Most of the time, heavy-duty towing is done with tandem wheels. If not, they add weight. Since this 1971 Buick Electra 225 was a failed General Motors prototype left behind, some say it may have one. On the other hand, that third axle could have been added as part of a trial by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to cut down on the cost of keeping roads in good shape. In Fleetwood, Pennsylvania, a strange Buick is for sale all of a sudden on Facebook Marketplace. It would have had the best specs then, with a solid three-speed TH400 automatic gearbox and a big-block V8 with 455 cubic inches (7.5 liters) of power. We are interested in its attractive tandem-axle design in the back, which is said to rise and fall mechanically. Tag axles are often used on heavy cars to spread the weight of hauling huge loads over more tires. This Buick was a prototype for pulling with two axles for a long time, but GM saved it from being crushed. So said a comment on a September 2013 Bring a Trailer blog post that showed a Craigslist ad for a car in Pennsylvania. User Kevin Preston wrote that he had talked to the seller, who said he used to sell Cadillacs and had bought the car in California in 1986. The vehicle was designed by GM and built by a body shop that was given a complete conversion kit, according to the seller’s papers. They also said they knew about a case that a woman in California was holding. But a whole new story came to light when the car was put up for sale on Facebook last week. The current seller agreed, but he didn’t believe the old story. He said the Buick was built in 1972 with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation money. During the winter, tires with spikes may have broken up asphalt as they slid over the road, making PennDOT’s repair needs more urgent. According to sources, the DOT thought putting a third axle in the back would make the vehicle more stable on the sides, stop the wheels from spinning, and reduce road wear. No one knows what happened, but it didn’t go well if this Buick was let out into the wild. It is a strange prototype that may be the only one of its kind. It is still on the road today. Depending on who you ask, it might or might not. Someone on the V8Buick.com site said they had talked to the seller and found out the car had been in the same family for forty years. This suggests that the story may have come up in the last ten years. No one can argue that this story doesn’t add a sense of mystery to this old Buick, but you have to decide if the $100,000 price tag is worth it to own something so mysterious. It would help if you cared about the plot because a quick look online shows that you can buy a regular Electra from the period for less than $30,000—at least that third tire, whether it helps you pull or keeps you safe in the snow.
