David Dunbar Buick was a Scottish-born plumbing inventor, and the company that carries his name became the base on which General Motors was built in 1908.
- Country
-
United States - Active
- Since 1903
- Founded by
- David Dunbar Buick
- Website
- Official website ↗
A plumber from Arbroath
Before he built engines, David Dunbar Buick worked in plumbing. Born in Arbroath, Scotland, in 1854, he became a successful plumbing inventor and manufacturer in Detroit, and only in the late 1890s did he turn to gasoline engines.
Money was always the problem. After a couple of earlier Detroit ventures, Buick Motor Company was incorporated on 19 May 1903. It was in debt, and Buick and his backer Benjamin Briscoe sold it to a group of wagon makers from Flint, Michigan, a town proud of its nickname: The Vehicle City. The company was dissolved in Detroit and reincorporated in Flint in January 1904.
Then came Billy Durant. The Flint carriage maker took over Buick’s management in 1904, and within about four years, according to GM, Buick was the highest-volume carmaker in the United States. In 1908 it built more cars than its two biggest rivals, Cadillac and Ford. Durant used that success to create General Motors on 16 September 1908, with Buick as the star of the new holding company.
The engines had something special too. Buick’s overhead valve design, which it called valve-in-head, put the valves at the top of the combustion chamber so the engine could breathe better. The rest of the industry eventually followed.
Uncle Sam, signatures and a blue square
The first Buick logo, from 1903, showed Uncle Sam travelling the globe and named Detroit as home. It didn’t last long. The same year a new version reflected the Buick Motor Company name and the move to Flint.
From 1905 Buick used a series of script logos, including a gold design based on David Dunbar Buick’s own signature. In 1913 the cursive Buick lettering moved onto a bright blue square, a look that carried the brand through the Roaring Twenties.
A Scottish crest becomes three shields
The shield arrived in 1937, and it reached back to Scotland. Buick says it was inspired by its founder’s family crest, the Scottish coat of arms for the family name, which was then spelled Buik. It had a diagonal checkered banner in blue and silver, a gold buck’s head and a gold cross with a hole in the centre. In 1939 a taller, more modern shield followed, later refreshed with texture to look three-dimensional.
The big change came in 1959. The single shield became three, in red, white and blue, with the crest elements set inside a ring. According to Buick, the tri-shield debuted at the same time as the new Electra, Invicta and LeSabre lines, and the year Buick built its 10-millionth vehicle. A popular reading says each shield stands for one of those three models. It’s a neat story, but Buick’s own timeline only notes that the dates coincided.
Not every Buick wore the shields. In 1975 a hawk emblem launched with the Skyhawk and later spread to all car lines, while the tri-shield stayed in use alongside it. In 1990 the tri-shield came back in a simpler form: a silver banner, the shields inside a silver circle and a bold BUICK in capitals underneath.
The next big rethink came in 2022, the first major redesign since the 1990s. The three shields now sit side by side in a sleeker arrangement, joined by a hand-drawn Buick signature. Buick says the design was inspired by the Wildcat electric show car, which was the first to wear it. At the launch, GM’s Duncan Aldred tied the new logo to a wider brand transformation, together with new design and the Electra naming series for electric models.
Red, white, blue and a lot of silver
The red, white and blue of 1959 is the colour scheme most people link with Buick, but it hasn’t been constant. The 1990 version leaned on silver, and in the early 2000s the logo went all silver. In 2016 Buick brought back the red, white and blue with subtle updates. The 2022 emblem keeps only touches of colour.
Wildcats, Rivieras and a Grand National
Buick’s story runs from Durant’s Flint to the electric era. GM today describes the brand as attainable luxury.
Landmark Buicks, decade by decade
- 1936: Roadmaster. Added to the Buick lineup in 1936.
- 1953: Wildcat. A show vehicle that previewed Buick’s next generation of design. Harley Earl oversaw it and its 1954 and 1955 follow-ups.
- 1959: LeSabre, Invicta and Electra. The new names arrived as Buick reorganised its lineup, the same year as the first tri-shield.
- 1962: Special. According to the Buick Heritage Alliance, the first mass-produced V-6 in the United States.
- 1963: Riviera. Introduced as a sporty coupe.
- 1987: Regal GNX. A limited edition of the Regal Grand National, among the quickest American-built cars of its day.
- 2022: Wildcat EV concept. The electric show car that introduced the new tri-shield logo.
Buick is one of the founding pillars of General Motors, and today it is run alongside GMC within GM. For more on how badges like the tri-shield are created, see how car logos are designed, or browse more classic car logos.
Frequently asked questions
Where does the Buick logo come from?
According to Buick, the first shield of 1937 was inspired by David Dunbar Buick’s family crest, the Scottish coat of arms of the Buik family. It showed a checkered diagonal banner, a buck’s head and a cross.
Why does the Buick logo have three shields?
The tri-shield debuted in 1959, at the same time as the Electra, Invicta and LeSabre lines. Buick’s timeline notes that timing but doesn’t say the shields were designed to represent the three models.
When did Buick change its logo?
The current logo was introduced in 2022 on the Wildcat EV concept. It lines the three shields up side by side and adds a hand-drawn Buick signature.
Who founded Buick?
David Dunbar Buick, a Scottish-born plumbing inventor in Detroit. Buick Motor Company was incorporated in 1903 and moved to Flint, where Billy Durant built it into the base for General Motors in 1908.
Arbroath to Flint: the three-shield register
- Founded
- 1903
- Founder
- David Dunbar Buick
- Country
- United States
- Parent company
- General Motors
- Current emblem
- Three shields set side by side with a hand-drawn Buick signature, introduced in 2022
- Known for
- The tri-shield badge and its role in founding General Motors
- Website
- Official website ↗
