1936 Buick Limited Sedan Limousine - Model 90L 🇺🇸

In 1933,  the year Harlow Curtice took the helm of Buick, Buick accounted for just 2.9% of American auto industry production. By 1938 that figure would rise to 8.8% and the 1936 cars played a big part in that major turn around. Curtice, nicknamed “Red” because of his reddish blond hair, threw everything Buick had into fresh styling and engineering for the 1936 model year. It was a big gamble but it paid off handsomely.

The list of engineering improvements and new features at Buick for 1936 is long but the highlights include, the engines now had aluminum pistons, the independent front suspension was updated and refined, headlight  switches moved to the dashboard, the bodies were now all metal including the new “turret top” metal roofs on sedans and integrated trunks, dual tail lights and dual wipers all became standard. All of these changes aside, the public loved the new styling. The single piece wedge-shaped grille topped with a stylized hood ornament, the modern flowing skirted fenders, the raked V-shaped windshields, the bullet shaped headlights and the art deco inspired trim resulted in a modern classic that was as far removed from the previous model year cars as it could be.

The 1936 cars  made it very clear Buick  was heading in a new direction and the sales proved it. Not only did Buick produce their 3 millionth car ever in May of 1936, they produced 168,596 cars total for the model year, the most since 1930 and more than three times as many as they produced in 1935.

Buick assigned model names to their cars for the very first time 1936. The series 90 luxury cars were now called the Limited. The Limited was well chosen name for what remained a niche product for Buick with just over 4,000 Limited model cars produced, less than 2.5% of all Buick production in 1936.