David Dunbar Buick
Encyclopedia
David Dunbar Buick was a Scottish
-born Detroit
inventor, best known for founding the Buick Motor Company
. He headed this company and its predecessor from 1902 until 1906, thereby helping to create one of the most successful nameplate
s in United States motor vehicle history.
, Angus
, Scotland
and moved to Detroit at the age of two when his parents emigrated
to the United States. He left school in 1869 and worked for a company which made plumbing
goods. When the company ran into trouble in 1882, he and a partner took it over. At this time Buick began to show his promise as an inventor, producing many innovations including a lawn sprinkler, and a method for permanently coating cast iron
with vitreous enamel
which allowed the production of "white" baths at lower cost. Although cast iron baths are uncommon nowadays, the method is still in use for enameling them. With the combination of Buick's innovation and his partner's sound business management the company became quite successful.
s and began experimenting with them. He was spending little time on the plumbing business, and his business partner became impatient with him. The partnership was dissolved and the company was sold.
Buick now had the time and capital to work on engines full time, and he set up a new company, the Buick Auto-Vim and Power Company, in 1899 to do so. The stated aim of the company was to market engines for agricultural use. Buick soon turned to the development of a complete car, rather than just an engine. He also concentrated on research and development at the expense of manufacturing and sales. The result was that he consumed his capital by early 1902 without generating any significant return, other than a single car.
In early 1902, he set up a second company, the Buick Manufacturing Company, with the twin aims of marketing engines to other car companies and of manufacturing and selling its own cars. Once again manufacturing and development problems meant that by the end of 1902, Buick had run out of money with only one car to show for his work. The concentration on development had produced the revolutionary "Valve-in-Head" overhead valve
engine. This method of engine construction produces a much more powerful engine than the rival side valve engine design which all other manufacturers used at the time. Overhead valve engines have been used by most car manufacturers but now only GM and Chrysler
produce "push-rod
engines" with any great regularity. Since overhead cam engine
s are design variants of OHV engines, it is fair to classify virtually all modern engines as derivatives of Buick's invention.
The money ran out again and in 1903 Buick was forced to raise more money via a $5,000 loan from a friend and fellow car enthusiast, Benjamin Briscoe
. With this financial help from Briscoe, Buick formed the Buick Motor Company which would eventually become the cornerstone of the General Motors
empire.
in 1928, Buick admitted that he was almost completely broke, unable to even afford a telephone, and an instructor at the Detroit School of Trades. The following year, he died from colon cancer on March 5, 1929 at the age of 74.
One commentator, Theodore F. McManus, noted that "Fame beckoned to David Buick. He sipped from the cup of greatness, and then spilled what it held." In 2000, automotive historian Vincent Curcio observed that "To date, over 35,000,000 motor cars have been built in his name, which will never be lost to history."
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
-born Detroit
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
inventor, best known for founding the Buick Motor Company
Buick
Buick is a premium brand of General Motors . Buick models are sold in the United States, Canada, Mexico, China, Taiwan, and Israel, with China being its largest market. Buick holds the distinction as the oldest active American make...
. He headed this company and its predecessor from 1902 until 1906, thereby helping to create one of the most successful nameplate
Nameplate
A nameplate identifies and displays a person or product's name. Name plates are usually shaped as rectangles but are also seen in other shapes, sometimes taking on the shape of someone’s name...
s in United States motor vehicle history.
Biography
Buick was born in ArbroathArbroath
Arbroath or Aberbrothock is a former royal burgh and the largest town in the council area of Angus in Scotland, and has a population of 22,785...
, Angus
Angus
Angus is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland, a registration county and a lieutenancy area. The council area borders Aberdeenshire, Perth and Kinross and Dundee City...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and moved to Detroit at the age of two when his parents emigrated
Emigration
Emigration is the act of leaving one's country or region to settle in another. It is the same as immigration but from the perspective of the country of origin. Human movement before the establishment of political boundaries or within one state is termed migration. There are many reasons why people...
to the United States. He left school in 1869 and worked for a company which made plumbing
Plumbing
Plumbing is the system of pipes and drains installed in a building for the distribution of potable drinking water and the removal of waterborne wastes, and the skilled trade of working with pipes, tubing and plumbing fixtures in such systems. A plumber is someone who installs or repairs piping...
goods. When the company ran into trouble in 1882, he and a partner took it over. At this time Buick began to show his promise as an inventor, producing many innovations including a lawn sprinkler, and a method for permanently coating cast iron
Cast iron
Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
with vitreous enamel
Vitreous enamel
Vitreous enamel, also porcelain enamel in U.S. English, is a material made by fusing powdered glass to a substrate by firing, usually between 750 and 850 °C...
which allowed the production of "white" baths at lower cost. Although cast iron baths are uncommon nowadays, the method is still in use for enameling them. With the combination of Buick's innovation and his partner's sound business management the company became quite successful.
Buick Motor Company
During the 1890s, Buick developed an interest in internal combustion engineInternal combustion engine
The internal combustion engine is an engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer in a combustion chamber. In an internal combustion engine, the expansion of the high-temperature and high -pressure gases produced by combustion apply direct force to some component of the engine...
s and began experimenting with them. He was spending little time on the plumbing business, and his business partner became impatient with him. The partnership was dissolved and the company was sold.
Buick now had the time and capital to work on engines full time, and he set up a new company, the Buick Auto-Vim and Power Company, in 1899 to do so. The stated aim of the company was to market engines for agricultural use. Buick soon turned to the development of a complete car, rather than just an engine. He also concentrated on research and development at the expense of manufacturing and sales. The result was that he consumed his capital by early 1902 without generating any significant return, other than a single car.
In early 1902, he set up a second company, the Buick Manufacturing Company, with the twin aims of marketing engines to other car companies and of manufacturing and selling its own cars. Once again manufacturing and development problems meant that by the end of 1902, Buick had run out of money with only one car to show for his work. The concentration on development had produced the revolutionary "Valve-in-Head" overhead valve
Overhead valve
An overhead valve engine, also informally called pushrod engine or I-head engine, is a type of piston engine that places the camshaft within the cylinder block , and uses pushrods or rods to actuate rocker arms above the cylinder...
engine. This method of engine construction produces a much more powerful engine than the rival side valve engine design which all other manufacturers used at the time. Overhead valve engines have been used by most car manufacturers but now only GM and Chrysler
Chrysler
Chrysler Group LLC is a multinational automaker headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA. Chrysler was first organized as the Chrysler Corporation in 1925....
produce "push-rod
Overhead valve
An overhead valve engine, also informally called pushrod engine or I-head engine, is a type of piston engine that places the camshaft within the cylinder block , and uses pushrods or rods to actuate rocker arms above the cylinder...
engines" with any great regularity. Since overhead cam engine
Overhead camshaft
Overhead cam valvetrain configurations place the engine camshaft within the cylinder heads, above the combustion chambers, and drive the valves or lifters in a more direct manner compared to overhead valves and pushrods...
s are design variants of OHV engines, it is fair to classify virtually all modern engines as derivatives of Buick's invention.
The money ran out again and in 1903 Buick was forced to raise more money via a $5,000 loan from a friend and fellow car enthusiast, Benjamin Briscoe
Benjamin Briscoe
Benjamin Briscoe was born in Detroit, Michigan and was an automobile pioneer and industrialist.Briscoe entered business for himself at age of 18 with capital of $472, organizing the firm of Benjamin Briscoe & Co. to manufacture sheet-metal stampings. This later became part of the American Can...
. With this financial help from Briscoe, Buick formed the Buick Motor Company which would eventually become the cornerstone of the General Motors
General Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
empire.
Later life and business failure
In 1906, Buick accepted a severance package and left the company that he had founded. After unsuccessful investments in California oil and Florida land, and an attempt (with his son Tom) to manufacture carburetors, Buick made a brief return to the automotive business in 1921, as president of the short-lived Lorraine Motors, and in 1923 with the design of the Dunbar, an automobile prototype. In an interview with historian Bruce CattonBruce Catton
Charles Bruce Catton was an American historian and journalist, best known for his books on the American Civil War. Known as a narrative historian, Catton specialized in popular histories that emphasized colorful characters and historical vignettes, in addition to the basic facts, dates, and analyses...
in 1928, Buick admitted that he was almost completely broke, unable to even afford a telephone, and an instructor at the Detroit School of Trades. The following year, he died from colon cancer on March 5, 1929 at the age of 74.
One commentator, Theodore F. McManus, noted that "Fame beckoned to David Buick. He sipped from the cup of greatness, and then spilled what it held." In 2000, automotive historian Vincent Curcio observed that "To date, over 35,000,000 motor cars have been built in his name, which will never be lost to history."