How to Identify Buick Models

Buicks have a reputation as a luxury car with amenities that allow the driver and passengers to enjoy a safe and comfortable ride. General Motors manufactures the Buick, which has historically had its own production line in Flint, Michigan. Many car collectors appreciate Buicks and put effort into identifying old Buick models, restoring the cars and showing the classic cars.

Instructions

1

Find the Buick Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) plate at the bottom of the windshield on the driver's side. Buicks manufactured before 1981 have a 13-digit VIN, while Buicks manufactured after 1981 will have a 17-digit VIN.

2

Look for a large brass cursive "Buick" appearing on the mesh radiator grille of Buicks from the early 1900s.

3

Observe classic Buicks from the 1920s and the 1930s for their hood ornaments. Hood ornaments on Buicks included a lady's head with wings in the 1920s, womens' figures and stylized locomotives in the 1930s, airplanes in the 1940s, gunsights in the late 1940s to mid 1950s and a jetfighter in the mid-1950s.

4

Watch for the Buick tri-shield logo, which identifies Buicks built after 1960. Between 1937 and 1960, the logo included only one red shield with a checkered light purplish-blue and silver diagonal line, which ran from the upper left corner to the lower right corner of the shield and included a buck's head and cross. In 1960, the shield became a tri-shield. Between 1976 and the late 1980s, Buick added an additional logo consisting of a hawk perched on the BUICK block letters. The cross and buck's head no longer appear on the tri-shield.