Durant also created a racing team that won
500
racing
trophies in 1909 and 1910, including successes at
Indianapolis two years before the Indy
500
began.
The success of Buick engines was visible not only on
the race track, but in endurance tests across the country
and around the world. Buick was the only car to
complete a 1,000-mile Chicago-to-New York race in
1906. And a Buick was the first car to travel across
South America, driven from Buenos Aires, Argentina,
over the Andes to Santiago, Chile in 1914.
Buick drew plenty of attention because it could climb
hills and run through mud like no other car. Buick’s
endurance and reliability were world famous.
During World War I, Buick built Liberty aircraft engines
as well as Red Cross ambulances
so
successfully that
one Buick ambulance was awarded the Croix de Guerre
by the French government.
As
a builder
of
premier automobiles, Buick was hard hit
by the Great Depression. However, new General
Manager Harlow H. Curtice created popular new models
including the Special and the Roadmaster. Buick sales
soon flourished.
1911
Model
21
Touring Car
on
BuickS
Test Hill
First
Buick
Factory
V
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