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Mini
Biographies of Scots and Scots Descendants (B)
Buick,
David Dunbar |
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(1854-1929) He was born in Arbroath, Scotland.
His father, Alexander Buick came to American when David was two years old.
Alexander made a small fortune by inventing a process to heat-bind
porcelain to iron to make white bathtubs. In 1902, David Buick organized
the Buick Manufacturing Company to make automobiles, featuring an
unprecedented valve-in-head engine. Because of Buick's advanced designs
his firm soon had financial troubles and was forced to merge with another
company. In doing so, David Buick lost control of the company. Buick was a
craftsman who felt that each car was a unique invention. William Durant,
general manager, believed in mass production and lower assembly costs. In
1906, Buick, at the age of 52 left the firm. A few years later it became
General Motors. He died in Detroit in 1929 a pauper, forgotten both in
America and Scotland.
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