What does Buick thickness mean?
3 Answers
Buick thickness refers to the thickness of the car's body panels. Here is a brief introduction about Buick: 1. Basic information: On May 19, 1904, David Dunbar Buick founded the Buick Motor Company in the United States with the help of the Briscoe brothers. In the second half of 1904, a carriage manufacturer named William C. Durant recognized the great potential of Buick and resolutely acquired the company. In 1908, he established General Motors and continued to use the Buick brand as the cornerstone for the new company, which then began to prosper and achieved the highest annual car production in the United States. 2. Development history: In 1908, its production reached 8,820 units, ranking first in the United States. In the same year, General Motors was formed with Buick Motor Company at its center. As General Motors expanded, the Buick division became the second-largest department within the company, mainly designing and manufacturing mid-range family cars. Buick's sales rank third within General Motors. Buick cars are characterized by high horsepower, individuality, practicality, and maturity.
The term 'Buick Hou' is quite interesting—it's actually how people in the Minnan (Southern Fujian) dialect regions refer to Buick cars. For example, in Taiwan, it's common to pronounce 'Buick' as 'Buick Hou,' which is entirely characteristic of the Minnan dialect. If you listen closely, Taiwanese Hokkien tends to localize English words, such as softening the 'k' sound into something closer to an 'h.' This phenomenon is quite common with car brands—just like how they pronounce Mazda as 'Mazda Hou.' The variations in car name pronunciations across different dialect regions are huge. For instance, Cantonese speakers call BMW 'Bibi Ya,' while Shanghainese pronounce Volkswagen more like 'Da Zhong'—it's all very vivid.
This nickname hides the fun of language evolution. When Buick was first introduced to Taiwan, salespeople pronounced 'Buick' in the Hokkien dialect, and over time, it became 'Buick Hou.' Just like how they call Honda 'Honda Wa,' it's a natural linguistic shift. I often hear old-timers say that back in the day, when mechanics shouted 'Buick Hou is here,' everyone knew business was coming. These localized nicknames actually bring the brand closer to people, feeling more down-to-earth than the official translations.
