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:

• 

  Lucerne 2006 CXL - 2006 Buick Lucerne
  By Jim - May 9 - 8:16 pm

  The initial drive was very good. However, several problems occured immediately. First the catalytic converter failed and was replaced at 1200 miles under warranty. Second the engine is giving off noises during acceleration at 2200 miles. The front seats creak during starts and stops after 2000 miles. Initially it seems a great car, however I am not so sure anymore.

• 

  A GM Fan No More! - 2003 Buick Rendezvous
  By Chad - May 6 - 3:42 pm

  I bought this vehicle beacause of the rear cargo space and I did like how it drove compared to the Chrysler Pacifica. However as far as reliability, this vehicle is not what I would have expected for a Buick. I put on alot of miles and am beginning to be nickeled and dimed on this SUV. I cant say that I will be buying another GM soon. Im looking to trade this one away. But oh yeah, thats right, it doesnt hold its value neither. Guess Im out of luck.

• 

  GM Quality Problems - 2001 Buick Regal
  By Jim Lester - May 1 - 2:02 pm

  Well let me see(in November,2005) at 98000 miles I had to shell out $2000 for a new transmission. This is on a car that I have not driven hard, mostly highway miles. January 2006 I had to waste another $1000 to get the car inspected. Now, May 1st, my piece of ship buick is in the auto shop once again because it wont run. The real sad thing is I was trying to support the american car industry when I bought this car. I was looking at a Nissan Altima at the same time. I wont make that mistake again.

• 

  Nice Opel - 2016 Buick Cascada
  By richard mckinnon - April 18 - 2:50 am

  Visibility is very poor. Front window view is blocked by sensing equipment. Rear window visibility is about 2 feet by 10 inches. Forward collision alert is useless. It doesnt do anything? It should be stopping you, but doesnt. If I had to rely on the alert, I would have hit the object by the time I heard the alert. Same thing with Lane Departure Warning. It beeps if you drift into another lane? What is its purpose? If there is a car then youve already hit it. I think Forward Collision and Lane Departure Alerts are a waste of money. Autonomous Cruise Control and Blind spot alert would have been a better option. There are no widow locks like there is on my Chrysler and the top down and window express down are on the console. My dogs are constantly rolling down my windows. There is very little storage space in the car. I thought my Chrysler Convertible was bad, this has 1/2 the storage. The engine has more power than I thought there would be. The turbo and 6 speed gives it plenty of pick up. Im not impressed with the navigation system. The 6 year old technology on my Chrysler runs circles around the Buick. Voice recognition is useless with the top down. Love the Rainsense, Auto on/off headlamp control, and the climate control. Never have to touch them. Backseat pass through is great. Backseats are useless. Would have been better to make the car a 2 seater and add more storage space to the trunk. Car handles extremely well, reminds me of my Corvette. Nice car, I like it, but way over priced! I own 2 convertibles and my Chrysler is a lot more car for about $11,000 less. If your buying American, forget it. The transmission is made in Mexico, engine is made in Hungary, car is built in Poland and distributed from Germany. Its an Opel with Buick emblems. The car is a Vauxhall Cascada in the UK, a Holden Cascada in Australia, an Opel Cabrio in Spain, an Opel Cascada in the rest of Europe and a Buick Cascada in the U.S. and China. Same car different emblems. Overall I like it, but it needs some improvements as mentioned above. UPDATE: I have now had the car for several months. Tried to put the top down using the key fob as stated in the manual and as instructed by the dealer. Windows retracted, but stopped at that point and the top wouldnt go down. I took it to the dealer and they worked on it for about 2 hours. They called the manufacturer when they couldnt figure out the problem. Long story short, GM decided to not install the software until the 2017 Cascada (it is on the Canadian version). Called and complained to GM, but even though the dealer thought the software was there and the manual states its there. GM wont fix the problem. I thought GM emerged from bankruptcy as a new and improved company. Not so, same old crappy customer service, last GM I will own.

• 

  clunker - 2004 Buick Rendezvous
  By Tina Geers - March 15 - 2:00 am

  While shifting gears it sounds like a 747. When acelerating or going up a grade you can not hear your pasenger. There is always a distinct whine in the transmission.Have been told by dealer that is a factory problem but have received no satifaction. Company tells me this normal. Am about to look into arbitration program!!

• 

  be careful - 1999 Buick Park Avenue
  By sad - March 13 - 10:00 am

  Have had numerous problems with this car. Windows, air, heat, sunroof, auto seat, transmission. Every time Ive had to fight to get the things fixed even under the factory warranty. Even then still not right. Additionally the mechanic says there is a transmission problem and they still wont fix it saying there is nothing wrong. Crazy. Why cant the Americans build a car that holds up? And this is their top of the line!! Its almost like Buick has a policy of obfuscate. This is very disappointing to say the least. Im going to trade it on one of those imports. Sorry folks... I want to support American labor but it reaches a point....

• 

  Tried American - 2006 Buick Rendezvous
  By Cblaw89 - March 1 - 9:49 pm

  Have the larger engine, good power. People comment the cars attractive. Love the moveable second row seats, allows great flexibility and ample room when the rear seat is needed for the kids and their friends. Given that my lease payments are relatively low, its a good value for an suv that seats 7 but rides like a car. Things I dont like: gas tank gauge dips way down when on a hill, it actually wouldnt start when i had almost a qrtr tank, roadside guy said this is a problem w/the vehicle, must use qrtr line as "empty" the interior lighting stinks, no over head light near the front, little lights on rear view mirror dont help, makes it hard to see stuff gas goes real quick.

• 

  A week in a Buick LeSabre - 2005 Buick LeSabre
  By Short term ride - February 23 - 12:58 pm

  First off, this review is based on just a week of driving. So far Im not very pleased. One of the first things I noticed was the wind noise coming in around winshield. After numerous seat position adjustments I was never able to find one that was truly comfortable. The bench seat provides very little lateral support. After my 1 hour commute I feel as if Ive driven much longer. The steering has almost no feel to it (over assisted).

• 

  Nothing but Problems - 2000 Buick LeSabre
  By Duane Wright - February 12 - 2:36 pm

  Car has been a problemn since we bought it. It rides rough after 52000 miles. Problems to date: Airbag cable assy @7210 miles Spark plug coil assy @20610 miles Tie rod assy @ 27,684 miles Power window @36,085 miles EKG valve @ 41242 miles Rebuilt Transmission @ 51,977 miles It also has other electrical/indictor problems that I will not pay to have fixed. New some one else that had transmission rebuilt at less than 50,ooo miles. And they wonder why GM is in trouble. We will not buy another GM product. I did not want to buy this when we bought this but my wife did & she is convinced now never to buy another one. See why GM can not warranty the drive train for 70000 miles!!!

• 

  Worst I have ever owned - 2005 Buick Terraza
  By bmgilb2036 - February 8 - 12:49 am

  The only reason we bought this van was because of my wifes employee discount. The 3.5 engine has no torque and constantly has to down shift to pull small grades. Front leg room is adequate if you starred in the Wizard of Oz as the mayor. Access to the third row is great if your name is Pegleg with the table folded flat. The genius who designed the back up warning lights never put the DVD screen down or he would have noticed that it blocks the lights.The seat system is from 1998. There might as well be a semi trailer attached as you can not see out the back window since the head rests are the size of Montana. And finally, I wanted to trade it, but it depreciated by $13000 in 11 months. Trash