Gearheadengineer Posted January 31, 2023 Share Posted January 31, 2023 https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/712202317012958 Marquette 1930 Model 36S sport coupe. Built by Buick for only 1 year. Very scarce car. AACA National Senior winner at 2014 Gettysburg Spring Meet. Last run 2019. Serious inquiries only. Showings by appointment only. PM if interested. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdamInNH Posted January 31, 2023 Share Posted January 31, 2023 Pretty neat! I like uncommon, oddball cars. What’s the story on the Marquette? Where did it fall in the Buick range price-wise? Was the flathead engine sourced from another GM division? Buick had overhead valve by 1930, no? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
58L-Y8 Posted January 31, 2023 Share Posted January 31, 2023 (edited) On 1/31/2023 at 8:29 AM, AdamInNH said: Pretty neat! I like uncommon, oddball cars. What’s the story on the Marquette? Where did it fall in the Buick range price-wise? Was the flathead engine sourced from another GM division? Buick had overhead valve by 1930, no? Adam: Alfred Sloan in sorting out the marketing mess left in the wake of Billy Durant's final departure from GM discovered not only the many model/price overlapping competitions within the GM nameplates but also many model/price gaps. His solution was the 'Sloan Ladder': "A Car for Every Purse and Purpose". Initially, to remedy this, they developed the "Companion Cars": Oakland got Pontiac in 1926; Cadillac welcomed LaSalle for 1927; Oldsmobile received Viking for 1929 and finally Buick was joined by Marquette for 1930. Each 'companion' filled a price slot above or below the parent make. Marquettes were priced around $1,000 compared to the Buick Series 40 in the ~$1300 range. Introducing a new nameplate while the effects of the economic depression were taking hold forced Buick management to withdraw Marquette from the market, concentrate on Buick sales which were already losing ground at a rapid rate. Although Buick's claim-to-fame were their 'valve-in-head' engines, the Marquette was powered by a 212 ci L-head six-cylinder. The engine was one of the cost-cutting features to keep the price below Buick territory. The engine wasn't specifically shared with concurrent Pontiac or Oldsmobile but knowing GM policy to share components across nameplates, may have been a version of one of those L-head sixes. Steve Edited February 1, 2023 by 58L-Y8 syntax corrected (see edit history) 2 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leif in Calif Posted January 31, 2023 Share Posted January 31, 2023 Just reading Walter L. Marr, Buick's Amazing Engineer, By Beverly Rae Kimes. I'd recommend it...it's "a good read'! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deac Posted January 31, 2023 Share Posted January 31, 2023 (edited) What a cool car! It's a shame the seller doesn't seem to want to move it out of the garage and take better pictures. But I do like it! Edited January 31, 2023 by deac (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
58L-Y8 Posted January 31, 2023 Share Posted January 31, 2023 36 minutes ago, deac said: What a cool car! It's a shame the seller doesn't seem to want to move it out of the garage and take better pictures. But I do like it! Fairport is a Rochester NY suburb, too cold and snowy to put that Marquette outside these days. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rg171352 Posted February 1, 2023 Share Posted February 1, 2023 They also have a nice olds: https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/562610509121832/ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gearheadengineer Posted February 1, 2023 Author Share Posted February 1, 2023 12 hours ago, rg171352 said: They also have a nice olds: https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/562610509121832/ Interesting. I missed that. I like them both! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trimacar Posted February 1, 2023 Share Posted February 1, 2023 Aggressive pricing on the coupe, I would have thought 10k under that. Olds looks nice, but it’s apart which is often a hard sell. In my opinion. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B Jake Moran Posted February 1, 2023 Share Posted February 1, 2023 (edited) I am no expert on Marquette, few are. But I was in the BCA for a time and did some research on them, and like most of us I have read all of the old Buick books from the master historians. In my opinion, it is no more desirable than say, a Model A, a Pontiac, you can almost fill in the blank - a Chrysler 6 from this era. I have 2 of the main Sloan books and he all but admits the Marquette was a mistake. Of course the Depression did not help but I don't think Marquette was heavily marketed. Of course Pontiac and LaSalle did OK. Anything other than a 2 door (Tudor in Ford A speak) or 4 door sedan is an anomaly. I have seen 4 door Phaetons for sale, those are likely worth $40,000 plus in this shape but this one, though beautiful, is not worth a premium - period. If you pay it OK, but no way at $30,000. I think it would be well purchased and well sold private to private at $17,000. But since that's $13,000 less then asking, the seller would probably challenge me to a dual. Here is a 1926 Buick for $10,000 less that hasbeen for sale at least 8 months. (20+) Marketplace - 1926 Buick opera coupe | Facebook Edited February 1, 2023 by B Jake Moran (see edit history) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parrts Posted February 2, 2023 Share Posted February 2, 2023 A rare and very pretty little three window coupe. I agree that the asking price is optimistic. Henry Feinberg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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