New Bikes of Buick

History
See also: David Dunbar Buick and Harley Earl
Early years
Buick is currently the oldest active North 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 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. He teamed up with R S McLaughlin in Canadain 1907 with a 15 year contract for motors 1908 GM Holding was founded. Buick sold his stock for a small sum upon departure, and died in modest circumstances 25 years later.

Between 1899 and 1902, two prototype vehicles were built in Detroit, Michigan by Walter Lorenzo Marr. Some documentation exists of the 1901 or 1902 prototype with tiller steering 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.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.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.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.The early success of Buick is attributed in part to the valve-in-head, or overhead valve (OHV), enginepatented 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,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 OHV Buick 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.He imported and used a Canadian built McLaughlin-Buick that were GMs top brand in Canada, Cadillac not having caught on there.George VI used one for a coast to coast royal tour of Canada in 1939

1940s
1940 — Estate introduced as wagon designation on Super
1942 — Produced the M18 Hellcat army tank and supplied radial engines installed in the B-24 Liberator
1948 — Dynaflow automatic transmission first offered
1949 — Portholes debut
1950s
1953 — Buick's 50th Anniversary. Introduction of Buick V8 engine and Roadmaster Skylark.
1955 — Best model year sales to date with 738,814 Buicks sold
1957 — New 364 cu. in. engine block & Ball joint front suspension debut. Roadmasters now had aluminum finned brake drums.
1959 — Electra, Invicta and LeSabre and 401 cu. in. V-8 (in Electras & Invicta) introduced. Electra was the Official Pace Car of the Indianapolis 500 race.

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. In 2001, Buick introduced its first SUV, the Rendezvous crossover, 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 Saturn Aura, 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 to luxury models such as the Lexus ES.[28] In the 2009 J.D. Power and Associates Vehicle Dependability Study, Buick tied with Jaguar as the most dependable brand in the United States.

In 2010, Buick became the fastest growing automotive brand and attracted a younger customer demographic.An all-new Regal sedan, a smaller model based on the European Opel Insignia, was re-introduced for the 2011 model year after a seven year absence.

In June 2011, the Lucerne full-size sedan was discontinued after six years in production. Several months later, the all-new 2012 Verano compact sedan joined the lineup. Additionally, the performance-oriented Regal GS officially went on sale and became the first Buick in almost 20 years to be offered with a manual transmission and a turbocharger. Buick also entered the hybrid market with the introduction of eAssist technology on the 2012 LaCrosse and Regal which helped improve fuel economy ratings by as much as 38% over the regular gas-engine versions. Meanwhile, sales of the Enclave crossover remained strong.

In January 2012, the all-new Encore mini crossover was unveiled at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Also in 2012, a turbocharged version of the Verano was introduced and the Enclave was redesigned for the 2013 model year.

As of 2014, Buick's North American lineup consists of the Encore mini crossover, the Verano entry-level compact sedan, the Regal mid-size sports sedan, the LaCrosse mid-size sedan, and the Enclave full-size luxury crossover.

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 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 2013, GM confirmed plans of a "hybrid global brand" which includes Opel/Vauxhall and Buick to use more synergies between the brands.

Distinguishing features
Trishield
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.

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 Roadmaster Riviera hardtop 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.

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.

World distribution
Mexico
Buicks were sold in Mexico from 1921 to 1962 when a protectionist policy on behalf of the government restricted the percentage of imported parts that could be used in the manufacture of vehicles and the sale of imported cars. From then onwards, all GM products were sold by Chevrolet dealerships. In 1990, after a heavy modification to the protectionist policy of the sixties, GM started assembling the Buick Century in Mexico, at the plant in Ramos Arizpe, in the state of Coahuila, just south of Texas, and selling it through Mexican Chevrolet dealerships, so it was not uncommon for many people to call it "Chevrolet Century". In 1997, GM stopped production of Buicks in Mexico and the brand was not sold there until 2009.

With the announcement in 2009 of the elimination of the Pontiac brand, it was speculated that Buicks would be sold once again in Mexico, since there was a large network of Pontiac-GMC dealerships already in place. On July 24, 2009, Grace Lieblein, the new president of GM in Mexico, revealed that the Buick brand would be available in Mexico in late September of that year, after an absence of a dozen years, with the LaCrosse and the Enclave models. Buick shared the dealership floor with Pontiac and GMC until the Pontiac brand faded away in the summer of 2010.