Thought about Buick

[63cat]

You have to wonder what would have happened if GM invested in Buick instead of Saturn. People wowed by the Enclave walk into a Buick showroom and see very little. Not everyone wants a big 7 seater. Lucerne and LaCrosse are names they have never heard of. Where are the glorious Electras, Rivieras, and the LeSabre?

Buick is GM's highest rated brand, tying Lexus in the JD Power quality, and you only give them three models? That is bad management. Buick sales are growing globally (China) and you don't expand? Bad management.

My wife and I are 30somethings and people drool over our Enclave. "Does Buick have a smaller one?" we get asked. What else do they make? My parents had a cool Electra when I was growing up.

Dropping LeSabre was stupid. It had a stellar reputation. Got great mileage. Best selling full sized car in America. Consumer Reports Best Buy year after year.

As for the older buyers...that is not always a bad thing. Look at the Camry. It is the new senior citizens car, the buyers climbing in age every year.

I bet if the Saturn Vue was a mini Enclave it would be everywhere. Ditto if the Sky was a Buick Bengal...a car for Tiger Woods.

The Lucerne and LaCrosse are very good cars. Reliable, but I can't help think better names would have beefed up sales.

They have the dealers, so give them the product. Don't load all the product into Saturn which doesn't have the dealers.

[philr]

I just don't understand how GM so badly managed Buick over the last two decades.
Buick is the base of General Motors, it's the brand from which General Motors originated. GM should let it's brands have independant management like they used to. Let them compete with each other instead of forcing them to "fit" in niches they don't belong to.
For decades, GM has tried to forge a wrong image for Buick. It succeded quite well judging by the current sales.
Many younger people who bought new Buicks in the sixties and seventies wouldn't consider buying a new one now that they are older...

My aunt who was born in 1958 got herself a 1976 Skylark when she was a teenager. My father also had a new 1976 Buick Century when he was 27 years old. My best friend's father also had a new 1976 Buick Century when he was 25.
None of them would consider buying a new Buick (or a new GM product) now!

[F14CRAZY]

Saturn is a waste and has proven to be so. Buick deserves to be turned around

[wildgoosechase]

I'm convinced GM has big plans for Buick. As the average profit drops as we shift to small cars GM will have to depend the higher margins from its premium brands. It was mentioned earlier about shifting Sky production to a Buick Bengal. Imagine if Pontiac did get the axe then the Solstace could shift to Buick........

[TaHoE]

Buick could be the American version of Alfa Romeo. Sexy design, stunning interiors, with a nice wallop of luxury.

[2648562]

Originally Posted by wildgoosechase

I'm convinced GM has big plans for Buick. As the average profit drops as we shift to small cars GM will have to depend the higher margins from its premium brands. It was mentioned earlier about shifting Sky production to a Buick Bengal. Imagine if Pontiac did get the axe then the Solstace could shift to Buick........

It's funny you mentioned the Solstice, I was just thinking/imagining a Buick Grand National built off of Kappa. Sort of like a 1960's British roadster, lots of chrome, a really rich interior, but with loads of power--something "sophisticated" that could appeal to all generations and still be within reach of most shoppers.

[Sal Collaziano]

If Pontiac goes away, let Chevy build the performance cars. Buick needs to fill in the hole left by Cadillac. Buick needs to be the American Lexus - or in other words, the traditional Cadillac.

Old people need cars too. What do you think? They're going away? Not any time soon. People are living longer and longer. There are more people BECOMING old than are dying of old age. It makes no sense at all to have no brand that doesn't cater to older people. In fact, it's F'ing stupid.

So castrate Saturn and put the money into a truly luxurious brand (since one doesn't exist at GM any longer). Buick. "Traditional Luxury... The Way It Should Be."

[schmallz]

GM could have brought Buick back into the mainstream very easily but money was spent elsewhere.

Delta Compact Excelle
Epsilon Mid Sized Invicta
Full Size FWD Flagship

Cielo(baby enclave)
Enclave
Zeta Velite like 2+2 halo car.

Buick is relavent again.

These new cars need to be the perfect follow up for the Enclave and Invicta. No excuses and the Excelle can't be the typical GM Cobalt/G5 badge job. Something eally truly different and worth it.

[Astra RL]

If Pontiac goes this frees up space for Buick to expand. Hopefully GMC does go commercial and Buick gets a chance to survive.

[megeebee]

Originally Posted by F14CRAZY

Saturn is a waste and has proven to be so.

Proven? By who?

Saturn Sales of the last few years:
(Source: Automotive News Data Center)

2004: 212,017

2005: 213,657

2006: 226,375

2007: 240,091

[babybluebass03]

I sell both Cadillac and Buick and to be honest, I enjoy the Buick line more especially for overall value. I'm not exactly green when it comes to GM and know my product lines and company lineage very well and I still don't understand why GM only gives Buick three models if they ever plan on allowing them to strive. They need to rush their new models to the showrooms to boost excitement and revive the overall interest in the company. As of right now, without Pontiac and GMC at its side Buick would die but that's no fault to the vehicles themselves. GM needs to rethink their management of the division and figure out whether they intend to carry on one of the best divisions they have or just let it die respectfully without dragging it out to the point where it becomes just another "blue hair" car company destined for nothing more than a punchline at the end of jokes to come.

[Sal Collaziano]

Buick would do fine selling vehicles ONLY to people that would normally buy Lexus'.

[FenwickHockey65]

Like someone on here has said before, Buick should be the "comfortable luxury" brand of GM, while Cadillac becomes the "performance luxury" brand. The next-gen LaCrosse looks like it'll work pretty well.

[CobaltSScrazy]

Saturn appeals to non-domestic customers, that is where the market has been going for years if not decades, that strategic decision to invest in Saturn as opposed to Buick was the 'right' choice when overhauling decision was made. Looking back on that, it was stupid, we could have the Chevy Astra, a Pontiac Aura, a Chevy Sting Ray, a Buick Vue and life would be better. But many THOUGHT Saturn sales would take off with this American VW lineup of pseudo American-German engineering coupled with a "Different Kind of Car Company" mentality...unfortunately, its very SLOWLY gaining traction as opposed to the rapid increase in sales I THINK GM was expecting.

CobaltSS

[Sal Collaziano]

Originally Posted by FenwickHockey65

Like someone on here has said before, Buick should be the "comfortable luxury" brand of GM, while Cadillac becomes the "performance luxury" brand. The next-gen LaCrosse looks like it'll work pretty well.

Cadillac has already gone "performance" and has taken a good bit of comfort out of the big picture. So Buick should be filling that spot right now. Buick should be traditional Cadillac luxury...