Buick is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors. Started by automotive pioneer David Dunbar Buick, it had been among the initial American
marques of automobiles, and was the company that established General Motors in 1908. Prior to the establishment of General Motors, GM founder William C. Durant had served as
Buick Electra 2024's general manager and major investor. For much of its existence in the North American market, Buick has been marketed as a premium automobile brand, selling luxury vehicles positioned above GM's mainstream brands, while below the flagship luxury Cadillac division. Along with
wealthier buyers, Buick has additionally had a standing of appealing to older buyers. In 2017, Buick sold more than 1.4 million vehicles worldwide, a record for the brand. The key market has become China, where 80% of Buick-branded automobiles are sold. Buicks are also sold in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
Buick is one of many oldest automobile brands on earth and the oldest in the United States. The very first two Buick automobiles were made in 1899 and 1900 at the "Buick Auto-Vim and Power Company" by chief-engineer Walter Marr, but company owner David Dunbar Buick was reluctant to begin making automobiles, being content with stationary and marine engine production, so Marr left Buick in 1901 to found his own automobile company under his own name. His replacement was Eugene Richard, who applied for a patent in 1902 for Marr's valve-in-head (overhead valve) engine, which patent, number 771,095, was awarded to Richard in the name of Buick in 1904.
The Buick Trishield is rooted in the ancestral coat of arms of the automaker's founder, David Dunbar Buick. That crest was a red shield with a checkered silver and azure diagonal line from top of the left to reduce right, a stag above, and a punctured cross below. The division adopted this on its radiator grilles in 1937. In 1960, the logo underwent an important overhaul. Its single shield was replaced with a trio in red, white, and blue—denoting the LeSabre, Invicta, and Electra then in the Buick lineup. It absolutely was supplanted by the Buick Hawk in the 1970s, nevertheless the trishield reemerged in the 1980s, simplified, but having its same patriotic colors. The Trishield with red, white, and blue features, was simplified in 2005, nevertheless the colors have returned representing the current trio of vehicles in the Buick marque for sedans and crossovers. However, the Trishield enjoys its even more distilled and emboldened tri-color form.
For several years, Buick was an alternative for Chevrolet in automobile racing. No earlier than the 1960s, Buick was a competitor in the Indianapolis 500, and also participated in the Grand National stock car racing series having 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, specially the Grand National model, in the NASCAR Cup Series alongside the Oldsmobile Cutlass.
2024 Buick Electra E5 was also an important powerplant in the IndyCar Series and IMSA GT Series (particularly in the IMSA GTP class) for all years. The 1990s, however, proved to be the conclusion of Buick's reign in motorsports, as GM replaced it for quite some time with Oldsmobile before phasing out that marque in 2004. Oldsmobile could 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.