Buick Four | |
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Overview | |
Manufacturer | Buick (General Motors) |
Model years | 1909–1918 |
Assembly | Flint Wagon Works, Flint, Michigan, United States [1] |
Body and chassis | |
Class | Luxury car |
Layout | Front-engine, rear-wheel-drive [1] |
Related | Janney Automobile [1] |
Powertrain | |
Engine | 165 cu in (2.7 L) Buick Straight-4 engine OHV |
Transmission | 3-speed synchromesh manual [1] |
Dimensions | |
Wheelbase | 92 in (2,337 mm) 165 in (4,191 mm) [1] |
Chronology | |
Predecessor | Buick Model B |
Successor | Buick Six |
The Buick 4 was a series of passenger cars produced by the Buick Division of GM from 1909 through 1918, and was available as a touring car, phaeton or roadster. It was available with the Buick Model B as a larger alternative offering a larger engine and better durability. [2] [3] It became the junior sedan in 1914 when the Buick Six was introduced.
The Model 10 (1908–1910) was equipped with an overhead valve, in-line 165 cu in (2,703 cc) four-cylinder engine developing 40 bhp. The engine was installed in the front, driving the rear wheels through a transmission shaft. The gearbox had three forward gears, with the gearshift lever positioned to the right of the driver. The brake pedal came into contact with the Drum brake on the rear wheels. The Model 10 had a wheelbase of 88 in (2,235 mm) and was offered as a 5-passenger touring car, 4-door landaulet or 4-door sedan, manufacturing 23,100. [1] The Model 10 was an improvement of the previously developed car made by Janney Motor Company and acquired by Buick. [1] The Model 32 (roadster) and Model 33 (touring car) were built in 1911. The only changes were the wheelbases at 89 in (2,261 mm) for the roadster and 100 in (2,540 mm) for the touring car. 1,150 Model 32 and 2,000 Model 33 were manufactured. [1] It had a listed retail price of US$1,000 [1] ($32,700 in 2023 dollars [4] ).
The Model 34 (short wheel base roadster) 91 in (2,305 mm), Model 35 (long wheelbase touring car) at 102 in (2,584 mm), and Model 36 (long wheelbase roadster) were manufactured in 1912, with 1,400 Model 34, 6,050 Model 35 and 1,600 Model 36. [1]
The 1913 Model 24 roadster replaced the previous Model 34 and 36, while the Model 25 replaced the Model 35 touring sedan, and shared a wheelbase at 105 in (2,667 mm), while the mechanicals were unchanged from previous years, producing 2,850 Model 24 and 8,150 Model 25. [5]
The model designations changed again for 1914, now identified as the B-24 roadster and B-25 Touring sedan, with 3,126 B-24 roadsters and 13,446 B-25 assembled, while the dimensions and mechanical features unchanged, aside from a standard folding windshield. [1]
For 1915, the roadster was the C-24 and the touring sedan was the C-25, manufacturing stayed the same while 3,256 C-24 roadsters and 19,080 C-25 touring cars were built. [1]
The Buick Four series was discontinued in 1918, revised for 1922, 23 and 24, [6] and dropped again. The next Buick offering with a four-cylinder engine was the 1980 Buick Skylark, which had a four-cylinder engine as an option. [7]
Marquette was an American automobile manufacturer established by General Motors in 1909 after the purchase of the Rainier Motor Car Company. The Marquette Company did not last long and in 1912 GM announced the company would be closed.
The Buick Standard Six Series 20 was manufactured by Buick at what would later become known as the Buick City factory on Hamilton Ave. in Flint, Michigan, and was the junior model to the Buick Master Six between 1925 through 1929, and shared the GM A platform with Oldsmobile, Oakland and Chevrolet. The Standard Six evolved from the earlier Buick Six when the Buick 4-cylinder was cancelled. The Standard Six was the most popular Buick sold while being more upscale to the Oldsmobile Six. It was the senior brand to Marquette under the General Motors Companion Make Program until Marquette was cancelled one year later. It replaced the earlier Buick Six that was introduced in 1916, and was replaced with the Buick Series 50. Coachwork continued to be offered by Fisher Body who was the primary supplier of all GM products at this time, and Duco automotive lacquer paint, introduced by DuPont was the first quick drying multi-color line of nitrocellulose lacquers made especially for the automotive industry.
The Buick Model B was Buick's first model as an independent company, later becoming part of General Motors in 1908. It was built in Jackson, Michigan. A model B was exhibited in 1905 at the New York Auto Show as a promotion of the model C which would be the same. William C. Durant introduced the car himself at the exhibit, and took new car orders at the car show, raising sales from 37 cars in 1904 to 750 in 1905. It had a 2-cylinder, horizontally opposed engine – the world's first production OHV engine – installed lengthwise within the frame, and had a planetary transmission with a cone clutch and two forward speeds, plus one reverse gear. The engine was rated at 21 bhp. In later years, it was renamed as improvements were made. The chassis was shared later with the Oldsmobile Model 20 when they became a division of GM while the overhead valve engine wasn't used by Oldsmobile. It had a retail price of US$950 for the touring sedan.
The Buick Master Six, also denoted Series 40 and Series 50 based on the wheelbase used, was an automobile built by Buick from 1925 to 1928 and shared the GM B platform with the Oldsmobile Model 30. Previously, the company manufactured the Buick Six that used the overhead valve six-cylinder 242 cu in (4.0 L) engine in their high-end cars, and the Buick Four for smaller, less-expensive cars. After 1924, they dropped the four-cylinder engine and designed a small six, which they called the Buick Standard Six, to replace that end of the market. They coined the name "Master Six" for the high-end cars, now powered by the 255 cu in (4.2 L) engine released the year before. The yearly changes were a result of a new business philosophy called planned obsolescence.
The Packard Motor Car Company introduced their first four-cylinder engine in 1903 initially as a top level car along with the Packard Model F. It was their only automobile offered and exclusively used a four-cylinder engine from 1903 until 1912 and established Packard as a luxury car maker, and was replaced by the 1913 Packard Six.
The Chevrolet Series FA of 1917–1918 is an American vehicle manufactured by GM's Chevrolet Division. It was a replacement of the Series F which had improvements in engine capacity as well as other features. In this transformation of series, the pre-existing names of the H and F series cars, The Royal Mail and Baby Grand were dropped in favor of the names Roadster and Touring respectively. The FA Series was then replaced by the Chevrolet Series FB in 1919. Production was not interrupted while the United States entered World War I starting in 1917.
The Oldsmobile Model 30, which continued to be known as the Oldsmobile Six, was built from the 1923 through 1927. Each year it was built, it was given the suffix 30-A, 30-B, 30-C, 30-D and 30-E for the last year of production, all having been manufactured in Lansing, Michigan. General Motors used the GM A platform, shared with the Buick Standard Six and the Oakland Six, and the yearly changes were the result of a new business philosophy called planned obsolescence. The Model 30 was Oldsmobile mid-level product and introduced the flathead Oldsmobile straight-6 engine, while the Oldsmobile Model 43 with a four-cylinder engine remained the entry level product. When the top level Oldsmobile Light Eight, with the flathead Oldsmobile V8 engine was cancelled in 1923, the Oldsmobile Six became the top level vehicle. It replaced the Oldsmobile Model 37 introduced in 1917, and was replaced by the Oldsmobile F-Series introduced in 1928. In 5 years, 236,474 cars were built. The growing popularity of GM's brands, like Oldsmobile, contributed to becoming the largest automobile manufacturer when sales overtook the Ford Motor Company during this time period. Coachwork for the various bodystyles were supplied by Fisher Body of Detroit, MI, and starting with the 1923 model year, all GM products adopted a shared appearance, with brand specific unique appearance features. The retail price had dropped considerably from previous years due to the popularity and affordability of the Ford Model T, with the top level sedan at US$1,095.
The Model S was the first four-seat passenger car produced by Oldsmobile in 1906, offered as a larger alternative to the Model R Curved Dash runabout that appeared in 1901. The advertised price was $2,250. It was Oldsmobile's first four cylinder car and took the top level marketing position above the Model L and the entry-level Model R. It was one of the last independently developed products before they joined General Motors in 1908, and competed against Buick, Ford and other automakers at the time. It was built at the Oldsmobile factory in Detroit and developed by Frederick and Angus Smith, whose father Samuel L. Smith was the primary investor, and R. E. Olds had left the company due to an argument with Oldsmobile Board of Directors.
The Model 42 was an entry-level four seat passenger car produced by GM's Oldsmobile Division in 1914. It was offered as a replacement to the Oldsmobile Curved Dash runabout when it was discontinued in 1908, and was the junior platform to the Oldsmobile Six introduced in 1913. GM had acquired Elmore Manufacturing Company, Oldsmobile and Oakland Motor Car Company in 1908 and Cartercar and Rainier Motor Car Company in 1909 as their entry-level models, and Oldsmobile products were being repositioned in their new hierarchy as GM began to consolidate operations after William Durant had left.
The Model 43 was an entry-level four seat passenger car produced by GM's Oldsmobile Division in 1915 and 1916, then again in 1921 and 1922. It replaced the Model 42 also known as the "Baby Olds", while the most significant improvement was a longer wheelbase shared with the Buick Series C. Until GM assumed control of Chevrolet in 1917, the previous Model 42 and the Model 43 were GM's entry-level cars which led to the interrupted production of the Model 43 as Oldsmobile was promoted as a higher content product. It was also known as the "Oldsmobile Four" and competed with the Chevrolet Series H as an entry-level model until GM bought Chevrolet. It was the junior level product to the upscale Oldsmobile Light Eight. It was Oldsmobile's last four-cylinder car until 1977 with the Oldsmobile Starfire.
The Model M was a four-seat passenger car produced by Oldsmobile in 1908, offered as a mid-range alternative to the Model R Curved Dash runabout that appeared in 1901, replacing the Model A. It was the junior sedan to the first six-cylinder sedan called the Oldsmobile Model Z also introduced in 1908, but was larger than the Oldsmobile Model X.
The Model D was a four-seat passenger car produced by General Motors under the Oldsmobile brand in 1909, replacing the Model M. It was the last car engineered by Oldsmobile before it became a division of GM and began sharing a platform with Buick.
The Oldsmobile Six, also known as the Model 53, 54 and 55 (1913-1915) then a brief cancellation until it reappeared as the Model 37, 37A and 37B (1917-1921) was a top level sedan along with the Oldsmobile Series 40 junior vehicle produced by GM's Oldsmobile Division and was manufactured at Lansing Car Assembly in Lansing, Michigan. It replaced the Series 28 also known as the "Oldsmobile Autocrat" and was replaced by the Oldsmobile Model 30 in 1927, and shared wheelbases with the Buick Six. It continued to use the T-head engine for two years. The various bodystyles were supplied by Fisher Body of Detroit, MI. It competed with the Chevrolet Series C Classic Six as Chevrolet was an independent company before becoming a division in 1917. Oldsmobile also shared technology with GMC for commercial and industrial products.
The Oldsmobile Series 28, also known as the Autocrat, was a mid-level four seat passenger car produced by GM's Oldsmobile Division for 1911 and 1912. It was based on the top-level Oldsmobile Limited while using a four-cylinder engine, and was manufactured in Lansing, Michigan.
The Oldsmobile F-Series was a pre-WWII passenger car built from the 1928 through 1938 model years. The first generation continued the tradition of adding a series number for each model year; F-28, F-29, F-30 and F-31. The second generation, signified by a completely new bodystyle appearance was built from 1932 through 1938, all having been manufactured in Lansing, Michigan. 1926 saw the introduction of GM's most recognized business model, the use of common platforms shared amongst the brands, and Oldsmobile and Buick shared the GM B platform. The F-Series was shared with the Buick Master Six and was also known as the Oldsmobile Six which was introduced as a name earlier in 1913.
The Oldsmobile Light Eight was an automobile produced by the Oldsmobile Division of General Motors in roadster, two-door coupe, four-door sedan from between 1916 and 1923. It was powered by a sidevalve V8 engine, the maker's first, and shared with the 1916 Oakland Model 50.
The Oldsmobile Limited was a top-level passenger car produced by GM's Oldsmobile Division in 1910, offered as an upgraded replacement to the Oldsmobile Model Z when it was discontinued in 1909. The Oldsmobile Limited was very large and expensive in comparison to vehicles offered by competitors, and was manufactured in Lansing, Michigan. It was the senior model to the mid-level Oldsmobile Autocrat of which it shared much of its technology while the Autocrat was smaller, and was replaced by the Oldsmobile Light Eight. It was also much larger than GM's lop level brand, the Cadillac Model Thirty which only had a four cylinder engine, and the Buick Model 10 which made the Limited the most expensive vehicle GM offered at the time.
The Model X was a four-seat passenger car produced by Oldsmobile in 1908, offered as an entry-level alternative to the Model D that appeared in 1901, replacing the Model M. It was the junior companion to the first six-cylinder sedan called the Oldsmobile Model Z also introduced in 1908, and shared most of its technology with the Model M.
The Oakland Model A was the first four-cylinder engine offered by the Oakland Motor Company in 1907, which became a division of General Motors in 1909. The Model A was developed and manufactured from former Oakland Motor Company sources while the engine was provided by Northway Motor and Manufacturing Division of GM of Detroit. The Model A was available in several body styles and prices ranged from US$1,300 to US$2,150. Once Oakland became a division of GM, Oldsmobile and Buick shared bodywork and chassis of their four-cylinder models with Oakland. Manufacture of the Oakland was completed in Pontiac, Michigan. Oakland (Pontiac) wouldn't use another 4-cylinder engine until 1961 with the Pontiac Trophy 4 engine.
The Oakland Six was the first six-cylinder engine offered by the Oakland Motor Company in 1913 which became a division of General Motors in 1909. The Oakland Six was offered in many different model names that changed every year, along with several body styles and engine displacements until 1929, when the V8 was reintroduced, then in 1931 Oakland was renamed Pontiac. When Oakland became a division of GM and introduced the Oakland Four, Oldsmobile and Buick shared bodywork and chassis of their six-cylinder models with Oakland. When Chevrolet became part of GM in 1917, Oakland chassis and bodywork were shared with Chevrolet. Manufacture of the Oakland was completed in Pontiac, Michigan.