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:

• 

  2005 LaCrosse CXL - 2005 Buick LaCrosse
  By freeh - November 13 - 8:13 pm

  Nice car. Good ride and handling. Excellent on the highway. Only drawbacks are fairly poor mileage in town and somewhat tight rear seat. Much better car than my previous Buick, a Regal.

• 

  Great Car - 1993 Buick Regal
  By me - November 12 - 7:41 pm

  Powerful engine with great acceleration, loud system, as of now absolutely no rust on the body.

• 

  OK Car - 1998 Buick LeSabre
  By dave - November 11 - 11:10 pm

  This vehicle has bullet proof GM 3800 engine. But the accessory drive components are so so. After I fixed all problems, this vehicle runs great. I am expecting no major repair untill it reachs 200,000 miles (at least engine and transmission)

• 

  Excellent value - 1996 Buick Riviera
  By dave8697 - November 11 - 1:28 am

  Bought with 88,000 miles on it, paid $1500 over private party value at time. Have put 45,000 miles on it in 19 months. Has every option. Gets 28.5 mpg. Has great acceleration and is quiet inside. Work needed at purchase: slow leak in tire, tiny oil cooler line leak (caused by sitting and which went away first week I had it), cd player ocassionally skips. Done so far: top off supercharger oil once, 2 new tires, air filter, Broken since I bought it:absolutely nothing. Still has orig. spark plugs. I drive 47 miles each way to work, and it smooths the road and quiets the trucks I pass. I planned on $600 a year in repairs and 23 mpg when I bought it, so Im very happy because repairs are zero.

• 

  A Great Buy! - 2016 Buick Encore
  By Sam Fam - November 11 - 1:24 am

  After owning Hondas and Toyotas for several years, I thought buying my new car would be a breeze as the new Honda Accord looks beautiful. However, for safety reasons I did not want a car with "Push Button Start/Stop" or electronic parking brake. So my choices narrowed down to a few models. However, test drive of the Honda Accord was a complete disappointment because of the cheap materials used inside for everything including side panels, fabric etc. Plus the car was extremely noisy which I never expected. So I started research on all the other cars available out there that look beautiful, have a reliable history, used quality materials, and satisfy my requirements I mentioned earlier. Based on photos and reviews, I kept coming back to Buick Encore which I decided to buy outright after test driving it. So far, I have not been disappointed. My husband who was a little skeptical earlier loves the car too and so do my kids. Also with 20% rebate from Buick + dealer discount, I got a great deal on the car.

• 

  Still great at 26000 miles - 2004 Buick Rendezvous
  By rink - November 10 - 7:58 pm

  The vehicle is roomy & very comfortable. It has been almost trouble free. Averaging 18.5 mpg in mixed driving. XM & OnStar are great. OnStar is only $10 per mo. with Verizon Family plan. AWD is great in MN snow. I would recommend as a relatively roomy SUV with good mileage & performance.

• 

  One of the best Ive owned - 2005 Buick Rendezvous
  By jimbo - November 10 - 9:34 am

  I have owned many GM vehicles, and have found this to be the most comfortable and trouble free of them all. I was in a van last car, and decided to downsize. I love this size as I have room for anything I want to haul, but small enough to feel like Im not in too big a vehicle. I got the 3.6 V6 and find it to be quiet and responsive, but cant get the mileage over 19 mpg on the highway. I also find the liftgate to be heavy, and will get the automatic one next time.

• 

  Great car. - 1996 Buick Regal
  By Javi0084 - November 9 - 12:36 am

  This is a great car, I get almost 25MPG in the city driving no more than 5mph above the speed limit and accelerating soft. Take care of the transmission, my car has 140,000 miles and I already need to replace the transmission on it, still drives fine though. Overall this is a great car, I plan to keep this car for 200,000+ miles.

• 

  Terazza is the best by far - 2006 Buick Terraza
  By tracy - November 9 - 12:17 am

  I test drove several mini vans over a period of three months. Terazza, Montana, Senoma, Freestyle, also a van by Saturn. I kept going back to the Terazza it offers everthing that I wanted in a mini van. storage, comfort, style,dvd for the kids.( i have 2)it has a more sporty look to it then mini van. It handles the road great. I recently took it on a road trip to Salem, Mass and it performed wonderful. It was also great on fuel. I think that Buick hit the mark with this minivan.

• 

  Bad Choice - 2005 Buick LaCrosse
  By Big Ed - November 8 - 11:36 pm

  Never owned a Buick before and after reviewing other cars in this class,I thought this was a good choice. Initially I liked this car very much. I noticed the problem on the first trip of about 150 miles. At highway speeds of 50-65 MPH and trying to maintain a safe distance from the car in front of me. The accelerator pedal seems to have a dead zone. It doesnt respond under normal foot pressure to maintain the speed that traffic flow allowes. As I apply a slight pressure on the gas pedal, nothing happens. As I increase the pressure, a sudden burst of acceleration is felt with the teck jumping 500-750RPM. This unusual condition is very strenuous on long trips of this constant awareness.