David Dunbar Buick: Left His Name and Nothing Else

Buick is one of the best known automobile brands, with more than 17 million cars sold since Buick Motor Company was formed in 1903. Yet, unlike other recognized names such as Henry Ford and Horace and John Dodge, whose companies provided them with fortunes, making them some of the wealthiest men on the globe, David Dunbar Buick prospered not at all from his namesake. Bruce Catton, Pulitzer-Prize-winning historian and journalist, once said, “In all the collection of strange tales that are told in Detroit, the automobile capital, there is no tale as strange as the tale of David Buick.” Award-winning author Daniel Alef tells the story of David Buick, his success as an automotive pioneer and his ultimate and tragic failure. [3,651-word Titans of Fortune article]