Buick
David
Dunbar Buick was born in 1854 in Arbroath, Scotland. His father,
Alexander Buick came to America when David was two years old.
Alexander made a small fortune by inventing a process to heat-bind
porcelain to iron to make white bathtubs. In 1902, David Buick
organized the Buick Manufacturing Company to make automobiles.
Because of the Buick’s advanced design, his firm soon
had financial trouble and was forced to merge with another
company.
In
doing so, David Buick lost control of his company. Buick was
a craftsman who felt that each car was a unique invention.
William Durant, general manager, believed in mass production
and lower assembly costs. In 1906, at 52 years of age, Buick
left the firm. A few years later, it became General Motors.
He died in Detroit in 1929, a pauper, forgotten both in America
and Scotland.
