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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  Buick Lucerne - 2008 Buick Lucerne
  By Ted Strickland - December 6 - 10:12 am

  This car is far & away the best car I have ever owned, so far so good! The only fault is the speedometer is hard to read in daylight, and the visors have no extensions and Im told none are available. Its too bad GM had to wait this long to build this type of quality in a car.

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  My first car - 1992 Buick LeSabre
  By Scott - December 6 - 1:35 am

  This was my dads car, which he gave me. It was a real whale of a car, but Im 65" and it felt like it was built just for me. The V6 engine was powerful enough to be fun, but not absurdly so. It was not sporty in any sense, but I hike a lot and I found that it handled mountain roads just fine. It had low clearance and tended to bottom out a lot, and my dad said he broke an engine mounting bolt once that way. I got about 19.5 mpg mixed, but the difference between city and highway was huge. The transmission finally fell apart one day after 16 years. It was rock-sold reliable otherwise.

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  5 years later - 2002 Buick Century
  By pbm - December 5 - 8:52 pm

  Its been over 5 years (and about 75K) since I last rated this car and Im still very happy with it. I now have 101K and shes running strong. Except for maintenance items the only things needed were new struts at 80K (driving in NYC can be tough). I also replaced the lower intake manifold gasket at 80K as a precaution (an $800 job) because the 3.1 is known to leak coolant into the oil eventually. I just replaced the original battery at 100K because I didnt want to chance getting stuck this winter. This car feels like 300K is doable. Mileage is still averaging about 25 mpg with over 30 on long trips. It has never let me down. A/C is still ice cold without ever being recharged.

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  Oh Boy - 2009 Buick Enclave
  By Mike` - December 4 - 6:19 pm

  The ride was incredible the comfort was out of this world. Then the engine light came on. Engineer flies in from GM, to find what he feels is a clearance problem with the head. We had the car for almost two weeks and has been at the shop for almost two and half weeks. He is not even sure a new head will fix the problem. I hope GM stands behind their product. 1,500 miles on vehicle

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  Great Car - 1999 Buick Park Avenue
  By RevRFT - December 3 - 6:23 am

  Got 33.9 mpg on interstate 21.8 avg in town. Smooth ride, feels like Im sitting in my living room. No problems, best car Ive ever owned.

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  Good car, but expensive to fix - 1998 Buick Regal
  By Shadow - December 2 - 12:37 pm

  I bought my car in 2007 and at the time of buying I did not know it had all the problems it does. I have to get the turn signal switch fixed ($700), brighter headlights ($100), sway bar (200) and an alighment ($70). And now Im having another problem where sometimes it stalls out and yesterday it wouldnt start for me and when I did get it started I had to turn off the radio and the security light was on. Many problems but an overall good car.

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  My Grandmas Car - 1997 Buick Riviera
  By OptiClaw - December 1 - 6:23 pm

  Bought my grandparents Riviera a couple months ago. They bought it new in 97 and it only had 70K miles in 08. For $3000, thats a great deal. Seats are super comfortable, stereos nice, decent power and MPG. Steering is light as a feather. Gas gauge doesnt register correctly below half tank, but with over 300 miles per tank, thats not too big a deal. Definitely not a sports car, but its a major upgrade from my old 93 Mazda 626.

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  One Good Car - 1994 Buick Century
  By chuckledwith - December 1 - 3:13 pm

  4th Buick,1st Century. I have no major problems with any of the Buicks I have owned. Just little things that normally go wrong. Looks are OK, but it has gotten me cross country from Seattle to Connecticut twice and with unsurpassed fuel mileage, 23 mpg plus and still above 21 mpg. Car has been paid off for over 8 years now and I am amazed that car makers cant come up with anything better. Guess they dont get it.

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  2000 Buick Park Avenue - 2000 Buick Park Avenue
  By Duke007 - December 1 - 10:00 am

  Outstanding Automoble. Great features, and gas mileage. Fantastic comfort ay an economic price.

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  Run away as fast as you can! - 2003 Buick Rendezvous
  By Alconik - December 1 - 5:30 am

  My wife and I loved the Buick when we got it. Great for our 3 boys. Very nice inside and out, then it got some mileage. If you plan on putting more than 75000mi on this car, do not buy a Rendezvous! Great car up to 75k after that: ABS-Traction Control( caused accident as it went out during hard braking), driver window, door locks, power mirrors, switches and engine blew at 103k. Replaced engine and now it is totally impossible to fill coolant at home. Also, it gets horrible gas mileage, worse than my 94 Mustang Cobra! Do not buy a Rendezvous!