” installed in the 7th generation Riviera
The seventh-generation Buick Riviera, a personal coupe that debuted in 1986, was equipped with a “Graphics Control Center,” which was extremely advanced for its time.
For over 100 years, GM has produced a wide variety of cars, trucks, SUVs, vans, station wagons, and even buses, and Retro Ride will shine a spotlight on some of the greatest design, engineering, and technology ideas from GM’s past.
The 1986 Riviera, the seventh-generation model from Buick’s division, featured a cutting-edge feature: a touchscreen “Graphic Control Center” (GCC) in the center of the console. The GCC, with its nine-inch monitor, displayed green text and small virtual buttons and sliders on a black screen, looking like something straight out of a sci-fi movie or a NASA workstation.
The GCC was equipped with radio (including graphic equalizer), climate control, trip computer, tachometer, brake and powertrain diagnostics, a calendar, maintenance reminders, and a “semi-secret service mode” that allowed mechanics to diagnose vehicle problems.
“GCC” was too early in the 1980s
The GCC, with its complicated controls, was not a popular feature for the Riviera. GM continued to develop the Electronic Control Center and Visual Information Center, but it was still ahead of its time.
Unfortunately, the GCC was short-lived and never a popular feature. GM’s attempts at touchscreens ended within a few years, despite the introduction of the Electronic Control Center in the 1988 Buick Reatta and the color-screen Visual Information Center in the 1989 Oldsmobile Toronado Trofeo.
Due to their clutter and small on-screen buttons, early touchscreens confused the average user and made them difficult to operate while driving. A magazine reviewer at the time described the Riviera GCC as “turning a trip to the 7-Eleven into space travel.”
But this was 1986. The original Nintendo (NES: Family Computer) was released in the US in 1985. At the time, less than 10% of American households owned a personal computer. GCC was decades ahead of its time. Touchscreens didn’t become widely adopted on devices until Apple released the iPhone in 2007. Apple released the iPad in 2010, and modern LCD touchscreens didn’t become widely adopted in automobiles until the early 2010s. GCC was 25 years ahead of its time.
The 1986 Riviera was just a minor footnote in the story of a storied nameplate: the personal car named after the legendary Mediterranean resort of the French Riviera debuted in 1949 as a hardtop version of the Buick Roadmaster.
The Riviera’s long history came to an end in 1999. The 1986 Riviera was an early sign of the future of touchscreens and modern computerized automobiles.
