How to make Buick a luxury brand.

[Astra RL]

Buick has long suffered product neglect until the Enclave. With 14 year old 1996 Centurys and 8 year old Park Avenues. Their place right below Cadillac suffered. With cloth bench seats and and four speed column shifted automatics the Lacrosse and Lucerne were supposed to fix that. They did not. What does Buick need to compete in the luxury segment without stepping on the toes of Saab and Cadillac?

[Hitman1970]

Originally Posted by Astra RL

Buick has long suffered product neglect until the Enclave. With 14 year old 1996 Centurys and 8 year old Park Avenues. Their place right below Cadillac suffered. With cloth bench seats and and four speed column shifted automatics the Lacrosse and Lucerne were supposed to fix that. They did not What does Buick need to compete in the luxury segment without stepping on the toes of Saab and Cadillac.

I am thinking you missed a period after "They did not" and need a question mark on that last sentence.

I think Buick is headed in the right direction with the next generation midsize. The redesign of the Lucerne will be more telling as to how serious a "luxury" brand they want buick to be. I am still hoping for a RWD Zeta luxury car with a Buick badge on it for my next vehicle.

Others have mentioned a convertible like the Velite concept to round out the line up.

Eventually, a Rivieria coupe would be a great Halo vehicle for the nameplate.

That would be three volume cars and two low-volume niche vehicles. That would be enough, if done right in my book.

Also, marketing outside of the PGA would be nice too.

[PA Dweller]

Originally Posted by Hitman1970

Other have mentioned a convertible like the Velite concept to round out the line up.

The biggest mistake Buick/GM made was not to make this car. It is a beautiful car and would of brought young people to the brand. Its heartbreaking.

[mgescuro]

Originally Posted by Astra RL

What does Buick need to compete in the luxury segment without stepping on the toes of Saab and Cadillac?

Buick has long since gone past the point of no return in the US.
1 CUV does not resurrect a brand.
Buick has no market pull. It has no positive image. It's products are sub par and old.

There is nothing in the Buick lineup that can't be blended into the Cadillac lineup.

If Buick survives, it will be in the Asia-Pacific market.
Buick is dead in the US.

GM doesn't want to bring in the Park Avenue.
GM wants an Invicta? To do what? Attract what kind of customer?
How about a Riviera?

All talk. Money wasted on Buick is better spent on rectifying Cadillac.

[Astra RL]

Originally Posted by mgescuro

Buick has long since gone past the point of no return in the US.
1 CUV does not resurrect a brand.
Buick has no market pull. It has no positive image. It's products are sub par and old.

There is nothing in the Buick lineup that can't be blended into the Cadillac lineup.

If Buick survives, it will be in the Asia-Pacific market.
Buick is dead in the US.

GM doesn't want to bring in the Park Avenue.
GM wants an Invicta? To do what? Attract what kind of customer?
How about a Riviera?

All talk. Money wasted on Buick is better spent on rectifying Cadillac.

It kind of has to survive here or it will not be an american brand. Being american is valued in china but not here and that is just sad. If they did not want the Invicta, it would still be a W-body. And the fact that the current Lacrosse will only be on the market for four years shows that they are at least trying to make a revival. What market did Lexus have to pull when they made the most successful luxury brand in the US. Yes I know it is the ES and RX that carry the brand. However Lexus' buyers are aging and they are not capturing the younger market. This all opens places for Buick If they have a superior product to the ES 350 then buyers that nebver would have given the Lacrosse a look will migrate to Buick.

[steverino]

raise prices by $50K. Try the more expensive it is the better it must be ploy

[Rocket 88]

Originally Posted by mgescuro

Buick has long since gone past the point of no return in the US.
1 CUV does not resurrect a brand.
Buick has no market pull. It has no positive image. It's products are sub par and old.

There is nothing in the Buick lineup that can't be blended into the Cadillac lineup.

If Buick survives, it will be in the Asia-Pacific market.
Buick is dead in the US.

All talk. Money wasted on Buick is better spent on rectifying Cadillac.

Very true. Unless something radical is going to be tried I don't see what future she has in North America. Personally, I see nothing horrible about Buick being a Chinese or Asian brand only.

That said, the response to the enclave does show that lots of folks will buy Buicks if they have good products. This really comes down to what GM decides to do with the brand. And dealing with too many brands is always GM's problem. Or at least one of them.

[mgescuro]

Originally Posted by Astra RL

It kind of has to survive here or it will not be an american brand. Being american is valued in china but not here and that is just sad. If they did not want the Invicta, it would still be a W-body. And the fact that the current Lacrosse will only be on the market for four years shows that they are at least trying to make a revival. What market did Lexus have to pull when they made the most successful luxury brand in the US. Yes I know it is the ES and RX that carry the brand. However Lexus' buyers are aging and they are not capturing the younger market. This all opens places for Buick If they have a superior product to the ES 350 then buyers that nebver would have given the Lacrosse a look will migrate to Buick.

I can go either way. Buick can still be an "American Brand." it doesn't have to be sold in America to retain that heritage. It doesn't even need to be owned by Americans. So as far as GM's argument in that sense, I think it's simply rhetoric.

If GM cared, they wouldn't have spent senseless dollars on creating a nonsensical "Super" level on its cars.

Yes. Lexus is capturing the elderly market. Fine and dandy. So how does that leave an opportunity for Buick? Do you honestly think people are going to give up the Lexus customer experience and go to Buick? Where customer service is spotty? Where it's not a luxury experience? I mean, your Invicta will probably be sold next to a G5 or a Canyon.
Right now, that's all pie in the sky, and it will be the ultimate drawback at GM. Gm's dealership consolidation, while making financial sense on paper, trashes the customer experience and overall image of the speicfic brand and car you're buying. It is especially hurtful for high end cars like Cadillac.

Ultimately, GM needs to make some hard choices. And Buick is definitely on the bubble.

[wildgoosechase]

I can revive Buick in 3 letters, GNX. Buick needs to attract the attention of a younger audience, even if they can't afford it yet. The GNX will have the same halo effect that the WRX has.

[FenwickHockey65]

Buick needs to get away from the "old-person car" image and attract younger buyers. I'm seriously the only person at my school who would drive a Lucerne. In addition, they need to figure out what "entry-level luxury" truly means, a few nice touches here and there, but nothing like the CTS's interior. I think the interior we saw on the 2010 LaCrosse was perfect, it was kinda luxurious, but not overdone and it didn't step on Cadillac's turf.

[Aprime]

Originally Posted by mgescuro

Buick has long since gone past the point of no return in the US.
1 CUV does not resurrect a brand.
Buick has no market pull. It has no positive image. It's products are sub par and old.

Do you even do market research before pulling stuff like that off?

One CUV might not resurrect a brand, but a class-leading CUV can give hope in the brand's resurrection, and that's what they did with the Enclave. Now, all we have to do is wait for the next bunch of Buicks to come along to fight the Lexus, Infiniti and Acura of this world and out of it.

It may not happen overnight, but I have faith it will. Changing a brand's image takes roughly 5 years provided you're coherent (read: Saturn's a bad example of this).

[mgescuro]

Originally Posted by Aprime

Do you even do market research before pulling stuff like that off?

One CUV might not resurrect a brand, but a class-leading CUV can give hope in the brand's resurrection, and that's what they did with the Enclave. Now, all we have to do is wait for the next bunch of Buicks to come along to fight the Lexus, Infiniti and Acura of this world and out of it.

It may not happen overnight, but I have faith it will. Changing a brand's image takes roughly 5 years provided you're coherent (read: Saturn's a bad example of this).

How do you expect Buick to match Lexus, if it's being sold next to cheapo Vibes and G5's and big ass Yukon XL's?

You go into a Lexus dealership, you get world class Lexus premium service. You're treated like a customer of luxury goods. Lexus dealerships and cars look like purveyors of luxury items.

A typical Buick dealership looks like a GM dealership from 1983.

Enclave will not resurrect the Buick brand. Invicta and Park Avenue will not do it.

Until Buick has an opportunity to stand alone, will it ever get the recognition as a luxury brand. But guess what... that's never going to happen. Not in the US. And in the US, Cadillac needs to really spread its wings, as it's already a half-assed 2nd tier luxury brand and declining rapidly.

5 years to turn around an image? Sorry buddy. Cadillac is on 8 years and running. And it's getting worse. And GM doesn't have $6B to funnel to Buick.

GM should have given Buick Park Avenue at the behest of Buick dealerships. GM should not have created the "Super" lineup. And Buick should not have been combined with Pontiac and GMC.

You think Buick will ever get this car?



No. Because GM doesn't believe people would pay $50,000 for a Buick.
Well, if that's the attitude GM takes, then Buick is already sunk.

We can point to whatever reasons may be out there, but the fundamental problem lies at GM's indecision to get off its ass and get correct Buick's problems. That's why Buick needs to die in the US.

[Sal Collaziano]

That's such an easy question to answer. Since Cadillac doesn't make soft-riding vehicles anymore (like the Lexus LS), that's the first step. Next, since Cadillac is going toward more performance - their vehicles aren't as quiet anymore. There's your second step. Be as quiet as a Lexus LS. Remember, Lexus is what the old Cadillac used to be...

Next, make the interiors extremely luxurious and "warm" - not German "cold" like BMW. Lots of wood (it's about luxury) - REAL wood - and extremely soft, plush leather seats.. Plenty of leg room - smooth, refined and quiet engines - and there you go.

Of course, nice designs - which Buick is definitely stepping up with right now...

Done.

Originally Posted by Astra RL

Buick has long suffered product neglect until the Enclave. With 14 year old 1996 Centurys and 8 year old Park Avenues. Their place right below Cadillac suffered. With cloth bench seats and and four speed column shifted automatics the Lacrosse and Lucerne were supposed to fix that. They did not. What does Buick need to compete in the luxury segment without stepping on the toes of Saab and Cadillac?

[emh]

Originally Posted by Astra RL

What does Buick need to compete in the luxury segment without stepping on the toes of Saab and Cadillac?

Nothing, really. Since Cadillac is becoming increasingly uncompetitive itself (with the lone exception of the CTS -- and even then, only in the entry-luxury segment), how do you expect anything below that to be a competitive luxury brand?

[Sal Collaziano]

Buick does NOT need a new GNX. While I would completely FREAKIN' LOVE a new GNX - this is just not the time. Or, these are just not the times.. Buick doesn't need to be a performance division. We already have a luxury performance division (Cadillac), we have a (what's supposed to be) "performance" division (Pontiac) - and a division with performance products (Chevy - Corvette, Camaro, etc).

So why does Buick need a GNX? Now? They don't.. They need to fill in a the pure "luxury" division that GM is entirely missing out on right now. Who gives a flying "F" if Buick is only being sold to old people?! Lexus is making an awfully good living doing it since Cadillac stopped. Buick needs to take back some of those customers.

The only thing that will be missing from Buick is the luxury "experience" - which I'm sure they can at least work on. The dealerships can be enhanced and the feeling, in general, improved upon. Technology-wise, I'd like to think "we" can produce our own Lexus. Isn't that was Buick is supposed to be? The Domestic Lexus? That's a rhetorical question...