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Happy 110th Birthday, Buick!

As Buick turns 110 years old, there comes the stale stereotype that the brand is finally as old as the average age of its buyers. But today, that isn’t even close to being the case. With vehicles such as the Enclave large crossover, Encore compact crossover, and sweetheart Verano Turbo, Buick is transforming itself into a full-line brand that appeals to the youthful demographics just as well as it does with anybody else, selling over 43 million vehicles since 1903. Today, we review the historic vehicles and milestones that make the brand great:

  • The first Buick was hand-built in a small barn behind David Dunbar Buick’s Detroit home. Goes to show what a man can do with nothing but time and a shed.
  • In 1938, Buick debuted the Y-Job (pictured above). Said to have been designed by none other than Harley Earl, the Y-Job is regarded as the first concept car ever built, and its signature waterfall grille is still used on Buicks to this day, and it featured futuristic technologies like power windows. Earl drove the car himself for more than a decade.
  • Then came the 1963 Riviera, often regarded as one of the most beautiful cars ever made, which also turns 50 this year. The long coupe was said to be inspired by a Rolls-Royce that Buick design boss Bill Mitchell saw through the fog in London.
  • Buick even won back-to-back NASCAR Manufacturer Championships in 1981 and 1982. Additionally, a Buick has served as Official Pace Car of the Indianapolis 500 six times.
  • The first Buick to top 100 miles per hour was the Buick Century. The name makes more sense now.
  • The Century may have been the first Buick to break 100, but the fastest production Buick in history is the currently available Regal GS luxury sport sedan, recording a top speed of 162 mph at the 2012 Nevada Open Road Challenge.
  • The Regal may have currently be the fastest overall, but the quickest Buick is the 1987 GNX, accelerating from 0-60 in a scant 4.6 seconds. It also stands as a rarity, with just 547 built.
  • Buick’s largest engine, a 455-cubic-inch (7.5L) Big Block V8, was introduced in 1970. It had 175 horsepower, or just 23 and a third horsepower per liter.
  • The 1975 Buick Electra grew to become the longest vehicle ever produced by Buick. It measured 233.7 inches from bumper to bumper. That’s nearly 20 feet.
  • On the contrary, Buick’s first production vehicle, the 1904 Model B, was the shortest, riding on an 83-inch wheelbase.
  • Buick has only twice made vehicles with seating for up to eight: the current Enclave and the 1991-1996 Roadmaster Estate.

Former staff.

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Comments

  1. How many people did a Rendezvous sit, kinda thinkin 7…

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  2. Waterfall looks great on that old Y Job. Maybe that’s why I don’t like it on the new cars.

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  3. Congratulations Buick! I owned an 85 LeSabre Limited coupe “beater car” a few years back- loved it. That car could take a hit with its chrome battering-ram bumpers. The doors were 10 feet long.
    Buick is doing something right, the Chinese, wisely, love them too. They sold more in Red China than in the USA last year.

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  4. 50 year anniversary of the Riviera and a mysterious concept coming at the shanghai auto show, return of the Riviera?

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  5. congrats, Buick!!!!!!!!!!!

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  6. Happy birthday Buick. I wish I still had my 2004 Le Sabre. It was one sweet car (for such a large highway cruiser).

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  7. Reply
    1. @andrew Love the 1904 logo! Love it!

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      1. haha ya isn’t it amazing!
        I have a few good mounted posters/prints up in our finished shed/bar (the german in my calls it the Party Haus): the obligatory 54 and 59 Le Mans, Bullitt poster, a James Hunt – Marlboro, McLaren F1 (only car poster I had as a kid in my room, screw the Diablo!), 275 GTB, C2 and C3 posters, Yenko Camaro, some cutaway/skeletal car prints, etc, etc.. a 59 Chevy Apache tail gate sits behind the whiskey/rye bottles

        But what I want next is a good size/good quality version of that logo!

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    2. I want that logo stitched on my twill vest, to show off as I pilot my well-appointed carriage down the cobblestone streets with my top hat, to meet the lovely Miss Whisman for high tea.

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  8. I have a 1995 Buick Regal with the classic 231 CI (3.8 L) 90 degree V6. That is one of the best V6 engines ever produced with normal, turbo, and supercharged versions (the GNX is one example using it). It has the best low end torque for its size. But I feel that the new Buick has let down that V6 technology.

    Reply

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