1912 Buick Model 43

David Dunbar Buick gained his early fame and fortune by inventing a method to attach porcelain to cast iron. By developing this process, he gave the world the 'modern' white bathtub that we all know today.

In 1903, Mr. Buick developed an automobile and by early 1904 had formed the Buick Motor Company in Flint, Michigan. Not being a businessman by nature, Buick released control of his automobile company to William C. Durant, who used Buick as the basis for forming the General Motors Company in 1908.

All of the early Buicks were powered by the famous 'valve-in-head' engines. Today, overhead valve engines are seen in virtually all automobiles, but during the first part of the century, most automobile engines had the valves placed to the side of the pistons as on top of the pistons.

The Buicks of 1912 featured four-cylinder 'valve-in-head' engines. The Model 43 was the largest Buick built that year and was powered by a 318 cubic-inch engine. It was the most expensive Buick of 1912, with a cost of $1,725, which was nearly three times the cost of a new Model T Ford. This example is one of approximately fifteen Model 43 Buicks to survive today.

by Daniel Vaughan | Aug 2008