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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  Power, Great Value, Ive owned 5 of Them - 1996 Buick Roadmaster
  By roadmaster5 - March 23 - 12:58 pm

  I echo what the other reviewers said, but the car does have its faults: the roof windows leak, not a lot, but they all do it enough to make the interior foggy on cold mornings. I park mine facing uphill and drill drain holes in the spare tire well and storage bin. The side rubber moldings come off after a dozen years, but dont throw them away. 3M exterior mounting tape puts them back as good as new, same for the interior door trim pieces whose tabs always break. The rear vent windows come off their hinges. Cynoacrylate gel does a decent job of putting them back. Rear windows go cockeyed after a plastic piece breaks--every car eventually. Its a $1 part and removing the door panel.

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  Just OK - 2011 Buick Regal
  By nydogboy - March 21 - 10:17 pm

  The ladies love the sporty look, but, if you are more than 58" youll be challenged to enter this car. Its quieter than my 2006 Malibu Maxx, which I kinda miss, but the transmission is very busy and you can hear every move it makes. Its hard to keep the RPMs under 2200 because it keeps shifting arpumd town. It is a pleasure to drive on the highway. I was hoping the 6-speed, 4 cylinder Regal would get better mileage than my v-6, 210 hpw Malibu Maxx...wrong. Its about the same. I like the car and hope to have it for 5 or more years, which I typically do.

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  19998 buick regal will last forever - 1998 Buick Regal
  By justintawney - March 21 - 2:26 am

  I am 20 got this beast when I was 1 got it at 230,000 miles it now has 273.000 miles on it havent changed the oil in about 20,000 miles.. getting bad but will soon and just took two trips 250miles away and made it perfectly!! seats are ripping up changed the speakers all banged up ive been off roading in it sort of. never got stuck only problem was the thermostat went out and the mass air flow sensor went out. other then that I should get well over 300,000 miles soon. and hopefully more to come!! ive gone through so much with this car im running this tank to the ground!!!! oh yeah I bought it for 500 bucks.

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  A good effort but flawed - 2012 Buick Regal
  By smerdyakov - March 19 - 10:31 am

  I traded a 2011 Audi A4 for this car. At first I liked the Buick much better, but, as time went on, problems made themselves evident. The engine was quite powerful but, in spite of the much-hyped HyPer strut front suspension, torque steer was very pronounced under hard acceleration. In addition, the drivers seat, although comfortable on short jaunts, became a source of torture on long highway runs. The bottom bolsters seemed to be too tight, causing intense hip pain. In addition, the three driving modes (normal, Sport and GS) seemed to have little effect on performance, although the letter did stiffen the suspension significantly. The controls also feature a plethora of pushbuttons.

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  No Longer Own Ours... Buyer Beware!!! - 2009 Buick Enclave
  By sfreid1 - March 15 - 1:09 pm

  When the Enclave is working properly, it is an excellent car. Quiet, comfortable, and fairly powerful for an SUV. However, there was rarely a time where everything was in proper working order. Our first major issue was the entire throttle body going out, which also caused the entire electrical system to crash, leaving us stranded on the side of a busy road, partially blocking traffic. This experience also gave us a chance to try out Onstar, which was worthless. The hazards also drained the battery after one hour, so they didnt work. After that, buttons snapped off, brakes needed replacement, transmission, and power steering prob. We just bought a fully loaded 2014 Infiniti QX60 and love it!

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  Tacky fuel-guzzler not what I expected - 2013 Buick Verano
  By bigbaddave - March 12 - 9:21 am

  We already have an Enclave, which we like, so when my wifes old Cavalier was damaged in a crash we didnt hesitate to go for the Verano. And what a mistake that was. Like the Enclave the Verano is a heavy auto for its size that guzzles fuel and unlike the Enclave, it doesnt make up for it in other ways. The dashboard knobs feel cheap and require more effort to press than the Enclave. The green-white information screen looks like a two-tone video game from the 1980s. The engine sounds like a lawnmower. I test drove the version with the more powerful engine and didnt notice much difference. The view from the back isnt great. I must say this vehicle is a real disappointment.

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  Love/Hate Relationship 97 Buick Riviera - 1997 Buick Riviera
  By holmslice88 - March 11 - 10:18 pm

  I purchased the vehicle with 147,000 miles on it for $3,500 and thought it was the best car ever. I loved the leather interior with the single heated seat(only available on the drivers side.) It was such a smooth ride at first but once I hit 165,000 it went downhill. The Transmission blew and had to drop $2,500 unexpectedly to fix it. The door handle broke 3 times on the drivers side, keep in mind that the factory one is around $250. Issues with the crankshaft sensor and suspension happened around 190k miles. I managed to get it up to 220k miles....Im honestly going to miss the ride and comfort but I am not going to miss the headache.

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  nightmare - 2007 Buick Rendezvous
  By myoplnion - March 11 - 6:09 am

  Upon purchasing my 07 rendezvous I was happy that lasted 2 weeks. My battery light would come on n the car would die for about 10 seconds n then come back on. It was very difficult to convince the dealership. They finally left a computer connected for a few days n found the alternator was spiking the system. That was replaced n the car was fine until it rained the power steering went out, replaced that n nothing changed, then the water pump went out. The dealership worked wonders for me n found a way to put me in a new car n junked the rendezvous.

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  Luxurious, but Nav system needs work. - 2014 Buick Enclave
  By enclaveguy - March 10 - 6:37 pm

  This is my 2nd Enclave. My first was in ’08, the introduction year. Ive loved it since. I have the 2014 model & its equally as nice with more bells & whistles. Overall, I would rate the Enclave as excellent. Its quality and luxury at a fairly affordable price. The Enclave is a heavy vehicle, so the power on the 2008 model seemed to be lacking, but the 2014 seems to have more power to get up to speed on the freeway. The interior color options seem to be lacking however, kind of funky for my tastes and I am not in love with the fake plastic "wood" trim inside. Buick missed the design mark on this. The navigation system leaves a lot to be desired as it is not very intuitive.

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  Excelent Luxury Family SUV - 2014 Buick Enclave
  By bshapiro1 - March 9 - 4:26 pm

  Loving our Enclave. Is exactly what we expected. The interior is large and comfortable. There is ample space in all three rows for adults to sit comfortably. Ride is smooth and quiet. Definately feels like top quality craftmanship. Handels well for a vehicle of its size. The blutooth connection for phones is great and we can easily stream music.