1912 McLaughlin-Buick Model 35

The 1912 Model 35 was one the McLaughlin’s best-selling vehicles that year. It features the sturdy Buick OHV four-cylinder engine. However, the Canadian Model 35 has a distinctively different body than its American counterpart, including a small cowl extending back from the varnished dashboard, doors and lower panel styling.

This difference in styling made future president of General Motors, A.P. Sloan, decree that all Canadian Buicks were forbidden to park near American GM offices, as he believed their clients would expect that level of quality in American- built Buicks.

This car was purchased new in Oakville, New Brunswick. It was sold in 1958 to a collector in Maine, and brought back into Canada in 1971 by Stan Reynolds.

Engine: Buick, inline, 4-cylinder, OHV, water-cooled
Displacement: 2.7L (165 ci)
Bore & Stroke: 95 x 95 mm (3.75 x 3.75 in)
Power: 17.89 kW (24 hp)
Transmission: 3-forward, 1-reverse
Original Cost: C $1,300  

The first passenger vehicles sold in Canada were 2 sleighs built by Robert McLaughlin in 1867. McLaughlin Carriage Company soon became known for the high quality of their product. In 1907, his son Sam was almost ready to enter the car market with the first McLaughlin car, when his engineer, Arthur Milbrath became severely ill. Sam approached Billy Durant, and came away with 15-year rights to use Buick engines and other parts. Called simply McLaughlin, the Canadian car was readily distinguished from the U.S. Buick. It was called, and sometimes advertised as McLaughlin-Buick. Some models, said McLaughlin on the radiator and McLaughlin-Buick on the hub caps.

Chronology:

1867 - The first passenger vehicles sold in Canada were 2 sleighs built by Robert McLaughlin at his Blacksmith shop in Enniskillen, Ontario, Canada
1876 - Robert McLaughlin moved the company to Oshawa, Ontario, Canada
1880s - McLaughlin patented his fifth-wheel mechanism which improved safety and comfort
1899 - McLaughlin Carriage Works was destroyed by fire and the City of Oshawa lent McLaughlin C $50,000 to rebuild
1901 - McLaughlin Carriage Company is incorporated and production numbers are over 25,000 units and sales for the year are over one million dollars
1905 - Robert's son Sam McLaughlin became interested in automobiles and tried to make a deal with Durant of Buick to combine manufacturing but no deal was made at the time
1907 - Sam formed his own car company - The McLaughlin Motor Car Company Limited and he made a 15 year deal with Buick to buy their drive trains for his vehicles
1907 - The Model F is the first McLaughlin car produced
1912 - This vehicle was purchased new by Charles Biggs of Oakville, New Brunswick
1915 - The McLaughlin Carriage Company is sold to Carriage Factories Ltd. of Orillia, Ontario and they started switching from making carriages to car bodies for companies, including McLaughlin Motor Car Company
1916 - General Motors Corporation is formed with Sam McLaughlin as a director and Vice-President. McLaughlin began manufacturing Chevrolet automobiles in his plant
1918 - General Motors of Canada was incorporated when Mclaughlin and Chevrolet merged. GM Canada built a large plant in Walkerville, Ontario
1923 - The Canadian bodied model was officially called the McLaughlin-Buick and continued under that badge until 1942 when the McLaughlin was dropped and the vehicles were just called Buicks
1958 - This vehicle is acquired by a collector in Maine, US
1971- Stan Reynolds acquired this vehicle and brought it back to Canada
1985 - Stan Reynolds donates the vehicle to the Reynolds Museum