Sad History of The Man Behind Buick | The Bad Blonde Car History

We are going to be talking about the oldest car maker in the western hemisphere, the carmaker that brought you turn signals, and is the reason we have General Motors…. We are talking about Buick, it’s the birth and early years specifically. #buick #history #cars History of Packard: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3xAvDkxZrc History of McFarlan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQFVtVZxumE Founded by automotive pioneer David Dunbar Buick in 1899. Buick is one of the first American automobile companies, It is now the oldest still manufacturing car brand in the US. Oldsmobile could have had that title if they were still around, and played a main part in establishing General Motors. David Dunbar Buick was only two years old when his family immigrated from Scotland to Detroit. He’d be enrolled in school but left early to pursue a job in plumbing parts and goods. Soon he and a partner would take over the plumbing parts company in 1882 and Buick would began tapping into his talents of invention. With money and more time, Buick was ready to jump into the world of engine manufacturing. In 1899 Buick founded the Buic Auto-Vim and Power Company focusing on internal combustion engines. His initial thought was just to produce engines for agriculture BUT he quickly changes course and decided to create a whole car. Fast forward to a few patents, name change, and you have the Buick Motor Company producing 37 automobiles in 1905. One important patent to cover was one of Buick’s on again off again engineers, Walter Marr. Apparently he and Buick shared hot tempers. Marr’s valve-in-head patent would essentially be the genesis for overhead valve engineering as we know it today. It was very early on that a character who would change the landscape of automakers for years to come joined Buick. William C. Durant aka Billy became controlling investor of Buick. If that name sounds familiar it should. He would be the man with the idea behind General Motors. After Durant joining Buick, their production numbers quickly rose to 950 the next year and then nearly 9k by 1908. By that time they were cranking out more cars than Ford, Maxwell, and Oldsmobile. Durant was well equipped to turn Buick into the biggest-selling auto brand in the USA. His fortune had been made in the carriage business, Durant-Dort Carriage company which was one of the largest carriage companies in the world. Durant was a millionaire from this. Buick was not the only automotive founder that left his own company after coming into contact with Billy Durant. Race car driver and engineer, Louis Chevrolet, teamed up with William C. Durant on Chevrolet only to leave within years. Mostly because Louis didn’t care about building a car company, he just wanted to race. With Buick the #1 car maker in the US, it’s success served as a launching pad for Durant to found General Motors in 1908. Durant started making a series of acquisitions comprising of competing manufacturers. He put a stop to that, having each company target a certain segment of buyers. Cleverly, he had all brands, Buick, Chevrolet, Oakland, Oldsmobile and Cadillac sharing general motors original and oldest platform, the GM A platform. Soo Durant had purchase 13 car companies and 10 part and accessories manufacturers… A lot of growth with a lot of expense. Durant had over extended the company and pissed off his board of directors.. And when that happens someone usually gets booted out which is exactly what happened to Durant. But don’t be too worried, he would come back with a vengeance and during his leave from GM this was the time period that he and Louis Chevrolet founded Chevrolet. He would use Chevrolet’s successful sales to gain back control of General Motors and would lead the company till 1920. Fun fact, An argument between Durant and Henry Leland would bring us Lincoln… Yes, WWI broke out and Durant, evidently a pacifist, refused to participate in defense work. Leland screw you, I love America and left to create the Lincoln Motor Company which produced the Liberty aircraft engines. Side note, Leland is also the gentleman that turned one of Henry Ford’s failed plants into Cadillac.