The next time you visit one of the Buick auto dealers near you, think about the history of the brand. Buick auto dealers are the result of one man who moved to Detroit, Michigan at the age of two when his parents emigrated to the United States from Scotland in 1856.
David Buick left school at the age of 14 or 15 to work for a company that specialized in plumbing goods. He and a partner took the company over when it ran into trouble about 12 years later. This is when he began working on innovations that would serve him so well in the auto industry. In fact, he created a method for enameling cast iron tubs that is still in use today. As a result of his ideas and his partner’s business mind, the new plumbing company became very successful.
David Buick eventually became interested in the internal combustion engine. He experimented with them and spent much of his time studying them. As a result of his newfound interest, his partner grew impatient with him and they eventually parted ways and sold the company. This gave Buick the money he needed to study his new interest full-time. In 1899, he started the Buick Auto-Vim and Power Company to market engines for agricultural purposes. Soon after, he began creating complete cars with one of these engines installed. By 1902, he spent all of the money he acquired from selling the plumbing business and had nothing to show for it besides a single car.
So how did David Buick turn that into what it is today? Come back on Wednesday for part two of the Buick story. Until then, visit your local Buick dealer and see how far the automaker has come since the days of David Buick.
