Classic McLaughlin Buicks visit Port Burwell

Over 40 members of the McLaughlin Buick Club of Canada descended upon Port Burwell with 23 of their classic cars on Wednesday morning, May 27 and started their day of touring around the lakeside village with a stop at the HMCS Ojibwa submarine. The most unique of the cars during the visit was the one in the middle of this photo: a 1937 McLaughlin Limousine that was specifically made for a railway tycoon that could also run on train rails. While in Port Burwell, the members of the car club participated in a short ecology tour of the Lake Erie shore and a walking tour of some historic homes and other buildings. The visitors were greeted and entertained by volunteers with the Polestars group. Robert Samuel “Sam” McLaughlin of Oshawa was instrumental in bringing General Motors to his hometown. His father moved his carriage business there in 1877 growing it to become the largest manufacturer of its kind in Canada. In 1908, the McLaughlin car debuted with Buick engines and chassis. After a Buick won the first race at Indianapolis Speedway in 1909, McLaughlin’s advertising department tried to take advantage of the publicity and persuaded management to change their car’s name to Buick. When sales declined, the car was renamed McLaughlin-Buick. In 1915, the McLaughlin Motor Company was sold to General Motors.