1995 Buick Roadmaster Big car, big value By Professional Test Driver, New Car Test Drive .com

Do rear-wheel-drive behemoths such as this really have a place in today's world?

Buick obviously thinks so, but it's hard to ignore the steadily thinning ranks of the traditional American full-size sedan. Big, heavy and ponderous cars like this are perceived as dinosaurs by some, while others reject them for not making the right fashion statement.

After all, to many, an important part of the new-car buying process is what the car is going to say about us.

Viewed from that perspective, the Roadmaster seems to be rooted firmly in a bygone era, with a collection of attributes that don't apply to 1995.

But let's take a harder look at that. What are some of the key elements of today's luxury cars? Power, of course. That's always near the top of the list. Lots of room inside. Lots of power-operated amenities.

A premium sound system. Smooth ride quality. Quiet operation. So far, we have a list that applies to the Buick Roadmaster.

True, it doesn't measure up to the handling standards of a big BMW or the Lexus LS 400, but think about this: You get all the other amenities for $20,000 less.

And if that's not quite enough to completely dispel your nagging image concerns, you can always get rid of the white sidewall tires.