Buick
The first two Buick automobiles were made in 1899 and 1900 at the "Buick Auto-Vim and Power Company" by chief-engineer Walter Marr, but company owner David Dunbar Buick was reluctant to begin making automobiles, being satisfied with stationary and marine engine production, so Marr left Buick in 1901 to found his own automobile company under his own name. His replacement was Eugene Richard, who applied for a patent in 1902 for Marr's valve-in-head (overhead valve) engine, which patent, number 771,095, was awarded to Richard in the name of Buick in 1904. In 1903, the third Buick automobile was made, this time by Richard, but in 1904 Buick, whose company was now called "Buick Motor Company," moved to Flint, Michigan, and Richard stayed behind. Marr was rehired in Flint as chief engineer, to begin making automobiles in production. That year, 37 Buick automobiles were made, production increasing to 750 in 1905, 1,400 in 1906, 4,641 in 1907, and 8,800 in 1908, taking the number one spot away from close competitors Oldsmobile, Ford, and Maxwell.
David Buick incorporated his company as the Buick Motor Company on May 19, 1903, in Detroit, Michigan. Buick had been financed by friend and fellow automobile enthusiast, Benjamin Briscoe, who sold control of the business to James H. Whiting (1842–1919), in September, 1903. of Flint Wagon Works, in Flint, Michigan. Whiting moved Buick to Flint that summer, to a location across the street from his factory, with the idea of adding Buick's engines to his wagons. David Buick stayed on as a manager, and re-hired Walter Marr as chief engineer. The engine Buick and Marr developed for this automobile was a two-cylinder valve-in-head engine of 159 cubic inches, with each cylinder horizontal and opposed to the other by 180 degrees. Whiting built only a few automobiles in 1904, by bringing Buick engines across the street where his workers shoehorned them into his wagons, before running out of capital, causing him to bring in William C. Durant that year as controlling investor. Durant spent the next four years turning Buick into the biggest-selling automobile brand in the US. Durant was co-owner, also in Flint, with Josiah Dallas Dort, of the Durant-Dort Carriage Company, which was the largest carriage-making company in the country and one of the largest in the world. Durant moved most production to the former Durant-Dort Imperial Wheel plant in Jackson, Michigan in 1905. Buick continued car production in Jackson through 1907, when Factory #1 was completed in Flint. The Jackson plant continued production with Buick trucks through 1912. David Buick sold his stock upon departure in 1906, and died in modest circumstances 25 years later. In 1907, Durant agreed to supply motors to R. S. McLaughlin in Canada, an auto maker, and in 1908 he founded General Motors.
Buick Gran Sport
GSX / GSX Stage1 was Buick's contribution to the Classic era American Muscle car list, based on the GS455 which was in turn based on the Skylark platform adding an appearance, performance and handling package available starting in the 1970 model year. The GSX Performance and Handling package was a $1,100 option on the GS455. The GSX was Buick’s attempt to increase showroom traffic on a newly designed Skylark body style for 1970 which started off slow but sales improved. The GSX was Buick's answer to Pontiac's GTO Judge, Oldsmobile's 4-4-2 W-30, and Chevrolet's Chevelle SS. Buick advertised it as "A Brand New Brand Of Buick" and "Another 'Light Your Fire' Car From Buick". It came standard with a 455ci engine with or without the optional Stage 1 performance engine upgrades during the first year of release. Although near the top of GM's brand hierarchy, the GSX hardtop's basic bodyshell was the same as the lower-priced 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle but with differing guards, grill, bumpers, doors, etc, while Pontiac and Oldsmobile midsize hardtop coupes shared a slightly different body.
Due to the late introduction of the GSX, a very special prototype was displayed at the Chicago Motor Show in February 1970 to test consumer reaction. This particular GSX had Mother Of Pearl white paint, a special fiberglass/steel ram air hood with unique modified hood scoops, one-off 3 piece rear spoiler and a prototype front spoiler, custom multicolored leather interior featuring checkerboard black and white X patterned seats and door panels. It became a hit and production started with the factory GSX looking slightly different than the prototype GSX. The GSX did not appear in the standard model catalog for 1970, however a GSX pamphlet was made available to the public. A four page, full size pamphlet announced the GSX with artist drawn pictures and specifications. Only 678 GSXs were produced in the second half of the 1970 model year beginning in March 1970. and ending in May of 1970. Just 278 were equipped with the standard 455, a further 400 purchasers selected the optional Stage 1 performance package. The impressive performance is partly due to the light weight of the 455 which is roughly less than the 426 Hemi or Chevrolet 454. At 510 lb-ft the Buick 455 produced the highest torque output of any American production performance car, a record held for 33 years until finally surpassed by the Series 2 V10 Viper in 2003. The 1970 Buick GSX has, without doubt, the most extensive list of standard equipment high performance features of any classic era muscle car. 
It is this last fact that truly sets the GSX in a class of its own when compared to its late '60s - early '70s peers. Every single 1970 GSX Stage 1 produced received the full list of performance and handling parts. You could buy a poorly optioned Chevelle SS, a leaf-sprung, bench seat Hemi Roadrunner or even a Pontiac GTO Judge with the smaller 400ci engine and drum brakes, but there is no such thing as an under-equipped 1970 GSX.