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Exclusive: GM plans to more closely intertwine Buick and Opel brands

8K views 53 replies 38 participants last post by  SierraGS 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
Exclusive: GM plans to more closely intertwine Buick and Opel brands
Reuters
September 17, 2013
by Paul Lienert and Ben Klayman

" . . . Among the future vehicles in the Global Delta family, according to suppliers familiar with GM's plans, are the next-generation Opel Astra for Europe, due in late 2015; replacements for the Buick Verano in the U.S. and the Buick Excelle in China, also due in 2015; the all-new Buick Envision crossover for the U.S. and China in 2015 or 2016; a redesigned Opel Antara SUV for Europe in 2016, and a redesigned Opel Cascada in late 2017, including a version for Buick . . .

Among the future vehicles in the Global Epsilon family, according to suppliers familiar with GM's plans, are replacements for the Buick Regal and LaCrosse for the United States and China in 2016; a redesigned Opel Insignia for 2017, and the next-generation Buick Enclave crossover in 2017.

A potential addition to Buick's future product portfolio is a version of the Opel Adam, a small and quirky-looking hatchback that is aimed at BMW's Mini Cooper and has been a hit for the Opel brand in Europe since its introduction earlier this year.

GM Vice Chairman Steve Girsky said the current version of the Adam was not intended for markets outside Europe and could not easily be re-engineered to meet U.S. safety and emissions regulations.

But supplier sources, who asked not to be named because of the sensitive nature of the information, said the next-generation Adam, due in late 2018, is being designed and engineered for sale in the U.S. and possibly in China. It may be joined by a small, sporty two-door sibling known inside Opel as Eve, which also will be sold in the U.S. about the same time.

The Adam and Eve will be among the first GM products to be jointly engineered with PSA Peugeot Citroen, the sources said.

Full article at link.
 
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#2 ·
Yeah... they;ve only been saying this since about 2007.
Just substitute Saturn for Buick.
And then it never quite seems to happen.

And PSA... please no.
 
#30 ·
I wonder where this leaves Holden?
More closely aligned with Chevrolet. Remember - and most people on this forum seem to forget this - that when GM bought Daewoo they did so through Holden. Holden actually owns GM's Korean assets. I realise that this arrangement is just arranging deck chairs since it is all GM anyway, but it does mean Holden retains a big say in GM Korea and hence in their products. If you remember that, then Holden's dumping of Opel products for the Daewoo/Chevrolet-based products makes more sense.
 
#53 ·
Eve? Here I was, thinking the Adam was already a small and sporty two-door...



Besides "Join or Die?" No, not really.

What about a Park Avenue, Riviera, and recently rumored Grand National?

Will Buick get any of these? Or is it just hopeful speculation?
They better.

Why not make Opel a global brand along with Cadillac and Chevy then kill off Buick in the US and China and Vauxhall in the UK (they only sell Opel rebadges too) and have those three core brands with GMC being a US only upscale truck brand and Bajoun being a China and emerging markets only cheapie brand. Only Holden would still operate autonomously....for now. Then launch Chevy, Opel, and Cadillac in Australia with the goal of killing Holden in 15 or so years.
Why would you do that? Do you have critical thinking skills?

You can't just replace brands. Having the brands they do works fine for them. Opel has access to markets Buick never will, and vice versa. Buick has credibility where Opel doesn't.

Holden can remain. So can Opel. So can Vauxhall. So can Buick. All together. GMC being US-only squanders the potential of the brand, but I'm not going to waste my time explaining further because you clearly huff paint and old socks in your spare time.

My 2¢...I thought I read somewhere that Opel was supposed to get the next LaCrosse and that it would be the reintroduction of the Opel Omega. Did anyone else see that anywhere? Also I'm Glad Adam is coming (I hope they change the name for Buick) though I thought Buick should also get the Astra 2 door Hatch as Verano Coupe. And finally I'm thrilled that Cascada is also coming, a definite No Brainer there but OMG we have to wait 4 years!?!?! That's Crazy long.
Not if they do an Eve, too. It's a cool combo.

GTC is a must. Cascada is a must. Adam is a mprobably should happenust. The GS cars need to be OPCs, OR GS should be to GNX what Vsport is to V-series, and GNXs should be OPCs.

The LaCrosse is the closest thing they have to a real Buick these days.
Lolwut?

I'm not fully advocating the return of the Park Avenue name, but it seems Buick needs a larger sedan above the Lacrosse.

Respectively, I disagree, a modern day Grand National would sell, but if Buick does get a proper Riviera a GS sport model would most likely negate the GN.
Park Avenue is a good name to bring back. It's at least classy. Grand National, no. Regal GN or GNX? Yes.

We lost another... when Saab went away.
If they were still around and GM still owned them I'd almost certainly be driving a 9-3 Cabrio today.
To be honest? I might be, too, if they made a decent looking one and if it looked anything like the 9-5. OR, I'd just be in a 9-5.

Am I the only one who saw this? Is this a misprint? Will GM will be using Epsilon for the next Enclave instead of Lambda? I guess they'd use the stretched Epsilon from the XTS...
Yes. EwhateverXX and the crossover version is C1XX. Something like that, but yes.

All signs indicate that the XTS is just a stop gap until the Omega. Then, and only then, will the Lacrosse and XTS will merge into one world beating Buick. Think all the goods in the XTS, but with a Buick face and 5k cheaper.
Cheaper, I don't think it should be. Pricing is spot on for a range-topping Buick.

The XTS will stay for a long time: offering the XTS for the livery market + fleet = not damaging resale values for the ATS, CTS, and LTS. IMHO of course...
I wouldn't. The XTS just isn't pretty or stunning enough. They should have a dedicated fleet car that isn't XTS.

Holden should be exploiting holes like the XTS where it suites them.
Give Buick a full size Luxury Sedan in the $55,000.00 to $70,000.00 range and take a chunck of this market from Cadillac and Lincoln for Holden/Buick
Thank you.

Then make a Cadillac version of it relegated solely to fleet duty.
 
#13 ·
Just kill off Buick! Please! Put them out of their misery already and sell Opels in America.

They are the new Saturn; nothing but a repository for rebadged Chevys and Opels. Just be honest and call the cars what they are and let Buick rest in peace.
 
#22 · (Edited)
Riviera maybe. The others are pointless throwbacks. Buick needs RWD retro-names/cars like a fish needs a bicycle.

No, just Buick. They are pretty much dead already.
:fall:

Are you drunk? Sales keep climbing and the division is highly profitable.

>>>>http://www.gminsidenews.com/forums/f78/industry-reports-august-2013-sales-131018/

Why not make Opel a global brand
WHY????? Buick is firmly established in the US and China. Why throw it away and start over with Opel, a name that hasn't existed in the US for 40 some years ????

I am so grateful you don't work for GM.


1:Buick & GMC are by far GM's most profitable Brands in GM's profitable markets....
2:Time-and time again in both China and the U.S.(since Enclave) people are willing to pay lots of money for Buick and..........
3...been proven time-after-time people all over the world are unwilling to pay real money for an Opel-brand vehicle.
4.Holden doesn't operate autonomously since 2005.
5.Holden IS Chevrolet Australia.....
This.
 
#18 ·
My 2¢...I thought I read somewhere that Opel was supposed to get the next LaCrosse and that it would be the reintroduction of the Opel Omega. Did anyone else see that anywhere? Also I'm Glad Adam is coming (I hope they change the name for Buick) though I thought Buick should also get the Astra 2 door Hatch as Verano Coupe. And finally I'm thrilled that Cascada is also coming, a definite No Brainer there but OMG we have to wait 4 years!?!?! That's Crazy long.
 
#28 ·
My 2¢...I thought I read somewhere that Opel was supposed to get the next LaCrosse and that it would be the reintroduction of the Opel Omega. Did anyone else see that anywhere?
Here: Opel Getting Next-Generation Lacrosse, Enclave

Opel takes several years planning to expand its range above the Insignia and again offer higher product segments... In 2010 the then CEO of Opel, Nick Reilly, said that after a coupe (Astra GTS) and the mini-SUV (Mokka) in 2012, the Adam and a convertible in 2013 (Cascade), a new generation Antara 2014-2015 (agrees with the arguments I mentioned above), the brand had in his list of releases a successor to the Omega and even third larger SUV.

Last year Karl-Friedrich Stracke, Opel CEO also at the time, agreed with his predecessor and admitted that Opel need at least one model above the Insignia.

Now that there is a better strategy based within GM, primarily, to regain a profitable business in Europe that involves fusing a Buick/Opel, while raising gradually the status of the latter to a semi-premium level and in turn release space for the necessary growth of Chevrolet in the region; can be sure that we will see in Opel variants of the next generations of LaCrosse and Enclave. :yup:

I hope now they will be encouraged to develop a hot Coupe in the next generation of the Insignia/Regal, now that both brands work hand in hand. It would be a good move to encourage sales and quench the thirst that exists, coincidentally, in both brands of a similar model:





:dro:
 
#25 ·
[/QUOTE]
Are you drunk? Sales keep climbing and the division is highly profitable.
[/QUOTE]

I didn't mean they weren't profitable, just that "Buick" is essentially dead as a carmaker. They are becoming really just a marketing operation for products conceived and developed elsewhere.

The days of Buick designing, developing and building anything quintessentially their own like, for instance, the Riviera are long gone. The LaCrosse is the closest thing they have to a real Buick these days.

I'd rather see a return to the old arrangement where the Opel Mokka, for instance, would be sold at Buick dealers alongside a few real, designed in Detroit (or Flint), Buicks. At least that'd be telling the truth. The Opel Manta was sold by Buick in the 70s but they never tried to pass it off as a Buick. The Regal isn't a Buick; it's an Opel Insignia so call it such.
 
#26 · (Edited)
I didn't mean they weren't profitable, just that "Buick" is essentially dead as a carmaker. They are becoming really just a marketing operation for products conceived and developed elsewhere.

The days of Buick designing, developing and building anything quintessentially their own like, for instance, the Riviera are long gone. The LaCrosse is the closest thing they have to a real Buick these days.
You forget the Enclave.

And as for "Elsewhere", I say welcome to Planet Earth, anno domino 2013. But Buick is an American brand that does well globally. A line designed exclusively by and for Americans would not do nearly as well on the global stage.

GMC is simply a marketing operation too. Lincoln. Audi. Infiniti. I could go on. But Buick has a thriving design studio here in the US, and yes in Asia too.

Buick sells alot of Regals in China and they're not called Opels. Buick is selling a good number of Encores here and they're not called Opels. So what?

You're right about one thing. It's not 1966 any more.
 
#27 ·
" . . . Among the future vehicles in the Global Delta family, according to suppliers familiar with GM's plans, are the next-generation Opel Astra for Europe, due in late 2015; replacements for the Buick Verano in the U.S. and the Buick Excelle in China, also due in 2015; the all-new Buick Envision crossover for the U.S. and China in 2015 or 2016; a redesigned Opel Antara SUV for Europe in 2016, and a redesigned Opel Cascada in late 2017, including a version for Buick . . .
I doubt that replacing the Opel Antara is planned for the year 2016...

The development of the Buick Anthem/Envision (or whatever it's called), judging from the spy photos, is well advanced and is likely to be released next year as a 2015 model. In China will be released during 2014 and this paper reports that "will debut before the end of the year" (2014, I guess), so chances are the next Opel Antara is presented in some European Auto Show next year: Geneva (March) or Paris (September).

The current model was released in late 2006 and received a slight update in early 2011. But, unlike the Corsa which is in a similarly situasión, their mediocre sales reveal that no longer gives to more and that after seven years on the market needs a new generation as soon as possible.
 
#35 ·
Late 2017..... :( ........ for Buick to get the convertible it needed in 2010..... to give GM buyers an option for a comfortable 4 seat vert when the G6 hardtop died.

Someone wake me up when it's on the dealer lots.
 
#38 ·
We lost another... when Saab went away.
If they were still around and GM still owned them I'd almost certainly be driving a 9-3 Cabrio today.
 
#40 ·
Among the future vehicles in the Global Epsilon family, according to suppliers familiar with GM's plans, are replacements for the Buick Regal and LaCrosse for the United States and China in 2016; a redesigned Opel Insignia for 2017, and the next-generation Buick Enclave crossover in 2017.
Am I the only one who saw this? Is this a misprint? Will GM will be using Epsilon for the next Enclave instead of Lambda? I guess they'd use the stretched Epsilon from the XTS...
 
#45 ·
TIP to GM -- LEADING is done from the FRONT of the PACK, not from the 'Tail-end' Charlie position.
 
#54 ·
A Global Buick/Opel lineup that maximizes revenue with vehicles focused at as many markets possible based on the existing brands strengths starts with Adam then Corsa more directed at the upcoming FWD BMW 1-Series 5-D Hatch than broad market, All Astra models and offered in the U.S. as Verano; New Opel GT Roadster and Manta created vs. 2-Series and offered as Buick Skyhawks; Insignia full line replaces Regal in China/U.S.; Regal/Grand National moves to Alpha as 3-Series/4-Series competitor; Lacrosse remains as is; LeSabre returns as 5-Series with Riviera a 6-Series competitor and Park Avenue tops lineup. Crossovers retain current lineup, adding Envision and the Meriva/Zafira are sold in more markets, but not sure about the U.S.

Bear in mind the references to BMW 1,2,3,4,5 and 6 Series are mainly for European market Opels since it will help Opel move upmarket and the 1,2,3 and 4 Series market is quite different in Europe than the U.S. where base and mid-level trim models that are not offered in the U.S. sell in good volumes and where Buick versions should be targeted to allow ATS room in both China and U.S.

This adjusted lineup leans toward what sells in Europe and helps Opel retain/improve market share and brand image in Europe while allowing Buick/Opel to become better global competitors in the slightly upmarket "premium" market where the focus is more on slightly better quality that top level Luxury or Performance and sales volumes are good with higher ATP/Profits than "volume" segments instead of trying to be a "luxury" brand where volumes are much smaller as is the overall market.
 
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