The Evolution of Buick as a Historic Auto Manufacturer

It all began with David Dunbar Buick, founder of the Buick Motor Company, who was born in Scotland in 1854. His family moved to America when he was two years old, and he grew up in Detroit, Michigan. Buick’s early career began in the plumbing business, in which he stood out with his creative problem solving by inventing new processes and improved products. By his 30s, he became interested in automobiles, and in 1903 Buick had founded the company that would become the brand that is now the oldest auto manufacturer in the United States. It is this legacy that built a company that continues to manufacture quality vehicles that last for many years, and when you head to a Louisville used Buick dealer like Coyle Chevrolet Buick GMC, you know the vehicle you buy will be reliable, comfortable, and luxurious no matter what year vehicle you buy. The evolution of Buick is a fascinating tale of racing tracks, powerful engines, and even a city dedicated in its name.

Model B

Surprisingly, David Buick established two other companies before he incorporated the Buick Motor Company in 1903, though each company was dedicated to building machines. In the early years, Buick built engines for boats before coming out with the first “horseless carriage” called an automobile in 1901. This first Buick vehicle was built with an early business partner named Walter Marr, but Buick and Marr didn’t work well together, resulting in a parting of ways. Once Buick incorporated his motor company in 1903, production of the Model B Touring Cars began with a total of 37 vehicles in 1904.

Buick City

Within its first year of production, Buick vehicles caught the eye of businessman William C. Durant, who noticed how well the Buick performed in comparison to other vehicles being built at the time. Though Durant was a self-made millionaire in the carriage business, he knew quality when he saw it, calling the Model B a “self-seller.” It was through a connection to the new part-owner of Buick, James Whiting, that Durant was encouraged to consider Buick as a potential investment. He did, and by 1905 he sold over 1,000 Buicks while at an auto show in New York, which resulted in the need for borrowed capital and building a new manufacturing center in Flint, Michigan. At the time, it was the largest auto manufacturing facility in the world. Later it became part of GM and wasn’t dubbed “Buick City” until 1985, though for decades, it was the hub of all Buick production. The year GM closed the plant in 1999, Buick City received a JD Power Platinum award for plant quality.

Racing Success

Once Buick was established as the top producer of automobiles – out-selling Ford and Cadillac combined in 1908 – Durant moved toward taking Buicks to the raceway. At that time, Louis Chevrolet, whose name later became another GM brand through Durant’s influence, was a famous race car driver whose daring skills won him and his brothers an impressive number of races. Durant saw the potential in having such a name associated with the new Buick Motor Company and asked Chevrolet to race while driving a Buick. This led to Chevrolet winning several races for Buick’s reputation, including at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1909 and 1910 before it inculcated the now famous “Indianapolis 500.” The Buicks driven in these races were called Buick 60 Specials which could achieve astonishing speeds of 105 mph! Since then, Buicks have served as Indy 500 pace cars on a number of occasions.

Reliability Renowned Worldwide

In the 1920s, Buick was already known for its reliability around the world, even into Afghanistan, where a famous writer drove a Buick for the first foray of the automobile in that country. During this decade, Buick traveled across several continents to show people worldwide its prowess as a vehicle that could be counted on to last. “Reliability runs” across Russia further proved the Buick’s capability with drives from Moscow to Leningrad in the 1940s, where cars from around the world tried to beat the Buick without success.

Surviving the Depression

During the stock market crash and the resulting depression of the 1930s, it was the success of Buick’s quality vehicles that saved its umbrella company, GM, from faltering. Sloane, the president of GM starting in 1923 (the same year the one-millionth Buick was built), made a statement about Buick being the reason that GM could pull through the depression financially. In the midst of the floundering market disaster, Buick became the first motor company to mass-produce eight-cylinder engines as “straight eights,” which were utilized until 1953. While Buick and other manufacturers worked to climb out of financial trouble, innovation in design were partially credited for renewed sales with vehicle names like the Century and Limited, names used until Buick retired the Century sedans in 2005.

Historic Buicks

In the late 1930s, Buick began developing new styles for its automobiles that were luxurious and cutting edge. The Y Job was the first vehicle to boast electric windows and a hardtop convertible cover in 1938 and is considered by many to be the first show car in history. In the late 1940s, the Roadmaster became the first to utilize the first automatic transmission “dynaflow” and then introduced four-barrel carburetors in later Roadmaster models of the early 1950s. Making its first appearance also in the 1950s was the long-lived LeSabre and the short-lived Skylark during a time when “dream cars” were popularized as concept cars built by designers.

To combat another market dip and loss of sales, Buick moved into new territory with vehicles like the Invicta and Electra in the 1960s. Buick used two Invictas during an endurance test across 10,000 miles in 5,000 minutes to once again re-establish Buick as a brand that stood for reliability, and one of the Invictas successfully completed the task. Another 1960s classic, the Riviera, was born and featured automatic headlight covers, two-speed windshield wipers with washers, and backup lights. One of the most memorable designs of the Riviera was in 1971, which was known as the “boat tail.”

Shortly following the sales surge of the ’60s and early ’70s, the oil embargo in the ’70s drove buyers toward smaller cars. This inspired Buick to back off the production of its famous V8 engines and return to its roots in V6 power for better fuel efficiency. Such times inspired new designs again, one of which resulted in the Skyhawk, dubbed an economy car, that was built for two generations until 1989. Even with the oil embargo, the Riviera survived, and in the 1980s, it sported Buick’s first front-wheel drive and turbocharged V6 engine. Buick enjoyed its second-best sales year in 1985, selling one million vehicles that year. Further into the 1980s, the GNX was developed and heralded as the quickest car on the market, harnessing 235 horsepower with its turbocharged V6.

Buick as a Model of Success

Over its nearly 120 years of manufacturing, Buick has always evolved around its standard of quality and reliability as a brand. In times of strife, Buick didn’t simply rely on its reputation to remain in the industry; as a motor company, Buick innovated to remain relevant in the market, just as it continues to do today. Throughout all the most difficult financial crises of both the American and world markets, Buick not only held strong, it ensured the success of its parent company, too. No matter how grim things seemed in dark times, Buick found a way to overcome what appeared to be insurmountable circumstances and developed some of history’s most innovative and memorable automobiles.