Quote:
Originally Posted by CUtiger08
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.
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Problem is not that long ago Buick was selling $18K Centuries. If they jack the LaCrosse up into the $32-35K price range, *bam* the traditional buyer group is going to walk down to Ford/Chrysler/Toyota. GM has nothing else to offer these people.
Furthermore, and I can't emphasis this enough, Buick has absolutely no luxury cred outside of GM homeboys. (These posts mentioning Buick in the same breath as Acura or Volvo are seriously lol-worthy.) I even would say barely have any "premium car" cred, they're sales have been steeply declining for years, and they're largely perceived as just another GM division (for good reason).
As has been proven time and again, GM can't just arbitrarily move brands around like pieces on a chessboard. It takes decades of well-executed models and brand management to move a brand up in stature. (Which is something GM has not been able to do successfully.) Anyway, I think the "mid-level brand" strategy GM is executing is a realistic tact. A generation of well-executed, successful cars might get them there eventually, but not now.