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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  Best Crossover Out There - 2003 Buick Rendezvous
  By EDonn - November 16 - 10:00 am

  Buick has done there homework. With so many new SUVs on the market what is one to think. My wife and I researched long and hard and when it came down to what suits our needs Buick won hands down. This vehicle rides better than any other vehicle we have owned. The room alone is a welcome feature and it has as much room as its larger competitors. Being the new breed of crossover vehicles Buick is leading the way. Plenty of power and features and at a fraction of the cost of others. Please test drive and then you will understand. We are very pleased.

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  The Avalon Killer! - 2006 Buick Lucerne
  By Papa - November 6 - 2:10 am

  Looked at many full sized cars including Avalon, Amanti and Monteray. The Lucerne trumped them all for ride quality, off the line torque, quietness, trunk space when compared to the Avalon, price and appearance. Every seam and panal is very precise and nothing is out of place. The seats are far superior to the Toyotas and on an even keel with the Amanti. The Buick also has a better warrenty than Toyota and Mercury, 6 passenger room which none of the others have and better reliabilty. Love the port holes, chrome doo moldings, grille and flashy appearance too. Have seen nearly 30 mpg on the open road too. This is Buicks and GMs best kept secret.

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  Your friends will be envious! - 2008 Buick Enclave
  By CarNut - October 23 - 9:43 pm

  My wife wanted to upgrade for a more luxurious ride and wanted to look at the Buick. I thougt she was crazy or having disillusions. Boy was she right and I was wrong. The car blows Infiniti, Lincoln, and Lexus away (Europeans are too much money for what you get). Not sure why people knock the interior quality, its as nice as anything out there and better layout. It drives like a car and luxuries are there to make you feel like youre escaping the world. Ultra silent ride, smooth, and handles very well (remember, its not a sports car). All in all, a must drive.

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  Fully loaded, looks like a bargain - 2016 Buick Envision
  By FloridaMatt - October 10 - 7:24 pm

  We drove, and just ordered, a Premium II with the Driver Confidence package to get the Full-range Adaptive Cruise Control. With the panoramic room, the 49k msrp may look steep. But if youre shopping for a medium-sized luxury SUV/CUV, its unbeatable for what you get. We shopped for Suv/Cuv vehicles in its size range that met our requirements of having full-range acc, blis/cross-traffic, and ventilated or cooled seats. That eliminated Audi & BMW because you cant get one equipped that way. And ran a similarly equipped GLC300 up to over 55k. Compared to the NX, GLC and Discovery Sport, we found: Actually Cooled seats (also on the Discovery), rear seat climate controls, auto-dimming outside mirrors, rain sense wipers that can automatically turn on headlights (which is required in some states; also on Discovery Sport), head-up display (also on NX, $995 on GLC, part of $1800 package on Discovery Sport), passive locking, tire monitor shows actual tire pressures, blind spot detection includes turn signal warning (also on GLC) and closing-vehicle detection (also on Discovery Sport). Topped off with GMs safety alert seat so things like lane departure and parking sensors can rumble the seat instead of beeping.

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  New Owner - 2002 Buick Rendezvous
  By Harry Liebergot - October 7 - 10:36 am

  Thus far (2500 mi) flawless. Styling similar to Lexus. Feels luxurious. Spacious inside with very flexible easy to maneuver seating for 7. Seats fold easily. Low step in make it easy to get in and out of. Hnadles and rides like a car. I tend to keep it in Drive 3 in the city to keep shifting to a minimum (only 185 HP). Acceleration is adequate. Ride is quiet at all speeds. Great gas mileage (avgng 22) for a vehicle of its size.

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  Big Value in Luxury X-overs - 2008 Buick Enclave
  By Willie Wonka - October 6 - 8:20 am

  My wife is a die hard Lexus RX 330 fan, but fell in love with the Buick Enclave. Its roomy, beautiful,and loaded with all the features anyone could want and you dont need to take out a mortgage to own it! My neighbor commented that the interior is just like a cockpit of a small jet (and he didnt read the promotional add!). For performance, styling and handling,this car is at the head of its class. I love it.

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  Greatest car Ive ever driven! - 1998 Buick Park Avenue
  By hardfire454 - September 25 - 12:07 am

  I have driven a series of cars, but none can compare to the Park Avenue. THis car is comfortable, efficient, and most importantly comfortable. I think thats enough to be said, it is reliable, but just like any car, it has one or two flaws... But overall, if youre looking for a luxury car, this is it.

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  Out of the Park! - 2002 Buick Rendezvous
  By loveRDV - September 22 - 2:00 am

  Owned our 2002 Rendezvous CXL for a year and haven’t been happier with a new car; a magnificent combination of sedan and van. We have limited “off road needs”. We have comfortable, spacious transportation needs, and the Rendezvous excels in that. We often carry 7 grown people in comfort. My wife would almost rather drive it than our 2000 LeSabre. Some say it is underpowerd, I say, “Balderdash!” I have safely, quickly, and smoothly accelerated to 85 mph when passing. Versatrak got a workout this winter. It’s great Buick has hit a home run with this. A magnificent design and it is reasonably priced!

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  Smooth ride, solid inside and out. - 2016 Buick Envision
  By NormT - September 8 - 5:24 am

  Update: We are seeing 32 mpg @65 mph for hours on end. Fully loaded the fuel economy drops to a respectable 30 mpg at the same speed. Very impressive in this segment to see a 2.0T 4,000 lbs SUV with AWD get into the 30s. My wife finally got to drive it out of town for business. She doesnt like all the elctrical nannys but boy does it move on the highway. Next up...wintertime driving. Coming from a 2013 and 2014 Cadillac, both of which I still have, the Buick is refreshingly solid and comforting in both riding and driving. We got a used 2016 Premium ll with roof and Driver Confidence. Plenty of head room with the sun roof in all seating positions. The Adaptive Cruise Control along with the self parking feature and lane assist are really neat features. The parking is neat show off feature that this car is very easy to park and see out of. The lane assist will have you bouncing off each side of the lane for miles, which is a little scary at first. The ride quality is refined compared to the stiffer, performance oriented Cadillac. The handling does not take a back seat to the softer suspension that this tracks and takes input better than a rental 2017 Escape we drove 6 hours to pick up the Buick.

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  Great Little Car! - 2017 Buick Encore
  By Karen - September 7 - 4:18 am

  This awd encore exceeded our expectations. Car has a premium look and feel. So far mpg has been excellent and the Encore drives very nice and has quite a quiet interior. Some road noise at highway speeds but the short wheelbase is to blame for that i believe. Only downside is storage capacity is somewhat lacking. But we have just one kid and it is not an issue for us. The rear seats fold down flat which is nice for additional storage. You can fold down either side or both leaving half of seating available for the kids car seat. Also the front passenger seat folds down flat for additional storage for those longer items you may transport from Ikea etc, All in all very happy with this vehicle and got it for a great price during GMs 25% off msrp sale. On side note the basicwarranty is longer on the Buicks as compared to the other GM products.