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Originally Posted by 2648562
They're all nice and each have the potential to attract new buyers to Buick. But guess what? None of those cars are going to appeal to today's Buick buyer. NONE.
Before you design any more Buicks that will never see the light of day (like the Velite) you need to think a little bit about your typical Buick buyer (and I mean beyond age). Your typical Buick buyer is above all else value conscious! They're affluent, but they're not the type that's going to spend four bucks on a cup of coffee or $500 on a new purse (your Buick buyer isn't some loud mouth Mark Cuban type... he's your Sam Walton, work his butt off most of his life/neighbors didn't know he had money and he would rather they think he didn't kind of guy) . That's not to say Buick buyers don't want quality (this they appreciate as well), they just don't need to announce their success or arrival the way a Cadillac or BMW owner does. Are they into flash (bling on a small scale)? Well, yes they appreciate design. But they're not buying Buicks to be seen (they want comfort and practicality more so). And they're certainly not into blue tooth or complicated and unnecessary gizmos (less is more is kind of true, but only up to a point). Practicality is king. No two seat Buick is going to sell worth a darn (I don't care how fast or powerful it is). No convertible is going to sell worth a darn. You might find a salesmen who could sell a buyer a 32 valve V8 powered Lucerne, but put that engine in a Charger-like RWD performance sedan and it ain't gonna happen! Buick buyers want safety and security--if you can't do AWD just stick to FWD. There. I'm tired now. But I'll say it all again (or try and say it a little clearer): 1. Value (where have we heard that one before) 2. Safety and security 3. Style minus bling, but more importantly comfort 4. And finally dependability--no unproven or unnecessary anything. There are other factors, but I honestly feel those matter most.
There are exceptions to every rule. And there is a need to attract newer/younger buyers to Buick. But the products have to make perfect sense like the Enclave or Buick will do an Oldsmobile and vanish.
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This is exactly the kind of thinking that has made Buick slowly creep into the slump it is in right now. The problem is that mngmnt forgot about Buicks glory days and what made it what it was. They forgot about the powerful luxury coupe the Riviera used to be with its big block 425 nailhead engine or the GSX with its beefy 455 7.5 v8 with 415hp and over 500 ftlbs of torque and the Wildcat with its sporty profile with the BALLS to match. People dont want powerful v8 RWD vehicles? I dont care what your age is even if you are not the type of person that is always pushing the throttle it always feels good to know that you can. Back in the glory days Buick wasa force in the automotive industry and it was vehicles like these that made it that way. I love Buicks but i perfer any 60s era car over anything from the 80s and up with the exception of the Grand National and the Regal these two cars were a glimpse of what Buick was capable of producing so why not live up to the level of performance and style these cars once had ?! Why not make a V8 Wildcat or a supercharged(twin turbo maybe ) v8 Gran Sport? This would ultimately attract younger buyers and broaden the consumer base for Buick overall.
From what I gather it seems to me that you are happy with the mediocre job the buick mngmnt has been doing for the past 20 years and if your mentality is if it aint broke dont fix it then you have to see that it is broke and with that thinking they will never fix it joining Oldsmobile in the graveyard. One of the only things that I really agree on is the AWD situation; the technology is available USE IT.
With that being said I like the new line designs but the boat tail on the Wildcat Gran Sport needs to go or at least make it a little less pointy ( I do realize that it would completely change the overall profile of the car to completely redo the tail end ) other than that I like what I see especially the targa tops better than a convertible unless it was a hardtop convertible then it would be a coin flip. Hopefully it has the balls to match its looks.