Buick

History

Early years

Buick is one of the oldest automobile brands in the world and is currently the oldest in the United States still active today. Autocar, founded in 1897, is the oldest motor vehicle manufacturer in the Western Hemisphere; while originally an automobile maker, Autocar now builds heavy trucks. Oldsmobile, also an early automaker founded in 1897, is now defunct; Studebaker was founded in 1852, but did not begin producing automobiles until 1902; Henry Ford produced his first car in 1896 but did not start the Ford Motor Company until 1903, and during the period in between was involved with other automobile manufacturers such as Cadillac, founded in 1902.

The first two Buick automobiles were made in 1899 and 1900 at the "Buick Auto-Vim and Power Company" by chief engineer Walter Marr, but company owner David Dunbar Buick was reluctant to begin making automobiles, being satisfied with stationary and marine engine production, so Marr left Buick in 1901 to found his own automobile company under his own name. His replacement was Eugene Richard, who applied for a patent in 1902 for Marr's valve-in-head (overhead valve) engine, which patent, number 771,095, was awarded to Richard in the name of Buick in 1904. In 1903, the third Buick automobile was made, this time by Richard, but in 1904 Buick, whose company was now called "Buick Motor Company", moved from Detroit to Flint, Michigan, and Richard stayed behind. Marr was rehired in Flint as chief engineer, to begin making automobiles in production. That year, 37 Buick automobiles were made, production increasing to 750 in 1905, 1,400 in 1906, 4,641 in 1907, and 8,820 in 1908, taking the number one spot away from close competitors Ford, Maxwell and Olds Motor Works. Buick proclaimed themselves the largest car manufacturer in the world this year.

David Buick incorporated his company as the Buick Motor Company on May 19, 1903, in Detroit, Michigan. Buick had been financed by a friend and fellow automobile enthusiast, Benjamin Briscoe, who in September 1903 sold control of the business to James H. Whiting, of Flint Wagon Works, in Flint, Michigan. Whiting moved Buick to Flint, to a location across the street from his factory, with the idea of adding Buick's engines to his wagons. David Buick stayed on as a manager and re-hired Walter Marr as chief engineer. The engine Buick and Marr developed for this automobile was a two-cylinder valve-in-head engine of 159 cubic inches, with each cylinder horizontal and opposed to the other by 180 degrees.

Whiting built only a few automobiles in 1904, the Model B, before running out of operating capital, causing him to bring in William C. Durant that year as a controlling investor. Durant built a few more model B's in 1904, stepped up production for the model C in 1905, and spent the next four years turning Buick into the biggest-selling automobile brand in the US.

Post World War II years

1940 saw the first use of the "Estate" designation for Buick on the Super station wagon. World War II stopped automobile production in 1942. Starting that year, Buick produced the M18 Hellcat tank destroyer and supplied radial engines for the B-24 Liberator, Douglas C-47 Skytrain, and Douglas C-54 Skymaster. By the fall of 1945, automobile production resumed. In 1948, the Dynaflow automatic transmission was first offered by Buick. 1949 saw the debut of Buick's VentiPorts.

1953 marked Buick's 50th anniversary as well as the introductions of the Buick V8 engine and the Roadmaster Skylark. In 1955, Buick overtook Plymouth to become the third largest brand in vehicles sold, its best postwar result, and retained the spot for 1956, it also had its best model year sales to date with 738,814 vehicles sold; a record that would hold until 1977. In 1957, Buick's new 364 cu. in. engine block and ball joint front suspension debuted and Roadmasters now had aluminum finned brake drums. However, with the economic cooldown, in 1957 Buick fell to fourth place again. 1959 saw the introduction of three new models: Electra, Invicta and LeSabre as well as a new 401 cu. in. V8 engine in the Electra and Invicta. An Electra also paced the Indianapolis 500 race that year.

An Electra 225 paced the Daytona 500 race in both 1960 and 1963. In 1961, a new Fireball V6 engine was introduced and the Skylark nameplate returned as the top model of the new Special compact car line. The Buick Special was named Motor Trend Car of the Year in 1962. Also in 1962, Wildcat was introduced as a trim level on Invicta and became its own model the following year. In 1963 the Riviera was introduced as its own model. In the mid-1960s Buick started officially selling German-built Opel cars through its North American dealerships. For 1967, radial tires became available as an option on all full-size Buicks.

The 1970s saw a number of new models added to the Buick lineup including the Estate Wagon as its own model in 1970, Centurion in 1971, Apollo in 1973, and Skyhawk in 1975. 1975 also saw the first appearance of the "Park Avenue" nameplate for Buick as a trim/option package on the Electra 225 Limited. A Buick Century paced the Indianapolis 500 race not once but twice in the mid-1970s. In 1976, Buick began selling rebadged Isuzu Geminis as Opels to replace the Opel Kadett models it had previously marketed. The following year, Electra 225 and LeSabre were redesigned and downsized, and the Buick brand saw its best model year sales to date with 773,313 vehicles sold. 1978 marked Buick's 75th anniversary and welcomed a redesigned Century as well as a redesigned Regal coupe which was now available with a turbocharged V6 engine. Buick model year sales broke another record in 1978 with 795,316 vehicles sold. In 1979, the Riviera was redesigned; Riviera S-Type was named Motor Trend Car of the Year.

Recent years

In the 2000s, Buick's lineup was modified with the compact and performance segments being abandoned in favor of the crossover/SUV market which was growing in popularity. In 2000, Buick headed into the new millennium with a redesigned LeSabre (best-selling U.S. full-size car for eight straight years) and a more powerful Century. Since the first Detroit experimental car of 1899–1900 and the first Flint production car of 1904, more than 35 million Buicks had been built. The 2000 LeSabre was introduced in March 1999 and was now built on GM's G platform; however, GM chose to continue to refer to it as the H platform. The LeSabre was manufactured at GM's Detroit/Hamtramck Assembly factory in Hamtramck, Michigan and Lake Orion Assembly, in Lake Orion, Michigan. Some of the changes with the redesign included a new grille that did not open with the hood and slightly smaller exterior dimensions. Despite its somewhat smaller exterior size, it still offered similar interior room and more trunk space than the previous model. 2001 saw Buick's first entry into the crossover market with the introduction of the Rendezvous as a 2002 model. In 2003, the Buick Centieme crossover concept car commemorated Buick Motor Division's 100th anniversary. Some of the Centieme's exterior design and interior features would later appear on the 2008 Enclave crossover. In 2004, Buick added the Rainier mid-size SUV, and the new Terraza minivan was added a year later.

In the years following, Buick began consolidating its North American lineup and by 2008 had reduced it to just three models: the LaCrosse/Allure, the Lucerne, and the new-for-2008 Enclave. The Super name had also returned after a 50-year absence as a new performance trim level on LaCrosse and Lucerne. The brand's total overall sales slipped in the United States, and, with a reputation for primarily appealing to older buyers, rumors circulated throughout this decade that the Buick marque would be discontinued. The profitability of the model lineup and popularity in China ensured Buick's future within General Motors, with the decision being made to discontinue the Pontiac brand instead.

Since 2005, GM had gradually consolidated Buick with GMC and former Pontiac dealerships to create the current Buick-GMC network. During General Motors Chapter 11 reorganization and emergence in 2009, the company designated Buick as a "core brand", citing the division's success in China. Behind the scenes, GM began to move products originally planned for other brands to Buick. The Opel Insignia was originally intended to become the second-generation Saturn Aura, but instead became the new Buick Regal. In the 2009 J.D. Power and Associates Vehicle Dependability Study, Buick tied with Jaguar as the most dependable brand in the United States.

Leadership

David Dunbar Buick (1903–1904)

William C. Durant (1904–1910)

Charles W. Nash (1910–1916)

Walter P. Chrysler (1917–1919)

Harry H. Bassett (1919–1926)

Edward T. Strong (1927–1933)

Harlow H. Curtice (1933–1948)

Ivan L. Wiles (1948–1956)

Edward T. Ragsdale (1956–1959)

Edward D. Rollert (1959–1963)

Robert L. Kessler (1965–1970)

Lee N.Mays (1970–1972)

George R. Elges (1972–1975)

David C. Collier (1975–1976)

Donald H. McPherson (1976–1980)

Lloyd Reuss (1980–1986)

Edward H. Mertz (1987–1997)

Robert E. Coletta (1998–2000)

Roger W. Adams (2000–2004)

Peter Fraleigh (2004–2005)

John Larson (2005–2007)

Steve Shannon (2008–2009)

Susan Docherty (2009)

Brian K. Sweeney (2009–2014)

Production models

Past

Buick Runabout: featured in a significant New York State legal case as a result of a wooden wheel collapsing.

Model B (1904)

Model C (1905)

Model D (1907–1908)

Model F & G (1906–1910)

Model K (1907–1908)

Model 10 (1908–1910)

Model S (1907–1908)

Model 5 (1908)

Model 14 & 14B (1910–1911)

Model 16 (1909-1910)

Model 17 (1909-1910)

Model 19 (1910)

Model 28, 29, 34, 36 & 43 (1912)

Model 35 (1912)

Model 24, 25, 30, 31 & 40 (1913)

Series B (1914)

Series C (1915)

Series D (1916–1917)

Series E (1918)

Series H (1919)

Series K (1920)

Series 21 (1921)

Series 22 (1922)

Series 23 (1923)

Series 24 (1924)

Concept cars

Buick has a long history of creating intriguing concept cars dating back to the Y-Job, the industry's first concept car, of 1938. Its most recent concept car, the Buick Electra Orbit, was unveiled in 2025.

Distinguishing features

Trishield

The Buick Trishield is rooted in the ancestral coat of arms of the automaker's founder, David Dunbar Buick. That crest was a red shield with a checkered silver and azure diagonal line from the upper left to lower right, a stag above, and a punctured cross below. The division adopted this on its radiator grilles in 1937. In 1960, the logo underwent a major overhaul. Its single shield was replaced by a trio in red, white, and blue—denoting the LeSabre, Invicta, and Electra then in the Buick lineup. It was supplanted by the Buick Hawk in the 1970s, but reemerged in simplified form in the 1980s. The Trishield became monochromatic in 2005, but the traditional colors returned in 2023.

VentiPorts

A traditional Buick styling cue dating to 1949 is a series of three or four vents on the front fender behind the front wheels. The source of this design feature was a custom car of Buick stylist Ned Nickles, which in addition had a flashing light within each hole each synchronized with a specific spark plug simulating the flames from the exhaust stack of a fighter airplane. The flashing light feature was not used by Buick in production.

They were called VentiPorts because, as the 1949 sales brochure noted, they helped ventilate the engine compartment. Air entered from the grille into the engine bay, was pressurized by the radiator fan, and exited through the VentiPorts. Later in the model year, however, they were made non-functional and from then on were solely a styling feature.

When introduced, the number of VentiPorts (three or four) denoted the size of straight-eight engine installed. Since displacement differences in straight-eight engines resulted in more significant differences in engine length than on V8s, the Roadmaster needed a longer chassis in front of the cowl to accommodate its larger engine. Thus, an extra VentiPort corresponded to that additional length. After the more compact V8 replaced the straight-eight engine in 1953 this difference in chassis length was no longer needed, but the convention remained. Consequently, when the Century, which shared the Special's smaller body, was reintroduced in 1954, it also received four VentiPorts to denote its engine's greater displacement. However, in 1955, the Super, which shared the Roadmaster's larger body, was promoted from three to four VentiPorts despite having the smaller displacement engine. The Invicta, which took the place of the Century in 1959 and had the smaller body with the larger displacement engine, had only three VentiPorts on introduction; thus the number of VentiPorts came to denote body size rather than engine size.

In 1961, Buick introduced the first V6 engine installed in an American passenger car, in the Buick Special, and three VentiPorts appeared on the side, now denoting the number of cylinders instead of displacement or body size. VentiPorts would continue to appear on some Buick models through 1981.

In 2003 VentiPorts were re-introduced on the Buick Park Avenue Ultra, and continued with its replacement, the Lucerne. Consistent with the tradition that held from 1961, the Lucerne's VentiPorts refer directly to the number of pistons: V6 models have three on each side, while V8s have four on each side.

Sweepspear

Another styling cue from the 1940s through the 1970s was the Sweepspear, a curved trim line running almost the length of the car. Introduced as an option on the 1949 Buick Roadmaster Riviera hardtop coupe, the original Sweepspear was a chrome-plated steel rub strip which began level over the front wheel, gently curved down across the front fender and door, dove nearly to the rocker panel just ahead of the rear wheel, then flared up and over the rear wheel before leveling off again into a straight run back to the tail light.

In 1942 all GM vehicles had an appearance upgrade where the trailing edge of the front fender was extended across the front doors that was called "Airfoil" accented by parallel chrome strips on the front and rear fenders on Buick vehicles. In later years the character line of the "Airfoil" feature was accented with a stainless steel strip that evolved into the Buick "Sweepspear" for several decades.

The "Riviera trim", as it was initially called, was made available on the Roadmaster convertible very late in the '49 model year. It proved so popular that by the 1951 model year, it was made a standard feature on all Buicks. On 1950s models with two-tone paint, the Sweepspear separated the two colors.

Originally stainless steel, the Sweepspear eventually became a vinyl rub strip or simple character line in the sheetmetal, as hinted in some versions of the Buick Riviera, distinct on the 1968–1969 Skylark, and appearing on the 2008 Invicta concept car. Often optional trim was available to reinforce a plain character line in the bodywork.

The 1958 Buick was marketed beginning in September 1957, just as the space age began with the launching of Sputnik I on October 4 of that year. The "Sweepspear" evolved into the "Delta Fin" reminiscent of a rocket ship, which appeared on the all-new appearance for 1959, and was trimmed down in 1960 and removed for 1961.

Taillight shapes

During the 1950s, the characteristic form of the Buick taillamps was a tier of small, circular bullet-shapes. In the early 1960s, most models began to evolve a wide, rectangular pattern, until the 1965 Skylark and Electra models appeared with full-width rear lamps.

Classic grille styling

The Buick styling cue (dating from the 1942–1958 period) that has most often reappeared, though, is for the grille to be a horizontal oval with many, thin, vertical chromed ribs bulging forward. This has sometimes been called the Buick "dollar grin", particularly on the early 1950s models, which had thick, highly polished ribs that somewhat resembled teeth. The 1950 model took this tooth theme to its extreme as the teeth crossed over the bumper exposing the 1950 "grin", which was the result of extending the bumper guards over the front bumper, and was advertised as "Front and Center with Duty plus Beauty". The 1951 model reined in the theme, bringing the bumper guard "teeth" back behind the bumper.

Waterfall grille

In recent years, Buick has adopted a waterfall grille, as seen on the Buick Velite concept car from 2004 and first used in production with the Buick Lucerne introduced for the 2006 model year. This waterfall grille bears some resemblance to grilles of Buicks from the 1980s, such as the Grand National.

Nailhead

The Buick V8 engine, nicknamed the Nailhead because of its relatively small intake and exhaust valves which resembled nails, became popular with hot-rodders in the 1950s and 1960s because the vertical attachment of the valve covers, in contrast to the angled attachment of other V8 engines, enabled the engine to fit into smaller spaces while maintaining easy access for maintenance.

Performance

In addition to premium and luxury vehicles, Buick has also been well known for its offerings of high-performance cars. Some of the better-known examples included the Gran Sport and Skylark GSX models of the 1960s and 1970s, and the Grand National and GNX models of the 1980s, with a performance package revival called T-Type.

World distribution

Asia

Buick is one of China's most popular, best-selling automobiles. In 2016, General Motors sold over 1.1 million Buicks in China. Buicks have always been popular in China. In pre-World War II China, one in five cars was a Buick. Buicks were used by the last emperor Puyi, the first president Sun Yat-sen, and the first premier Zhou Enlai.

Since 1999, a Buick Regal for China has been produced and sold by Shanghai GM and has proven to be popular among upscale, professional families, establishing Buick as one of the most popular vehicle brands in China. In addition, Buick of China sells a compact Excelle, similar to a five-door hatchback version called the HRV, and a minivan named the GL8. Many Buicks for the local market are equipped with smaller more fuel-efficient engines with double overhead camshafts, than those with overhead valves in the same nameplate for the American market.

GM Taiwan was founded in August 1989. In the early 1990s, Buick, along with other GM brands, was very popular and frequently seen on Taiwanese streets. Park Avenue, 3rd and 4th generation Regal, and 6th generation Skylark used to be sold in Taiwan. In December 2004, General Motors signed a memorandum of understanding with Yulon, a firm based in Taiwan, for the licensed manufacture of Buick vehicles there. In July 2005, Yulon GM Motor Co. Ltd. (Yulon GM), a joint venture with 51 percent equity stake held by Yulon Motor and 49 percent by GM, was founded.

In April 2010, Buick debuted a localised version of LaCrosse, named Alpheon, to the South Korean market.

Mexico

Buicks were sold in Mexico from 1921 until 1962, when a protectionist policy on behalf of the government restricted the percentage of imported parts that could be used in the manufacture of vehicles and the sale of imported cars. From then onwards, all GM products were sold by Chevrolet dealerships. In 1990, after a heavy modification to the protectionist policy of the sixties, GM started assembling the Buick Century in Mexico, at the plant in Ramos Arizpe, in the state of Coahuila, just south of Texas, and selling it through Mexican Chevrolet dealerships, so it was not uncommon for many people to call it "Chevrolet Century". In 1997, GM stopped selling Buicks in Mexico and the brand was not sold there until 2009.

With the announcement in 2009 of the elimination of the Pontiac brand, it was speculated that Buicks would be sold once again in Mexico since there was a large network of Pontiac-GMC dealerships already in place. On July 24, 2009, Grace Lieblein, the new president of GM in Mexico, revealed that the Buick brand would be available in Mexico in late September of that year, after an absence of a dozen years, with the LaCrosse and the Enclave models. Buick shared the dealership floor with Pontiac and GMC until the Pontiac brand faded away in the summer of 2010.

On March 26, 2019, Buick announced that the Mexican division will offer only crossovers (Encore, Envision, and Enclave). The La Crosse sedan, Regal hatchback, and Regal TourX station wagon were dropped from the market as those brands were expected to be discontinued due to Opel's future (under new owner Stellantis). The Insignia is tied to the North American-badged Regal and Buick's decision to make the La Crosse exclusive to China.

Middle East

In Israel, Buicks are imported by Universal Motors, Ltd. (UMI), which also imports other GM vehicles. For model years 2004 and 2005, the Buick LeSabre and Buick Rendezvous were sold. For model years 2006 and 2007, the Buick LaCrosse and Buick Lucerne were sold alongside the Rendezvous. For the 2008 model year, the Buick LaCrosse and Buick Lucerne were available. Buicks were marketed throughout the Middle East until the second-generation Buick Roadmaster was discontinued, and continued to be available in the Gulf Cooperation Council markets until 1996.

New Zealand

Buicks were once sold in New Zealand. They were also built at the GMNZ plant in Petone, outside Wellington.

Motorsport

For many years, Buick was a substitute for Chevrolet in automobile racing. Driver Phil Shafer drove a Buick to win the 1933 Elgin Trophy, considered to be the first officially organized stock car race in the United States.

No earlier than the 1960s, Buick was a competitor in the Indianapolis 500, and (like almost every other American manufacturer) also participated in the Grand National stock car racing series using its Regal and later the Gran Sport.

The golden age of Buick in motorsport, however, was early through late 1980s. General Motors entered the Regal, particularly the Grand National model, in the NASCAR Cup Series alongside the Oldsmobile Cutlass. Buick was also a major powerplant in the IndyCar Series and IMSA GT Series (particularly in the IMSA GTP class) for several years. The 1990s, however, proved to be the end of Buick's reign in motorsports, as GM replaced it for many years with Oldsmobile before phasing out that marque in 2004. Oldsmobile would be replaced by Pontiac until its demise in 2009, being replaced by Chevrolet.

Buicks were also entered in the Trans Am Series in the 1980s and 1990s using aftermarket V8 engines.

Enthusiast organizations

The Buick Club of America, founded in 1966, is a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and restoration of automobiles built by the Buick Motor Division of General Motors Corporation.