Durant also created
a
racing team that won
500
racing
trophies
in
1909
and 19
10,
including successes at
Indianapolis two years before the
Tndy
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.
I
,.:.
.
1911
Model
21
Touring
Car
on
BuickS
Test
Hill
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.
V
