The Riviera was introduced in 1963 under the Buick brand, owned by General Motors. Buick Rivieras were made in the United States from 1963 to 1997, although a concept Riviera coupe was featured in auto shows in 2007 and 2008.

The name Riviera was used to describe specific models of other cars, such as the Roadmaster coupe. By 1963, however, the Buick Riviera became a model on its own. 

Early Rivieras, made between 1963 and 1965, have distinct bodyshells that were not used with other General Motors car models at the time. As with other models under the same brand, the Riviera had the common Buick V8 engine.

The 1963 to 1965 models have a wheelbase of 117 inches and are 208 inches long, making the cars shorter than a LeSabre but a bit longer than a modern Thunderbird. At just under 4,000 pounds, the Riviera was nearly 400 pounds lighter than the LeSabre at the time.

The early models had power steering, power brakes, a dual exhaust and an automatic transmission. A Buick Riviera seated four people, with two bucket seats in the front separated by a console and bucket-style seats in the back.

Buyers had their choice of interiors with the early models, with cloth and vinyl, vinyl only and leather available, although Buick would discontinue the leather choice in 1964.

The base price, without any options, was $4,333 and the first production run was limited to 40,000 cars only to increase demand. Between 1963 and 1965, Buick would sell 112,244 Riviera models.

The Buick Riviera was redesigned for its second generation run, from 1966 to 1970. These models had wider, longer bodies and shared their bodyshells with the Cadillac Eldorado and the Oldsmobile Toronado. The Riviera lost the vent windows and gained about 200 pounds in weight, but became a conventional six-passenger car.

Buick would continue to make minor changes to the Riviera through 1970. In 1971, the next generation of models was introduced. These models had "boat-tail" styling and weighed around 120 pounds more than the second generation models. 

Over the years, the Riviera would decrease in size and in engine power, with only a V6 available for models made in 1986 or later. A steep decline in demand for the Riviera would end its production in the United States in November of 1998.