BUICK ANNOUNCES 2004 SUV ALONG WITH 2003 MODELS FOR CENTENNIAL YEAR

Buick begins 2003 - its centennial year - with a lineup emphasizing both the future and its heritage, and the announcement of a new sport utility vehicle for 2004.

"Buick has a bright future based on a rich heritage," said Buick General Manager Roger W. Adams. "We'll be emphasizing that heritage with special commemorative vehicles - and with major centennial events. Vehicles such as Rendezvous and our new upcoming SUV, the 2004 Rainier, are indicators Buick will be reaching out to new audiences, as well as our loyal long-term customers, as we enter our second century."

Following the successful introduction of Rendezvous for 2002, Buick has already announced it will soon offer the Rainier - a sport utility vehicle based on General Motors' award-winning midsize SUV architecture - as a 2004 model. Details about Rainier are being announced separately.

In the J.D. Power and Associates 2002 Initial Quality Study, Century ranked highest in the Premium Midsize Car category and LeSabre ranked highest in the Full-Size Car category. In the same study, the Oshawa 2 Plant, in Ontario, Canada, which builds Regal and Century, was ranked as the top plant for initial quality in North America.

Buicks for 2003

• Rendezvous: One of the best-selling luxury crossover vehicles since its introduction as a 2002 model, the Rendezvous adds versatility by offering all-wheel drive, third-row seating and captain's chairs across a broader spectrum of its lineup. Additionally, Rendezvous builds on its wide appeal with such new options as XM Satellite Radio and a DVD entertainment system. There is also an optional electronic rear lift-gate release for quick access to the cargo area and an added pull-down strap for closing the lift gate.
  
  
• Park Avenue: For 2003, the supercharged Park Avenue Ultra gets a more prominent grille, new 17-inch chrome wheels and low-profile tires - and three "portholes" in each front fender. In addition, a standard Gran Touring package features a specially tuned suspension and rear stabilizer bar.
  
  
• LeSabre: Buick will produce about 10,000 LeSabre Celebration Editions that include exterior and interior trim changes and standard OnStar, StabiliTrak and head-up display, as well as optional XM Satellite Radio. XM also is offered on LeSabre Limited.
  
  
• Regal: The Regal has been updated with a variety of new features including additional interior trim padding to improve head-impact protection. Like Park Avenue Ultra, the Regal GS is powered by the powerful and responsive supercharged 3800 V6.
  
  
• Century: The entry-level Buick sports a new exterior appearance consisting of a graphite and chrome grille, chrome door-header moldings and new body-colored fascias and side moldings. In addition, Century features additional interior trim padding to improve head impact protection plus new interior cloth.

100th Birthday
Buick will announce many of its centennial plans at a later date, but has already begun the celebration by creating, along with the Sloan Museum of Flint, Mich., a heritage tour of an exhibit named "Building for a New Century," which includes about 20 vintage Buicks and other artifacts. The exhibit's road show opened in February at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, and will appear at several other museums around the United States in 2002-2003. After the tour, the exhibit will arrive at a centennial celebration being created by the Buick Club of America, in cooperation with Buick, in Flint in July 2003.

Buick claims one of the most important and dramatic chapters in U.S. automotive history. Detroit businessman David Dunbar Buick began building gasoline engines in the late 1890s. The first Buick experimental horseless carriage was completed by 1899 or 1900. Buick Motor Co. was incorporated in Detroit on May 19, 1903, (the division's official birthday), and was moved to Flint by directors of the Flint Wagon Works that fall. In 1904, William C. Durant, leader of another Flint carriage firm, took charge. In 1908, Buick claimed industry leadership with more than 8,000 vehicles produced. That year, Durant used Buick as the financial foundation to create General Motors, which eventually became the world's largest industrial corporation.

A number of famous auto pioneers are part of Buick's history - including Charles Nash, Walter Chrysler and Louis Chevrolet - and the division has been known for engine innovation, race track successes in some eras, military hardware production in two world wars and 100 years of providing comfortable, upscale vehicles. About 35 million Buicks were built in the 20th century.

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