Buick PARKAVENUE 1994 User manual

Park Avenue

Litho in USA
Part No. 25609656 B First Edition
The 1994 Buick Park Avenue
Owner's Manual
@CopyrightGeneral Motors Corporation 1993
All Rights Reserved

I
GENERALMOTORS, GM and theGM Emblem,
Buick, and theBuick Emblem are registered trademarks
of GeneralMotors Corporation.
This manual includes the latestinformation at the timeit
was printed. We reserve the rightto make changesin the
product after that time withoutfurther notice. For
vehicles first sold in Canada,substitute the name
“GeneralMotors of Canada Limited” forBuick Motor
Division whenever it appears in this manual.
Please keep thismanual in your Buick,
so it will be
there
if you ever need it when you’re onthe road. If you
sell thevehicle, please leave thismanual in it
so the new
owner canuse it.
VOLUNTARY TECHNICIAN
WE SUPPORT
CERTIFICATION THROUGH
Nacmnal lnstllule for
AUTOMOTIVE
SERVICE
EXCELLENCE
We support voluntary
technician certification.
For Canadian Owners Who Prefer a
French Language Manual:
Aux proprietaires canadiens: Vous pouvez vous procurer
un exemplaire dece guide enfrancais chez votre
concessionaire ou au DGN Marketing Services Ltd.,
1500 Bonhill Rd., Mississauga, Ontario L5T 1C7.
2

Walter Marr and Thomas Buick
Buick’s chief engineer, Walter L. Marr (left), and
Thomas D. Buick, son
of founder David Dunbar Buick,
drove the first FlintBuick in a successful Flint-Detroit
round tripin July
1904.
David Buick was building gasolineengines by 1899,
and Man; his engineer, apparently built the first autoto
be called a Buick in
1900. However, Buick traditionally
dates its beginningsto
1903. That was the year the
companywas reorganized, refinanced and moved
from
Detroit to Flint. Buick has alwaysbeen a product
innovator. Buick engineers developed the
“valve-in-head” engine, a light, powerfuland reliable
engine which wouldeventually influencethe entire
automotiveindustry.
William C. Durant was instrumental in promoting
Buicks across the country using
his Durant-Dort
Carriage Co. outletsand salespeople as the nucleus of a
giant distribution system. He knew the Buick as
a
“self-seller”. If automobiles couldbe this good, he
thought, maybe it was time to switchfrom the horse and
buggy business to automobiles.
At the
1905, New York
Auto
Show, Durant took
orders for
1,000 Buicks
before the company had
success, Durantcreated
a
holdingcompany,
September
16, 1908. He
called
it General Motors.
built
40. On Buick’s
William C. (Billy) Durant
A

Durant also created a racing team that won 500 racing
trophies in 1909and 1910, including successes at
Indianapolis two years before the Indy
500 began.
The success
of Buick engines was visible not only on
the race track, but in endurance tests across the country
and around the world. Buick was the only car to
complete a 1,000-mile Chicago-to-NewYork race
in
1906. And a Buick was the first car to travel across
South America, driven from Buenos Aires, Argentina,
over the Andes
to Santiago, Chile in 19 14.
191 I Model 21 Touring Car on Buick’s Test Hill
Buick drew plenty of attention because it could climb
hills and run through mud
like no other car. Buick’s
endurance and reliability were world famous.
During World War
I, Buick built Liberty aircraft engines
as well
as Red Cross ambulances so successful that one
Buick ambulance was awarded the Croix de Guerre by
the French government.
As a builder
of premier automobiles, Buick was hard hit
by the Great Depression. However, new General
Manager, Harlow
H. Curtice created popular new
models including the Special and the Roadmaster. Buick
sales soon flourished.
First Buick Factory
5

In World War 11, Buick built aircraft engines, tanks and
other military hardware. This post-war period brought
great styling and engineering changes which resulted
in
increased sales. The torque converter automatic
transmission, Dynaflow, was introduced
in the 1948
Roadmaster. Buick’s famous “portholes” came along
in
1949.
.,
..
... ., . .
, ., .. . .. . ,
I949 Roadmaster
A high-compression V-8 engine was introduced in 1953.
And Buick’s famous vertical pillar “toothy” grille,
(introduced
in 1942),became more massive in the
post-war era.
1953 Skylark
Motor Trend magazine named the 1962 Buick Special,
“Car of
the Year”. The first production V-6 engine was
used
in the Special.
6

/ 962 Buick Special
Built inside the walls of the old buildings in Buick’s
former Flint complex, which formed the cornerstone of
General Motors, Buick City,
is a state-of-the-art
assembly facility with more than
200 robots and other
high-tech equipment.
It was completed in the fall of
1985.
Buicks are, and will continue to be,premium American
motorcars with smooth power, high performance, rich
detail and comfortable accommodation.
Ed Mertz, GeneralManager, Buick Motor Division.
Our mission is simple:
“Buick will provide Premium American Motorcars
backed
with services that exceed our customers’
expectations, throughout
the purchase, ownership,
service and repurchase experience.”
Buicks are SUBSTANTIAL.
Buicks are DISTINCTIVE.
Buicks are POWERFUL.
Buicks are MATURE.
7

A
I923 Sport Roadster
8