European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - July 21, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Thursday july 21, 1988 the stars and stripes Page 13 car Corner the 1988 Lucerne is Buick s latest concept car. At right is one of the first bricks a Flint Buick of 1904 Vintage. Foundation Stone for pm Empire Buick marking 85th anniversary the Buick division of general motors the foundation Stone on which the pm Empire was built is celebrating its 85th anniversary this year so today Well take a Brief look at some Buick history. Although David Dunbar Buick the division s founder was building gasoline engines by 1899 and had created a Buick car by 1900, the Buick Marque traditionally dates its beginning from 1903. That was the year the company was reorganized and moved from Detroit to Flint Mich. In the encyclopedia of the american automobile an introduction to Buick s founding is noted in this manner at the Dawn of the Century Flint Mich., was known As vehicle City not for automobiles but for its role As the main producer of horse drawn carriages in the United states. Each year 150,000 carriages rolled out of the factories of Flint which was also the location of the world s largest maker of buggy whip sockets. Flint was the Ideal and obvious Loca Tion for the convention of blacksmiths that was called to order there in May of 1903. On the 19th of that month the conferring blacksmiths decided to spend $5,000 on setting up a state College to teach the Art of shoeing horses. But on that very same Day in May an Braniza Tion was founded that would have a lot to do with the eventual eclipse of the Blacksmith the Buick motor  according to pm Buick division s history traditionally dates from 1903, with its move from Detroit to Flint. At that time James h. Whiting manager of the Flint Wagon works announced that the Wagon works directors had bought the Buick company and would move it along with founder David Dunbar Buick from Detroit to Flint. Things went smoothly at first and by the sum Mer of 1904, the company had built the first Flint Buick. After testing it decided to build More. But the fledgling company ran into severe financial problems within a few months and it turned to a Flint Carriage builder for help. The Carriage King was William Billy Durant whose Carriage and buggy business in Flint was the largest in America. Durant an entrepreneur and super Salesman did t particularly like automobiles but he was a Strong sup Porter of the City of Flint and he knew a Best seller when he saw one. The Flint made Buick Drew his attention because it could climb Hills and run through mud like no other car he had Ever seen. If automobiles could be this Good he thought then maybe it was time to get out of the horse and buggy business. And that s what Durant did. With Durant behind the Buick companion both a financial and promotional basis Buick s Success was assured. By 1908, Thad become the no. 1 producer of Auto mobiles in America its 8,000 cars that year surpassing the combined output of Ford and Cadillac its two closest competitors. And with that Success Durant had made the transition from the biggest seller of horse drawn carriages to the biggest seller of automobiles in America. On that basis Durant decided to create a holding company and he called it Gen eral motors. The Story of Durant s development of general motors is too Complex to detail Here but briefly he pulled first Buick then Oldsmobile into the pm Organiza Tion. Then he added Cadillac and Oak land forerunner of Pontiac and dozens of truck and supplier businesses including a spark plug which he helped create with Albert Champion whose initials form the division s name. So while Buick is celebrating its 85th anniversary this year general motors is noting its 80th from those 1908 beginnings. Along with pm founder Durant the Buick division s Long history involves such legendary names As Charles w. Nash the founder of what later became american motors Walter p. Chrysler founder of the Chrysler corp. And Louis Chevrolet co founder of the Chevrolet automobile. Chevrolet had achieved Fame earlier in America As a racing Driver for Buick. It was Durant who set up the racing team and Chevrolet Bob Burman and others won More than 500 trophies for Buick in 1909 and 1910. The Success of Buick engines was Visi ble not Only on the race tracks but in endurance tests. Buick was the Only car to Complete a 1,000-mile Chicago to new York race in 1906 a Buick was the first car to travel across South America from Buenos Aires Argentina Over the Andes to Santiago Chile in 1914. Buick s Star climbed steadily during the 1920s, and except for a few jolts Over its Long history the Star has remained right up there. Randy Burnet Auto columnist the new midsize Peugeot 405 4-door Sedan features smooth lines All around.  405 to Debuf july 31 the Peugeot 405 Sedan voted the "1988 car of the year late last autumn by a panel of european Auto Mobile journalists will soon be Given its world debut in  form by military car sales pcs. The Peugeot 405, a midsize front wheel drive 4-door Sedan styled by i Nin Farina of Italy will be presented to the american Public on july 31 at the military car sales Auto Center show rooms in Kaiserslautern the show rooms located at Kaise Strasse 34, near Vogel Weh Cavern. Hours for the july 31 showing will be from 2-5 . The new Peugeot will debut in the United states two weeks after the Mili tary car sales  were selected by Peugeot of France to show the  405 Model first because of our Strong Peugeot car sales on the military mar Ket said William Goldberg group marketing manager for pcs. Gold Berg added we Are extremely pleased to be so  the prices for the Peugeot 405 mod Els will be considerably lower than in the states Goldberg added. In the states the manufacturers suggested re Tail prices will be $14,500 for the do Model $17,700 for the s Model and $20,700 for the top of the line i 16 with 16-valve engine. The new Peugeot 405 models with . Specifications Are powered by 1.9 liter 4-Cylinder engines of 110 horse Power with disc brakes at All four wheels and a five Speed Gearbox As Standard. A four Speed automatic unit is available As an option. Also Stan Dard Are air conditioning velours Inte rior and Central Locking. In special rally versions the Peugeot 405 cars have already been successfully involved in International rallying and Hill climbing and they recently finished one two in the pikes Peak Hill climb. At pikes Peak the finnish rally Star Ari Vatanen not Only won the event but also broke the course record formerly held by Audi on his Way up. The new  Peugeot 405 do and s models will go on Sale on the military Market from the july 31 launch Day Onward. The i 16 version will be available Early in 1989.