GMI's Revitalization in Action | The Dream Buick Lineup

[FBODYRULES]

Originally Posted by jcurry05

Dude, I'm glad your not in charge. it is unfortune that many of the leaders of GM share your view. Why do you think it is bad for GM to have alot of a good thing. the focus is taking sales away from the japanese you know. Just because Cadillac has similar models does not mean people willstop buying Caddies and go buick it is very possible that they will stop buying Acuras, Infinitis, and Lexus. Your are thinking just like the GM brass and in case you haven't notices they are not exactly the best at what they do. In fact they suck. It is far to say that they are some of the most incompitent people in the business. I love GM and hope they doo alot better and send that foreign crap back over both ponds. But that will never happen with your kind of thinking. GM has to be aggressive and the brass is being a real disappointment. Granted the Camaro and others are hot fresh models but they are not going to retake the market. GM used to own the place and now they are struggling to survive and I can't stand it. They need some new ideas and fresher thinking. Too many old farts incapable of change I think. Come on GM start trying again and reclaim your turf.

I can't stand it either to see GM have hard times, and I think the enclave and the Camaro are the first steps toward a bold new well-to-do GM...keep it coming!

PS-alot of these chops are bassed on actual buick models such as the Enclave,
so really these ARE the types of products will see in the future.

[ChevroletRevived]

Originally Posted by mgescuro

...and you know why too...

That aside, this Buick lineup is aggressive and substantial. They look sophisticated and stylish. Exactly what Buick needs to compete with Chrysler and high end Toyota and Hyundai and Lincoln.

The issue here is that the entire lineup is way overpriced. You've got cars that severely encroach into Cadillac's territory. 425HP Northstar ( ) in a $60K car. The only car appropriately priced is Lacrosse... that is assuming you're moving it UP in rank.. to where Lucerne is now. Otherwise... it's $6,000 overpriced.

What you seem to be doing here is creating a sophisticated luxury car to compete with Lexus. Well, sorry, that REEKS of GM "revitalizing" a brand because it's their brand. I'm of the mindset that Cadillac can run the entire gamut of luxury cars. Essentially, you can take a few of these cars and turn them into Cadillacs.

Target Chrysler. Cap the top end Buick at $45-50,000. And you have a decent lineup. No need for 2 coupes.
Lineup should be:
-- LaCrosse -- $25-33,000
-- Lucerne (Wildcat) -- $32-40K
-- Riviera (Coupe) -- $35-45K
-- Roadmaster -- $40-50K
-- Enclave -- $28-40K

No more. No less.
Buick should also consider entering the Livery business with said Roadmaster or Lucerne. This would challenge Chrysler's foray into this market. It would also allow Cadillac to do other things with their lineup.

That's exactly it...the LaCrosse WOULD be moving up..

[2648562]

They're all nice and each have the potential to attract new buyers to Buick. But guess what? None of those cars are going to appeal to today's Buick buyer. NONE.

Before you design any more Buicks that will never see the light of day (like the Velite) you need to think a little bit about your typical Buick buyer (and I mean beyond age). Your typical Buick buyer is above all else value conscious! They're affluent, but they're not the type that's going to spend four bucks on a cup of coffee or $500 on a new purse (your Buick buyer isn't some loud mouth Mark Cuban type... he's your Sam Walton, work his butt off most of his life/neighbors didn't know he had money and he would rather they think he didn't kind of guy) . That's not to say Buick buyers don't want quality (this they appreciate as well), they just don't need to announce their success or arrival the way a Cadillac or BMW owner does. Are they into flash (bling on a small scale)? Well, yes they appreciate design. But they're not buying Buicks to be seen (they want comfort and practicality more so). And they're certainly not into blue tooth or complicated and unnecessary gizmos (less is more is kind of true, but only up to a point). Practicality is king. No two seat Buick is going to sell worth a darn (I don't care how fast or powerful it is). No convertible is going to sell worth a darn. You might find a salesmen who could sell a buyer a 32 valve V8 powered Lucerne, but put that engine in a Charger-like RWD performance sedan and it ain't gonna happen! Buick buyers want safety and security--if you can't do AWD just stick to FWD. There. I'm tired now. But I'll say it all again (or try and say it a little clearer): 1. Value (where have we heard that one before) 2. Safety and security 3. Style minus bling, but more importantly comfort 4. And finally dependability--no unproven or unnecessary anything. There are other factors, but I honestly feel those matter most.

There are exceptions to every rule. And there is a need to attract newer/younger buyers to Buick. But the products have to make perfect sense like the Enclave or Buick will do an Oldsmobile and vanish.

[LeSabre]

The main goal of GM is to regain marketshare over all other automakers. Probably especially the Japanese brands. I would think that if a buyer was seriously thinking of buying a Buick but ultimately bought a Saturn, Pontiac or any other GM brand of vehicle. That GM would look at it as good thing & not a loss. If a vehicle that may be close to overlapping another from another brand under its own corporate umbrella, then maybe the vehicle that is appearing to be overlapped upon needs to be differentiated more or even removed or replaced in the given brands line up.

[EvilCaprice]

First off, incredible job on the photoshopping, guys. I love the ideas, but of course I've gotta add my own comments.

Compact Sedan
Wildcat, stretch Kappa. I really want to see a SWB Kappa coupe for Pontiac (Firebird, perhaps), and to make the economics work Buick needs a sedan to sell beside it. I like your photoshop rendition, something like that sized to take on the Lexus IS, and the Wildcat name is perfect for this car. Use a direct injection Ecotec 2.4L (220hp) in the LS and a DI DOHC VVT 3.6L (330hp) in the GS, with an available six-speed manual in either. Priced in the thirties, they would sell big.

Mid-Size Sedan
Spot on with the LaCrosse.

Mid-Size Convertible
Velite, EpII. If the G6 convertible proves the technology, and the market seems up for it, a folding hard-top LaCrosse could be unveiled as the long-awaited Velite. Give it a sporty GS version with an available manual transmission.

Full-Size Sedan
Statesman, LWB Zeta. Your Roadmaster was pretty much spot on here, except I think the RM name is just to geriatric for the age group Buick needs to attract in greater numbers. Statesman would nicely, and being sold in many different markets (Australia, Mid-East, Asia, etc) could bring some continuity to GM's global presence. I'd like to seen an available smallblock (LS2 derived) in a sportier GS, but its viability is debatable. If the Statesman name is rejected, I'd use the Lucerne tag instead.

Full-Size Coupe
Riviera, LWB Zeta. I don't really see the need for a big coupe in the Buick lineup...Pontiac is supposed to have that covered with the GTO. If they must, go with the Riviera name and your "Wildcat Gran Sport" rear-end. Use the 3.6L and 4.6L engines in base and LS models, with a smallblock "Gran Sport" high performance model.

Crossover
Enclave, no doubt.

And that's it for Buick. As for the Y-body Wildcat GS, why would you use the same "Wildcat" name on two completely different cars? It would make a great concept car, and sure I'd like to see it, but Buick doesn't need to spend time and money on Halo cars that would be better spent improving their core vehicles (in my view, the Wildcat, LaCrosse, and Statesman). GMC takes care of the SUVs, trucks, and vans. Pontiac takes care of compacts, small coupes, big coupes, sports sedans, convertibles, etc. That's a full line.

[Zbad1]

Great work here! I'd love nothing more than for Buick to be sent through refinishing school just as Cadillac and Saturn have. I love Buick and would love to see some of these concepts come to life. I especially like the Wildcat Grandsport and its tribute to C2 Corvettes. Your Roadmaster and Roadmaster coupe would keep me up at night dreaming happy thoughts of comfort, style, reliability, and good prices.
Great job!

[iluvcamaros]

The chops are great. I really like the ideas. Though this Buick line-up is slightly too zoom-zoom and bling-bling compared to where they need to be. Buicks should be cars that make you do a double take rather than grabbing your attention immediately. But actually if you take a little of the "overstated/big rim/concept" look away from them they are very close to the perfect Buick line-up. Great Job

Originally Posted by jcurry05

Why do you think it is bad for GM to have alot of a good thing. The focus is taking sales away from the Japanese you know. Just because Cadillac has similar models does not mean people will stop buying Caddies and go Buick it is very possible that they will stop buying Acuras, Infinitis, and Lexus.

I think the point was that it would be stupid for GM to have two brands that target the same market (Sporty/Flashy Lux ->BMW/Merc). Then have no brands that truly compete in the Understated Style/Less Sporty Lux -> Lexus/Acura/Lincoln/and now even Hyundai. A company as large as GM has no excuse to not compete in any segment. GM's problem is that they have a lot of brands with a lot of overlap (Chevy/Pontiac/GMC). GM is working (although slowly) on giving Pontiac and GMC unique identities from Chevy. Intentionally creating overlap between two brands when they are working to reduce it between others would be insane. It is okay for Buicks to sell at a similar price as Cadillacs but only if their products are different. If a brand doesn't bring anything to the table the others don't it is gonna end up like Olds. It isn't 1955 any more, overlap was fine when GM had 50% of the NA marketshare but now it is fighting to keep what, half of that? GM needs to trim the fat (overlap) and build the muscle (brand identity) because the fight is only gonna get harder not easier.

[A Bum In A Bus]

These all have one distinctive thing in common, they all have that American look that is missing in todays cars. In the 1970's American automakers started trying to design in quality by making their cars look like foreign cars. Ford tried to make a cheap look-a-likes of mercedes with the granada and montclair. Remember the J cars General Motors built in the late seventies? They did well for a couple of years and then they died, they were missing one thing, quality. If the General had just added that one missing ingredient, "quality", they would have cleaned up on the Japanese.

If The General will revive the American school of design, bring back the 'Body by Fisher' moniker, give the American public, beautiful "quality" American cars, they will win the game. Everthing that comes from Japan looks alike, cookie cutter designed. American cars need to look American, let's beat them at our game not theirs. I think the Camarro as a halo car says one thing, American's want quality American cars with "GOOD OLD AMERICAN BEAUTY". No more pregnant roller skates, or shoeboxes on wheels with headlights.

Let's go General, there are millions of Americans like myself, waiting for you to get off the mat and slam Toyota against the wall.

[ByTheLake]

Interesting for sure. I have no doubts that this line-up would out-sell the current one. I also have no doubts that GM management would never have the guts to produce a line-up like that.

[kenman923]

Zeta would be a good way to reintroduce the Roadmaster name. Also, I would like to see the Wildcat on the Zeta. I think they should change the LaCrosse Name to Skylark on the Epsilon II model, in order to reflect Buick's Heritage. I like the Gran Sport name on the Corvette platformed car. The Roadmaster coupe, on the other hand should be called the Riviera.

[redfox]

With a line up like that Buick would be back.

[Old Dood]

This is a sharp looking car. Too bad they can't come out with something like this today.


This could compete with the IS250 & IS350.
You have to keep in mind what other companies are going to have in 2010 as well...

[rkmdogs]

I just read your first revitalization thread on the Buick family.
Great job! ---- now if you could only be assured that someone who
can at GM, listens,and follows the advise.

A lot of generalizations, and maybe more specifics could(should) be
offered.

Buick used to represent state-of-the-art in engines and concepts, i.e.,
the GNX and Grand Nationals.
That has been replaced with oriental me-tooisms!
The fact that China has a better Buick product than the US---- does
not bode well for the thinking in house.

Maybe some house-cleaning is in order, and I'd start with the bean-counters!

[mpsrent]

What a great line-up! A job well done! Congratualtions to all who participated. Sure, we all won't have the same opinion about some of the styles or platforms but the creativity in your team is amazing. I hope that the folks at Buick are paying attention.

[63cat]

These are awesome!! I love the coupes.
Question: do you guys send these to the folks at Buick; GM Steve Shannon? If so, do they respond?