Quote:
Originally Posted by vcs2600
Please demonstrate how Buick is positioned as a luxury make, because frankly I don't see it. Buick has a niche selling premium cars, but frankly nobody outside of GM fanboards sees them as a credible alternative to Lexus.
|
It isn't currently, and
that is the problem.
The only reason the Lacrosse isn't priced against the ES/TL market, which from what I've seen it could quite easily compete with in terms of size/features/styling/performance, instead of the Avalon/Accord market is because the Cadillac CTS is priced too low for its size/brand. It should be priced (and equipped using the STS-V/SLS feature set) against the 6-cylinder 5-series models, not the 3-series and by extension the midsized FWD luxury cars.
And the only reason Cadillac cars are priced so low is to compete with Lincoln, lower-end Lexus, and Acuras in the "near-luxury" market because, as you said, Buick is not seen/priced as a luxury brand and therefore is not competing with them.
And the only reason Buick isn't allowed to even try and compete in that market is because Cadillac is, and you simply can't have a Buick that costs as much as a similar sized Cadillac.
So to me it looks like they are basically trapped in a cycle of too cheap, in price and/or content, products from both brands. This then continually reinforces the idea that Cadillac is on par with Acura/lower-end Lexus models, and a step behind M-B/BMW, and that Buick is on the same level as Hyundai/Chevy instead of the "near luxury" VW to Lexus range it should be in.
And if that's all people expect, then that's all they will get... hence the SRX dropping from ~$45-60k to ~$35-50k class (nevermind the FWD/RWD aspect) and the STS/DTS replacement being more DTS than STS in nature (much less SLS/STS-V). And honestly, with the CTS as the only Sigma II based car, and the Alpha projects in limbo... I would not be shocked if there is a design well underway for an Epsilon-based Cadillac to replace the CTS and go after the Lexus ES (since as we all know FWD outsells RWD
)