Inventor leaves a lasting legacy
Despite financial troubles, the Buick nameplate has endured

Of the literally hundreds of pioneering nameplates that appeared during the dawn of the automotive era a century ago, only a handful survived. The fact that one of them is Buick is rather surprising given that it could have just as easily been thrown out with the bath water as its founder's fortunes went down the drain.

David Dunbar Buick - who made a sizeable fortune from plumbing fixtures and the development of the process that allowed white enamel to be used as a coating for cast iron bathtubs - turned out to be a pretty fair inventor but a less than brilliant businessman. A million Buick-badged automobiles built by the company he created just after the turn of the century had been sold by the mid-1920s, but the Scot ended his years in near poverty and virtual obscurity.

When Buick, described as "a tinkerer, dreamer, poor businessman" fumbled the ball, automotive entrepreneur William "Billy" Durant was there to pick it up and run with it, creating one of the founding pillars of what is today the largest automobile manufacturer in the world: General Motors. Durant apparently liked the sound of the Buick name.

Buick was born in Arbroath, Scotland in 1854, the son of a joiner, and came to Detroit with his family two years later. He was blessed with a mechanical ability that saw him become a useful mechanic by the age of 13 and an apprentice of one James Flowers, who produced brass and copper fittings. Later, Henry Ford would also become Flowers' apprentice.

Buick then went to work for the Alexander Manufacturing Company, which produced plumbing fixtures. He and a friend, William Sherwood, later took over the company and Buick was credited with more than a dozen inventions over the next two decades.

The partners were doing all right, but as one historian puts it, "Buick was more interested in making things work than in making money - apparently unable to figure out a way to do both at the same time."

The "thing" he became obsessed with making work was the internal combustion engine. Buick, at the age of 45 in 1899, sold his share of the plumbing company for $100,000 and set himself up developing and manufacturing engines for farm and marine use under the working name Buick Auto-Vim and Power Company. Soon to join the company was Walter Marr, a mercurial mechanical wizard with a background in bicycles and gasoline powered industrial engines. He also apparently built three motorized vehicles in the late 1890s.

History is rather vague on the activities of the unsung Buick during this period, and just who designed engines produced by the firm seems unclear, although it's likely Buick and his son Thomas were involved. It's also uncertain who did the bulk of the work on the first Buick automobile, built during the 1899-1900 period. Marr later claimed he built the first Buick.

There is also some evidence Buick himself wasn't at all enthusiastic about automobiles at this time, and that he and Marr, both quick-tempered perfectionists, were often at odds. Buick, incidentally, was about 5'6", weighed in at about 120 lb and chewed tobacco. Some called him a crank. Eugene Richard, another skilled mechanical type, joined the company about this time.

By 1902 Auto-Vim was essentially bankrupt, apparently due to mismanagement by Buick. It was rescued by brothers Ben and Frank Briscoe, parts manufacturers who built radiators for the Olds Motor Works (Oldsmobile was another Durant acquisition and GM building block). They loaned Buick money and provided materials, and the company was reorganized as the Buick Motor Co. with Buick as a minor shareholder.

The real story of the Buick brand begins with the purchase of the company by James H. Whiting, owner of the Flint Wagon Works in late 1903. It soon began series production of successful automobiles of sound design, but its troubles weren't over. By 1906 Buick had turned over operation of the company to William Durant and left completely in 1908. That year Durant incorporated Buick into GM, and by 1916 was producing more than 100,000 vehicles a year. Buick was headed for a job as an instructor at a local community college.

It's interesting to note that as early as 1907, versions of the original Buick were selling in England, and that after it became part of GM, Buicks with English bodywork were being sold as Bedford-Buicks.

Buick also played a prominent role in Canadian automotive history, serving as the basis for the McLaughlin built by Sam McLaughlin of the Oshawa carriage company of the same name. The company had set out to build its own car, but ended up doing a deal with Durant in 1908 for Buick engines and chassis that were clad in Canadian-built bodies. This arrangement lasted until 1923 when the company became General Motors of Canada and the cars became known as McLaughlin-Buicks.