• The Buick has an illustrious and interesting history.buick roadster grill and driving light image by Jorge Moro from Fotolia.com
  
  David Dunbar Buick, a Scottish industrialist, produced his first vehicle in 1903. It came with overhead valves, a rare feature in the early 20th century but a mainstay in most Buick vehicles ever since. From this inauspicious beginning, a myriad of vehicles, like the Skylark, Riviera and Regal, were developed.
  
  

Skylark

• The Skylark was last produced in 1998. It used a 3.1-liter V-6 engine. It had overhead valves and two valves per cylinder for a total of 12 valves. It generated 155 horsepower at 5,200 rpm and 185 ft.-lbs. of torque at 4,000 rpm. It had a 3.50 inch bore and a stroke of 3.31 inches, along with a 9.6 to 1 compression ratio. It used a four-speed automatic overdrive transmission. This engine got 20 miles per gallon in the city and 29 mpg on the highway.
  
  

Riviera

• The Rivera halted production in 1999. It used a 3.8-liter V-6 engine with overhead valves and two valves per cylinder for a total of 12 valves. It generated 240 horsepower at 5,200 rpm and 280 ft.-lbs. of torque at 3,600 rpm. It had a bore of 3.80 inches and a 3.40 inch stroke, as well as a four-speed automatic overdrive transmission. The fuel tank held up to 18.50 gallons of gasoline. It got 18 mpg in the city and 27 mpg on the highway.
  
  

Regal

• The 2011 Regal has two available engines. The 2.4-liter in-line four-cylinder engine generates 182 horsepower at 6,700 rpm and 172 ft.-lbs. of torque at 4,900 rpm. A six-speed automatic overdrive transmission is standard, while a six-speed manual overdrive is an optional feature. The 2.4-liter engine gets 19 mpg in the city and 30 mpg on the highway.The two-liter in-line four-cylinder engine generates 220 horsepower at 5,300 rpm and 258 ft.-lbs. of torque at 2,000 rpm. It has the same transmission options as the 2.4-liter engine. The engine gets 18 mpg in the city and 29 mpg on the highway.