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:

• 

  My First Car Domestic Car! - 2012 Buick Verano
  By sunny45 - July 24 - 8:10 pm

  After three Toyotas, I have changed. Ive had this car for a week and love it! Not only is it beautiful, but it has great handling on the road. The car is very comfortable and I love the the quiet interior (Oh sorry..."Quitetuning". This car is of a better value that most cars this size and within the compact sedan category. Thanks Buick for thinking about those of us that want luxury in a compact and making it worth our money.

• 

  119,000 miles in 5 years proves this is an excellent car - 2008 Buick Enclave
  By tinyelvis - July 23 - 8:47 pm

  I have updated my Enclave in this forum since newly purchased in Aug 2007. It still rides great. Everything works as well as the day I bought it. Seats are showing minimal wear for the time/mileage. Paint still looks showroom new. Have I had issues? You bet. Have they been resolved? Yes, and not always the first time. Five times a year we head to our vacation home, tacking on 2800 per trip. I can drive the entire 16 hours straight thru...no back or neck or shoulder pain. We easily haul 6 people and all their stuff. Repairs paid by GM: Tranny at 65k wheel hub assembly at 76k. Repairs paid by me: door hinge 1 set of rotors 2 sets of brake pads Fluids. $1200 for engine gaskets at 116,500.

• 

  5 trips to SoCAL and Edmonton - 2010 Buick Enclave
  By monkman67 - July 20 - 4:42 pm

  This is the best of the best, travelling form Edmonton Alberta to Las Vegas then down to Disneyland and San Diego for the 5th time now and the ride is quiet and the handling is great 75,000 km in less than 3 years and no issues what so ever and the XBOX 360 running during all the trips never had any effect on the battery at all.

• 

  My favorite car, but... - 2012 Buick Regal
  By db1162 - July 19 - 5:57 pm

  I purchased a Carbon Black Metalic Regal GS Automatic brand new three weeks ago. There are many things that I love about this car and concur with the other reviews. However, there are signficant quality control issues. One week after I got it, the paint is coming off of the driver side door! There are two dime sized paint chips down to the metal on the driver side door. My dealer thinks that it was prepped wrong and it needs repainted. Also, the passenger side door speaker rattles so bad that you cant have any bass on the sound system. This also needs completely repaired. I love this car, but Im concerned about how it was put together and how it is going to hold up over the years.

• 

  Value - 2004 Buick Century
  By teapartynow - July 12 - 3:27 pm

  We bought the year model 2004 used because the previous year models had a gasket problem. This car has a wobbly feel to its wheels which I think is because of poor wheel bearings, not weak side walls of the tires. I have not bothered to pay for new replacements. I recommend these three "upgrades": 1. Pour a can of transmission Seafoam in the automatic transmission by pouring it down the tube of the check stick. 2. Replace the air filter with a K&N or home made from cut reusable air conditioning filter material. MPG will improve 10%. 3. Replace the front door speakers with anything else, 5.25". We hope this car will last a long while. Its a good choice for large people.

• 

  #21 is becoming #1 - 2012 Buick Regal
  By vtannouncer - July 7 - 2:36 pm

  Ive had my license for 21 years, and last week leased my 21st new vehicle - the 2012 Regal GS with 6MT. I had driven both the automatic and the manual a couple of times each before I chose the manual. This is quickly becoming the #1 favorite of all the cars Ive owned. The looks are AMAZING, the handling is great, I enjoy the power and performance, and its very comfortable. Ive been in the car business for 10 years, and have my pic of 35 different makes, and Im very happy with my choice of the 2012 Regal GS.

• 

  "WOW!" - 2012 Buick Verano
  By ekl21801 - July 5 - 5:02 pm

  Buick is definitely not your grandfathers or your fathers Buick anymore! Coming from a 37 year old Ford man, I am completely impressed. Great car for the price and Ive looked at all the other car brands just to be unbiased and none could touch the Verano in any categories except maybe speed. Still pretty quick though. Homerun there Buick!

• 

  Dangerous Regal Turbo - 2011 Buick Regal
  By furys - July 4 - 10:51 pm

  We returned the car because of erratic idling between 10,000 and 30,000 RPM without touching the accelerator upon starting, both cold engine and starting in between routine errand stops throughout the day. I identified this problem as dangerous and the vehicle seemed unsafe to drive. The vehicle nearly stalls when entering the freeway and passing. We want to return the car because it is unsafe to drive with random self acceleration, a defective driver side windshield washer sprayer and defective mats that unclip while driving. These problems are all serious safety hazards. The car was scraped and dented six times because of this. I left it at the dealership this week but they only refereed

• 

  Great first car - 2001 Buick Century
  By meganpumpkin - July 2 - 10:06 pm

  I inherited this car from my grandmother and it made a great first car. It can handle running over curbs and forgetting an oil change or two. It has been incredibly reliable. I am currently looking for a car with better gas mileage since I drive so far but any one who gets this car is in for a treat. It may not look like much but it gets you from a to b every time.

• 

  Regal GS has exceeded my expectations! - 2012 Buick Regal
  By canamman - July 2 - 3:43 pm

  I have been researching the Regal GS for the past month. Made several test drives with the manual and automatic versions. I ended up purchasing the auto due to the majority of city driving I do. So far I have put over 300 miles in just the first 3 days. I am very impressed with this car. Very smooth, quiet and powerful when needed. I love how you can select the suspension settings to suit your mood & driving conditions. Stereo control took a little bit to get used to, but now I dont even have to look. The styling, fit & finish are well above what I would expect of a car in this class. If you are on the fence, just go drive one.