- Buick was the featured marque at the first-ever Concours d'Elegance held July 26-27 at the Cranbrook science museum, art center, and school in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. Cranbrook is an institution that was created by Toronto, Ont.-born George Booth who founded Booth Newspapers, along with his wife, Ellen, who was the daughter of James Scripps, who founded the Detroit-based Evening News Association.
The World War II B-24 Liberator bomber sits on the tarmac at Flint, Mich.'s Bishop International Airport. Called The Dragon and His Tail, this famed plane served in the European theater of combat and is one of only a handful of such planes left. It is powered by four Buick built engines and was on hand during the Buick Centennial to offer plane rides along with a B-17 Flying Fortress bomber. (Photo: Joe Cabadas, Canadian Auto Press) - At Flint's Bishop Airport, two World War II bombers -- a B-24 Liberator called The Dragon and His Tail and a B-17 Flying Fortress -- with Buick-built engines, took paying spectators up into the air. The Buick Blackhawk show car that was featured in the film Bad Boys II was also displayed at the airport and a GM-built World War II tank.
- Some notable cars on display were a 1940 Buick estate wagon that once was owned by actress Bette Davis; a 1941 Buick convertible sedan featured in the 2001 movie "Pearl Harbor;" and two McLauglin Buicks--a 1927 and 1939--that were built for the British royal family's visits to Canada. The McLauglin Buicks are on regular display in the Sloan Museum's Buick Gallery.
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| The first Buick, an experimental vehicle, was built by Buick's first Chief Engineer Walter L. Marr between 1899-1900. (Photo: buickclub.org) |
Buick is the second of General Motors' brands to reach its 100th anniversary -- the first was Oldsmobile in 1997. But, Olds name will be joining the automotive scrap heap of history after the 2004 model year due to slow sales after the automaker spent billions trying to remake the brand as an "import fighter."
Buick, though, is the soul of GM. It was the marque that Durant, a Flint native, used to forge the multi-brand automaker on September 28, 1908.