History of Buick
Buick (/ˈbjuːɪk/), or formally the Buick Motor Division of General Motors, is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Started by automotive pioneer David Dunbar Buick in 1899, it was among the first American marques of automobiles, and was the company that established General Motors in 1908. Before the establishment of General Motors, GM founder William C. Durant had served as Buick's general manager and major investor.
In the North American market, Buick has been mostly marketed as a premium automobile brand, selling luxury vehicles positioned above GM's mainstream brands, while below the flagship luxury Cadillac division. Buick's current target demographic according to The Detroit News is "a successful executive with family."
After securing its market position in the late 1930s, when junior companion brand Marquette and Cadillac junior brand LaSalle were discontinued, Buick was positioned as an upscale luxury car below the Cadillac. During this same time period, many manufacturers were introducing V8 engines in their high-end models, while Buick used a straight-8 for all models starting in 1931. The first Buick V8 was introduced in 1953, then in 1962, the Buick V6 was introduced for the compact Special model. Buick engines, with few exceptions, have always used overhead valves which the company pioneered in the 1904 Buick Model B.
In 2017, Buick sold more than 1.4 million vehicles worldwide, a record for the brand. The main market is now China, where 80% of Buick-branded automobiles are sold.[6] Buicks are also sold in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. U.S. market share in 2022 was 1.2%, down by nearly half of it's market share in 2000.
Buick Sport Victories and Racing
For many years, Buick was a substitute for Chevrolet in automobile racing. No earlier than the 1960s, Buick was a competitor in the Indianapolis 500, and (like almost every other American manufacturer) also participated in the Grand National stock car racing series using its Regal and later the Gran Sport.
The golden age of Buick in motorsport, however, was the early to late 1980s. General Motors entered the Regal, particularly the Grand National model, in the NASCAR Cup Series alongside the Oldsmobile Cutlass. Buick was also a major powerplant in the IndyCar Series and IMSA GT Series (particularly in the IMSA GTP class) for several years. The 1990s, however, proved to be the end of Buick's reign in motorsports, as GM replaced it for many years with Oldsmobile before phasing out that marque in 2004. Oldsmobile would be replaced by Pontiac until its demise in 2009, being replaced by Chevrolet.
Buicks were also entered in the Trans Am Series in the 1980s and 1990s using aftermarket V8 engines.
Family Tree
Buick is a luxury SUV/Cross-Over vehicle manufacture. It makes the Encore GX, the Encore GX ST, the Envision, the Envision Avenir, the Envision ST, the Enclave, the Enclave Avenir and the Enclave ST.