"With Buick, we sold the assurance that the power to perform was there," wrote General Motors founder William C. Durant in the 1930s, of Buick's earliest days, at the beginning of the century (David Buick's Marvelous Motor Car, Lawrence R. Gustin, Buick Gallery and Research Center, 2006).

"Power sold Buick, and made it what it is today."

Indeed, as the automaker exclaimed in a 1936 advertisement, "there was never a Buick built as a mere means of transport!"

Writes author and Buick expert Brad Conley, "performance means many different things to different people.

"It could mean longevity of service (reassurance), or neck-snapping acceleration. For Buick, it was usually the former, where the purchaser was assured many years of trouble-free service."

Certainly, independent quality surveys yesterday and today will point to the Buick as a fiercely reliable automobile.

Yet Buick has also built cars with eager power.

After all, did Louis Chevrolet - who helped Billy Durant found Chevrolet Motor Co. - not rise to fame as a Buick racing driver?

Was, in 1953, Buick's 8.5:1 compression ratio not the highest in all of Detroit?

Did the 1958 Buick's new 364 cubic inch V8 pack up to a 10:1 compression ratio, and as much as 300 horsepower?

Has the 1970 Buick GS455 Stage 1 not ranked as one of the top three fastest muscle cars of all time, and was the 1987 Buick Grand National GNX not the fastest American production car of its day?

Most importantly, Buick power is delivered in smooth, easy symphony. Even as roughly 85% of all Buicks built were equipped with automatics, this was no ordinary automatic box; rather, Buick's Dynaflow was the industry leader.

The Buick power story begins at the turn of the 20th century, as Buick embarks upon a course that will give it a reputation as an engine innovator. The new Buick valve-in-head engine is powerful, reliable, and develops more horsepower per liter than anything else available in 1903.

It will be emulated countless times over.

Today, every Buick develops at least 200 horsepower.

Three aspects of Buick power stand out: strong numbers, smooth delivery, and steadfast longevity.


Today, every Buick develops at least 200 horsepower - and Super Series versions of LaCrosse & Lucerne offer up to 300 horsepower, from eight cylinders.


This legacy of power began in 1904, when Buick became the first to patent the valve-in-head internal combustion engine (patent #771,095). With its valves located in the top of the combustion chamber, unlike the L-head and T-head engines of contemporaries, the Buick engine was superior in horsepower per liter.

Writes author and Buick expert Lawrence R. Gustin, "the Buick design was more efficient than engines with other valve configurations. It was powerful and reliable, and eventually the entire industry would make use of the principle" (David Buick's Marvelous Motor Car, Lawrence R. Gustin, Buick Gallery and Research Center, 2006).

Buick Chief Engineer Walter Marr would explain of this triumph, thirty years later, that "compression in a valve-in-head motor bears directly on the pistons, without any loss in jumping from valve chamber to valve chamber.

"It's from 20 to 25% more powerful and efficient in performance" (David Buick's Marvelous Motor Car, Lawrence R. Gustin, Buick Gallery and Research Center, 2006).

Today, GM engineer and vintage Buick enthusiast Kevin Kirbitz ventures, "the evidence indicates that Buick, as depicted in the Richard engine patent, was the first manufacturer to successfully integrate all of the elements of what is today commonly regarded as the overhead-valve engine, including valve placement, valve-train operation, and engine cooling.

"It is this combination of ideas which set the Buick engine apart from its contemporaries" (David Buick's Marvelous Motor Car, Lawrence R. Gustin, Buick Gallery and Research Center, 2006).

The upshot? The Buick was one hot horseless carriage!

"Jesse James would never have been caught if there had been a Buick in those days," one dealership suggested, in a 1905 advertisement. In those heady, early days, a corporate publication (the Buick Bulletin) once reported a Buick victory in a tug of war with an elephant!


Buick's first 4-cylinder followed, with the 1907 Model D. That car's motor had, in development, taken Buick to victory upon victory in competitive hill climb events. In 1906, Buick celebrated with the production of its first 2-door car: the Model G runabout.

That year, Buicks won a pair of 100-mile races in New York. The Buick Racing Team would win more than 500 trophies from 1908 to 1910, including major victories at the new Indianapolis Motor Speedway in its first, 1909 season.

In 1909, Buick won 166 events, over 90% of those it entered.

In Lowell, Massachusetts, almost a century ago, crowds would gather to watch the revolutionary Buick Bugs take 7 of 10 events in three days of 1910 National Stock Chassis racing.

By 1913, Buick held several AAA speed records, thirty of which would still be standing a decade later. On July 17th, 1913, a Buick Model 10 of 1910 vintage became the first car to climb Pike's Peak unassisted. All Buicks had 4-cylinder power this year.

Buick launched its first 6-cylinder engine (with 48 brake horsepower) in 1914, an appropriate move to boost the desirability of its larger cars. 1916 saw it renewed, and cast in a single-piece block. The Buick Six was now the division's only engine.

Although a new 4-cylinder was introduced for 1917, it was predominantly the 6-cylinder that would carry the marque through the 1920s. It also, in modified form, carried racing driver Joe Nikrent to 108.24 mph on April 17th, 1923, near Muroc, California.


Reshaped hemispherical combustion chambers were introduced for 1928, before the overhead-valve straight-eight came to all 1931 Buicks. This made Buick the first mass-production automaker to adopt 8-cylinder engines, exclusively. Indeed, by the 1930s, no gangster worth chasing would be caught in anything less than a Buick.

It is also worth noting that, by placing the Fireball Eight straight-8 into its lightest smallest Century range in 1931, Buick preempted the muscle car craze by 30 years: this was a large engine in a lighter and smaller package, with sparkling performance indeed. Buick would hold the title of GM's performance division until Oldsmobile's later Rocket 77 OHV V8 and, later still, Pontiac's 1964 GTO.

In 1936, the Buick straight-eights received lighter, more durable Anolite pistons, reducing weight and improving performance. For 1938, domed high-compression pistons debuted for the engine now designated Dynaflash. A period production Buick Century was clocked at 103 mph!


U:S. production of a more compact 8-cylinder engine - the V8 - practically doubled between 1948 and 1952. Contemporary styling trends were integrating the headlamps and fenders into the hood, for a more compact look. Moreover, as authors Dunham and Gustin put it, " the increased rigidity of a V engine was certainly more suitable for the higher compression ratios enabled by improved fuels" (Buick: A Complete History, Terry B. Dunham & Lawrence R. Gustin, Automobile Quarterly, 2002).

Development of the 90-degree Buick V8 began in 1944 under chief engineer Charles A. Chayne, engine designer Joe Turlay, and John F. Crouter. Hiding the ongoing work in plain sight, the 1951 Buick XP-300 concept, with a 335-horsepower, 215 cubic inch, supercharged V8 motor under its dome, was said to have managed 140 mph in the hands of Buick general manager Ivan Wiles.

As it happened, 1952 was the last year for the Buick straight-eight. Then - with the 1953 Buick Skylark, Roadmaster, and Series 50 Super - came the Buick V8: the engine they called, the nailhead.

In the beginning, Buick's V8 mustered 188 horsepower from 322 cubic inches. It was most popular among hot-rodders of the 1950s and 1960s the vertical attachment of the valve covers (versus the angled attachment of other V8s) enabled the engine to fit into smaller spaces while maintaining easy access for maintenance.


By 1954, the B-body Century, the most affordable rung on the Buick ladder, boasted the highest horsepower per pound of any car of its price, courtesy a 195-horsepower, 322 cubic inch V8.

"One of the three fastest American stock cars," said reviewer Floyd Clymer of the Century.

That engine would be bumped to 236 horsepower for 1955: to 255 horsepower for 1956, and up to a milestone 300 horsepower for 1957. Historian and car designer Jeffrey I. Godshall called Century the "classiest family hot rod since the original Ford V8" (Buick: A Complete History, Terry B. Dunham & Lawrence R. Gustin, Automobile Quarterly, 2002).

For 1955, every Buick got a 20% bump in horsepower, with the addition of 4-barrel carburetion for the first time. Compression ratios in top Buicks were boosted to 9.0:1. Aluminum connecting rod bearings were a Buick first. A new camshaft provided longer valve opening and higher exhaust lift, while improved pistons reduced friction loss.

By 1956, every Buick featured the 322 cubic inch engine, with 2-barrel carburetor in the Special, and 4-barrel for Century, Super, and Roadmaster.

Now, no other American car - not even the Chrysler 300 - could match Motor Trend's 9.8-second 0-60 mph run with a Buick Century. Science & Mechanics confirmed the result.


By 1960, Buick compression was running at 10.25:1 (although an economy engine, with 9.0:1 compression, continued to be offered).

Then, of course, there were the Buick muscle cars of the Sixties. The Buick Way was easy power wrapped in evergreen aesthetics.

For 1962, the Buick 401 cubic inch V8 produced 325 horsepower in the Invicta and Electra. For 1964, a 425 cubic inch V8 put out 340 horsepower; for 1965, 360 horsepower. So equipped, the 360-horsepower 1965 Riviera Gran Sport could hit 60 mph from rest in 7 seconds.

Skylark, new for 1962 as a Y-body, switched to A-body for 1964 to provide the basis for the mighty Gran Sport line, which won Cars' Performance Cars of the Year award.

After the success of Pontiac's 1964 GTO, GM relaxed its ban on larger displacement engines in the corporate A-body chassis. Buick mounted its 325-horsepower, 401 cubic inch engine in the A-body Gran Sport, now producing a best-in-class 445 foot-pounds of torque, thanks in part to its cubic inch advantage over Pontiac's mill. Buick would often refer to it as the Wildcat 445.

"If an owner wanted to do some serious drag racing with its Gran Sport, he could purchase a dual-carburetor manifold and a pair of 4-barrel carbs from his Buick parts man," reminisce authors Randy Leffingwell and Darwin Holmstrom, adding, tongue in cheek, "when a better muscle car is built, Buick will built it" (Muscle: America's Legendary Performance Cars, Leffingwell & Holmstrom, MBI, 2006).

For 1966, Wildcat Gran Sport offered 340 horsepower with posi-traction rear differential.

Then, for 1968, came the all-new Buick 400 cubic inch V8, rated - with 11.0:1 compression - at 340 brake horsepower (@ 5,000 rpm) and 440 foot-pounds of torque (@ 3,200 rpm). The engine replaced the older 401.

Derived from it, a 430 cubic inch motor replaced the 425, mustering 360 brake horsepower (@ 5,000 rpm) and 475 foot-pounds of torque (@ 2,800 rpm).

"The Riviera GS is the outstanding performer of its group," announced Motor Trend, testing Buick's 430-equipped 1968 luxury coupé against its Cadillac Eldorado, Ford Thunderbird, Pontiac Grand Prix, and Oldsmobile Toronado competition (Motor Trend, August 1967).

The test revealed that, surprisingly enough, Riviera's 3.42:1 axle ratio was the shortest in the group, while both its 3.57 steering turns (lock-to-lock) and its fuel economy compared favorably.

Also for 1968, the 340 cubic inch V8 would evolve into the 350, drawing from lessons learned on the big-blocks. The 1968 GS350 enjoyed the engine, and for 1969 added a cold-air induction system that boosted horsepower by 8%, and increased torque by 6½%.

Yet Buick was not done yet.

With the 1970 Buick GS455 Stage 1, one of the all-time great muscle cars was born: a coupé with a modified version of Buick's new 455 cubic inch V8, complete with high-lift cam; dual exhaust; heavy-duty valve springs; posi-traction, and functional hood scoops.

Horsepower? 360. Or so they said; experts have since rated this rather higher.

Torque? 519 foot-pounds, one of the highest torque ratings of any engine ever to power a muscle car.

"One of the great engines of the muscle car era," recall authors Randy Leffingwell and Darwin Holmstrom (Muscle: America's Legendary Performance Cars, Leffingwell & Holmstrom, MBI, 2006).

"It's the enthusiast's machine you've been asking us to build," said Buick at the time, offering an extra heavy-duty Rallye suspension with front and rear stabilizers and front disc brakes atop the performance options available on lesser GS models.

So respected is the 1970 GS 455 Stage 1 that it ranked third in a list of the 50 Fastest Muscle Cars, published in the November 1984 issue of Car Review (now Muscle Car Review). The GS came in right behind the 427 Corvette and 427 Cobra.

"In their Stage 1 configuration - which costs $325.44 and includes dual exhaust; special engine and transmission components; higher performance axle; special instruments, and heavy-duty handling pieces - Buick has one of the best, if not the best, performance packages now obtained from Detroit," gushed Hot Rod magazine (Hot Rod, February 1972).

Meanwhile, the 1970 Buick Riviera also gained in displacement, to 455 cubic inches.


1975 saw the installation of the Buick V6 in the Skyhawk. Buick's lead in producing a V6 resulted in a motor that could squeeze into smaller compartments than an inline-6, and the advantages were palpable. This smallest Buick in sixty years was powered by the same engine that had made its compact Skylark stablemate the only compact on the market with a V6 engine. Skyhawk turned in 30 mpg on the highway.

The advantages of Buick's V6 were all the more evident when one looked at the numbers turned in by, say, the 1975 Mercedes-Benz 280S. A two-ton car with a 2.7-liter DOHC inline-6, the Mercedes, saddled with the burden of meeting California's 1975 emissions standards, managed just 15 mpg overall in a Road & Track test, while its 120 horses labored to 60 mph in 16.3 seconds, and took more than twenty seconds to crack the ¼-mile (Road & Track, March 1975).

Meanwhile, testing Buick's Skylark V6, similar in weight, in the same issue, Road & Track measured an overall average of 21 mpg.


Also in 1975, as it had in 1939 and 1959, Buick paced the Indianapolis 500. It would do so, again, in 1976, with an engine whose turbocharger tripled its horsepower; and again, in 1981 and in 1983, as the brand became the domestic leader in turbocharging.

Enthused Buick general manager Lloyd E. Reuss of the 1983 Riviera Pace Car's turbocharged 4.1-liter V6, "this may well be the most technically sophisticated powerplant ever to appear at the Speedway, in a pace car or the race!"

1978 had been the first year for the turbocharged Regal, rated at either 150 or 165 brake horsepower. A 4-barrel, carbureted version made 170 horsepower for 1979, while Riviera offered 185 brake horsepower, thanks to a front-wheel-drive layout which allowed the relocation of the turbo to a cooler location at the rear of the engine. Riviera's engine response was quicker, too, due to shorter plumbing.

"Interestingly enough, that 185 bhp puts the Riviera's 0-60 mph time spot on with the Saab Turbo we tested... and is particularly impressive when you consider the Riviera is a 3,900lb car," mused Road & Track of the 1979 Riviera S-Type (Road & Track, March 1979).

Forced induction took Buick into the Eighties. The turbocharged 3.8-liter V6 now put out 55% more horsepower than its normally-aspirated counterpart; 36% more horsepower than the normally-aspirated 4.1-liter V6, and even 21% more horsepower than the large, 5-liter, normally-aspirated V8.

The best was yet to come. Buick won the NASCAR Winston Cup in 1981 and 1982, and it would celebrate with a legendary model that is revered today.


The Grand National label, which itself dated back to a moniker used by NASCAR prior to Winston's sponsorship of the Cup, was first applied to a Buick Regal which made a February 1982 run at Daytona. Developed to showcase Buick's abilities with forced induction, the car sported silver-gray and charcoal-gray paint with red accent stripes, and was powered by a turbocharged 4.1-liter V6 with 4-barrel carburetor. It featured a T-top roof, blackout grille and trim, air dam, and rear spoiler.

As Buick was flooded with prospective interest in a production turbocharged Grand National, a series of T-Type variants permeated throughout its 1983 range. Even the subcompact, front-wheel drive, 2nd-generation Skyhawk was offered as a T-Type, powered by an overhead-cam 1.8-liter 4-cylinder through a 5-speed manual with short, 3.83:1 axle ratio, automatically shutting the air compressor off under full throttle, to make maximum power available when necessary. Later, the 1985 Skyhawk would field 150 horsepower in a car weighing just 2,295 lbs.

Those who had been impressed with the Grand National at Daytona, that February in 1982, were stunned when Buick paced the 1983 Indianapolis 500 with a twin-turbo 4.1-liter Riviera, churning out 450 horsepower.

Buick had been producing turbocharged automobiles for several years but, clearly, the time had come to up the stakes.

Grand National came alive for 1984. As The Standard Times reminisces, "a group of serious engineering gearheads with fond memories of a bygone era, sufficient time on their hands, and tongues of silver managed to convince the brass that a high-performance revival would be good for the old corporate image - and a whole lot of fun to boot" ('Bold Buick Beauty,' Malcolm Gunn, The Standard Times, May 17th, 2006).

The '84 Grand National featured a turbocharged and fuel-injected 200 horsepower (@ 4,000 rpm) V6, internal code LM9. With 300 foot-pounds of torque (@ 2,400 rpm), routed to the rear wheels through a 3.42:1 posi-traction rear end, the black Grand National made the most of its 15 psi of boost.

The '86 Grand National gained 35 horsepower and 30 foot-pounds of torque, thanks to an air-to-air intercooler, turbo relocation to a spot nearer the right-side exhaust manifold to reduce lag, redesigned upper and lower intake manifolds, and modifications to both the turbocharger and exhaust. Further, a redesigned front air-dam allowed cool air to reach the intercooler duct.

Grand National was the fastest American production car of 1986, and its impact would reverberate across the Buick line.

It is a little-known fact that the Regal T-Type was essentially the same car as the Grand National; and it could be ordered with fewer options (and thus could turn out lighter, and faster).

Regal T-Types could also be ordered with a shorter final drive, which made them quicker still. Since the Regals could be had in colors other than black, they made fine sleepers.

For 1985, the 3.8-liter V6 with multi-port fuel injection (MFI) came to the Century T-Type. Meanwhile, the Grand National name was applied to the LeSabre for 1986, with the same motor. That LeSabre Grand National, celebrating LeSabre's switch to front-wheel drive, is among the most prized turbocharged Buicks produced in this era: just 117 were built.

Meanwhile, approximately 2,100 Regal Grand Nationals were sold in 1986, and 20,000 in 1987. The 1987 Grand National managed 245 brake horsepower (@ 4,400 rpm) and 355 foot-pounds of torque (@ 2,000 rpm).


As legislative edict emasculated our engineers and our automobiles, Buick boldly burst through the fray with a car that was just plain mean without being the least bit cantankerous.

The turbo gained a larger housing, dynamic oil seals (for less drag), and a lighter, ceramic turbine. The shape and number of fins in the intercooler were changed for greater fin density and effectiveness.

With a chip that turned fuel injection less rich at full throttle; redesigned cylinder heads; a transmission cooler, and beefed-up suspension and tires, the 1987 GNX came with every option save for T-tops. ASC McLaren added 16-inch wheels, fender flares, and portholes.

Breaking an old GM edict by being faster than Corvette, the 1987 GNX saw a limited production run of just 547 built.

Maximum boost was upped from 15 psi to 16 psi in 1st and 2nd gears, reaching 14 psi in 3rd, and leveling off at 10 psi in 4th.

Buick never released a horsepower rating for the Grand National GNX, but it has been estimated at between 276 and 300 brake horsepower (@ 4,400 rpm), with 360 to 420 foot-pounds of torque @ 2,400 rpm. The GNX managed 0-60 mph in under 5 seconds, and the ¼-mile in just 13.43 seconds (@ 103 mph).

Only the Porsche 911 Turbo was quicker.

Not only could a GNX outpace a Corvette to 60 mph, but also in the ¼-mile. It drew considerable attention from the press.

Write Road & Track Editor-at-large John Lamm, "it's this easy: find a lonely stretch of straight road, preferably a drag strip.

"Make certain the engine of the Buick Grand National GNX is up to temperature. Hold your left foot lightly on the brake while your right foot presses down gently on the accelerator. Engine revs will climb as you take up the slack in the torque converter. The car will try to move forward. You might have to press a bit harder on the brake to keep the GNX stationary, but be subtle, almost gentle.

"Then slam the gas pedal down as you lift off the brake. The back of the Buick will slew a bit as the fat tires scratch for traction, but keep your foot down because the Goodyears will quickly grab and send you rushing down the road.

"And that was a gentle run" (Road & Track, June 1987).

Writing when the Grand National was new, Lamm estimated that, "in this era of too many same-same cars, there are precious few that will be the serious special interest cars of the future... this is one of them."

He was right. Today, Grand Nationals are rare enough; the GNX is rarer still. A low-mileage stock Grand National recently sold on eBay for more than $70,000.

"Today, the cars have developed a cult status, in part because of what they were capable of when new, but mostly because of their potential... with the addition of a few electronic components and a bit of fuel injection tweaking, the engines were capable of producing more than twice their original rated horsepower," explain authors Randy Leffingwell and Darwin Holmstrom (Muscle: America's Legendary Performance Cars, Leffingwell & Holmstrom, MBI, 2006).

As the GNX debuted, a new 2-liter turbocharged motor slot in under the hood of the 1987 Skyhawk, now producing 165 horsepower for a power-to-weight ratio that rather belied its sub-$10,000 price tag.

The Grand National engine would power a slew of tuned prototypes Buicks in the late 1980s, released to a stunned media who found that a Buick Estate station wagon, so powered by an estimated 328 horsepower, could run the ¼-mile in 13.82 seconds!


The engine that Buick had turbocharged for the Grand National would evolve into the 3800 for 1990-91. The motor would become famous throughout the coming decade. It was, said the company, "the smoothest, most sophisticated production V6 ever used in a Buick."

The 3800 would feature under the hood of Buick's first bespoke production sports car: the Reatta. Then a Buick Reatta prototype turbocharged the 3800 for 245 horsepower, powering the rear wheels; albeit that this attempt increased weight to nearly 4,000 lbs., turning the Reatta more outright muscular than finessed.

The 1995-1999 Riviera was the flagship, matching a supercharged 3800 Series II capable of up to 240 horsepower and 280 foot-pounds of torque with the fluidity of a semi-trailing rear and honed stabilizers at both ends. The supercharger helped Riviera deliver the horsepower and torque figures often associated with a V8, with instant, lag-free response.

For more on the continuous development of the legendary 3800, you might enjoy The Life and Times of the 90-degree Buick V6.

If a V8 was what the Buick buyer of the '90s wanted, one could be found in the 1991-1996 Roadmaster - and, from 1994 onward, what a V8 it was! The 5.7-liter (350 cid) LT1 powerplant derived from Corvette, developing 260 horsepower.

By 1998, Buick had dropped 4-cylinder cars for good, and its entry-level Century (partly by virtue of its standard V6) was perhaps the most value-packed car in its class.

The 2000, supercharged Regal GS boasted the most power in its class. "Plenty more involving to drive than a top-line Camry," wrote Ward's Engine Update.

Most recently, Buick showed its Velite Concept at the 2004 New York International Auto Show, with a 400-horsepower (@ 6,200 rpm), twin-turbocharged 3.6-liter engine with Variable Valve Timing (VVT) under its forward-folding hood.

The experimental motor put out 400 foot-pounds of torque (@ an accessible 3,200 rpm), through a 6-speed automatic.

Today, every Buick develops at least 250 horsepower.

Buick performance clubs abound. The Chicagoland Chapter GSCA (which also welcomes 3800 Supercharged Buicks) and the Skylark Drive (the Florida West Coast chapter of the Gran Sport Club of America) cater to Buick Gran Sport owners.

For Regal; Grand National, and Grand National GNX owners, the New England Buick Racing Association maintains an on-line community.

Grand National meets GS at the Northeast GS/ GN club, and at the Michigan Buick Performance Club, which caters to all performance Buicks.

The Buick Street Rod Association of Chattanooga, Tennessee, is dedicated to promoting street-rodding activities of owners of pre-1949 modified Buicks.

Since 1996, the Houston Buick Club has catered to Buick performance car owners at tech sessions; test & tune days at the drag strip; cruise nights, and car shows.


Seamless, effortless delivery is a critical aspect of Buick power. So, too, is the intelligent application of power.

Wrote Hot Rod magazine in 1972, "no argument about it: Buick didn't start the performance car movement... but they seem to be the only automaker able to hang on to performance and deliver clean air at the same time" (Hot Rod, February 1972).

Over the past few years, General Motors Vice Chairman Bob Lutz has overseen the evolution of GM's proving ground at Milford, Michigan, including modifications fashioned after he famed Nurbürgring road course in Germany.

It should be of no surprise. Buick, you see, has long been as concerned about the delivery and management of power as about absolute numbers.

In 1911, models with planetary transmissions received an automatic high-speed clutch release, while the new selective transmission was less noisy. Bigger Buicks received a centrifugal water pump, and a dual ignition system. Buick power, already legendary for its might, was now controlled by a foot-operated accelerator (rather than by hand throttle).

In 1912, grease cups were fitted to the pivot pins of all rocker arms; spark plugs were more conveniently secured in the cylinders at a 45-degree angle (instead of horizontally); brakes were redesigned for ease of service and were now pedal-operated, and the shift lever was moved inside the body.

Buick engines were now all mated to a 3-speed selective sliding gear, replacing the planetary transmission across the range.

For 1916, the Buick Six received an aluminum manifold, and a new clutch shaft fashioned of a single piece of steel integral with the constant mesh pinion of the gearset, reducing rattles through the use of a light aluminum center cone and three small springs rather than one, heavy large one. An interlocking device on the gear-shift prevented the accidental simultaneous engagement of two gears.

In 1917, Buick advertised that its engine's "small, simple, compact combustion chamber with the smallest possible water-jacketed space" gave it a "more perfect combustion than other types of motors, a quicker ignition of the charge, and smaller heat loss through the water jackets.

"The sum of these advantages is more power and less gasoline consumption" (David Buick's Marvelous Motor Car, Lawrence R. Gustin, Buick Gallery and Research Center, 2006).

Two years later, the plunger-type oil pump was replaced by a gear unit.

Testing a new Buick in March 1920, British motoring magazine The Motor wrote, "in the thickest traffic, it appears possible to pick up from practically a walking pace without easing the clutch, and this without any indication of unwillingness on the part of the engine.

"One can distinctly feel the invisible gate when changing gear, so that there is practically no risk of a noisy or faulty change being made."

When the all-eight-cylinder Buick line-up appeared for 1931, the new straight-eights were equipped with an oil temperature regulator that cooled the oil at high speeds and warmed it in cold weather. Regular improvements to lubrication and cooling would follow.

Synchromesh gearboxes became standard at Buick in 1932. Buick introduced "knee-action" independent front suspension (designed by former Rolls-Royce engineer Maurice Olley) in 1934. Hydraulic brakes, added in 1936, were most welcome; a '36 Buick could easily top 100 miles per hour (as the Century nameplate, quite literally, promised). As the Buick engine became more instant in its responsiveness, yet velvety in its power delivery, Buick offered the semi-automatic Self-Shifting transmission for 1938, with low range (first and second) and high range (first; third, and fourth) switches.

After World War II, Buick resumed straight-eight production, now with the refinement of a 2-speed automatic transmission in the shape of the Roadmaster Riviera.

New for 1953, the Buick V8 was a Buick engine through and through. "GM's sound laboratories rated it the quietest in several model reports," write authors Dunham and Gustin (Buick: A Complete History, Terry B. Dunham & Lawrence R. Gustin, Automobile Quarterly, 2002).

Yet power, as an Italian tire company used to say, is nothing without control. Equipped with the new engine, the 1953 Skylark, today highly collectible, became the first Buick to offer power steering and power brakes.

The new Twin-Turbine DynaFlow automatic accentuated the forward, silken sweep of its V8 power delivery with a smooth swell. DynaFlow was the industry's first torque converter automatic transmission. Its twin turbines, located in the torque converter between pump and stator, increased torque output by 10%, while providing faster and quieter acceleration at reduced engine speeds.

Buick further developed its propulsion characteristics, borrowing the airplane principle of variable pitch propulsion to change the pitch of the blades deep inside the DynaFlow unit. As in a propeller, which has one pitch for quick take-off and fast climbing, and another for economy in the cruising range, this gave the Buick the intelligence to cope with different driving conditions: an intelligence that had and has been a characteristic of the marque. "When you press the gas pedal to the floor board," Buick explained, "twenty spinning stator blades change their pitch in DynaFlow oil to produce a liquid smooth surge of power for quick passes and instant getaway... hold the pedal at cruising speed, and you get brand new gasoline savings."

In 1958, Buick invested $86 million in tooling to manufacture Flight Pitch Dynaflow, a triple-turbine automatic gearbox. Three turbines instead of two further increased torque output. Although stopwatches confirmed the improvement, drivers felt as though the transmission were slipping. Buick eventually pulled back.

By the 1960s, the Buick automatic had gained a hill-climb range. It even applied its torque converter clutch to reduce heat built up in heavy going, while engine spark was reduced to reduce the stress on the transmission under abusive shifts.


Again, absolute numbers are not as critical at Buick as is the way in which they are delivered. The 1961 Buick Special's 215 cubic inch V8 was, per Road & Track, "an absolute jewel." This first mass-produced aluminum V8 in an American passenger car carried forward lessons learned from building the aluminum engines used in the XP-300 and LeSabre concepts. The motor weighed just 318 pounds, and produced 155 brake horsepower: 0.487 horsepower per pound, and the industry's highest horsepower to weight ratio.

So impressed was Sports Cars Illustrated's Karl Ludvigsen, that he predicted that this would be "America's most widely copied engine in the next ten years.

"A highly typical imported car engine, the 1.6-liter Volvo four, weighs almost exactly the same as this remarkable V8, at less than half the displacement!"

The Special Skylark offered a 4-barrel version of this engine, rated at 200 horsepower. Yet the market was turning toward smaller cars, and as 30% of Americans bought compacts such as the Special, Buick introduced the first U.S. mass-produced V6: a 198 cubic inch engine, it was 50 pounds lighter than the period Chevrolet 194 cubic inch inline-6, yet produced 12.5% more horsepower, and 33% more horsepower than the inline-6 in Ford's Fairlane. The engine would help Special win Motor Trend's Car of the Year ward for 1962, the magazine citing "pure progress in design, originative engineering excellence, the power concept for the future expressed in America's only V6 automobile engine."

Buick would se the engine through 1967, sell it to Kaiser Jeep, and reprise it later, in 1974.


At the turn of the '70s, Buick would deliver what Hot Rod magazine called "one of the best - if not the best - performance packages now obtainable from Detroit:" the GS455 Stage 1 (Hot Rod, February 1972).

Yet Hot Rod was careful to note that "Buick's GS isn't likely to offend anyone, even an ecology major.

"New to Buick's 455 is Exhaust Gas Recirculation, a system whereby a portion of the exhaust is recirculated back into the induction system from passages in the intake manifold. Exhaust gases pas through a metering valve and into the manifold to dilute the fuel/ air mixture.

"The result of this is lowered combustion temperatures so the production of oxides of nitrogen is reduced" (Hot Rod, February 1972).

In this effort, Buick was a year ahead of nationwide requirements, Hot Rod noted.

Moreover, the Stage 1 offered a 3.42:1 rear axle ratio, even with air conditioning. Hot Rod commented on the significance of this: "most automakers prefer to hold rear gears near the 3.00:1 mark with air, so the compressor pulley doesn't get to belt-slinging speed.

"Buick's Stage 1 proves this doesn't have to be a problem" (Hot Rod, February 1972).

Those who did not opt for Buick's flagship performance car still found what the division called total performance; and, indeed, Road Test magazine concurred that the 1971 Centurion delivered "that combination of acceleration, top speed, stopping, cornering, ride, and comfort which establish a car's operational personality" (Road Test, January 1971).


Beyond the big block, the next wave of Buick power was approaching. Turbocharging - increasing horsepower per unit displacement through forced induction - fit perfectly with Buick's weight-saving efforts in an era of optimal efficiency.

"Basically," explained Road & Track, "a turbocharger is a device in which the working or pumping end is powered more or less for free by a waterwheel in the exhaust flow, which is going out willy-nilly anyway... curdling milk, frightening chickens, and all those good things, thus giving you money for old rope" (Road & Track, July 1981).

The 455 V8 had run through 1976 for those who believed there was no replacement for displacement. In its last year, the Buick automatic to which it was teamed featured an altitude compensator, providing smooth shifting at various elevation. A 403 V8 continued that tradition through 1979, and certainly 1980 saw the introduction of a new, intermediate, Buick 4.3-liter V8 and 4.1-liter V6.

Yet, by 1980, Buick was also in its third year of forced induction, with three turbocharged variants of the 3.8-liter (231 cid) V6. Back when Buick had started, only Porsche and Saab had offered such engines. Turbocharged Buicks were the only standard turbocharged production cars made in the United States.

"Turbocharging wasn't a new idea, of course, having been used in the 1960s Chevrolet Corvair Spyder and Oldsmobile F85," clarifies author Ron Kowalke.

"But in line with its advertising slogan - a little science, a little magic - Buick was now pioneering the turbocharging of a small engine for a family car" (Standard Catalog of Buick: 1903-2000, Ron Kowalke, Krause, 1999).

An automobile engine does work by producing heat. Converting that heat to useable power was the turbocharger's trick: the more heat that was converted to power, the higher the engine's efficiency. Meanwhile, the exhaust and cooling system heat loss of a conventional motor meant that Buick could gain considerable efficiency by regaining some of the lost heat and turning it into power.

By harnessing that which was previously wasted - the energy of the exhaust gases - the turbocharger opened up the possibilities of extracting more power on demand without the fuel economy penalty that would result from simply adding more cubic inches.

This was the job given to the turbocharger, an abbreviation for turbo-supercharger. The turbocharger's function is the same as that of older Roots, vane, and centrifugal supercharger times, with the primary difference that the supercharger is mechanically driven by the engine, and thus absorbs power all the time. In the case of a turbocharger, the source of power is the exhaust gases, and thus the turbocharger only works when the engine is under load and creating a sufficient flow of gas. Without a turbocharger, the exhaust gases go to waste anyway; thus the turbocharger, in effect, gets a free ride.

The turbocharger was effectively a pump powered by the gases that ran through Buick's stainless steel tubular exhaust manifolds, turning a compressor, forcing this fuel and air charge into the engine's combustion chamber and producing more horsepower. The effect, Buick mused, was additive: as more exhaust pressure increased inlet pressure, the engine produced even more exhaust pressure to build up still more inlet pressure.

Their internal parts differing from their normally aspirated brethren, turbocharged engines were offered as standard on the LeSabre Sport Coupé, the Regal Sport Coupé, and the Riviera S-Type, and were optional on Century coupés and sedans. An average 190 horsepower was on offer, an impressive figure amid a second gasoline crisis.

Power was delivered as befit a Buick. Electing the 1979 Riviera, America's only front-wheel drive, turbocharged car, its Car of the Year, Motor Trend reasoned, "the turbo provides a smooth, progressive application of power that belies the engine's small size.

"Well within the tradition that made the original Riviera a classic... (this car) is an excellent example of the capability of American design and technology."

As impressed as Road & Track was that a 3,900lb '79 Riviera S-Type could turn equal 0-60 mph times to a Saab Turbo, the magazine seemed even more enamored of its power delivery. "The automatic transmission masks the turbo effect and little, if any, engine noise reaches the interior," the staff wrote (Road & Track, March 1979).

Turbocharging generates additional pressure in an engine. If the pressure becomes too great, the engine starts to "knock," a condition that can eventually lead to self destruction. Introduced for 1978, Buick's electronic spark control system was a first in the industry, and remained for years a somewhat exotic means of retarding spark to control detonation during turbo boost. Many a rival manufacturer would simply place a switch in the intake manifold and retard ignition timing in steps.

While rivals, in addition, simply set their maximum turbo boost well below the critical pressure point, Buick's electronic Turbo Control Center was regularly improved to further control spark, compensating for fuel octane, atmospheric conditions, load, altitude, and other driving conditions by deciding just how much power could be produced at any given moment. Other progressive refinements would include hotter spark plugs, and an electric Early Fuel Evaporation (EFE) system which preheated the incoming air/fuel mixture during cold starts for excellent drivability, without temperament or bother.

Indeed, the Buick Turbo was a civilized affair, with minimal turbo lag, no more than slight whistling, and matched to upgraded suspension and transmissions.

Soon, intercoolers not only added power, but prevented detonation. Simply stated, while finned turbo housings helped to keep the bearings cool, intercooling cooled the air/ fuel mixture. The cooler the mixture, the more densely it could be packed into the cylinder, and the more power could be liberated per stroke. As a side benefit, cylinder head temperatures were appreciably reduced.

Suitably impressed by the legendary Grand National GNX, Road & Track editor-at-large John Lamm was most intrigued by "the ease with which the GNX will run those (mid 5-second) 0-60 mph times.

"There may have been a few supercars of the late Sixties and early Seventies that were a bit quicker, but they were a great deal more work. Sometimes, it meant rowing your way through manual shifters as beefy as crowbars, or contending with suspension that couldn't handle the available torque and kept trying to run into the next lane.

"The supercars of 15-20 years ago used 7 normally aspirated liters, or more to do what the Buick does with 3.8, a turbo, and an intercooler.

"6-second 0-60s are so easy in the GNX that I suspect my 16-year-old daughter, her new driver's license in hand, could be doing them with 10 minutes of training. And wouldn't she love to try?" (Road & Track, June 1987).


Meanwhile, full-sized Buicks were downsized for 1977, losing more than 600 pounds thanks to things like smaller frames (saving 90 pounds), and aluminum reinforced bumpers (cutting 135 pounds).

For 1985, another round of downsizing cut up to 900 pounds again from these cars.

Impressively, in both rounds, interior space was retained (and, in some cases, gained - as befit Buick attention to ergonomics).

For the 1985 Somerset Regal, designed to target upscale import shopping boomers, Buick took 50 pounds of weight out of its 3-liter V6.

By 1986, Buick V6 engines were moving from throttle body and multi-port injection systems to sequential-port fuel injection. The engines delivered a more precise fuel/ air mix to each cylinder individually, at the precise moment that each intake valve opened, driving tauter chassis through fast-ratio, rack-and-pinion steering. Computer-controlled ignition was turning the distributor into a relic.

The heart of the Grand National was transformed into the Buick 3800 V6: a smoothly forceful source of seamless power, with tuned port injection. More than 25 million 3800 V6s would be sold, and the engine would spend several years on Ward's Auto World's "10 Best Engines" list.

As the 3800 permeated through the Buick line-up from 1990 onward, a butter-smooth, electronically controlled 4-speed automatic debuted for 1991: first on Park Avenue, Reatta, and Riviera, and gradually across the Buick range.

For 1993, the 3800 received a new intake manifold, a higher compression ratio for improved torque, and roller rocker-arm pivots for reduced friction.

For 1995, with the introduction of the 3800 Series II (in the Park Avenue), Buick gave the motor a lower deck height (reducing size and weight); cross-bolted main caps that stiffened the bottom end (reducing noise and improving durability); new cylinder heads with symmetrical combustion chambers (for a smoother idle and lower exhaust emissions), and larger valves and more efficient ports for improved flow.

"This is an excellent powerplant for GM's large cars, especially when mated to the refined 4-speed automatic... call it the Extreme Street Machine," wrote Car and Driver's Don Schroeder of the 3800 Series II, after driving the new Park Avenue Ultra. In his hands, the car cracked 60 mph from rest barely a step behind BMW's (twice as expensive) V8-powered 740i.

"This Buick," Schroeder continued, "is endowed with a feel that is more substantial and expensive than 3,672 pounds and $33,797 would suggest." (Car and Driver, September 1994)

Buick, however, was not wed to the overhead-valve engine. The 1982 Skyhawk had, after all, experimented with overhead-cam motors and 5-speed manual gearboxes. For 1995, Skylark saw its 2.3-liter overhead-cam engine replaced with a dual overhead-cam (DOHC) unit, boosting horsepower by 30%. Two counter-rotating balance shafts assisted smoother operation and damped vibration, which larger mufflers reduced exhaust noise.


In both overhead-valve and overhead-cam engines, Buick experimented with supercharging.

The 1990 Bolero concept mustered 206 horsepower and 253 foot-pounds of torque from its supercharged 3.3-liter V6. The rear-wheel drive, 5-passenger Sceptre Concept of 1992 offered a supercharged 3.5-liter V6, with 250 horsepower and 280 foot-pounds of torque routed through a 5-speed automatic transmission, putting power to four 245/40 ZR18 tires made specially for the car by Michelin.

As with turbocharging in the late-70s and '80s, Buick in the '90s believed, as chief engineer Anthony Derhake put it, that supercharging was "perfectly suited for front-wheel drive luxury performance cars," offering power in a compact package.

Supercharging compacts air, making it denser, with more oxygen per cubic inch. Denser air can atomize more fuel. So, when a supercharger forces a dense air/ fuel mixture into an engine's combustion chamber, and a spark plug lights it off, the result is a bigger explosion, and more power.

Said Car and Driver of the supercharged 1998 Park Avenue Ultra, "this power curve arcs upward as smoothly as a Ken Griffey, Jr. home run" (Car and Driver, February 1997).


Still a car's brakes should be as responsive as its engine; certainly, of the nature that would liberate the driver to enjoy the available power. Anti-lock brakes were standard across most Buicks by 1991, and across the entire range by 1994.

By the mid-90s, Buick automatic transmissions were matched with the engine through a Powertrain Control Module (PCM), to create a completely integrated powertrain system. The PCM tracked key vehicle data such as speed; temperature; altitude; barometric pressure, and engine load, and automatically adapted the powertrain's shift pattern. The result was consistently smooth and responsive performance under all driving conditions.

For 1997, the Buick automatic received new electronic controls that modulated energy during shifts, transitioning from gear to gear more smoothly still.

In recent years, Buick automatic gearboxes have featured adaptive shift quality, monitoring shift timing and changing line pressure to maintain optimal shift feel. An electronically controlled capacity clutch replaced the torque converter's conventional mechanical engagement with one that continuously varied clutch capacity. An input speed sensor in the transmission precisely monitors its internal speed, enabling full use of the pressure profile and torque control. Such automatic adjustment compensates for changes in the operating condition of the transmission, and reduces pumping losses. The result is consistent shift performance and fuel economy over a longer period, and durability which meets the Buick owner's expectations.

The engines of several recent Buicks have featured a dual-phase chain system, employing two half-width chains that are phased 180 degrees apart. Since both chains are directly opposite to each other in orientation, they cancel out the noise each one generates. Thanks in part to this system, a noise reduction of several decibels has been achieved.

Further reducing noise are roll-formed and hydro-formed reinforcement rails, which create the most efficient body structure possible. Closed sections specified for the upper engine compartment rails and the top radiator support help optimize the front-end structure, and significantly lessen road-induced noise and vibration.

In modern Buicks, today as since the late-90s, a die-cast magnesium crossbar beam serves as the main instrument panel structure and mounting support. Steering columns used in conjunction with the magnesium beam benefit from increased stiffness. Steering-wheel vibration over rough roads is virtually eliminated.


There is quite possibly no engine family today which can claim the durability of Buick's 3800 range. Indeed, the Buick 3800 was named among the "10 Best Engines of the 20th Century" by Ward's Auto World.

The legendary durability of this engine should be of little surprise. It was Buick, after all, that built, back in 1904, the first successful valve-in-head engine design.

Designed by Eugene Richard and Walter Marr, with assistance from David Dunbar Buick, this engine is widely credited as the cornerstone of Buick's early success. Jacob H. Newmark, associate of GM founder Billy Durant, recalled in 1936, "the Buick Motor Company prospered... almost from the beginning, and all because the company was unusually fortunate in its engine design.

"Buick, without doubt, had one of the best of the early engines. It would go and keep on going. Roads were of all kinds in those days - most of them sand, clay, and what-not. Buick's early valve-in-head motor did have power... the new car would negotiate all sorts of road conditions" (David Buick's Marvelous Motor Car, Lawrence R. Gustin, Buick Gallery and Research Center, 2006).

The new motor's fame grew steadily.

"All parts are made with jigs or templates, and are interchangeable," explained a Buick catalog in late 1903 (Buick: A Complete History, Terry B. Dunham & Lawrence R. Gustin, Automobile Quarterly, 2002).

"All the moving parts are made of the best steel and hardened. We use the jump spark and not the mechanical spark, the former being much more simple, and not so liable to get out of order and give trouble. The cams for the inlet valve, exhaust valve, and contact breaker are all in one piece, and there is only one way this can go, no matter how the gearing is meshed. When the cam is put back in place, the valves are bound to open and close at the proper time. No readjustment is required. This, we consider a very strong point in our engine."

In 1904, the Cycle and Automobile Trade Journal wrote of Flint doctor Herbert H. Hills, among the first Buick buyers: "Dr. Hills has driven this car almost the whole time, day and night, over the very hilly and sandy country about Flint, and has had no repairs, except a split gasoline pipe, this day, September 16th.

"He believes he has the best car in the world" (Buick: A Complete History, Terry B. Dunham & Lawrence R. Gustin, Automobile Quarterly, 2002).

So fascinated was Hills with his new automobile that he left the medical profession in 1906 and became assistant sales manager for Buick!

By 1905, the Buick engine was generating 27.7 horsepower. So heady was this figure, in its day, that not all were convinced of its veracity. General Motors founder Billy Durant related decades later that he had hired a motor expert to study Buick's engine, in the face of widespread doubts about its power, only to hear the expert tell Buick factory superintendent Arthur C. Mason that the engine was "unsound, extremely dangerous, and quite likely to explode."

Mason reacted by starting the engine, placing his head alongside it, and replying, "if it explodes, I might as well go with it!" (Buick: A Complete History, Terry B. Dunham & Lawrence R. Gustin, Automobile Quarterly, 2002)

"Power became synonymous with Buick," Durant would write, later.

"Power! Power to outclimb, power to outspeed anything on wheels in our class. With Buick, we sold the assurance that the power to perform was there. Power sold Buick, and made it what it is today."

In those early days, a Buick Model F as the only car to complete a 1,000-mile relay run from Chicago to New York. The Model F was the first Buick to be referred to as a doctor's car, an impression that stuck for decades hence.

In 1908, as Durant rearranged a new Buick dealership in Boston, Albert Champion happened by with ideas for spark plugs and magnetos. Though Buick used no magneto, one spark plug alone, of the time, could power the Buick engine, and the manufacturer which supplied it was expensive. Champion promised better quality for less, and was given a building near Buick's factory in Flint, eventually producing a plug befitting the Buick, and thus launching the organization that would become General Motors' A.C. Spark Plug division.

For 1916, the Buick Six received bronze bushings in its pistons, for the added life of both wrist pins and pistons. Meanwhile, the Buick clutch was now lighter and easier to adjust.

For 1923, Buick adopted the new foundry practice of chilling the cylinder bores for a harder casting. Longer connecting rods, bearings of hard babbitt, longer pistons, and a new and larger crankshaft improved both power and durability.

By the late-1970s, so well built was the Buick V6 that the division could force-feed it, becoming an early leader in turbocharging. Soon, many would follow, and not all would be successful. Road & Track wrote that several turbocharged automobiles it had tried (none of them Buicks) had displayed "evil habits... water in the oil, superheated jets of steam, and cylinder heads looking like Armenian bread" (Road & Track, July 1981).

Buick's turbocharged engines went on to attain a solid reputation for power, efficiency, and steadfastness. Strength and durability were serious matters in the gas-crunched '70s, and Buick was not about to imperil its reputation for mechanical integrity and longevity for a few pounds per square inch of boost. The turbocharger was an integral part of the Buick engine. Every turbo Buick offered was carefully and precisely manufactured, with some tolerances as fine as one ten-thousandth of an inch. Moreover, the turbo - like the engine - needed to be well lubricated. So Buick's V6 turbo came equipped with a high-pressure oil pump that drew from a 5-quart oil pan.

In 1984 came the front-wheel drive, transverse-mounted 3.8, the immediate forerunner of what we know today as the Buick 3800. So durable was the 3.8-liter block that McLaren got ahold of it in 1985, assisting with the design of a dual-overhead-camshaft head for the 1985 Wildcat II concept.

Today, as since 1990, the Buick's transmission fluid and filter seek replacement only every 100,000 miles, as with (since 1996) its coolant and spark plugs.

"With Buick, we sold the assurance that the power to perform was there" - Billy Durant (more)

"With Buick, we sold the assurance that the power to perform was there" - Billy Durant