Buick: Saving the Last Real American Car

[DenCo]

Saving the last real American car

Denis C
02-11-2005

When better cars are built Buick will build them; that was a phrase that was used as a slogan by Buick for a while describing quite well what the brand should stand for: Quality, Reliability, Craftsmanship, and An overall premium quality brand. Oddly enough, there is still a part of the world where the Buick holds true to what it once was and what it still should be and it’s the one country/region in which it seems to be enjoying great success, the sad truth is that it’s not in it’s own home that the Buick brand still stands proud and strong.

The Be-All End-All of Stopgap Solutions

There is a good reason for this however and one that is quite easy to understand. Just do a little bit of research on Shanghai GM, the Buick lineup currently sold in China puts its North-American counterpart to shame. We have the old LeSabres, the updated old cars Lacrosse/Allure (Century) and Lucerne (LeSabre) along with a “crossover” the Rendezvous, an SUV called Rainier and one of GM minivan, I mean CSV, quadruplets called Terraza. Overall it’s not really that bad of a lineup and some would argue that most of these products are adequate; I agree. The only problem is that in the market these days, good enough actually seems to quite strangely not be good enough. While I can understand that GM does not have infinite resources especially now more than ever and a full brand revitalization much like what they’ve done with Cadillac must cost a pretty penny, I find it strange that they don’t use what they already have.

For those of you who still wonder what I’m talking about, take a quick look at what Buick sells over in China, you’ll quickly notice that the only similarity between the brand over there and back here is the name. This quite possibly also explains how they could be the top brand in that country and not the brand seen mostly as cars for old people and nothing more than upscale Chevrolets to all but their ever shrinking group of enthusiasts. Sure, there still are some of them left, I must confess that I am a Buick enthusiast who dreams of a day where the name may be once again stamped on GM’s finest products which will lead them to great success, but the numbers are dwindling as we lose patience and hope and most have been reduced to the point of simply clinging to the past while looking at their current products with the utmost disgust.

What solution could they find to this little predicament while still not blowing the entirety of GM’s cash reserves? Use the top-notch state of the art products sold under the Buick name in other parts of the world. Sure you will no doubt notice that a lot of these are heavily based on other GM products but when done in moderation there’s nothing wrong with parts and/or platform sharing, even when the sharing is quite extensive, besides, it would only be a temporary solution to keep sales going and rid them of their old moldy and stale models they’re clinging on to for dear life.



Also, this would be a quick and easy way to inject some life back into the brand and dump the old stodgy image. Take the sporty little sedan the Excelle and a nice little hatch called HRV.

These Chinese Buicks could do wonders for attracting some younger customers to the brand and giving them a sportier image than the one they presently have. Even with the somewhat sportier LaCrosse, to attract a significantly younger crowd that they could then attempt to keep as loyal buyers just as they had mostly done in the past which also explains why the brand hasn’t changed much in many years which is also part of the reason we’re seeing the problem they are now faced with today. However, if this strategy works, I would still keep up to date from now on.

Here we see the Buick Excelle: a Chevy Optra or Suzuki Forenza based Buick which could possibly provide them with a nice new entry-level model that could possibly get the younger crowd interested in the brand.

Think there’s no room for such a car in a brand like Buick? Take a look at the Acura EL, Chrysler Neon and closer to home, the Cadillac Catera; let’s not forget Buick’s own Skylark either.



Hatches and wagons have become quite popular in recent years as well; this is a nice little empty spot in their lineup which could be filled by this nice little hatch called the HRV. This Optra5 based Buick would definitely make a great addition to the Buick brand here in North-America could attract the younger crowd yet again and people who want a smaller car but without the lack of practicality usually associated with small sedans.



A Buick should be all about making a statement just as they once were. Rather than stating “I’m retired” though, I believe they should aim to make their cars let the owners/drivers make the statement of “I’m different”. Some would most likely argue that first; this would be kind of redundant since GM already has SAAB for this, second, that to remain different Buick should stick to what its doing rather than actually update their product portfolio and, to some extent, go with the entry-level luxury flow from now on.

You would have a bit of a point too; with a few minor changes, this possible problem would be avoided as well as a few other GM problems would be fixed. First you take SAAB whose “The State of Independence” way would be doubled by the new direction I’d like to see Buick take and turn them back into what they originally were as well. SAAB would become a double of another brand yet again, but it’s only because it shares the same mission the other brand has, plus the fact this brand is not a GM owned make would make this a non-issue as SAAB would in effect become General Motors’ Volkswagen fighter. Oh and Buick used to be a trendsetter and one of the major innovators of the auto industry, which is why I think they should be rocketed to the top of GM rather than left to stagnate to probably eventually go the way of Oldsmobile (no Oldsmobile/rocket pun intended).

Of course, while they would/should add some smaller cars to the lineup, that doesn’t mean that they should completely give up what they once were. The Regal could make a triumphant return after a short hiatus and why not bring the Royaum (however, for the love of god, rename it Royaume so that GM doesn’t get bashed for being illiterate). Yes the Regal, which still exists in China as an updated version of what we North Americans used to have as well, could make a return over here temporarily until they’d finally be able to develop a brand-new lineup that would make Harley Earl and/or David Dunbar Buick proud.




Though it is merely an updated version of the same old W-Body based Regal we had up until 2005, this version is quite nice and a good improvement over the last generation we have seen in the US and Canada.

The exterior refresh has given it a nice elegant look that is quite reminiscent of the last years of Oldsmobile, the one that many consider to be one of the most elegant designs ever to be seen to have originated from GM: the Intrigue. This look is not only a bit of an improvement and a modernized version of classic Regal mixed with some of GM’s finest.

The vas improvements are not limited to exterior styling however. They’ve also greatly refined the styling of the interior where you will find many luxury features lacking in the last generation Century and Regal.



A few such additions to the lineup in combination to what we’ve received over here (Allure/Lacrosse, Lucerne, Terraza) would form an acceptable lineup for now which could last a few years as they would then get the ball rolling and pace themselves for the pulling off of a comeback of biblical proportions. One like nothing we’ve ever seen before that’ll actually make people think that the Chrysler comeback or even the Nissan comeback was quite a joke. Not only that they should introduce some new and more interesting models to give the lineup at least a little bit more spice (and not so much Old Spice) for now while working with what they already have at their disposal. Of course, this interim lineup which in theory consists of: Excelle, HRV, Regal, Allure/Lacrosse, Lucerne, Royaum, Rendezvous, Rainer and GL8, would only be to make the brand relevant and give it a little shot in the arm to keep it going until the rebirth of the brand could happen one fine day a few years from now.

Not only would a few not so traditional American land-yacht models be introduced, another part of this would be to distance themselves from the GM “corporate” look and feel which is often (and sometimes with good reason) associated with cheap and mediocre. This would mean getting rid of the one corporate radio shared throughout most of GM’s many lineups from modest little Chevrolets to their top of the line Cadillacs. And not having an interior shared almost in its entirety with a few other vehicles such as the Lucerne/Impala/DTS. Would this cost more? Most likely yes! The only problem is that I can’t see how GM can go on without doing such things. Their penny pinching and badge engineering is what got them here in the first place and what ruined the once very proud Buick name as well, sticking to their old ways definitely won’t fix anything, albeit old habits die hard.

If they truly wish to save the brand, they will need to invest some money into it no matter how tight their budgets may be at the moment because without significant improvements and changes happening soon, the brand may not make it long enough to be around for when they’re in a position to actually give the brand it’s massive revitalization that it so desperately needs.

Dreaming Up

Pardon the using of their slogan to form some kind of lame subtitle here, but it is what best fits what I’m doing in this section. So you claim that what we’ve been dreaming of is what you’ve been “dreaming up” do you? Well, I’m going to take you up on that and tell you just what I’ve personally been “dreaming of” for Buick.

The days of Buick being the quintessential American cars need not to come to an end, but I believe that it is time for the American car to evolve much like the Japanese, Korean, German and Scandinavian car have. With the ever changing market and certain trends going on of everyone focusing on technology more than anything, the market trends of everyone moving towards smaller more efficient cars and gas prices creeping ever higher with every passing second, I believe that brands such as Buick are in grave danger of going the way of the dinosaur if they refuse to give up some of their traditional ways. As much as I hate to say this, the days of the colossal luxo-cruiser seem to be quickly coming to an end.

No, I’m not saying that the brand should give up its traditional classic American luxury ways or anything, but rather that it may be time for them to adapt to the times that have changed, whether you like it or not. They could keep offering a traditional “land-yacht” or two, but they should mix that in with smaller and sportier models as well. Keep in mind that they weren’t always all about building cars for gramps and well, frankly they should stop doing that before they end-up joining Oldsmobile.

So, what would I do exactly? I thought you’d never ask! You may or may not agree with me, and that’s perfectly fine, but here is what I think they should do, after putting quite a lot of thought into it.

First of all, image is everything and to change a person’s perception about a brand, you need to make big changes and make them pretty sudden. A perfect example of this would once again be the Chrysler comeback of the mid 90s or the Nissan comeback of the later 90s. You don’t introduce one model at a time to slowly revamp the lineup over the course of something like 5 years, you secretly reinvent the brand in the background all the while building up the public’s interest and building up hype (not too long before the actual launch… or re-launch if you will) which should make the new brand image hit the people even harder and if you’ve done it right, bring you much more success. Also, unlike what GM has a habit of doing, you do not show the actual product in full detail or give all info away right away, you keep them wondering for a little while (a la “the NEW Chrysler” or Caddy’s “BREAK THROUGH” ads), keep them curious and interested. Then, when you’re ready and the time is right, you give them a nice little shock.

How can you do such a thing with Buick, the classic American car? Well, the best of probably doing this would be to go back to their roots. No, I’m not talking about going retro, the whole retro thing is a fad that will most likely go absolutely nowhere, I’m talking about going back to what the brand traditionally stood for and not this “classic American luxury” that they’ve been all about since sometime in the 90s or something. Times have changed and the market definitely isn’t quite what it was at that time and if you wish to survive, you need to adapt to these kinds of things. Am I saying they need to turn into nothing more than mere “me too” vehicles with an American flavor? No. I’m saying that they need to take what people want now and give it a nice little interesting twist, much like Buick had always been known to do.

For example, want a midsized sport sedan to compete with the likes of the Acura TL, Cadillac CTS, Chrysler 300, etc? Well, I present to you the return of the Electra. Give it a 5 speed automatic along with some kind of 5 or 6 speed manumatic and power it with a 2.8 VVT with a turbo option, maybe throw in a 3.2 VVT for the top trim and/or as an option for those who still want larger engines. While trying to make them the workhorses they’re known for being, sacrifice a little bit of that to give it a bit more go than your traditional Buick and all the while load it full of luxury items. With a decent price and packaged into something like this…



I think they’d have a winner on their hands. Why not base this on the Velite and release the Velite as a coupe version of this?

Some may argue that the Allure/Lacrosse already fills in that spot on the lineup but, I believe that the Allure/Lacrosse is merely a next generation Century even though they have made quite a few significant improvements and updates to it. It’s meant to go after the Lexus and Toyota Avalons of the world, not the Acuras and Infinitis. I’m aware that the brand’s mission at the moment is exactly that, to go after Lexus, pretty much one on one, but with Cadillac going up market to battle it out with the BMW’s and Mercedes’ it leaves a nice little blank whew someone should step up to go against the luxury-sport segment. Who better to fill in that void (with Oldsmobile being long gone) than Buick? And if you dare say Saturn, I’m smacking you on the back of the head!




Of course, another thing they could really use is to get some kind of performance car of some kind, no I’m not talking halo car, not yet… I’m thinking of something along the lines of what the Riviera once was or maybe more along the lines of the current GTO at Pontiac. They could maybe build something similar to what’s pictured above possibly under the name of Invicta and make both a coupe and sedan version, slot this right above where the “Electra” would be and make it something along the lines of the luxury Grand-Prix. Do NOT do a rebadge job however and actually keep them well differentiated, actually, keep them unrelated in any way other than for the general idea behind the model.

Rather than the same old Hydramatic 4 speeds as well as the 3800 or 3900 and a V8 why not offer it with a 3.2 or 3.6 in the sedan and a choice between a naturally aspirated and a turbo version of the 3.6 in the coupe. Make the Electra and Invicta give of Buick’s Grand-Am & Grand-Prix type duo (or to a lesser extent Century and Regal) but be careful not to do it so much where it just becomes Invicta and Invicta Jr. Keep both RWD with the possibility of an AWD option if they can make it work with any platform.

Wouldn’t this just be redundant then? No, Pontiac seems to be quite content with producing “performance” versions of Chevrolets and such. I’m sorry to any Pontiac or Chevy fans, which most likely will not agree with me, but if anything is redundant here, it’s Pontiac and Chevy. Given the fact that Chevy sells something like 4x more vehicles per year than Pontiac per year (in recent years) and guess who should get struck with ye olde GM bean counter axe. Either that or stop trying to move Pontiac up as well and keep it down to it’s original mission of cheap performance.

Lutz was right, no brand should have to go, but the solution should be to carefully rethink the position of each brand and then modify them accordingly and not to combine and shrink three of them into one (Pontiac-Buick-GMC) which then leaves us with a GM that will mainly consist of Chevy and Cadillac along with a second attempt at the perpetual failure that Saturn seems to be.

Next up, the brand will desperately need a flagship once again, since with the Park-Avenue gone, this leaves the Lucerne, which apparently replaces the LeSabre as their flagship. If this were Chevy or Pontiac, there’d be no problem with this as the Lucerne (or the LeSabre it replaces for that matter) really isn’t that bad of a car and is even actually quite nice. The problem however is that it’s not quite enough to be the flagship of a supposed premium brand, at least, it’s not up to the task in my opinion.

So, what do I believe they should do about this? Well, it’s quite simple really. The flagship needs to represent the brand as a whole and needs contain not only some of what the brand is now but much of what the brand has always been, at least that’s what it should be in my opinion. That particular model is not only a car but the brand’s 2nd symbol, next to the logo. You should be able to remove any badges or logos from it, show it to people and have them say: “Wow! Now that is a (insert name of brand here).” or even get them to say: “Wow! Now that is a great (brand name goes here)”. To accomplish this, they need to give us something that’s traditional Buick, but with a modern twist. It would need to be stylish, big, comfortable, built to last, and would have to make the loyal Buick lovers reminisce about past road trips, family vacations, leisurely cruising around town, etc all in a good old Buick whilst trying to have some kind of alluring effect on the younger crowds as well.




This is where something like this would come in. I give you the return of the Roadmaster, as a severely updated Park-Avenue. Don’t worry; this is not a simple refresh and a changing of the name, this is a complete overhaul to the point where the only thing in common is the profile. In it we drop a brand-new 3.8 VVT with of course the option of an Ultra V8 (think equivalent of Cadillac’s Northstars), each would be mated to a 5 speed automatic and it would get the best of everything GM has in their luxury car arsenal as there will be no holding back, no intervention of the bean counters, no protection of Cadillac nonsense. The interior would be something we’ve never seen in a GM ever before and for once they’d either go for real wood or ditch that almost typical design trait altogether. This RWD beauty is built on the newly developed Zeta platform and (by popular demand) has AWD available as an option, and contrary to GM’s usual ways, it actually has every little feature that all comparable cars have at the time; they’ve even finally managed to innovate a little and introduce a few industry firsts of their own.

Of course, that covers most bases and would do the trick in attracting new and younger buyers along with hopefully keeping the older loyal customer crowd happy as well. However, no lineup, if one wants to have a true brand with a full line, without the halo car. Yes, the halo cars, the perfect example of splurging, excess in excelsis, but somehow a necessity to boost an ailing marques image. Cadillac has the XLR, Pontiac has the GTO, Chevy has the Corvette, and Buick had the Grand-National, but since the late 80s, they have no such car. It would be time or them to receive a halo car f their own once again and something that would fit the brand, or I should say, fit a premium brand. So, I present you with the release of the Velite.



This twin-turbo V6 powered rocket would do a great job at attracting tons of people to the brand with its good looks as well as the awesome power and handling. No my friends, this is not the Solstice/Sky’s lost triplet brother; it’s a whole different beast that’s come to play with other premium roadsters rather than compete with the Miata. With the final piece of the puzzle in place, I believe they would have a lineup that would permit them to go on for another 100 years, at least (assuming they keep updating it…).

One final piece of the puzzle remains however. If you wish to completely change the image of a brand, you must not only change the products but it’s also a good idea to change logos and such as well. In Buick’s case, I’d say the tri-shield definitely needs to go seeing how they’ve only had the tri-shield about as long as they’ve been into the whole “old people’s car” business. What would I do then? Well, I’d once again take a look at their heritage and then give it a modern twist.

Take the 1950s Buick shield, for example. You could take this old logo which consisted simply of the Buik (note spelling) family crest and counted only one shield and not three.

Take this old crest and give it a modern twist a la Cadillac’s new logo and you may come up with something like the one I’ve designed (with the help of a fellow GMI member).

Such a change in logos would complete the change of image of the brand and there would then be nothing left to tie them to their not so great recent past. Of course, GM would need to remember to still make it quite clear that these new cars are in fact Buicks and not leave them unidentified such as they had done with the final generation of Oldsmobiles. They’d also need to make sure that the advertising campaign also focuses on the new image and does not tie it in with the brand’s damaged old image or not so great recent past.



A new hope…

With all pieces in place, I’m quite confident that the brand could easily turn itself around and become very profitable once again. It’s been done quite a few times before. It’s possible and given the time and effort necessary GM could rebuild Buick to the status it had in its heyday.

Sure, they can’t go back to exactly what they were in these days, because things change and if you don’t adapt, you will fail. This is exactly what their problem was in the first place, so they definitely need to change. However, they can return to a true premium brand status and to being the quintessential American car. Hurry up GM, wake up and realize that you have this priceless jewel you have right under your nose that you keep neglecting. Hurry up GM, before it’s too late.

You’ve claimed that what we’ve been dreaming of, you’ve been dreaming up; this is what I’ve been dreaming of, now the ball is in your court.

[63cat]

These cars look amazing! Especially the Velite sedan.

[Hoosier Red]

Wow! Some great stuff in there. Some of those cars are amazing......I'll have to be honest, I really wish they would have done more with the Lucerne. That front end is so bland. There were some great ideas here.

[CRBoyd91]

I think this was a very well thought out plan. It seems like it ccould very easily work, as well.

[goatgary]

Great body of work! One of the best pieces I've ever seen done on the potential of a brand. These are cars I would buy in a heartbeat. Kudos!!!

[jry]

all sharpies. a must read post! now, learn to post your stories in such a format that it will fit on the screen.

[griswold44]

Buick can survive in China, but I think it's too late for the U.S. The stigma of grandpa cars has tainted the brand.

[ElmerMCR]

Something about the front of that Regal reminds me of the Azera.

[Quickening]

Is it possible, that the Lucerne and Lacrosse are vehicles to hold the crowd over till the real reinvention of Buick occurs? Honestly, I would of never ever looked at Buick or even told my grandma to buy a Buick if the LaCrosse and Lucerne hadn't come around. Maybe the Enclave will have a Velite influence and will truly start the new Buick.

[Ming]

Good to see your passion for the Buick brand DenCo! I enjoyed the read.

Clearly the best comparison of Buick China vs. Buick USA, and both debuted/were designed around the same time, if I'm not mistaken, and are based on the same basic minivan platform:

GL8


Note the projector headlamps, bluish white (HID?) lighting, sleek exterior, clean grille. Downside is the interior didn't change as much from the last-gen minivans (think Silhouette with Navigation).

Terraza


Note the bulbous nose, yellowish old-school lighting, gaping black plastic grille that puts the old Taurus "big mouth bass" grille to shame. Upside is the interior is quite nice looking.

As long as Buick USA keeps pumping out...ah..."unique" styling such as this, the brand is doomed. Thankfully the Lucerne is better than this and the Lacrosse, and the exteriors of the Rendezvous and Rainier are good.

Take a page from the successful Chinese Buick image and GO upscale, don't pretend it with excessive chrome and ungainly styling.

[dindak]

The Lucerne is the best Buick sedan I have seen since the Reatta but seeing these drawings it's clear GM can do better.

[joseprima]

That last pic of the buick sedan looks fantastic! It looks kinda like an s-class but meaner.

btw I'm only 20 and would love to drive a Buick that looks like that!

[ATPeele]

Those are beautiful cars, I liked the last one in particular. I think if the target is Lexus, the car in the last photo would be adequate ammunition.

[genjy]

Originally Posted by ATPeele

Those are beautiful cars, I liked the last one in particular. I think if the target is Lexus, the car in the last photo would be adequate ammunition.

That's because it's a Mercedes CLS500/AMG CLS55 with a Buick badge. LOL.



You don't have to dream, because that car actually exists.

[asim]

Wow, I like EVERYTHING you said and GM needs to start on this plan now. But having GM to get the money and resources to commit to this will be very hard...