Buickis a luxury brand of General Motors (GM).[1] Buick models are sold in the United States, Canada, Mexico, China, Taiwan, and Israel, with China being its largest market. Buick holds the distinction as the oldest active American make. Many current Buick models are shared with other GM brands and global subsidiaries.

 

History

Buick is currently the oldest still-active American automotive make, and among the oldest automobile brands in the world. It originated as the Buick Auto-Vim and Power Company in 1899, an independent internal combustion engine and motor-car manufacturer, and was later incorporated as the Buick Motor Company on May 19, 1903, by Scottish born David Dunbar Buick in Detroit, Michigan. Later that year, the struggling company was taken over by James H. Whiting (1842–1919), who moved it to his hometown of Flint, Michigan, and brought in William C. Durant in 1904 to manage his new acquisition. Buick sold his stock for a small sum upon departure, and died in modest circumstances 25 years later.

 

Buick in the early years 

Between 1899 and 1902, two prototype vehicles were built[3] in Detroit, Michigan by Walter Lorenzo Marr. Some documentation exists of the 1901 or 1902 prototype with tillersteering[4] similar to the Oldsmobile Curved Dash. In mid-1904, another prototype was constructed for an endurance run, which convinced James H. Whiting to authorize production of the first models offered to the public.[5] The architecture of this prototype was the basis for the Model B.

 

The first Buick made for sale, the 1904 Model B, was built in Flint, Michigan.[6] There were 37 Buicks made that year, none of which survived. There are, however, two replicas in existence: the 1904 endurance car, at the Buick Gallery & Research Center in Flint, and a Model B assembled by an enthusiast in California for the division's 100th anniversary.[7][8] Both of these vehicles use various parts from Buicks of that early era, as well as fabricated parts. These vehicles were each constructed with the two known surviving 1904 engines. Buicks were first built to replicate the living room in a moving automobile, and were nicknamed the "moving couch of America".

 

The power train and chassis architecture introduced on the Model B was continued through the 1909 Model F.[9] The early success of Buick is attributed in part to the valve-in-head, or overhead valve (OHV), engine[10] patented by Eugene Richard and developed by David Dunbar Buick. The Model F had a two-cylinder engine, an 87 inch wheelbase and weighed 1,800 lbs. The creation of General Motors is attributed in part to the success of Buick, so it can be said Marr and Richard's designs directly led to GM.

 

The basic design of the 1904 Buick was optimally engineered even by today's standards. The flat-twin engine is inherently balanced, with torque presented to the chassis in a longitudinal manner, actually cancelling front end lift, rather than producing undesirable lateral motion. The engine was mounted amidships, now considered the optimal location.

 

Durant was a natural promoter, and Buick soon became the largest car maker in America. Using the profits from this, Durant embarked on a series of corporate acquisitions, calling the new megacorporation General Motors. At first, the manufacturers comprising General Motors competed against each other, but Durant ended that. He wanted each General Motors division to target one class of buyer, and in his new scheme, Buick was near the top — only the Cadillac brand had more prestige. Buick occupies this position to this day in the General Motors lineup. The ideal Buick customer is comfortably well off, possibly not quite rich enough to afford a Cadillac, nor desiring the ostentation of one, but definitely in the market for a car above the norm.

 

At first, Buick followed the likes of Napier in automobile racing, winning the first-ever race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

 

In 1911, Buick introduced its first closed-body car,[16] four years ahead of Ford. In 1929, as part of General Motors' companion make program, Buick Motor Division launched the Marquette sister brand, designed to bridge the price gap between Buick and Oldsmobile; however, Marquette was discontinued in 1930. Buick debuted two major achievements for the 1931 model year, the OHVBuick Straight-8 engine and a synchromesh transmission in all models but the Series 50. The Eight was offered in three displacements, the 220 cubic inch (bore 2 7/8 in. stroke 4.25 in.), was available in the Series 50 with 77 brake HP. The Series 60 engine was a 272 cu. in. unit (bore 3 1/16 in., stroke 5 in.) giving 90 brake HP. The Series 80 and Series 90 used a 344 cu. in. version (bore 3 5/16 in., stroke 5 in.) for 104 brake HP. Automatic vacuum-operated spark advance was another new feature replacing the steering column mounted spark lever although an emergency lever was now dash mounted. Buick scored another first in 1939, when it became the first company to introduce turn signals.[18] All 1939 models also had a steering column mounted shift lever.

 

In the 1930s Buicks were popular with the British royal family, particularly Edward VIII.[19][20] He imported and used a Canadian built McLaughlin-Buick that were GMs top brand in Canada, Cadillac not having caught on there.[21] George VI used one for a coast to coast royal tour of Canada in 1939.

 

Post World War II years

Overall domestic sales of the Buick brand peaked in 1984,[23] with a broad model line ranging from compacts to large cars, including performance-oriented turbocharged models. Buick's hero car of the 1980s was the Regal Grand National, a midsizecoupe with a turbocharged 3.8 V6, and one of the fastest production cars of the decade.

The number of Buick models in the lineup fell over time, with the compact and performance segments being abandoned altogether. However, Buick maintained their traditional Century, Regal, LeSabre, and Park Avenue sedan lines. By the 2000s, Buick had a staid image, while not directly competing with import luxury makes. In 2001, Buick introduced its first SUV, the Rendezvouscrossover, while golf star Tiger Woods became its spokesperson.

 

The Buick Centieme crossover concept car commemorated Buick Motor Division's 100th anniversary.

Buick began consolidating its lineup in 2005, eventually reducing its line to just three models with new nameplates: the 2005 LaCrosse/Allure, the 2006 Lucerne, and the successful 2008 Enclave. While total sales slipped, the profitability of this model line ensured Buick's future within General Motors.

 

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 SaturnAura, but instead became the new Buick Regal.

 

In January 2009, Buick unveiled the new 2010 LaCrosse sedan, an all new styling direction which included traditional Buick cues. The market responded to the LaCrosse, with reviews favorably comparing it to the Lexus ES. For 2011, Buick followed up by re-introducing the Regal sedan, a smaller model based on the European Opel Insignia. The Regal will offer a GS sport package and is the first Buick in almost 20 years to be offered with a manual transmission and a turbocharger.

 

In June 2011, the Lucerne full-size luxury sedan was discontinued after six years in production. Several months later, the all-new 2012 Verano compact sedan was added and the performance-oriented Regal GS officially joined the lineup as well. Meanwhile, sales of the Enclave crossover remained strong.

 

A GM company spokesman said that Buick is positioned as a "premium" marque (entry-level luxury) to compete with Acura, Lexus, and Volvo, while Cadillac is supposed to be aimed at the "luxury" performance segment which includes BMW and Mercedes-Benz. While both the LaCrosse and Regal share the Epsilon II platform, the larger LaCrosse is more luxury oriented and will face off against the Lexus ES350 and Acura TL, while the Regal's rivals will include the Acura TSX and Volkswagen CC.

 

In the 2009 J.D. Power and Associates Vehicle Dependability Study, Buick tied with Jaguar as the most dependable brand in the United States.Buick became the fastest growing automotive brand in 2010, attracting a younger customer demographic.

 

As of 2012, Buick's North American lineup consists of the newly introduced Verano entry-level compact sedan, the Regal mid-size luxury/sports sedan, the LaCrosse mid-size luxury sedan, and the Enclave full-size luxury crossover. Buick plans to launch the Encore, a new mini crossover vehicle, later in the year as a 2013 model.

 

Distinguishing features

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. Usurped by the Buick Hawk in the 1970s, the trishield reemerged in the 1980s, simplified, but with its same patriotic colors. Today, again representing the trio of vehicles in the Buick marque, the trishield enjoys its even more distilled—and emboldened—monochrome form.

 

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. Combined with the bombsight mascot (introduced in 1946), VentiPorts put the driver at the controls of an imaginary fighter airplane. The flashing light feature was not used by Buick in production, but VentiPorts remained as nonfunctional ornamentation.

 

They were called VentiPorts because the 1949 sales brochure noted that VentiPorts helped ventilate the engine compartment. The suggestion was made that they allowed air flow out of the engine bay. Air entered from the grill into the engine bay and was pressurized by the radiator fan, and exited through the VentiPorts. And possibly that was true in early 1949, but sometime during the model year they became plugged. VentiPorts have appeared sporadically on several models since and are currently featured on three of the four current Buick models.

 

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 dramatic differences in engine length than on V8s, the Buick Roadmaster (which was the only model at this time with the larger engine) needed a longer chassis in front of the cowl to accommodate the larger engine. Thus an extra VentiPort also corresponded directly to the necessary extra length in front. After the more compact V8 replaced the straight-eight engine in 1953 this difference in chassis length was no longer needed. Nevertheless, the convention remained. 

 

Consequently, when the Buick Century, which shared the Buick Special's smaller body, was reintroduced in 1954, it also received four VentiPorts to denote its engine's greater displacement. However, in 1955, the Buick Super, which shared Roadmaster's larger body, was promoted from three to four VentiPorts despite having the smaller displacement engine. In turn, the Buick Invicta which took the place of the Buick Century in 1959, and consequently had the smaller body with the larger displacement engine, was demoted from four to three VentiPorts on introduction. Thus the number of VentiPorts came to denote body size rather than engine size. VentiPorts appeared on all Buicks from 1949 through 1957, and on most Buicks (notable exceptions include the Buick Wildcat, the Buick Riviera and the Buick Centurion) from 1960 through 1981.

 

In 2003 VentiPorts were re-introduced on the Buick Park Avenue. After the Park Avenue was discontinued, Buick salvaged the VentiPorts to appear on the new-for-2006 Lucerne. Consistent with the tradition that held from 1949 through 1954, the Lucerne's VentiPorts refer directly to engine size: V6 models have three on each side, while V8s have four on each side.

 

Modern and edgy compared to the oval ones that adorned Buicks for years, the new VentiPorts have become a Buick-wide talisman again and are currently featured in one form or another on the Lucerne, the popular Enclave and, for 2010, along the inner hood ridges of the redesigned LaCrosse.

 

Sweepspear

Another styling cue from 1940s through the 1970s was the Sweepspear, a curved line running the length of the car. Introduced on the 1949 Buick RoadmasterRivierahardtop coupe as an optional feature, the Sweepspear was a chrome-plated or stainless steel rub strip which, after it passed the front wheel, gently curved down nearly to the rocker panel just before the rear wheel, and then curved around the rear wheel in a quarter of a circle to go straight back to the tail-light. The "Riviera trim", as it was initially called, was also made available on the Roadmaster convertible very late in the model year. It proved so popular that by the 1951 model year it was made a standard feature on all Buicks. During the two-tone color craze of the 1950s, the sweepspear separated two different color areas. After that, the curved line was usually indicated either by a vinyl rub strip or simply a character line molded into the sheetmetal as hinted in the 2008 Invicta concept car and 2010 LaCrosse/Allure production car.

 

Delta Fin

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. This Buick was nicknamed "the king of chrome" and had rear tailfins reminiscent of a rocket ship. In 1959, Buick had the aerodynamic Delta Fin. The fin made parking difficult and blocked the driver's line of vision. In 1960, the fin was snubbed down and disappeared in 1961, although vestiges of it reappeared in the 2000-2005 LeSabre line with its upswept sides.

 

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. Since then, wide taillamps have been a Buick hallmark.

 

Classic Grille Styling

The Buick styling cue (dating from the 1940s) 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". The 1951 model reined in the theme, bringing the teeth back behind the bumper. Current Buick Models have a new take on the classic styling with their Chromed "Waterfall Grilles".

 

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.

 

By 1967, Buick was making quiet history with more conventional V8s that had abandoned the "nailhead" design but made much greater power. For the 1967 model year, Buick renamed its "Gran Sport" performance models (not to be confused with the Chevrolet "Super Sport" cars) as "GS" models. In 1970 this was headed up by the powerful GS455 Stage 1, so named for its 455 cu in (7.5 L) engine, with its high performance "Stage 1" package. Built on the same "A-body" platform as the Chevelle, Cutlass/442, and LeMans/GTO, the GS cars were performance based vehicles spawned from Buick's Skylark line, and shared all of the A-Body GM offering's tendency for good looks. Both hardtop and convertible "GS" models were offered.

 

GSX

Midway through that year, Buick debuted its GSX model, which was an appearance package rivaling that of the GTO "Judge". GSX colors ran the spectrum that year, if that range included just yellow and white. Subsequent GSX models offered a variety of colors to go with the GSX signature hood blackout treatment and the swept wide pin striping vaguely reminiscent of the famous Buick "sweepspear". GSX models could be ordered with 350, 455, or 455 Stage 1 engines, and were outfitted with the usual GS options such as dual hood scoop hood with functioning "ram-air" intake, and dual exhaust. Horsepower ratings for the Stage 1 455s were a relatively mild 360 hp (or 370 depending on sources), but featured 510 lb•ft (690 N•m) of torque at 2200 rpm, good to propel the relatively weighty GS455 Stage 1 equipped cars to quarter-mile times of under 13.4 seconds. Buick halted GSX production after the 1972 model year.

 

The prototype GSX survived the show circuit, and was a fully functioning car that beat the odds to survive not only the usual showcar life of "construction-display-destruction", but also the life of an ordinary car, as it was sold from a dealership after being on display for some time. The car survives to this day, is restored to its original condition, licensed and ready to hit the road.

 

The GSX nameplate was revived as an appearance package available on the 1974 Buick Apollo. A total of 1500 vehicles with this package were built, and were offered with either a Chevrolet 250 c.i. L6 or Buick 350 c.i. V8 engine.

 

America’s oldest automobile brand still in production, the Buick Motor Company was formed in 1903 by David Dunbar Buick in Detroit, Michigan. Early success led to the formation of a sizable conglomerate thanks to the acquisition of several Buick competitors, with the new enterprise aptly named General Motors. Buick has been a premier GM brand throughout the history of the company, something that continues to the present day.

 

Buick aims to occupy a somewhat upscale market segment, drivers who want an automobile that feels luxuriant without too much overt ostentation at an affordable price point. Corporate consolidation as well as market forces have led to the elimination in North America of many previously marquee brands, such as the Park Avenue and the Century, since sales were becoming increasingly sluggish as younger buyers considered them “old-fashioned.” However, because of styling that appeals to the “near luxury” automobile market, international sales have proven to be far more successful. China alone boasts of nearly 35% of worldwide Buick sales, attracting newly affluent young urban drivers looking for an affordable yet upscale automobile.

 

The corporate retooling of General Motors as well as the international success of newer models has let Buick shed its stodgy image in North American markets, clearing the way for growth in younger demographics.