Thread: 50 fastest musclecars

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In case u have some doubt as to Buick ever having the quickest or fastest offering of the domestics for any maker,let alone GM; a little GM Corporate structure History Lesson.
Buick is the PARENT AND FOUNDING DIVISION of General Motors. GM was Founded in 1908 by William (Billy) Durant Jr. under the BUICK Name, It's 1st aquisition was the Company Of Ransom Olds early the next year, and in that Year Buick won the indy 500 with a 622 cube inline 4 cyl engine in the famed Buick Bug, (also known as the Buick Special) w/ and average speed thru the race of 103 mph.
The Chevrolet Division( to produce an entry level auto bridgeing the gap between fords Model A/ Model T and the top luxo Buicks and Olds'), and GMC( to produce ALL truck/bus chasis vehicles, which is yet its mantra, other divisions are allowed to affix their name plate to said vehicles; predominantly Chevrolet but ALL are actually produced by GMC Division. GMC stands for GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION, as in Corporate production.)were created by Buick out of existing BUICK facilities with existing Buick and Oldsmobile employees. The terms of which led to the great 1939 sit down auto strike in Flint, Michigan which resulted in the creation of the UAW.
Cadillac, which was formerly Cadillac AND Lassalle before their aquisition by GM were aquisitions was aquired for a number of reasons, most importantly the aquisition of most of the production of the 1st viable automotive electric starter produced by the Dayton Electric Company of Dayton Ohio, later to b known as DELCO after IT too was aquired by GM. At this time of aquisitions Louis Chevrolet was still an engineer(then known as Journeyman Plumbers) at FORD. Charles Kettering, the owner of Dayton Electric Company parlayed his companies aquisition into a CEO ship at Buick and funding to found GMI, General Motors Institute, then brought(read that BOUGHT) over his friend Louis Chevrolet to head up his creation of the Chevrolet Division from Ford. Charles Kettering's CEO ship at Buick followed that of W.P. Chrysler who went on to found Mopar. Cadillac, GM's now flagship Luxury offerings is actually only a name plate and has been so long as its been a GM division, the chasis, chasis components and final assembly are BUICK Productions while the power train(engine n trans) are the production of Oldsmobile/Hydramatic Division. BTW Contrary to popular Belief, Oldsmobile Division, always GM's dedicated R and D Division is STILL at GM, u just now know it as SATURN. The only GM facility that has the Saturn Logo on it is the Springhill Tn facilities which does final assembly ONLY, all other facilities of the division are yet nomenclature like Buicks, as B O C with the O standing for Oldsmobile, and the C replacing the old P for Pontiac which is now a Joint division useing production from both the B O C and the Chevrolet GMC Group, the only GM division that does in fact.
Of the GM divisions there r but 3 that are NOT aquisitions, Chevrolet, GMC, and GMAC, all others, including Buick the parent and founder are aquisitions, most of them HOSTILE in fact, and of those aquisitions Pontiac is the only one that did not come lock stock and barrell with the NAME and the Trademarks of the original Company, Originally Pontiac was called OAKLAND, a company which purchased its engines from Chevrolet and it remaining drivetrain components from Buick, building only a chasis and a body, they were "tricked" into producing a PONTIAC Model FOR GM afterwhich GM incorporated that brand under the GM banner and then forced Oakland out of existance by refusing to sell them any further parts.
The reason the Gran Sport Models were not known very much of their potential as HOT RODS was directly attributable to the hierarchy of Buick Division placing little if any effort in advertisement for these models since it was considered outside their aimed image as a hgh class responsible vehicles for responsible buyers. The GS's of the late 60's and early 70's were not the 1st nor the last time when the quickest thing out of GM was Buick and or Buick Powered, same was true 84-87 model years with the famed Grand National, and in 89 with the Pontiac Trans Am GTA which used the power train from the 87 Buick GNX. hmmmmmmmmm, imagine that.... By the way, the quickest thing out of GM for 1968 and 1969 were either a Stage 2 400 Buick GS Skylark or a Hurt Olds 442, nothing from Chevrolet OR Pontiac. tho the latters got the most advertisement and acclaim from GM.