Quote:
Originally posted by chev454ls@Mar 12 2004, 04:34 PM
They need something exciting to bring in younger buyers, plain and simple.
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And that silly, 1991 minivan ain't gonna do it.
As for the GN and T-types? Lloyd Reuss, of Stempel/Reuss ouster fame, oversaw the brand at the time of the turbos. Even though they are the most memorable Buicks of the past three decades, he was flamed pretty badly at the time for making Buick a more performance-oriented division. People felt he was abandoning the core, geezer buyer, and that Pontiac should be the division tasked with offering exciting, youth-oriented cars. To some degree, that's true. If Pontiac becomes an American BMW, then what kinds of youth-oriented products would Buick need to deliver? I guess the LaCrosse is the type of car that'll appeal to people aged 45 and up, more conservative than Cadillac, but not as boring as Lexus. Unfortunately, I don't think LaCross is much less boring than Lexus. But it is more conservative than Cadillac. Maybe gets a grade of B? But how will Buick really cater to people under 35 without stepping on Pontiac or Cadillac's toes? Maybe it doesn;t have to. The age 45 and over market will always be huge, and all won't be into the edgy contemporary stuff like Cadillac. If Buick improves it's image, the DTS and STS won't have to be so softened up in order to appeal to everyone. All Cadillac models can stay leading-edge, and Buick can go after the well-heeled softees.