A Complex Interpretation of the 11 Highlights of Buick

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Buick: "Through the end of 2012, Buick has sold more than 43 million vehicles. That’s the equivalent of every vehicle sold in the United States over the past three years."

Complex: We'd probably think of this as a highlight too, if it lined our wallets. We wonder, does this number include the tanks made by GM for the second world war?

Buick: "The 1938 Buick Y-Job, credited to famed designer Harley Earl, is regarded as the first concept car ever built. Its waterfall grille is still used on Buicks today, and it featured futuristic technologies like power windows. Earl drove the car himself for more than a decade."

Complex: That is a really, really, nice looking concept car. Like all sweet concepts, we just wish it had gone to production looking exactly the same.

Buick: "Buick has a deep motorsports history, proving its performance on race tracks as early as 1908. A Buick has served as Official Pace Car of the Indianapolis 500 six times, and the brand also won two NASCAR Manufacturer Championships, in 1981 and 1982."

Complex: The Riviera we were dreaming of a second ago would make an awesome entry into GRAND-AM.

Buick: "After just over three decades of engineering progress, the first production Buick topped 100 mph. It was the appropriately named 1936 Buick Century."

Complex: 100 mph was a really big deal in '36. Adjusted for speed inflation, that like if a 2013 Buick could top 200 mph.

Buick: "The fastest production Buick in history is today’s Buick Regal GS luxury sport sedan. At the 2012 Nevada Open Road Challenge, it recorded a top speed of 162 mph."

Complex: Not bad ... for a front-driven car.

Buick: "Buick’s quickest car was also one of the brand's rarest. Car and Driver magazine recorded 0-60 mph acceleration for the 1987 Buick GNX at just 4.6 seconds. Just 547 were built."

Complex: We'd trade a testicle for a GNX; they're that cool. The GNX was a second faster to 60 mph than the 1987 Ferrari 328, a little less than a second faster than that car's successor, the 348, and could even keep up with the '94 355. Yeah, we're discussing a Buick that was faster than two generations of mid-engined Ferrari.

Buick: Powertrain innovation is a Buick hallmark. Today, the company’s turbocharged, direct-injected 2.0L delivers 259 hp, but displacement was king in the 1960s and ‘70s. Buick’s largest engine, a 455-cubic-inch (7.5L) V-8, was introduced in 1970.

Complex: The Regal, as powered by that 2.0L, certainly does have a decent amount of power and we do approve, but it's got nothing on the cool factor of a 7.5L V8.

Buick: "The Buick Electra 225 nameplate was introduced in 1959, with the “225” referencing the model’s overall length in inches. By 1975, the Electra grew to become the longest vehicle ever produced by Buick. It measured 233.7 inches from bumper to bumper."

Complex: The Electra was a beast and epitomized the "land-yacht" staple of American motoring. This was a car that was perfectly tuned for eating up that new highway system in great road trips. And for co-starring (as a '69 Electra) with Sir Mix-a-Lot in "My Hooptie."

Buick: "Buick’s first vehicle, the 1904 Model B, was also the shortest, riding on an 83-inch wheelbase. The 2013 Encore luxury small crossover isn’t quite as small, but it does have the shortest wheelbase (100.6 inches) since the 1912 Model 34 (90.7 inches.)"

Complex: It's funny how most things seem to be cyclical in some way. When hydrogen is (hopefully) cheap and plentiful in the future, perhaps we'll al be cruising in huge sedans and wagons again.

Buick: "Buick has made many models with seating for two, four, five or six passengers. But only twice in 110 years has the brand produced vehicles with seating for up to eight: the 2008-2013 Enclave and the 1991-1996 Roadmaster Estate."

Complex: Bring back the Roadmaster. When we have kids, we're hoping to shuffle them around in big, rear-driven, V8 wagons, rather than bulbous SUVs.