1997 Buick Century Owner's Manual - Page 7

Durant also created a racing team that won 500 racing trophies in 1909 and 1910, including successesat Indianapolis twoyears before the Indy 500 began. The success of Buick engines was visible not only on the race track, but in endurance tests across the country and around the world. Buick was the only car to complete a 1,000-mile Chicago-to-New York race in 1906. And a Buick was the first car to travel across South America, driven from Buenos Aires, Argentina, over the Andes to Santiago, Chile in 1914. Buick drew plenty of attention because it could climb hills and run through mud like no other car. Buick's endurance and reliability were world famous. During World War I, Buick built Liberty aircraft engines as well as Red Cross ambulances so successfully that one Buick ambulance was awarded the Croix de Guerre by the French government. As a builder of premier automobiles, Buick was hard hit by the Great Depression.However, new General Manager Harlow H. Curtice created popular new models including the Special and the Roadmaster. Buick sales soon flourished. First Bctick Factocy V