Table of Contents
Forewords by Nicola Bulgari and Bob Lutz ........................................... i
Introduction ............................................................................................ v
One: An interview in Detroit ................................................................. 1
Two: From Scotland to Detroit: The early years ................................... 5
Three: Gasoline engines: The obsession begins .................................... 17
Four: Buick and boats ............................................................................ 29
Five: First Buick automobile ................................................................. 35
Six: Charles Annesley: Finding a missing link ...................................... 49
Seven: ‘Valve-in-head’ engines ............................................................. 55
Seven sidebar: ‘Valve-in-head’ engine technology, by Kevin Kirbitz ... 67
Eight: Buick starts a new company ....................................................... 73
Nine: Move to Flint ............................................................................... 81
Nine sidebar: Arthur Mason: A daughter’s recollection ........................ 95
Ten: The Wolverine ............................................................................... 99
Eleven: First Flint Buick ....................................................................... 105
Twelve: The irrepressible Billy Durant ................................................. 121
Thirteen: Buick thrives, but where’s the founder? ................................ 141
Fourteen: David Buick hits the road ...................................................... 153
Fifteen: Oil in California ....................................................................... 159
Sixteen: Buick sets pattern for Chevrolet .............................................. 175
Seventeen: David Buick’s final years .................................................... 195
Eighteen: Celebrating the past; a peek at the future .............................. 215
Conversations with C. S. Mott ............................................................... 245
About Sloan Museum’s Buick Gallery and Research Center ................. 253
Acknowledgments .................................................................................. 255
Index ...................................................................................................... 271
About the Author .................................................................................... 282
About Kevin Kirbitz ................................................................................ 284