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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  Awesome car! - 1993 Buick Regal
  By Art L. - December 24 - 7:17 pm

  I owned this car for 13 years putting 262,000 miles on it. Yes it really did last that long until transmission broke and became too expensive to fix. I had regular maintnece and took very good care of the car. I liked a lot of features the car had. Just a few issues with the car like brakes and had to get a new radiator at 140,000.

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  Almost Perfect - 2004 Buick Rendezvous
  By barb - December 24 - 11:40 am

  I love this SUV! Decent mileage, easy entry/exit. Lots of space, I even haul my horse feed in it!I bought it with about 14,000 miles on it, got a great deal.

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  2006 Rendevous - 2006 Buick Rendezvous
  By Rick Z - December 24 - 9:16 am

  We have a CXL loaded including the trailer package and 3.5 V-6. We traded our 2003 Escalade to take advantage of the advertised highway 28 mpg. The 17 in town and 21 on the road is a dissapointment. The comfort is good

• 

  an average car - 2003 Buick Park Avenue
  By tri-ble - December 24 - 2:00 am

  an easy ride and handling car. the doors are not a good fit to the body,noisy engine when first starting out .the colder it is the worse it sounds,gets better as it warms up... if the door problems are corrected and the noisy engine problem is soved we would like this vehicle a lot better and feel that we were getting our moneys worth. not a quiet enough car for the price

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  Great vehicle - 2003 Buick Rendezvous
  By highmiler - December 24 - 2:00 am

  I have never had a day that I havent enjoyed this vehicle...oops, except the day the electricaal system went out completely (so ONSTAR of no use). It took ten days to get a new body computer module as the vehicle was so new. Never a single problem after that in 26,000 miles.

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  Park number 2 - 2004 Buick Park Avenue
  By gbach11 - December 22 - 5:53 pm

  This is our second Park Ave and its the best luxury car for the money. I tried to talk my wife into looking at other cars, but as you know Ultras are getting harder to find. She test drove several, but nothing compares.

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  Best Car Ive ever owned - 2007 Buick Lucerne
  By Chuck S - December 21 - 5:48 am

  Dead quiet. Smooth as silk on the road. Great handling for this size of car.

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  Disgruntled - 2008 Buick Enclave
  By ramo - December 20 - 8:26 pm

  This is my second GM car in the past 5 years, 20 previous were imports. I traded the first one for this Enclave after two transmissions over 65000 miles and like a fool bought another one! I have a loaded White Diamond and it is now in the shop for the 4th time in 6 weeks with same problem, the emission light continues to come on. Needless to say, the performance suffers immensely when this occurs. They have yet to figure out what is wrong. Sensors have been replaced, not sure what they are doing at this point. Can you say "lemon law". The car really is a nice car, when it is not in the shop! Perhaps I am just not meant to own an American made automobile. I have learned my lesson.

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  Great Car (SUV) - 2002 Buick Rendezvous
  By donsnn - December 20 - 10:38 am

  This vehicle is overall an exceptional SUV. It handles well and is fun to drive. I find that at times the car is a little under-powered so I expect that the weight to horsepower is a bit off. I do however accept this minor issue in favor of better gas mileage. A larger engine would simply eat more fuel. My wife loves the elevated view of the road ahead and uses this car daily. Underhood maintenance is a bit difficult. The air cleaner replacement is a real pain. Generally this is a great car.

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  Great value - 2006 Buick Lucerne
  By jp - December 20 - 7:10 am

  Rides like a dream, quiet and comfortable. Luxury car for less money that our past Cadillacs or Lexus.