When Better Automobiles Are Built, Buick Will Build Them

Three times a day Automotive News arrives by email. AM Newscast with Jennifer Vuong, Daily Newsletter, and PM Newscast with Tom Worobec. Yesterday’s newsletter carried an article saying automobile designers are copying each other’s designs, whatever is popular, because there is nothing new to be done. Apparently cars have reached their zenith.

My memory is of the day the new 1948 Buick came out. My brochure may be in my trunk upstairs. The slogan was “When better automobiles are built, Buick will build them,” and it was as much creed for me at age twelve as the Nicene. The cars were magnificent, especially the Super and the Roadmaster. 

In our family 1948 was time for a new car, and my mother and I were rooting for a 1948 Buick Super sedan. My father went to Nelson Chevrolet-Buick and got prices, which are written by various models in my brochure. To me the 1948 Buick was the ultimate in motorcars, the most beautiful and perfect machine under the sun, and no further improvements could possibly be made. Buick Eight with the straight eight Fireball engine, it was a magnificent car. I can still hear the whine as it wound up in second gear.

But apparently the 1948 Buick Super was not the ultimate in motor cars after all. It did not have air conditioning, automatic transmission, power brakes, power steering, power windows, power seats, power adjustable outside rear view mirrors, seat belts, power door locks, air bags, antilock brakes, tubeless tires, traction control, electronic stability control, AM/FM/XM radio, OnStar, automatic headlight on and off, back up lights, tinted glass, windshield washer, automatic adjusting rearview mirror, or computer monitoring of tire air pressure, miles per hour, miles to empty, miles per gallon, ... but it did have a radio and heater, white sidewall tires, and a 90 day, 3000 mile warranty.

Seeing yesterday’s Automotive News claim that designers are running out of ideas my thought was maybe we need new designers. I’m waiting for the ultimate and it isn’t yet in the showrooms. But it surely will be a Buick.

TW+

My father bought a new 1948 Dodge that year, suicide doors and Fluid Drive. It was nice enough, but it was no Buick.