We love the Buick brand here at McLarty Daniel Buick GMC, and we find something new to love every time a new Buick model rolls onto the lot. While Buick might be America's oldest surviving automotive brand, they're clearly not resting on their laurels — they still turn out vehicles that bristle with style, attitude, technology, safety, performance, and all-around great looks. Every once in a while, we run across something even WE didn't know about Buick! Read on for 10 things you might not know about the Buick brand. And when you're done, swing by McLarty Daniel Buick GMC and check out our full line of beautiful Buick SUVs. Drive Home in a Brand-New Buick Today
1) Buick was originally founded in 1899 by Scottish-born inventor David Dunbar Buick as the Buick Auto-Vim and Power Company, a maker of early internal combustion gasoline engines for industrial applications and, later, homebuilt horseless carriages. The company was later incorporated as Buick Motor Company.
2) Designed by the groundbreaking automotive stylist Harley Earl, the 1938 Buick "Y-Job" is considered the automotive industry's first "concept car." It included a number of features that would be used in production cars by various automakers for much of the next two decades, including bulbous pontoon fenders, the first waterfall grille, the first bombsight hood ornament, wraparound bumpers, and one of the industry's first uses of hideaway headlights.Read More About the Buick Y-Job
3) Buick is huge in China, where over 80 percent of Buick-branded vehicles are currently sold. It has been considered the premium luxury brand in China since the 1910s, when many high-ranking officials there, including the Chinese emperor, began importing Buick touring cars for their personal use.
4) The famous Buick "Tri-Shield" emblem found today on every Buick vehicle is based on the family crest of David Dunbar Buick, whose family standard featured a red shield with a diagonal line from the lower right to the upper left. This single-shield emblem was used on Buick vehicles from 1937 until 1960, when it was updated to three shields in red, white and blue, which symbolized both American pride and the Buick LeSabre, Invicta and Electra, which were then Buick's best-selling cars.
5) Founded on May 19, 1903, Buick Motor Company is the oldest surviving American auto brand. It's older than Ford Motor Company, which was incorporated on June 16, 1903, by a little over a month.
6) Built in very limited numbers through a partnership with F1 racing supplier McLaren, the 1987 Buick Regal GNX was a one-year-only special edition of the turbocharged Buick Grand National. This vehicle featured a turbocharged and intercooled V6 engine conservatively rated at 276 horsepower (though most experts say the actual power number was much higher) and a special "torque arm" rear end designed to produce maximum traction on takeoff. What Does Buick's Avenir Badge Mean?7) With a quarter mile time of 12.7 seconds, the 1987 Buick GNX was the fastest American production car of the 1980s. It was quicker than both the 1987 Ferrari F40 and the 1987 Porsche 930 in the quarter mile.
8) Buick Motor Company invented the first overhead valve engine in 1904, even though other manufacturers would continue to use less efficient valve-in-block "flathead" engine designs for much of the next 50 years.
9) From 1949 to 1958, all Buick cars featured either three or four-round, chrome-trimmed Buick portholes on each side of the hood. Three holes per side denoted a six-cylinder model, and four holes per side denoted an eight-cylinder. Officially known as "ventiports," the holes were adopted brand-wide by the company after Buick designer Ned Nickles (inspired by the exhaust ports on World War II fighter planes) installed four chrome-trimmed holes in the hood sides of his 1948 Buick Roadmaster convertible with lights inside to simulate flickering exhaust flames.
10) Created to mark Buick's 50th anniversary, the rare and beautiful 1953 Buick Skylark convertible was a true factory custom. It was made by slicing the body shell of a Buick Roadmaster convertible in two horizontally, removing an angled strip of metal from the entire perimeter of the car, and then welding the pieces back together -- a process known in the custom car world as "sectioning." The windshield frame and convertible top structure of the Skylark were also chopped an additional three inches for a sleeker look. Only 1,690 examples were produced. Which Buick is Right For You? Find Out Here!
We hope you enjoyed these interesting facts about the oldest American car company! Buick history is full of bold designs, impressive feats, and innovative engineers. To see what the Buick lineup of today can deliver, swing by McLarty Daniel Buick GMC in Bentonville, Arkansas.
