Somerset

Buick’s compact N-body coupe arrived for the 1985 model year under the Somerset Regal name, then was shortened to Somerset for 1986 and 1987 before Buick dropped the name in favor of Skylark for 1988. It was Buick’s answer to the front-wheel-drive compact personal coupe trend of the mid-1980s, combining a more upscale appearance with the efficient packaging of GM’s new N-body platform. The car sat in an unusual spot in Buick’s lineup: sporty enough to appeal to younger buyers, but still styled and trimmed to fit Buick’s traditional emphasis on refinement. Early cars and later examples are closely related, but the 1986–1987 Somerset is the distinct nameplate most enthusiasts remember. In that brief run, Buick offered the car as a two-door coupe with trim variations such as Custom and Limited, and the nameplate became a short-lived but memorable bridge between the Skylark coupe it replaced and the later Skylark-branded compact Buicks that followed.