Friends of Buick: Buick Reassurance

Visit a showroom, sit in any one of the new Buicks, and practice this short easy line:

My Buick.

Sounds good, doesn't it?

This was Buick in 1964. It is as reassuring an entreat now, as forty-two years ago -

- or, as twenty-nine years ago, when Buick mused that its Riviera was aimed at the buyer who "would like to surround himself with quality... with things that are undeniably special."

Lasting satisfaction and quality are the very essence of Buick.

"My gas card would thank me, my rear passengers would thank me, and my banker would give me a pat on the back," wrote reviewer Bill J. Jinkins for the Grapevine Sun in 1995, as he contemplated purchasing the new Buick Riviera

he was testing.

The Buick is a reassuring ownership proposition, for three key reasons: its legendary, reassuring reliability (as recognized by many an independent study); for its reassuring protection, and for the reassuring investment that is today's Buick.

Discover The Buick's Reassuring Reliability

All things mechanical require a little tender, loving care from time to time. There is no such thing as a maintenance-free car, and chances are there never will be. Yet some are closer than others.

In 1989, Buick's LeSabre was ranked #1 in North America and #2 in the world among 154 domestic and imported models in quality rankings by the independent market research firm, J.D. Power & Associates.

Since then, Buick has been top or near-top of the charts over and over again.

Buick: 3^rd overall for Long-Term Dependability, per the 2006 J.D. Power & Associates Vehicle Dependability study (see release).

Buick: 2^nd in the industry for Customer Service, per the 2006 J.D. Power & Associates Customer Service Index study (see release). More recently, the University of Michigan's Customer Satisfaction Index has also found Buick to be second overall in customer satisfaction (see release).

Buick: 2005 Gold Plant Quality Award from J.D. Power, following 62,251 consumer responses, for the Oshawa #2 plant that produces the Buick LaCrosse. Buick also received this award in 2003 and in 2002.

Buick: 4^th in both the 2005 J.D. Power & Associates Initial Quality and Vehicle Dependability studies.

Buick: 5^th in the 2004 J.D. Power & Associates Initial Quality study (Toyota: 9^th).

Buick: 2^nd in the 2004 J.D. Power & Associates Vehicle Dependability study (Toyota: 8^th).

Buick: 2^nd in the 2004 J.D. Power & Associates Customer Satisfaction study (Toyota: 28^th).

"I know of no other full-size sedan that has a better reputation for quality," wrote reviewer Richard Truett of the 1998 Buick LeSabre

in the Indianapolis Star.

There was none.

Indeed, there has not been one besides Buick, since well before Truett wrote those words, and certainly not today.

If a quake should come and bury us,

And a million years had pass'd,

And then a club of scientists,

Would dig us out at last,

Among the things they'd find intact,

Is a Buick car - you bet

For no one ever, ever has,

Worn out a Buick yet.

So wrote Buick distributor C. S. Howard in 1913, for the benefit of his San Francisco customers! It seems trite, now, but Buick's reputation for reliability was certainly worthy of a little lyrical license.

In 1908, for instance, the Roswell Automobile Company wrote to Buick that the three 1905 Buick Model Cs purchased to carry mail between Torrance and Roswell, New Mexico, had each logged 110,000 miles. This was believed to be the first time that three cars of the same make had ever managed such a distance.

Buick must have been tempted to institute self-starting in 1913, as had been done at Cadillac. Indeed, as it indicated when self-starting became standard across the Buick line-up for 1914, it had been contemplating it - but the systems were not quite ready for the Buick.

"A year ago, when untried, unproved self-starters were being bolted onto many an excellent car in any available place - a source of bitter disappointment in thousands of cases - the Buick management took a firm stand. It announced that no self-starter would be incorporated into any Buick car, until a starter had been found as good as the Buick car itself," wrote the company in 1914.

"Such a starter is the Delco, and the Delco installation in the Buick is something you may rely upon as a fulfillment of the Buick ideals, which means uninterrupted use of his investment to every Buick owner."

It was a Buick with which, in 1914, an Argentinean claimed to be the first person to drive a car across South America, taking a 1912 Buick Model 28 from Buenos Aires over the Andes to Santiago, Chile.

With its six-cylinder engine also completed and available in 1914, Buick would regularly improve it. In 1922, for its '23 models, Buick achieved increased engine life through a harder cylinder casting; a larger crankshaft, and stronger connecting rods; pistons, and main bearings.

Writer and traveler Lowell Thomas chose his own personal 1923 Buick to make his widely reported trip to Afghanistan - the first time, he said, that this country had been penetrated by automobile.

The following year, stronger frames and axles - with four-wheel brakes - characterized the 1924 Buick.

1924 saw the founding of Buick parent company GM's Milford Proving Ground to provide engineers and designers with information on vehicle performance when subjected to a battery of tests in a controlled environment. Milford began as a 1,125-acre facility with two buildings and 5½ miles of test roads (four miles of which were gravel). This alone, particularly given Milford's 1924 debut, compares favorably with the new 2.3-mile test track that Hyundai appears to proudly advertise today!

Yet today, Milford has evolved into over three million square feet of property with 128 miles of different test roads of every conceivable material; 106 buildings and laboratories housing nearly 5,000 employees in a seven-day, 24-hour operation.

In 1994, the Milford Proving Ground achieved two significant milestones: the one-billionth test mile driven, and the 10,000^th safety crash test conducted - both more than any other manufacturer. By 1997, fifteen million miles were logged annually at Milford, and 2.4 million gallons of gasoline consumed, as part of Buick and GM's quest for safety and quality.

Two years after Milford's 1924 construction, for 1926, Buick frames were heavier still (with chassis kept supple by zerk lubrication fittings) - and again, for 1929

when thicker steel with deeper cross sections and stronger suspension components met steel-backed engine bearings. For 1934, an X-member was added to the frame for further strength.

Aesthetic durability was not ignored. For 1925, the Buick featured a more durable, and more aesthetically pleasing, nitrocellulose lacquer paint in place of a varnish-color finish. For 1926, Buick debuted aluminum hubcaps and gas filler caps.

The 1929 Buick replaced its vacuum tank with a mechanical fuel pump. An automatic choke debuted for 1935; by 1977, electric chokes were standard, and multi-port injection was about to debut; evolving to sequential and tuned port injection systems in the years to follow.

It was at Buick that John Gretzinger, in charge of Buick quality and reliability in the Sixties, would simply shut the production line down if he felt for any reason that the quality was not up to par (Buick: A Complete History, Terry B. Dunham & Lawrence R. Gustin, Automobile Quarterly, 2002).

It was at Buick that, to prove durability in 1960, Buick General Manager Ed Rollert asked PR director Gerald H. Rideout to drive a 1960 Invicta - non-stop - around the Daytona Speedway for 10,000 miles in 5,000 minutes (an average speed of 120 miles per hour). Buick worked out the on-the-fly refueling logistics. The car completed the run.

So impressive was the achievement that, when in 1962 Mickey Thompson searched for an engine to power his Harvey Aluminum Special for that year's Indianapolis 500, he chose the Buick V8. Modified to put out 330 horsepower, the engine was raced it for ninety-two laps before a rear-end gear problem forced him to the side. The Buick part of the car - the engine - was just fine.

For 1976, all Buick engines gained High-Energy Ignition (HEI), sending 35% more voltage to spark plugs and eliminating the old points and condenser. Meanwhile, Freedom Batteries required no maintenance or addition of water, and had a built-in state of charge indicator.

For 1978, as Buick began pioneering the turbocharging of family vehicles, it introduced the industry's first electronic spark control system, retarding spark to control detonation during turbo boost. In those days, all turbocharged Buicks were road-tested for two miles to ensure reliability (a test applied and much-touted by Hyundai in its 2006 advertising, thirty full years later).

In 1981 at Buick, several Buick plants turned to employee involvement programs to cut absenteeism and improve quality.

In 1983, Buick began using a high-technology videotex marketing system called Electronic Product Information Center. A dealership video terminal and keyboard were linked by phone to Buick's own computer. The terminal displayed information in color and graphic form, and could be used to answer specific customer or salesman inquiries. With this system - commonplace today, but revolutionary back then - dealerships could have constant access to the Buick central computer for up-to-date information.

By late 1985, this system had evolved into Buick's Computerized Automotive Maintenance System, which permitted a dealership to hook into a car's electronic control module to send data directly to Buick headquarters for analysis. Far before the service stage, and back in design and evaluation, an On-Site Computer-Aided Research (OSCAR) system used sensors in a test car to send signals to a computer inside a nearby van.

Also for 1985, just-in-time scheduling was introduced to the refurbished, 1.5 million square foot Buick City operation in Flint. To build ergonomic cars, Buick figured, required building cars ergonomically. Twenty-two separate docking locations put incoming materials near the areas where they would be used. Engines; seats, and transaxles were unloaded by robots - and another two hundred robots were used in body assembly. At the separate Dimensional Verification Center, a Buick could be placed on a huge granite block, then measured to make sure that all fixtures and tooling were sufficiently precise.

When Buick handcrafted the 1988-1991 Reatta

in 24 steps, each carried out by small teams of skilled craftsmen in Lansing, Michigan, attention-to-detail was second to none. Each Reatta was meticulously hand-sanded between primer coats, for instance, to remove even the smallest imperfections. For 1990, Reatta received a standard auxiliary transmission cooler. When the car was discontinued, the Reatta Craft Center had developed such unique capabilities that it was selected as the production site of General Motors' future electric car. "We feel this is a fitting tribute to the craftsmanship represented in the Reatta," wrote Buick General Manager Edward H. Mertz in a letter to Reatta owners.

In 1997, a 1948 Buick Special completed the second Peking-to-Paris rally, ninety years after the first one.

In 2000, a 1949 Buick Super wagon circled the globe, starting and ending in London.

In late-2001, a 2002 Buick Rendezvous won a silver medal in the 15,000-mile Inca Trail adventure drive.

Today, from design to production, longevity is the cornerstone of the Buick product development and manufacturing process.

In testing, New Orleans has taught Buick about humidity; Bemidji, Minnesota - where the temperature can sag to thirty below - has tested Buick cold-starting, and has revealed the value of heated seats and heaters that wind-up quickly (n.b: heated seats and dual temperature controls are offered on every 2006 Buick).

Today, GM's Milford Proving Ground is capable of achieving temperatures between forty degrees below zero to 130ºF; of humidity and altitudes from 700 feet below sea level to 12,500 feet, and of simulating air speeds up to one hundred miles per hour.

The Buick had earned a well-deserved reputation for automobiles of distinguished solidity, long before the first ventiport was proudly punched through a fender and lovingly rendered in chrome.

Yet Buick Quality today is more than an enviable, overflowing shelf of accolades.

It is more than a 3.8-liter (231 cid) V6 engine that has been progressively evolved for thirty years, in each, noted for its fierce durability (for more on the continuous development of the legendary 3800, you might enjoy The Life and Times of the 90-degree Buick V6).

It is more than an engine that, virtually at its debut, innovatively offered a High-Energy Ignition system and Early Fuel Evaporation for better starts on cold or wet mornings; longer service intervals, and better economy.

It is more than automatic transmissions that, since the mid-90s, have not required fluid changes under normal driving conditions.

It is more than maintenance-free (and lighter) batteries for 1981, or than 100,000-mile coolant today.

It is more, even, than a conviction that there is no limit to how good a car can get.

The modern Buick must be as much about perceived quality as about the best quality ratings in the industry; about sensory exhilaration that entices with carefully-chosen interior textures; materials, and surfaces that thrill the fingertips.

Buick Quality is in the design - in sinuously sculpted panels of brilliantly burnished paint, that fit with eye-pleasing precision, shielding chronograph gauges and French-stitched, tanned leather. It lives in the proven American engineering. It is found in the seamless flow of power; in luscious material, and in precise, secure road feel. It is evident in easy, ergonomic clarity of information from gauge to eye; in comfortable proximity and linear feel of controls; in the linear response of a precisely calibrated chassis, and in rich detail throughout.

Buick Quality is precision in craftsmanship; in artful design and engineering, and in crisp fit and finish - precision to enrich the quality of life; precision that goes one better, resolutely refusing to be satisfied with the status quo. The leather must always be softer; the engine, more powerful; the cabin quieter, and the tolerances tighter.

Buick Quality is a deeply-held belief in a better way to build.

Buick Quality is deepset and lasting; it is the very essence and soul of Buick.

Buick active and passive safety has ever been exemplary, the goal being for the Buick to respond the same way in a crisis as it does in normal driving.

Yet safety is not the only aspect of Buick protection; as a Buick owner, you enjoy no less a warranty than that offered by Cadillac.

Discover The Buick's Reassuring Protection

Buick's first closed car, protecting its occupants from the elements, came with the 1910 Buick Model 41, rather preempting the industry's early-20s move away from roadsters to such vehicles. A heater was made available for 1923. For 1924, four-wheel brakes were introduced.

By 1927, Buicks featured one-piece windshields, and indirectly-lit speedometers and gasoline gauges.

The Buick's starting mechanism received a revision for 1934 that prevented the starter from being used to move the car when the ignition was locked. A glove-box lock followed for 1935.

For 1934, an octane selector handle altered the spark timing to allow the use of either standard or premium fuel.

For 1936, directional indicators became standard equipment, a first in the industry.

1932 Buicks

received a cruciform-braced frame. Decades later, Side-Guard Beam construction and a double-panel roof were no strangers to even the affordable Skyhawk

of 1975, these double panels not only strengthening the structure, but featuring a perforated-and-bonded, contoured inner panel to keep the passenger compartment quiet. Nylon-blend, cut-pile carpeting further refined this lowliest of Buicks throughout its interior.

In what would become a familiar refrain, Big Buick features showed their flexibility in being comfortable in Buicks of a new smaller size: not simply options, but dual-rate body mounts, and padded instrument panels; head restraints, and sun visors.

When full-size Buicks downsized for 1977, their new smaller chassis was a direct descendant of their predecessors, for proven hardware in a first-year model, while meeting the needs of a more efficient era.

The 1938 Buick's all-around coil springs prolonged rear tire life, and provided for increased control in the event of a blow-out. Then, as now, approximately twenty square inches connect you and your car to the road. Your car's tires are among the most important aspects of your safety and its performance. That's why every 2006 Buick features standard tire-pressure monitoring.

It also explains why Buick parent company GM opened the Tire and Wheel Systems Laboratory at the GM Proving Ground in Milford, Michigan in 1968: to oversee the design; development; validation, and engineering release of all tires used on GM's North American vehicles. Tire pressure became particularly important at Buick in 1980, in the wake of the second gas crisis, when new, higher-pressure tires offered less rolling resistance. By 1981, they were self-sealing, too.

Buick's tires in development are subjected to a series of rigorous tests under a variety of load and driving conditions, measuring critical performance characteristics to ensure optimum ride smoothness; fuel economy; braking, and handling.

Active safety - the technology to avoid trouble - is as important to Buick as passive safety. Active safety refers to the prevention of crashes; to the accident-avoidance capabilities designed into a car that allow a driver to avoid a crash. These include attention to such factors as steering; brakes; handling, and transient response; in sum, the total evasive capability of the car.

Traction is a Buick hallmark. Tom McCahill of Mechanix Illustrated wrote in 1958, "this '59 Buick is one hell of a road car, with the traction of a leech. Many a lesser car on this wet road surface would have been off the shoulder like a French evening gown and sailing to parts unknown."

The 1971 Buicks offered MaxTrac, a Buick exclusive, helping to stop fishtailing before it started. An on-board computer (n.b: thirty-five years ago!) detected rear wheel spin and controlled the power to the rear wheels, reducing slipping on slick surfaces.

A more modern version of traction control surfaced at Buick for 1991. Today, all Buick models offer both traction control, and StabiliTrak

stability control. StabiliTrak, available on Buicks since May of 1999, detects the difference between your steering wheel angle input, and the direction in which your Buick is actually turning, and subtly - yet decisively - applies quick, precise force to the appropriate brakes to keep the vehicle on course.

GM Vice Chairman Lutz emphasizes that StabiliTrak is programmed to be as unintrusive as possible. "You just think you're one of the world's best drivers, and sadly the rest of the world doesn't recognize it," he muses.

"Our software guys will define a line all the way around the complex inside perimeter of the physical boundaries of the car so that you can go all the way to the limits in any direction before the system takes over. The system still intervenes to save you from yourself, but you really have to take it to the very edge before it kicks in" (Corvette C6, Phil Berg, MBI, 2004).

The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that stability control can reduce single vehicle crashes involving cars by 35%. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has also found electronic stability control systems to be very effective in reducing single-vehicle crashes.

You'll never pay more than a $3,000 premium for the available security of all-wheel-drive, offered in three 2006 Buicks (Rainier; Rendezvous, and Terraza), and Rainier asks just $2,000 to power all four wheels in slippery conditions.

Like traction, braking has long been a concern at Buick. On August 1^st, 1923, as the new 1924 Buicks debuted, Buicks became the first mass-produced automobiles to offer four-wheel brakes. For many years hence, the division would annually lay claim to having the best stopping system in the industry; Road Test magazine wrote that "tangible evidence to support this contention has often been cited" and that "Buick probably has spent a bit more time; design effort, and money on brake systems than a lot of the competition" (Road Test, August 1972).

For 1936, as its Special; Century; Roadmaster, and Limited cars began nearing and topping one hundred miles per hour, Buick began offering hydraulic brakes. For 1963, Buick introduced finned aluminum front brakes; for 1967, the fins at the rear were doubled in number (with the inside lip extended, to reach further into the cooling air) and the vacuum booster was increased in size, and for 1971, a proportioning valve controlled braking force, front to rear, to help give quick; smooth, straight-line stops. Power-assisted front disc brakes were, that year, standard on large Buicks - a rarity of the day, shared among American cars only with the Chevrolet Corvette.

It was Corvette to which Road & Track compared the 1979 Riviera S-Type's brakes, "the best we've ever tested on any U.S. car except the Corvette and the Firebird Trans-Am... the distances are very impressive, and the sort we generally associate with cars that are a great deal lighter than the Buick, or quite a bit more expensive (BMW 733i, Mercedes-Benz 450 SEL).

"Add zero fade and no control problems under hard braking, and we have a 3,900lb Detroit coupe that gets an excellent braking rating" (Road & Track, March 1979).

For 1985, the Regal separated brake boost from the power steering pump, using an electric pump instead. The 1988 Regal featured all-around disc brakes as standard equipment, becoming the first six-passenger American car to do so.

For 1986, Buick had joined with West Germany's Alfred Teves GmbH to offer anti-lock braking (ABS) on the Electra, releasing and applying pressure as frequently as fifteen times per second to keep the driver in control. The technology began permeating through the Buick line-up until, by 1994, every Buick featured standard anti-lock brakes. Today's 2006 Buick Terraza boasts the shortest stopping distances in its segment.

Today, all 2006 Buick suspensions are lubed for life, a design begun with the 1988 Regal.

Body integrity is also vital at Buick. As far back as 1983, for instance, the Century offered standard Plastisol-R protection in critical spots. By the year, more and more galvanized panels were being added, with the 1986 LeSabre being the first Buick to offer double-sided galvanized sheetmetal on both sides of the hood and fenders. Going a step further, the whole 1986 Riviera's body - roof apart - was double-side, hot-dipped galvanized. The same process would be applied to the 1988 Regal, and to other Buicks going forward.

Today, to maintain your Buick's appearance and value, additional clear coat is sprayed over every vehicle in critical areas. For additional protection against chipping, vulnerable lower body-panel areas receive an application of anti-chip protection. Galvanized steel with a zinc coating, and protective anticorrosion dips, are used extensively in body panels. Stainless steel is used in exhaust systems, as it has been at Buick since 1991. So confident is Buick in the body integrity of its products that it warranties its cars against corrosion for 6 years.

Today, the Buick LaCrosse receives an energy-absorbing aluminum engine cradle and magnesium instrument panel beam, these features not only lowering the center of gravity and improving chassis and steering responsiveness, but also passenger compartment rigidity in a crash. Buick thus solves the dichotomy of active and passive safety together - holistically, as is the Buick way. As used in the 2000 LeSabre, the magnesium beam helped Buick improve the car's torsional rigidity by 62%, and bending rigidity by 27%, over the previous generation.

We've talked much about the protection of Buick reliability. If Buick reliability is a given, then one might expect that Buick would stand behind its cars.

This, it does, with a 4 year/ 50,000-mile bumper-to-bumper warranty that is the equal of Acura; Audi; BMW; Cadillac; Hummer; Infiniti; Jaguar; Land Rover; Lexus; Lincoln; Mercedes-Benz; Porsche, and Saab. Toyota and Honda are soundly beaten in this respect. Buick also trounces Toyota and Honda with its 5 year/ 100,000-mile powertrain warranty.

Moreover, all 2007 Buicks offer the same, 4 year/ 50,000-mile length of roadside assistance coverage (1-800-ROADSIDE). Locked-out? Out of gas? Need a tow? Buick has you covered for 4 years and 50,000 miles. This is peace-of-mind coverage that beats Toyota; and Honda offers none at all. Recently, MarketWatch.com Inc. referenced the program in an article praising roadside-assistance plans as being "among the few purchases that pays for itself the first time you use it" ('Motorist's best friend,' Marshall Loeb, MarketWatch.com Inc., May 21^st, 2006). At Buick, such reassurance is complimentary.

Buick dealerships even offer a year of roadside assistance with pre-owned Buicks.

On-board diagnostics began at Buick for 1977, enabling a mechanic to hook up a diagnostic test instrument to check operation of the ignition switch; coil; starter and other critical circuitry. This was much faster than traditional methods. By 1996, all Buicks were OBD-II (on-board diagnostic II) compliant, for more accurate diagnoses and quicker repairs. Anti-lock brake control units were also revised to make the ABS more durable and easier to service.

For 1985, the Buick Riviera offered a factory-approved cellular telephone. For 1998, OnStar became a Buick option. Today, to help you use Buick's exemplary coverage, all 2006 Buicks come with standard OnStar support - a feature as useful in preventative maintenance as in actively assisting you in an emergency. Curious about a Check Engine alert in your Buick? A live OnStar advisor can help.

Add Hands-Free Calling, and stay better connected on the road with a powerful three-watt digital/ analog system and external antenna for superior reception.

OnStar, of course, is as much a safety innovation as one of convenience. OnStar is indispensable in an emergency. In case of airbag deployment, the OnStar advisor works with police to assist in recovery, contacting you (in English; Spanish, or French) to see if you need help. If you do not respond, the Advisor sends Emergency Services directly to you.

Most recently at Buick, Advanced Automatic Crash Notification (AACN) automatically provides OnStar with crash information following collisions - even if the airbags don't deploy - by using additional sensors to detect moderate-to-severe rear and side impacts.

Your OnStar Advisor assists in theft recovery, too; an unfortunate situation, but a concern of Buick's for many years.

As far back as 1923, Buick installed a transmission lock, noting that it would "reduce theft insurance rate by twenty percent." 1969 was the first year for anti-theft ignition locks in Buicks; 1980 brought a theft-deterrent door and trunk-lock mechanism, plus a starter interrupt system to prevent the engine from firing; 1986 saw the debut of touchpad-based Keyless Entry on the Electra; 1988 improved the theft-deterrent door-lock mechanism and stamped car-specific identification on major body panels; 1990 saw the introduction of the Buick/ GM Pass-Key anti-theft system, and 1994 brought the revised Pass-Key II.

Meanwhile, programmable automatic door-locks have resisted carjacking from 1992 onward, a reprisal of a system Buick first instituted for the 1976 Electra. In the event of an airbag deployment, Buick locks have popped open automatically, within fifteen seconds, since 1997.

In January 1987, Buick LeSabres; Skylarks and Somersets received automatic seat-belt systems. More than ten years ago, driver-side airbags were standard in all 1994 Buicks - with passenger-side airbags standard in LeSabre; Park Avenue, and Roadmaster. Meanwhile, the 1995 Buick XP2000 Concept

saw Buick researching a vehicle with eight airbags. Today, all 2006 Buicks offer head-protecting side curtain airbags (standard, on Lucerne), with rollover-deployment functionality on the Rainier SUV.

Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine gave the 1996 LeSabre

a First for Safety award in the $18,000-$25,000 category.

Based on the crash performance of a 1999 Buick Park Avenue, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) named it a Best Pick. Kiplinger's Personal Finance gave it a First for Safety award.

By 1999, Buick had earned more than 70 awards and honors in seven years. That year, forty years after having made padded dashboards standard equipment, Buick explored the possibility of a convertible that upheld its tradition of safety. With a name taken from the Spanish word for sky, the 1999 Buick Cielo Concept merged convertible driving with hard-top safety and security. Roof rails running from the front of the passenger compartment to Cielo's rear end provided enhanced overall body strength and increased occupant protection. These rails also guided Cielo's three opaque hard roof panels into the trunk when the driver engaged the convertible top.

Testing the 2000 LeSabre, a car with the most standard safety features in its class, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) named it a Best Pick. In addition to offering standard side-airbags, LeSabre featured Catcher's Mitt high-retention front seats with self-aligning head restraints, reducing the chance of whiplash injuries in a rear-end collision. In a rear impact, LeSabre's seat system was designed to absorb energy, and to pocket an occupant's pelvis and lower back in the seat. The self-aligning head restraint, built into each front seat back, used the rearward movement of the occupant's upper torso to rotate the head restraint closer to the occupant's head.

So effective was the feature that the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC) made Canadian LeSabre buyers eligible for a $100 incentive.

Meanwhile, AAA (the country's largest organization for motorists) named LeSabre the top car in its price category.

Today, The New York Times writes of the 2006 Lucerne, "the expected safety features are here: advanced airbags that deploy in different ways depending on how one is seated; inflatable curtains that protect the front and rear seats; electronic stability control to prevent spinouts, and anti-lock brakes with emergency brake assist, which apply full stopping power in a panic situation" (The New York Times, April 23^rd, 2006).

Adds Tom Keane for the Helena/ Montana Independent Record, "when it comes to safety, this car provides first-class protection" (Helena/ Montana Independent Record, August 12^th, 2006).

"Quietness; smoothness; substance, and power with economy," said Motor Trend of Buick's '97 flagship.

"Driving the all-new Park Avenue is like a cruise down easy street" (Motor Trend, January 1996).

All the reassurance of a Buick adds up to a fine value - and value has long been a Buick cornerstone.

The Buick theme has consistently been that a fine car investment is measured not by its price, but its pleasure - this, recognized as early as November 1904, when Motor Age found the Buick to be "a little machine that has attracted an immense amount of attention in past few weeks owing to its high power and low price" (Buick: A Complete History, Terry B. Dunham & Lawrence R. Gustin, Automobile Quarterly, 2002).

The question, what price should I pay for quality, is irrelevant at Buick.

Discover The Buick, as a Reassuring Investment

"We are certain you will enjoy your entire ownership experience with us," predicts Buick today.

"Why? Because our philosophy is to treat each and every customer exactly as we would like to be treated. Our goal is to exceed your expectations in all we do - and to retain your business for a lifetime."

Indeed, J.D. Power & Associates' most recent, 2006 Customer Service survey placed Buick second in the industry, as the brand upheld the excellence of its sales and service experience.

Over fifteen years ago, Buick became one of the first car companies worldwide to pioneer a new-vehicle inspection and delivery process. Today, it is known as Buick Quality Plus Delivery. Not only is your new Buick thoroughly inspected and explained to you by the dealer before you take delivery, but each and every Buick customer receives a follow-up survey to measure his or her satisfaction with product quality and their sales experience. This information helps Buick Motor Division and Buick dealers improve service in the future.

When it comes to preventative maintenance, Buick stands with you in keeping your Buick at optimum performance. The Buick Owner Center at http://www.buick.com/owners accepts the registrations of Buicks from 2006 through 1993, offering e-mail reminders about service visits; history of services performed; on-line owner's manuals and warranties; recall notices, and do-it-yourself videos.

That's reassuring - and it's typically Buick. It was Buick, after all, who reassured one Billy Durant that automobiles were not repugnant; that the horseless carriage was the way forward.

Durant borrowed a 1904 Buick and was so impressed that he invested in the company, joining the board of directors; selling 1,108 Buicks at the 1905 New York Auto Show before the company had even built forty, and going on to found General Motors on September 16^th, 1908. Buick led GM - and American - production that year. Indeed, the consistency of Buick was critical to General Motors' early years, as the nascent corporation experienced considerable financial trouble.

"It is better that the rest of General Motors be scrapped than any chances be taken with Buick's earning power," wrote new GM head Alfred P. Sloan in late 1920 to Pierre du Pont (Standard Catalog of Buick 1903-2000, Ron Kowalke, Krause, 1999).

Thus was Buick the cornerstone of General Motors. Buick would reward both its parent company and its customers several times over, with - as early as 1914 - standard electric self-starting; standard headlights, and its first six-cylinder engine.

In World War I, Buick would give back to the nation, building 1,338 8- and 12-cylinder Liberty aircraft engines; 1.2 million 3-inch mortar shells; 1.2 million mortar bases; 1.05 million shell casings; 397,000 cartridge containers; 3,500 trucks and ambulances; 11,000 sets of truck axles, and even a series of experimental tanks.

The French Government awarded a Buick ambulance the Croix de Guerre; the car was returned to the United States and can be seen today at the Washington Red Cross museum.

Buick was giving back to its parent company, too. "When times were bad in the early-1920s, it was the profits from Buick that kept GM going," recalled Forbes columnist Jerry Flint recently, adding a period quote from GM leader Alfred P. Sloan: "it was Buick that made any kind of General Motors car line worth talking about" ('Reinventing Buick,' Forbes, March 4^th, 2003).

Remarks author Lawrence Gustin, "the evidence strongly suggests that Buick, the financial rock on which Durant founded General Motors in 1908, remained the financial rock that pulled GM through the disaster of 1920-1921, until Sloan's strong new management techniques could build GM into what has become the largest manufacturing empire in history" (Buick: A Complete History, Terry B. Dunham & Lawrence R. Gustin, Automobile Quarterly, 2002).

By 1923, back to full-time regular production, Buick had built its one-millionth car. The Buick brand was now prominent internationally.

In 1941, Buick production set a new record at 316,251. Soon, there were Hellcats on the Buick assembly line, as the automaker joined America's World War II effort. "Until total victory, we dedicate ourselves to the objective, when better war goods are built, Buick workmen will build them," promised Buick.

"This is a war not only of men in uniform, but of men in work clothes; engineers in their shirt sleeves; executives at their desks. Every machine; every drawing board; every conference table where decisions are made concerning war goods - all these are battle stations where part of the work of forging Victory goes on," mused Buick General Manager Harlow H. Curtice (Time magazine's 1955 Man of the Year and later President of GM).

Buick produced 74,797 Pratt & Whitney Bomber Engines; 2,507 M-18 Hellcat Tank Destroyers; 640 M-39 Armored Tractors; 19,428 M-4, M-10, and M-26 Tank Power Trains; 2,952 90mm and 4.7-inch Anti-Aircraft Gun Mounts; 148,196 Diesel Engine Crankshafts; 2,424,000 75mm Steel Cartridge Cases; 1,149,300 57mm shell bodies; 9,719,000 20mm shell bodies; 3,120,000 aluminum cylinder heads for Pratt & Whitney Engines; 52,200 aluminum cylinder blocks for Rolls-Royce Engines, and 204,500 cylinder blocks and heads for army truck engines. The total period worth of the war materials delivered by Buick to the Armed Forces exceeded one billion dollars.

Yet with the arrival of peace in 1945, Buick was - in October of that year - again ready to take up where it had left off.

The 1979 Riviera, the S-Type variant of which received Motor Trend's Car of the Year award, was widely viewed as the "leading edge of Detroit technology... (combining) interesting weight-saving materials and engineering approaches... in a way that's synergistic: the sum becomes greater than its parts."

The Buick was a lot of car in the beginning - and it's a lot more car today.

Buick has long offered a reassuring degree of choice; not simply the adaptability of '96 LeSabre; Park Avenue, and Riviera's Personal Choice features (memory door locks; seats, and lighting), but a more inherent degree of selection. The new 1982-1984 Regal sedan gave the midsize Buick sedan customer a rear-wheel-drive alternative to the new, front-wheel-drive 1982 Century, whose layout was gradually permeating its way through the line-up. Then, even as Buick focused on packaging front-wheel-drive in a manner acceptable to the Buick driver, it revived the rear-wheel-drive Roadmaster for 1991 (as an Estate) and as additionally a sedan from 1992 through 1996.

Today, Buick is the only premium automaker to offer a choice between overhead-valve and dual-overhead-cam engines. Why the choice? The better to fit your driving style. Overhead-valve engines, which have one intake and exhaust valve per cylinder, are generally described as torquers, touting strong low-end performance. Meanwhile, dual overhead-cam engines have two intake and two exhaust valves per cylinder, allowing more air to flow into the combustion chamber and more exhaust gas to flow out of it; their strength is better performance at high rpms.

The Buick has always been an investment in value. "As you may know, Buick today is outselling every other car listing above $1,200, by a margin of two to one," wrote the Decker Automobile Company - a dealership chain - to prospective customers in 1929, explaining that value was a critical piece of the Buick success.

Offering a value proposition is part of a commitment to what Buick Motor Division called product integrity in the Sixties. "When Buick builds a LeSabre, Buick builds a high-priced car - and puts a low price on it," Buick explained in 1964.

"Some think a man who can afford a Buick Electra 225 is above thinking about money," mused Buick of its flagship two years later.

"We tend to doubt it."

More recently, Buick told Park Avenue customers, "just because you have it doesn't mean you have to spend it."

Buick's smallest car in more than 60 years, the subcompact Skyhawk

of 1975, offered many of the features of larger Buicks, with a full list of options.

Efficiency is a key part of the value equation. The Eighties brought attention to an aerodynamic approach to fuel efficiency, visible at Buick with the 1977-1980 Century Aeroback, and full-size '80 LeSabres and Electras that were restyled with aerodynamics in mind, riding on higher-pressure tires with less rolling resistance.

When the Buick Century debuted for 1982, it offered the lowest drag coefficient in the line-up. Its flush-mounted glass and tall, 2.97:1 final drive answered the call for more efficient vehicles - and, impressively, at the most affordable end of the Buick brand.

For 1984, Buick Special Products Engineering released the results of its studies in efficiency: Multi-Port Injection (MFI) technology came to the 3.8-liter V6, analyzing air/ fuel requirements and sending a charge to all six cylinders during each engine revolution. Meanwhile, the Regal and Riviera T-Types' Sequential Fuel Injection (SFI) gave each cylinder a precisely-metered charge, just before firing, for best performance all the way from idle to full load.

Indeed, all the reassurance of a Buick adds up to a fine value - and value has long been a Buick cornerstone. The Buick theme has consistently been that a fine car investment is measured not by its price, but its pleasure.

IntelliChoice's The Complete Car Cost Guide named the Buick Park Avenue the Best Luxury Car Value for 1992 and 1993, after considering price; depreciation; financing; insurance; taxes; fuel; maintenance, and repairs over a five-year period.

In 1996, both Park Avenue and LeSabre

took the award.

Car Smart magazine said the 1995 LeSabre was an Absolute Best New Car Value, and made the 1996 Park Avenue Ultra a Recommended Buy.

The 1998 Park Avenue won Kiplinger's Car Buying Guide's Best-in-Class, Best New Car award in the $25,000-$35,000 category, while LeSabre took Family Circle magazine's Family Sedan of the Year.

The 1999 Century

was chosen a Consumers Digest Best Buy.

AAA simply gave the 2000 LeSabre Top Honors, and Top Car standing among all domestic and import models in the $20,000-$25,000 price range.

In 2000, Buick dealers won Strategic Vision's Dealer Total Quality Award for Best Dealership Experience, $20,000-$30,000 vehicles, for the second year running - based on the responses of 33,760 new-car buyers.

In 2001, Buick LeSabre received the Good Housekeeping Institute Women's Automotive Satisfaction Award for the third consecutive year.

Reassuring safety. Reassuringly timelessness grace in design, and care in award-winning engineering. Reassuringly steadfast power. Reassuring ergonomics. This, and all the standard safety and convenience equipment, and standard warranties, of the Buick - yesterday and today - adds up to one thing: standard peace of mind.

Standard reassurance - with the premium treatment one might expect of a 103-year-old automaker.

They used to say that the Buick was the automobile of those possessed of uncommon good sense. It remains as true today as fifty years ago, when the phrase was first coined.