Overview & Reviews

Owned by General Motors, Buick is one of this country's oldest brands, with a rich tradition of innovation that dates back more than a century. Though long known for catering to retirement-age customers with its full-size sedans, the automaker's lineup now includes SUVs and sport sedans designed to bring younger buyers into the showrooms of Buick dealers.

The company was founded in 1903 by David Dunbar Buick, a Scottish industrialist. He built his first car in 1904; called the Model B, it had a two-cylinder engine with an advanced-for-its-time overhead-valve cylinder head design. In 1907, Buick unveiled its first four-cylinder production car, dubbed the Model D. The following year, the Flint, Michigan-based Buick Motor Company was bought by William C. Durant as part of a new company called General Motors. By 1914, all Buicks were built with six-cylinder engines and purchased primarily by upper-class professionals, thus earning the nickname "doctor's cars."

The manufacturer proved itself a trailblazer in the early 1920s when it introduced four-wheel brakes. This technology had been seen before on custom-built cars, but Buick was the first to figure out how to successfully apply it to mass-produced vehicles. Eight-cylinder Buick cars emerged in the 1930s and became immensely popular; these advanced engines received steady improvements for several years. The '30s also saw Buick's introduction of the industry's first rear turn signal to use a flasher.

Models such as the Estate Wagon and the ever-popular Roadmaster kept Buicks happily ensconced in driveways all across the nation in the 1940s. In 1948, Buick introduced Dynaflow, the first torque converter-type automatic transmission offered in U.S. passenger cars. The 1950s and 1960s witnessed Buick continuing to zoom ahead of the curve; it was among the first to offer vehicles with power brakes and steering, and 12-volt electrical systems. The marque was also behind the introduction of the first American V6 passenger car engine and introduced the Riviera personal luxury coupe in the early '60s.

On the whole, though, Buick had made its name as a manufacturer of stately land yachts such as the Electra 225. To meet the changing times, the automaker downsized its full- and midsize models during the 1970s and began offering compact and midsize sedans for the 1980s. During the latter period and into the '90s, Buick changed things up by introducing the Regal Grand National muscle car and Reatta luxury coupe and convertible. But its core product continued to be luxury sedans aimed at an older audience.

Today, Buick specializes in sedans and crossover SUVs and is modifying its philosophy in the hopes of attracting younger buyers. Luxury and class are still common themes, but newer models have European influences in their handling and ride dynamics. As such, many modern Buicks, such as the compact Verano sedan provide a more entertaining drive and more contemporary styling than people might expect from this "old" nameplate.

User Reviews:

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  great car; but expensive to repair - 1997 Buick Park Avenue
  By danny - November 28 - 10:00 am

  I bought my 1997 buick in the spring of 2000; thank the lord I had mechanical breakdown coverage. I had to have total brake job; replaced intake manifold gasket, belt tensioner for serpentine belt, waterpump, rear defrost stopped working 165.00 to repair; wasnt covered. For such a hefty purchase price, there were quite a few problems. Now its fixed; is now a great car to drive.

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  A Lexus for a Buick - 2008 Buick Enclave
  By Karen - November 20 - 3:16 am

  I traded my 2003 Lexus GX for the Enclave and so far so good. The ride is very smooth. Comparable to the Lexus. Drives like a car, which I like since I also traded my Accord on this vehicle. Figured I only needed one car and the Enclave was the combination of the two I was looking for. Granted its not a Lexus but so far its pretty close. I would say its lacking on acceleration but so far it hasnt been that big of a deal. Gas mileage varies from 14 to 22 and I check it myself, I dont rely on what the info center tells me. Visibility trying to back up is limited and yes I have the back up camera but it makes me dizzy and its hard to see it in the daytime when its sunny. Overall a winner

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  Better than Asian cars - 2013 Buick Verano
  By young professional - October 17 - 6:07 am

  Purchased certified pre-owned 2013 Buick Verano with 30K miles on it exactly 1 yr ago in August 2016 and I am still happy with it for the MOST part. People complain about the grill but I think it looks expensive and unique. My younger brother thought it was a Bentley at first glance. In my opinion, the grills on the Asian cars all look the same. The size of this car makes it easy to maneuver and park. Smooth quiet ride that Buick is known for. However, the acceleration is lackluster. I preferred the 2013 Regal Turbo but I couldnt afford it. The Verano is just fine otherwise, but if you have an extra 3K to spend, get the Regal Turbo. After 1 yr of ownership ive put an additional 11k miles on the car, ive had to change the front driver tire twice. And the fake leather seats on the convenience trim stain really easily, not very convenient. One day, the car died on me and i jumped it. One hour later it died again and i had to jump it again. It didnt die on me again after that but i took it to the dealership the very next day. And they said they couldnt find anything wrong with it and there was nothing wrong with the battery. Those were the only bad things to happen so far. I do enjoy the service i receive for scheduled maintenance at the dealership.

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  My first SUV - 2003 Buick Rendezvous
  By JDB1 - October 10 - 10:00 am

  The ride and handling is very near to excellent. Ive bought other vehicles, but I never had so may people ask me how I like my Rendezvous.

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  is the new Lacrosse just a Chevy Impala? - 2017 Buick LaCrosse
  By D Kay - September 26 - 8:52 am

  Went to see the and drive the new Lacrosse and was impressed with the cabin and the engine BUT, the sheet metal looks like a Impala with those ugly lines over the rear wheels/quarter panels and the front looks like a 2003 LeSabre; dont get why they would do this, should have been an eye popping wonderfully upscale looking car, What happened to that awesome looking concept?; I absolutely do not like the styling and will not buy a car that looks like it is 10 years old right when it comes out. Wheres your creativity Buick?

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  Among The Best In Its Class - 2016 Buick Verano
  By Neward Thelman - September 18 - 11:08 am

  The Verano is based off the same GM platform as the Chevy Cruze Limited, yet it feels like a completely different car. Driving it you feel greater power right off the bat. No, its not sports-car-Camaro power, but I disagree with the Edmunds review that accelerations merely adequate. The Verano feels more powerful than either the Cruze Limited or the new Cruze for 2016, possibly because the entire car feel much more solid, thus dissipating less energy in parasitic vibrations. The Verano gives you a sure, solid feeling on the road. An important contributor toward that end is the stark difference in streering and handling between any of the Cruze models and the Verano. The short of it is that the Cruze - particularly the newly redesigned 2016 Cruze - feels incredibly insecure and unstable during fast accelaration or highway speeds, while the Verano is almost the opposite of that. Its steering and handling feel stable and secure, with only a mere trace of lost of control to clue you into the fact that its built with electronic - rather than traditional mechanical - steering. To take the point further, compared to any of the [now many] Cruzes, the Verano is rock solid. With the handling nicely under control, the suspension provides and excellent combination of road feel balanced against absorbtive comformt. In other words, it handles beautifully, without turning you into scrambled eggs while doing so. The interior is, as youd expect, at or near luxury car levels. Its quiet and plush. Some might object to the two-tone white-on-black color scheme [Buick calls the interior grey - but its pretty much white], but that seems to be the thing with luxury cars. The designers of the Verano did, however, make one major mistake. The steering wheel blocks your view of the instrument gauge cluster. No matter how far you tilt it up or down, youre just not going to see the speedometer, nor much else of your guages. Having taken such apparent care with the design of the car, howd they screw that up? Good luck with speed cops on the road. A more minor issues one of personal taste. I found the front grill to be almost aggresively tasteless, with Buick taking its vertical design a bit too far. The grill extends upwards and folds into the hood, and its made of plastic. So, you get a lot of plastic grill in your face everytime you approach your car. Overall, I thought the Verano was very nice small vehicle, that - at least as far as driving impressions go - leaves its stablemate Cruze well behind and makes the Corolla and the 2016 Civic almost non-competative [especially the almost shockingly crude, cheap-feeling, and sounding Corolla]. The other question is, of course, reliability, and its only on that measure that the latter two may [or may not - who knows?] have an edge.

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  Best riding, comfortable SUV I have driven. - 2004 Buick Rendezvous
  By Mark B. - August 28 - 7:06 am

  Bought with 120,000 miles on it. Had intermittent check engine light which 3 different garages could not figure out the problem out. Turn out to be Thrust bearing in transmission which spewed needle bearings into trans which destroyed gears and torque converter; $4,000 repair. Had to change speed sensor 3 times due to Garage using after market parts: Use Genuine GM parts for Traction and anti-lock problems. Power steering pump does not provide enough boost at idle speed, i.e. parking situations. As other reviews state, gauges are unreadable during daytime due to background color, a problem made worse by a problem with panel lights dimming system which causes instrument lights to go dim during daylight when car is shifted out of Park. Had instrument cluster rebuilt and change light sensor. Dealer advised me I would have to put new radio in to solve problem(Whaaaaaat?). All that said, it is a great riding, comfortable car. After my experience with a 99 Tahoe, bought new, I too am finished with GM cars. They just cant seem to get their act together as Ford, Nissan, Toyota, Subaru, etc. have over the last decade.

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  Solid, well built - 2006 Buick Lucerne
  By M Nolan - August 4 - 12:36 am

  Does what it is expected to do. Only drawback for me was lack of quickness from stop. But it is a big car and was not advertise as quick. Just my desire.

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  Great Car - 2007 Buick Lucerne
  By Eugene Shulick - August 3 - 5:59 pm

  Always get complements on the smoothness and comfort of its ride.

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  2004 Rendezvous CLX - 2004 Buick Rendezvous
  By JimDaddy - July 18 - 2:00 am

  This vehicles ride is very similar to the ride we experienced in our 2000 Lexus RX300. Very smooth. Would help with a larger V-6