Buick Album ( Auto Review Album Number 178, Rod Ward)

A Buick was regarded as staid but solid, not a cheap car, but not too expensive either. Traditionally its image was favoured by doctors; it was well-appointed and stylish, not flashy, but dependable; and more affordable than the top prestige brands. There were occasional forays into more unusual cars; exciting coupes or’personal’ cars, but they all maintained the high engineering standards and quality finish which buyers expected from a Buick. From the early days Buicks had overhead valve engines, more advanced than many supposedly superior marques. David Buick was a Scottish-born bath tub manufacturer who switched to making cars at the turn of the 20th century. Within a few years he had been squeezed out by Billy Durant, who made Buick the cornerstone of his new General Motors grouping before he in turn was ousted. Durant returned to take control of GM, where Buick would be the longest-serving of the various brands made by the group, eventually outliving some other well-known names. Many famous people in the American car industry served their time at Buick, and left their mark, including Charles Nash and Walter Chrysler. As General Motors thinned out their portfolio of brands in the 21st century, the ‘dull’ Buick often seemed to be under threat. But it always produced a profit, which in later years was supported by its Chinese operation. So although the Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Saturn and Hummer brands were discarded, Buick survived. This is a 120-year story of success, except for the founder. David Buick was an inveterate tinkerer but a poor businessman, and he died in virtual poverty in 1929.