March Issue of the "Buick Bugle" -- Brian DePouli's Great Article Covering Buick National Meets

[Centurion]

Thank you to Brian DePouli for reminding us of the great Buick Nationals of the past.  As those who have attended the National Meets can attest, these events are real highlights for those of us who love old Buicks, and I have great memories of each of the twelve Nationals I've had opportunity to attend.

 

My first Buick National Meet was the Buick 75th Anniversary National Meet in Flint, 1978.  I had recently finished college and embarked on my first "real" job.  I couldn't afford more than one day off work, so I caught a flight out of Portland, Oregon to Flint (via Chicago) on Friday morning of the meet, arriving in time to participate in a tour of Buick's final assembly plant.  This was an incredible experience -- something I had always dreamed of being able to do -- and I particularly enjoyed the "body drop", where the newly arrived Fisher bodies joined their Buick chassis for the first time.  Unfortunately, I missed out on the tour of the Buick Engineering offices, which others have told me was equally fascinating.

 

But there was one more great highlight for me  -- and it might very well be my greatest-ever Buick memory.  On Saturday afternoon, following the car show, the meet organizers staged a giant parade of Buicks through downtown Flint.  I hurried to find a spot on the sidewalk, and joined thousands of Flint residents to see the hand-picked Buicks in exact chronological order rolling through downtown Flint.  It was incredible -- a moving illustration of American automotive history.  And many of us became emotional as we witnessed the remarkable sight and sound of all those amazing Buicks.  I recall comments from the crowd, with people making statements like . . . "I had forgotten that we built such beautiful cars in our city".  Sadly, very few photos seem to have surfaced of this unforgettable parade.

 

As I looked at the photos from the meets in the current Bugle article, I see vast numbers of pre-World War II Buicks, and it reminds me how the composition of our National Meets has changed over time.  Most of us could have predicted that the Buicks of the 1950's, 1960's, and beyond would appear in greater numbers as the years passed, but I'm wondering today where all of those stately pre-war Buicks are.  I would expect that most of the early Buicks that were shown at National Meets during the 1970's still exist, but I'm sad that we can no longer count on seeing those cars in the quantity that we have in the past.  

 

I look forward to future installments of the National Meet history, just as I'm eagerly anticipating this year's Buick National Meet in Spokane, expecting yet another great experience with Buick automotive treasures and wonderful friends I've met at National Meets over the decades.

Edited March 3, 2023 by Centurion (see edit history)

[dship]

1 hour ago, Centurion said:

Thank you to Brian DePouli for reminding us of the great Buick Nationals of the past.  As those who have attended the National Meets can attest, these events are real highlights for those of us who love old Buicks, and I have great memories of each of the twelve Nationals I've had opportunity to attend.

 

Thank you, Brian.

[MrEarl]

I've already sent personal notes to both Brian AND Bruce Kile for their work on producing the current and upcoming Nationals of the past articles but let me say here again, thanks Brian, great idea and great stories, look forward to following!!!

[Marty Roth]

Thank you, Brian,

 

I enjoyed the article, and look forward to what comes next.

 

Marty

Edited March 25, 2023 by Marty Roth
typo (see edit history)