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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  For Fair Weather only! - 2008 Buick Enclave
  By EAS - October 27 - 2:00 am

  If you live in an area that has rain and/or snow - please reconsider purchasing a 2008 Enclave. This car is terrible on wet roads. All else seems to be fairly good no other issues.

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  FactoryOptionsCeptSunroof&RS displays - 2011 Buick LaCrosse
  By E_Net_RIder - October 27 - 2:00 am

  1500M.TooManyItemsNotInstalledOrPoorQua lity ToBeCalledLuxury.PoorTires&IntakeNoisy >70MPH. 2CosmeticDamagesFromFactory.TooMuchRoll &Sway. Poor seat support on long ride,terrible headrest. LackOfUsefulStorage. HK AudioIsTerribleOnBassNotes(XM Radio) CheapLookingSpeakersMayBeCause. IgnorantProgrammingOfSeatMemory. I have documented 3 pages of complaints that stop this automobile from being the high quality/luxury I expected. SomeAreLackOf,UsefulStorage&Armrest, CorneringLamps, LoadLeveling, SpeedSensitveWipers(MalibuHasIt). OnlyOneAdjustableBackSupportForDriver, NoneForPassenger(Malibu W/LeatherHasMoreSupportiveSeats). NotAsQuietOrNiceRidingAsLincoln.

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  Love it...but caveats! - 2011 Buick LaCrosse
  By Paul W. - October 26 - 2:00 am

  Bought the CXL w/ 3.6L. Absolutely beautiful exterior. Very smooth and quiet ride. Steering is appropriately responsive. Only 400 miles so far. Brakes very responsive. Really like the LED taillights. Visibility is compromised by side pillars and rear view is small due to awkward angle of trunk. "mood" lighting is nice to have, but does reflect off windshield which can be safety hazard. Leather is high quality. Little to no storage in interior is a bummer. Oversized sunroof is a nice feature, especially for the kids. Bluetooth feature is great for handsfree phone calls (safety)! Stock stereo leaves something to be desired. At $35K sticker should have quality stereo. Dual A/C is GREAT!

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  Love my Enclave - 2010 Buick Enclave
  By B. Brown - October 25 - 2:00 am

  Drove the car from No. Cal to Park City, UT in 12 hrs. Ride was very enjoyable and smooth. Averaged 21.5 mpg. Nav system and XM were a big plus. Very little road noise if any. Love the car.

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  buick - not a old mans car anymore - 2011 Buick LaCrosse
  By sam - October 25 - 2:00 am

  Rides quite. power good for cruising, people are amazed its a buick, even the young ones. Surprised me when I saw it. It speaks class all the way.

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  Enclave - 2011 Buick Enclave
  By Pete - October 24 - 2:00 am

  Recently purchased an Enclave CXL AWD. Tremendous car and we are very pleased. Great comfort. Great ride. Lots of safety features. We were worried about gas mileage. Once we got used to the fact that this car is smoother and quicker than the car it replaced, we went a little lighter on the gas at lights and signs. Went from about 14 mpg in suburban / urban driving to 18 over 3 tanks of gas. Hopefully it will continue to improve.

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  Enclave the beast - 2011 Buick Enclave
  By captalvinscott - October 22 - 2:00 am

  This is the most comfortable SUV Ive ever driven plus the space and easy method of letting down the seats are awesome.

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  GM does it right this time! - 2011 Buick Regal
  By George - October 21 - 2:00 am

  Bought a Regal RL1 in July to replace a 2005 Saab 9-3. GM didnt do a good job Americanizing the Saab, but it has done an outstanding conversion of the Opel Insignia into the Buick Regal. Currently built in Germany, the Regal has outstanding design details, workmanship, and reliability. I have the dark blue exterior, cashmere interior which is really a gorgeous combination. Love the comfortable leather seats, dual climate controls, quiet ride and sporty handling. And even the little things like the power up/down on the passenger seat and the ability to customize the locking system, e.g. I choose to open all doors with one click of the remote instead of two.

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  Great ride and quick - 1994 Buick Roadmaster
  By Chuck Thomas - October 20 - 2:00 am

  I bought this car from a mechanic. He took great care of it. I bought it about 9 mos. ago with 150k now I have 165k on it and no problems at all. The car has the Corvette LT-1 engine. It pulls the heavy car easily with great acceleration. Handleing is fine and brakeing is very good. Sitting in the car in front or back reminds you of sitting at home in your living room. The gripes I have, better gas milage, car is not good on wet roads, some of the rubber gaskets around doors tend to peel off, other than that no problem. If you want a heavy, comfortable fast car, this is the one. Like the cars of years back when gas was cheap and cars were made with plenty of steel.Nicecar to own

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  Second time around - 2002 Buick Regal
  By 58 Impala - October 20 - 2:00 am

  I bought this very same new in Sept 2002 and kept it for 4 years and traded it for an 06 LaCrosse CXL which I trades in on an 08 Silverado LTZ. even thought 06 Buick had more features, it didnt pull the mountians or get the gas mileage the 2002 Regal GS did. This year we decided we would get a used car and I was searching the net. I found our old Buick at a dealership about 40 miles from here and it had less than 60K miles on it. It had aroudn 32K when I traded. The dealership had bought it at an auction, but the car was still in great shape. We missed car after getting the LacCross and are very happy we found it again. Great gas mileage, handling and power in a nice size car.