Century

This nameplate first appeared for the 1936 model year as a Buick Series 60 performance-oriented car, a name chosen to evoke its then-impressive ability to cruise at 100 mph. The original run ended during the wartime shutdown, with the nameplate disappearing after the abbreviated 1942 model year. Buick revived the badge for 1954, and it became one of the brand’s best-known postwar lines, initially positioned as a smaller, more spirited alternative within the full-size range. In the mid-1950s it gained a reputation as a fast, well-appointed Buick, and the period also produced the rare Caballero hardtop wagon. After Buick reorganized its lineup in 1959, the name briefly vanished again before returning in 1973 on Buick’s intermediate-sized cars, replacing the Skylark nameplate. From that point forward, it evolved into a familiar midsize Buick, eventually shifting into a more mainstream front-wheel-drive sedan role in the 1990s. The final model year was 2005, when it was retired in favor of the LaCrosse. Across its history, the badge is notable for its long breaks, multiple distinct eras, and its unusual journey from a prewar performance name to a later everyday family sedan.