The Black Diamond Award Certificates can be customized with the winning cars' GNregistry ID noted on the Certificate itself; alternatively, the "standard" certificate may be chosen. The standard certificates contain striking photos of Turbo Buicks in action. The window stickers are equally striking and signify that the particular car is one of the exclusive and prestigious Turbo Buick Black Diamond Award cars.

     General qualifying information and details regarding the Black Diamond Awards in each of the seven award classes are presented in the following section.

     Black Diamond Awards designated by “XHP” will be granted based primarily on high performance in competition in ¼-mile nationally recognized events, in which the vehicle must have achieved ¼-mile elapsed time of less than 11.00 seconds. In addition the Black Diamond Awardees in this group will symbolize the Buick “Fast with Class” traditions. Thus, these high performance cars must also meet certain standards of consistency, safety and overall appearance. Each award in this and in the other classes will be maintained in GNregistry’s database, which will include the track certified times and speed for the car in a competition 1/4 mile run.

     These awards can be presented to GNregistry member cars of which documents have been presented that support the claimed performance goals, and of which proof is presented that the vehicles overall condition regarding safety is consistent with this performance (i.e., the sanctioning body’s recommended modifications, such as roll bars/cages, etc. must have been met). In addition, the vehicle’s appearance status must also be acceptable although the standards for the latter may not be as demanding as those in other Black Diamond Award categories. The date and circumstances of each award will be maintained in GNregistry’s database.

     A hypothetical example of use of the BDA notation system to identify a car that has achieved the Ultra High Performance Black Diamond Award would be the following: BTR00131B.XHP.04. This would mean that GNregistry ID number 131A (for the sake of this example), has received a Black Diamond Award for achieving a ¼-mile acceleration run in a competition event of an elapsed time (ET) of less than 11.00 seconds, in the year 2004. This ID will be listed on the Awards’ Page as BDA number: BGN00131B.XHP.04.

     Black Diamond Awards designated by “UHP” will be granted based primarily on high performance in competition in ¼-mile nationally recognized events, in which the vehicle must have achieved ¼-mile elapsed time of less than 12.00 seconds and greater than 10.99 seconds (in other words, “in the 11’s”). The Awardees in this group will also symbolize the Buick “Fast with Class” traditions in that these cars must meet high standards of reliability, consistency, safety and overall appearance, in order to qualify for these awards. Each award in this and in the other classes will be maintained in GNregistry’s database, which will include the track certified times and speed for the car in a competition 1/4 run.

     These awards can be presented to GNregistry member cars of which documents have been presented that support the claimed performance goals, and of which proof is presented that the vehicles overall condition regarding safety is consistent with this performance (i.e., the sanctioning body’s recommended modifications, such as roll bars/cages, etc. must have been met). In addition, the vehicle’s appearance status must also be acceptable. The standards for the latter may not be as demanding as are those in other Black Diamond Award categories.

     A hypothetical example of use of the BDA notation system to identify a car that has achieved the Ultra High Performance Black Diamond Award in GNregistry’s database and public listings, would be the following: BTR00231B.UHP.04. This would mean that GNregistry ID number 231B (for the sake of this example), has received a Black Diamond Award for achieving a ¼-mile acceleration run in a competition event of an elapsed time (ET) of less than 12.00 seconds, in the year 2004. This ID will be listed on the Awards’ Page as BDA number: BGN00231B.UHP.04.

     Black Diamond Awards designated by “SHP” will be granted based primarily on high performance in competition in ¼-mile nationally recognized events, in which the vehicle must have achieved ¼-mile elapsed time of less than 13. 00 seconds and greater than 11.99 seconds (or “…in the 12’s”). The Black Diamond Awardees in this group will also symbolize the Buick “Fast with Class” traditions. In addition to their documented time slips, the VHP Award cars must meet certain standards of reliability, consistency, safety and overall appearance. Each award will be maintained in GNregistry’s database, which will include the track certified times and speed for the car in a competition 1/4 mile run. 

    The VHP awards will be presented to GNregistry cars of which documents have been presented that support the claimed performance goals, and in which proof is presented that the vehicles overall condition regarding safety is consistent with this performance (i.e., the sanctioning body’s recommended modifications, such as roll bars/cages, etc. must have been met). In addition, the vehicle’s appearance status must demonstrate that it has continuously received a high level of care and maintenance. The standards for the appearance may be more demanding than that of the XHP and UHP vehicles, but perhaps not as demanding as cars in the following Award categories which follow.

     An example of use of the BDA notation system to identify a hypothetical car that has achieved the Super High Performance award would be the following: BGN00331B.SHP.04. This would mean that GNregistry Grand National ID number 331B (for the sake of this example) has received a Black Diamond Award for achieving a ¼-mile acceleration run in a competition event of an elapsed time (ET) of less than 14.00 seconds, in the year 2004. This award will be listed on the Award’s Page as: BGN00331B.SHP.04.

     Black Diamond Awards designated by “VHP” will be granted based primarily on high performance in competition in ¼-mile nationally recognized events, in which the vehicle must have achieved ¼-mile elapsed time of less than 14. 00 seconds and greater than 12.99 seconds (or “…13 second cars”). The Black Diamond Awardees in this group will also symbolize the Buick “Fast with Class” traditions. In addition to their documented time slips, the VHP Award cars must meet certain standards of reliability, consistency, safety and overall appearance.Each award will be maintained in GNregistry’s database, which will include the track certified times and speed for the car in a competition 1/4 run.

     The VHP awards will be presented to GNregistry cars of which documents have been presented that support the claimed performance goals, and in which proof is presented that the vehicles overall condition regarding safety is consistent with this performance (i.e., the sanctioning body’s recommended modifications, such as roll bars/cages, etc. must have been met). In addition, the vehicle’s appearance status must demonstrate that it has continuously received a high level of care and maintenance. The standards for the appearance may be more demanding than that of the XHP, UHP and SHP vehicles, but perhaps not as demanding as cars in the following Award categories which follow.

     An example of use of the BDA notation system to identify a hypothetical car that has achieved the Very High Performance award would be the following: BGN00431B.VHP.04. This would mean that GNregistry Grand National ID number 431B (for the sake of this example) has received a Black Diamond Award for achieving a ¼-mile acceleration run in a competition event of an elapsed time (ET) of less than 14.00 seconds, in the year 2004. This award will be listed on the Award’s Page as: BGN00431B.VHP.04.

     Awards designated by “SSS” will be granted based on the general concept of modified street cars, in other words, the “show and go” type of vehicle. These cars must have a current certified ¼-mile track certified time slip that is less than 15.00 seconds and greater than 13.99 seconds (or “…14 second cars”). But, of at least equal importance in the judging of the Show Class will be the overall appearance and condition of the vehicle. In this respect, these cars will be judged to standards of quality of appearance that are much more stringent than the standards in the higher performance classes. The general visual appeal of the Show cars will be very strongly considered.

     The major differences in this class vs. the FSS cars (Factory Stock Show) is that a wide range of performance and appearance modifications are allowed for the Show cars, including various types of wheel and tire combinations; these cars will be permitted a wide latitude here. The key judging quality will be how well the performance and appearance modifications contribute to an overall enhancement of the vehicle’s performance, appearance, and overall drivability -- including handling, stopping, and vehicle stability.

     A hypothetical example of use of the BDA notation system to identify a car that has achieved the Super Street and Strip Black Diamond Award in the year 2004, would be the following: BTR00531B.SSS.04. This same notation will be listed on the Award’s Page.

     Black Diamond Awards designated as “FSS” will be granted for vehicles in superior overall factory stock condition, in other words cars that are either original, un-restored examples, or cars that have been accurately restored to new stock condition. Whether original or restored, these vehicles must meet highly demanding criteria for superior overall condition and appearance of body and frame, paint, interior, engine and drive train; these cars must also possess factory wheels as well as tires that are the same as or close to those issued by the factory, either base or optional (e.g., the 16” GNX wheel will be considered a factory option here for all Turbo Regals). A few minor modifications may be acceptable (such as a low restriction air filter in the stock canister, and a 2.5 inch factory styled, stainless steel exhaust system, with a functional catalytic converter).

     A hypothetical example of the BDA notation system to identify a car that has achieved this award would be the following: BGN00001A.FSS.04. This would mean that GNregistry ID number 001A (for the sake of this example), has received a Black Diamond Award for presenting a car in superior Factory Stock condition in the year 2004. There will be no limit on the number of cars that may achieve this, or any other category, of Black Diamond Awards in any given year, and every award will be recorded and maintained in GNregistry’s database.