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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  Super stoked about my Encore - 2013 Buick Encore
  By toby65 - April 26 - 2:51 am

  After two months of car shopping, I ended up right where I started & thats gotta say something about my new ride! After GM agreed to buy back my 2011 Chevy Equinox because it was a lemon, I suddenly found myself test driving everything from the Toyota prius to the Chevy cruze. In the end I went with the Encore because its a snappy little SUV with great MPG & even though my Chevy was a lemon, GM did right by me & took care of it with little effort on my behalf.

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  This is an under rated car - 2013 Buick Regal
  By richardpb - April 19 - 4:51 pm

  After looking for several months, I finally decided to lease a 2013 Buick Regal Turbo Premium 2. Need HID headlights and the Premium 2 trim level was required. I researched and drove the Honda Accord Touring, Ford Fusion, Malibu 2LTZ, BMW 3 series, MB C 250, Kia Optima, and the Nissan Altima. The Buick Regal surpassed all of them in comfort, features, ride quality, build quality, handling, luxury, and especially quietness. A quiet comfortable car is paramount for me and the Buick Regal provides that at a reasonable price point. I am completely impressed with this car. Traded in my Cadillac DeVille, known for comfort and quiet, and have not regretted my decision. The Regal is great.

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  Love it! Not enough cup holders though... - 2005 Buick Terraza
  By silveeto - April 17 - 8:50 pm

  I just bought my Terraza recently. It has been maintained so well that Im pretty sure a family of ghosts drove it. It smells like new car, not a stain or a worn spot to be found. At a low 90,000km it looks as though it could have 10km on the clock - so Im very excited just at how clean it is. In my time driving it, my only complaint is the transmission. Sometimes it doesnt seem to know what it wants to do. I stomp it for power on the highway and it launches into 6000rpm and sounds like its about to explode. A little scary - I dont want to face a tranny rebuild so soon in our relationship. Aside from that, driving around town and so forth, shes the smoothest ride Ive ever owned.

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  My Car Rocks - 1994 Buick LeSabre
  By jstoney14 - April 17 - 2:44 pm

  It rides great.

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  Excellent SUV - 2004 Buick Rendezvous
  By scherbs - April 16 - 10:51 am

  This is one of the best cars Ive owned. I purchased it new and now have over 86,000 miles on it. Had zero problems with it. I would buy another one if they still built them. Since GM doesnt build them any more I bought an Enclave and it too is an excellent vehicle.

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  Travelin Encore - 2013 Buick Encore
  By trvler2hm - April 12 - 12:40 pm

  I have owned my Encore for 2 weeks now. I love it!! I came out of a 10 year old Suv with no features of the 21st century. I have already experienced a snow day commute and the Encore out performed most vehicles on the road that day. I enjoy the features of the car and I have only had to visit the gas station once a week verses 2 to 3 times a week. It has enough get up and go to get me where I need to be. The car has enough power to get me up a mountain in the high country of Colorado without impeding other vehicles. I am very satisfied with my new Encore.

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  Great Car - 2004 Buick Rendezvous
  By cheri_gossett - April 11 - 10:21 pm

  Over all my car has been great. I bought the car 5 years old with 110K. I now have over 185k and no major problems.

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  Loving my little SUV - 2013 Buick Encore
  By spitzlab - April 11 - 3:44 pm

  Ive had my Encore for about 2 weeks and have begun to have fun driving again. Its very manuverable in traffic and i can zip down the hwy if i want to. I think it looks stylish and not like the rest of the pack. While its small I had no problem getting into it and Im a very large person. I have arthritis and some of those higher vehicles just didnt work for me. Also My 77y/o mom can get in and out of this very easy too. Im getting 24 MPG on my first 300 miles and its the AWD model and its city driving. Its had all the features that i was hoping for and more. And i could afford it. Since most adults now spend more time single than married this is the perfect vehicle for a single too!

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  BAD TRANSMISSION!!!! - 2008 Buick Enclave
  By msgoodie - April 10 - 3:13 pm

  Buyer Beware! I absolutely love the design of the vehicle. Its perfect for my family. As previous posts mention, the wave plate is a problem. The service engine light kept coming on and it kept losing power. I had to keep bringing it in and they said it was fixed and wouldnt have the problem again. Unfortunately, the problem persisted and after having my transmission rebuilt at only 48,000 miles, I just had it rebuilt again at 56,000 miles. Crazy right!! Unfortunately, Im now out of warranty. I have to figure out how to get rid of this vehicle that has a carfax report with multiple transmission issues.

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  Buyer Beware, Extremely Unhappy Customer… - 2008 Buick Enclave
  By smithe2 - April 10 - 1:32 pm

  I am joining this discussion, as we are also having an issue with our 2008 Buick Enclave. We need a new transmission. We have a 3/5/R wave plate fracture. It appears that this is a very common issue with the 2008 Buick Enclave, yet GM does not see a need to do a recall. I see unsatisfied Enclave consumers, on these forums, that are having issues with their transmission. We brought it to the service department, expecting it was still under warranty. To our surprise it was not, due to the in service date of the vehicle. Due to this date, we had missed the warranty coverage by six months. The service department quoted us $4900 to replace the transmission. We had a friend recommend calling GM direct and see if they had any cost assistance they could offer, let our frustration continue. I would like to cover the pain in detail, but there is not enough time. Basically after countless phone calls and two and half weeks later, I was told that they would not offer any help and per our case rep 70,000 miles for a vehicle, was a lot of miles. Imagine my shock that you could by a $50,000 vehicle and only expect to get 70,000 miles out of it. The woman who handled my case was rude and even suggested that maybe I should have bought a different brand vehicle. I did not expect GM to absorb the full cost, but I was hoping they would split the cost of the repair. I have owned GM vehicles for over ten years and after this experience, I am not sure I will ever buy or recommend another GM product. Any thoughts or help out there, I am open to suggestions.