Five years ago, many doubted Buick would still exist today. General Motors, the brand's owner, was going through its largest restructuring in history, and many thought Buick and its tri-shield logo were on the cutting block with the likes of Hummer, SAAB, Saturn and possibly even Pontiac.

"If you would have said Pontiac or Buick (in 2008-2009), Pontiac would have gotten the nod from most Americans because it still had a more interesting history, it was still … not necessarily meaningful at the time, but it had a more lasting legacy" said Karl Brauer, editor in chief and CEO of TotalCarScore.com

Brauer, like many auto industry experts, believed Pontiac was a much more valuable brand than Buick, which was known for having drivers almost as old as the century-old brand itself. Plus, GM already had Cadillac to fill its luxury slot. So why would it want Buick?

In the end, Buick survived the Detroit-based automaker's government-backed bankruptcy and it was Pontiac that was axed with the other three brands.

But surviving isn’t anything new for Buick. The brand, which was founded on May 19, 1903 by plumbing inventor and manufacturer David Dunbar, is the oldest still-active automotive brand in America and one of the oldest in the world.

Buick, founded as the Buick Motor Co., started when people were still referring to automobiles as horseless carriages and a man by the name of William Crapo "Billy" Durant was still a half-decade away from creating an automotive company called General Motors in Flint.

And if it wasn't for Buick, GM may not be the company it is today.