Buick, Pontiac, GMC Channel Working

[wescoent]

Originally Posted by K Dawg ONE

We own a Saturn-SAAB dealership in our building next door....I have NEVER EVER EVER sold a Saturn to someone looking at a Buick.
In the target demographic of Buick (im sorry, but it IS old people), they want the simplicity of a Buick interior. They like that their exterior looks like their Regal, Century, etc. They dont WANT bluetooth, projector headlamps, nav, etc. They want bench seats, column shift, and casette decks.

The Enclave driver is not old in age, but, is well positioned financially in life. He wants all the technology in the world, but, with the CLASS of a Buick. Hes late 30's/early forties with his kids just gone off to University. He finally just got his partnership at the office and has just payed off his house. He wants something to take out clients in durring the week, but, can still haul his kayaking equipment on the weekend. He does not want an Outlook,....this customer views the Outlook in the same light as a Chevy work truck.

This is not an opinion I have created out of thin air...this is my day to day experiences that I deal with 6 days a week.

Do not take what im saying with a grain of salt.....shovel that sh¡t into your mouth whole as FACT!

Thank you

No... I strong appreciate your insight. One of the main problems with the "Save GM" plans is that they NEVER take into account the retail sales channels.

It's a little frightening to hear about the desires of Buick's current customers.

[kenman923]

Just give Pontiac and Buick good products and they can really be effective.

[Buickman]

in addition to Enclave, Buick should have (Roadmaster) a large, substantial, powerful sedan. also a mid size sedan (Wildcat), coupe in two versions, one semi lux for the ladies (Regal), and one for the guys (GS). add in a Riv/Velite halo coupe with the hottest styling on the road, and we're good to go. then just leave us alone and let us move the metal.

from my perspective, we do not need lots of techno. OnStar with turn by turn is sufficient. great interiors and better colors would be welcome.

with the right product and proper marketing Buick could once again approach 10% market share. we have the history of success and the dealer body to get the job done. just keep the pencils pushers out of the way and have corporate marketing stay out of retail.

[bmwboy2007]

Only Chevrolet stands (mostly) alone. Cadillac is mixed in with Saab, Humvee, and Saturn.

[tollytime]

This research is based on sales of discontinued vehicles and past truck sales that will no longer be viable in this changing market.

[K Dawg ONE]

Originally Posted by tollytime

This research is based on sales of discontinued vehicles and past truck sales that will no longer be viable in this changing market.

IDK about that...we cant keep trucks on our lot even know (and our gas is more $ in Canada than in the US).
The big change is that recreational truck buyers are shopping for the Lambdas whereas the people who NEED trucks are still NEEDING trucks.

[SierraGS]

Originally Posted by Buickman

in addition to Enclave, Buick should have (Roadmaster) a large, substantial, powerful sedan. also a mid size sedan (Wildcat), coupe in two versions, one semi lux for the ladies (Regal), and one for the guys (GS). add in a Riv/Velite halo coupe with the hottest styling on the road, and we're good to go. then just leave us alone and let us move the metal.

from my perspective, we do not need lots of techno. OnStar with turn by turn is sufficient. great interiors and better colors would be welcome.

with the right product and proper marketing Buick could once again approach 10% market share. we have the history of success and the dealer body to get the job done. just keep the pencils pushers out of the way and have corporate marketing stay out of retail.

Great ideas.

What do you think of the Wildcat concept based off of the CTS Coupe (to spread costs) equipped as you outline with a 3500 V6/5-speed auto standard on the Regal with the money saved over an OHC engine put into a great interior in Buick exclusive colors like burgundy and dark blue as well as several two-tone options with contrasting piping on some.

The GS version could have the 5.3L V8 as standard with 6-speed automatic and the same great interior with at least one sport trim level.

An option to the Wildcat name would be Gran Sport and there could also be sedan versions again shared with the CTS but with 3500 and 5.3 drivetrains (maybe the Wildcat could be the top model with a 6.2L V8)

A new Electra 225 from the LWB Zeta (Holden Statesman) with standard 5.3L V8 and option 6.2L.

[wescoent]

Originally Posted by Buickman

in addition to Enclave, Buick should have (Roadmaster) a large, substantial, powerful sedan. also a mid size sedan (Wildcat), coupe in two versions, one semi lux for the ladies (Regal), and one for the guys (GS). add in a Riv/Velite halo coupe with the hottest styling on the road, and we're good to go. then just leave us alone and let us move the metal.

from my perspective, we do not need lots of techno. OnStar with turn by turn is sufficient. great interiors and better colors would be welcome.

with the right product and proper marketing Buick could once again approach 10% market share. we have the history of success and the dealer body to get the job done. just keep the pencils pushers out of the way and have corporate marketing stay out of retail.

I agree in ways, I disagree in others.

The first and FOREMOST step GM must take is getting Buick OUT of showrooms with Pontiac and GMC. You simply cannot deliver the top of the line customer service experience if you need to cater to people buying Pontiac G5's and GMC Sierra work trucks as well. Half of the reason why Lexus was such a success was their unmatched dealer experience.

Next, they NEED to up the technology level in Buicks. I don't care that Aunt Bertha and Uncle Ernie want their bench-seat OHV Century with a tape deck. Send them to Chevy to buy an Impala. They cannot be Buick's target customer if they want to be around in 10 years. Either match Lexus, or give up.

Pair Buick up with Cadillac, and suddenly, we have a plan. Buick targets the Lexus buyer, and Cadillac targets the Mercedes buyer.

I like your idea with the LS vs GS trim. I always thought it would be best for Buick to offer two trims of every vehicle... either a chromed-up luxury version, or a monochrome sport version.

A very well done Invicta midsized sedan with optional AWD would eat the Lexus ES350's lunch, and would be a great volume seller to slot under the CTS.

A large sedan is also needed. Granted, in today's world, that market is shrinking, but Cadillac needs to ditch the DTS. Build a large Buick sedan off the DT7 architecture, and bias it towards comfort and feature content.

A Buick coupe to slot directly under the CTS Coupe would work, but ONLY if Buick is out of Pontiac showrooms. Base it on Epsilon II.

Enclave is perfect, however, it does need a 2-row Theta-based Rendezvous to slot under it, and provide a crossover to slot under the SRX as well.

[Jesda]

Buick + Cadillac = Redundant. People will drive a Lucerne, wonder why they'd pay for a more profitable DTS, and take the Buick home. Just kill Buick and give the Enclave to Cadillac or something.

[SierraGS]

Originally Posted by wescoent

I agree in ways, I disagree in others.

The first and FOREMOST step GM must take is getting Buick OUT of showrooms with Pontiac and GMC. You simply cannot deliver the top of the line customer service experience if you need to cater to people buying Pontiac G5's and GMC Sierra work trucks as well. Half of the reason why Lexus was such a success was their unmatched dealer experience.

Next, they NEED to up the technology level in Buicks. I don't care that Aunt Bertha and Uncle Ernie want their bench-seat OHV Century with a tape deck. Send them to Chevy to buy an Impala. They cannot be Buick's target customer if they want to be around in 10 years. Either match Lexus, or give up.

Pair Buick up with Cadillac, and suddenly, we have a plan. Buick targets the Lexus buyer, and Cadillac targets the Mercedes buyer.

I like your idea with the LS vs GS trim. I always thought it would be best for Buick to offer two trims of every vehicle... either a chromed-up luxury version, or a monochrome sport version.

A very well done Invicta midsized sedan with optional AWD would eat the Lexus ES350's lunch, and would be a great volume seller to slot under the CTS.

A large sedan is also needed. Granted, in today's world, that market is shrinking, but Cadillac needs to ditch the DTS. Build a large Buick sedan off the DT7 architecture, and bias it towards comfort and feature content.

A Buick coupe to slot directly under the CTS Coupe would work, but ONLY if Buick is out of Pontiac showrooms. Base it on Epsilon II.

Enclave is perfect, however, it does need a 2-row Theta-based Rendezvous to slot under it, and provide a crossover to slot under the SRX as well.

Nothing wrong with Buick with Pontiac/GMC when they also get their new lineups.

What you may not understand about Aunt Bertha and Uncle Ernie is that is they do not find the Buick they expect to find they are not buying anything.

GM needs to take a slow steady approch to moving Buick upmarket and keep things like the 3500 V6 and 5.3L V8 since they are more cost effective than the 3.6L and enable GM to add features to the Buick line that really sell the car and maintain dealer margins.

When you add a high price engine like the 3.6L over the 3500 you have to take off $1,500 of desirable features and then are in the "giveaway" mode - something sales reps try to avoid at all costs.

A high MPG rating will be all the ammo a good sales rep needs to make a prospective Regal/Wildcat/Invicta buyer forget the lack of OHC engine and allow the sales rep to point out what is ON the car the buyer is LOOKING at buying.

Think about the last time someone who bought a "luxury" car showed it to you, what did they focus on?

The interior and whatever features the car had not doubt and probably did not even open the hood for you unless you asked.

Top notch interiors with rich materials, power tilt/telescoping wheels and 8-12 way power seats with memory settings sell luxury cars more than 4 OHC's.

GM can still offer Turbos, DOHC, Superchargers and other performance features on the GS versions that can be added in year 2 or 3 of the model run, but first need to build volume, reputation and PROFITS with the luxury features.

[TriShield]

Originally Posted by Jesda

Buick + Cadillac = Redundant. People will drive a Lucerne, wonder why they'd pay for a more profitable DTS, and take the Buick home. Just kill Buick and give the Enclave to Cadillac or something.

Buick needs to be gone here altogether. But so does practically everything else.

GM saying it's going to lump Saturn in with the other brands is a convenient way for them to get out of selling the Insignia here and keeping the already dated Aura around while investment goes where it needs to go, into Chevrolet.

This "reshuffling" doesn't actually do anything to address GM's brand problem. Companies that don't have brand problems don't do this, they also don't wrestle with what the brand is supposed to be or have trouble conveying that to consumers.

GM has fundamentally broken for years and the number of brands just exacerbates the problem.