Off Track: Buick And Alpha

[Al63240]

My remedy for the Regal would be for it to get the Lacrosses size, and the Lacrosse to get the XTS's size when the 2014s arrive. It's literally that simple.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I thought that the XTS, Lacrosse and 2014 Impala all share the same variation of EPII, no?? Meaning that the Lacrosse is already XTS-sized. Like I said, I may be wrong, but that was my understanding. As for Regals problem, that has been discussed ad nauseum, but I still maintain it is priced uncompetitively.

[EJD1984]

Well this article is just a nice cold-wet-blanket..............LOL

Buick still needs a car above the Lacrosse, either a Riviera, and/or a sedan. Either way, I firmly believe that Buick will get some sort of Alpha variant.

There is most likely a lot of internal debate going on within Buick right now. With all of the recent (an upcoming) attention Cadillac and Chevrolet are getting, Buick could be in danger of becoming the "forgotten" division - Remember Pontiac?

[tripowergto]

I disagree. All brand variants must be well differentiated and use a staggered launch technique. The ATS sedan is out now, the new Camaro coupe & conv comes out within two years(no direct competition w/ATS), then the Buick sedan AND coupe follow a year later when the current ATS is already dated and due for its MCE the following year. The affordable Camaro should be strong enough to stand on its own merits against the more expensive Buick coupe which would be far more luxurious inside. Remember, GM sold millions of affordable(and profitable) RWD G-bodies despite four GM brands competing against each other.

[bballr4567]

I think the main issue is that RWD doesnt have to be performance oriented. You can have a nice, smooth RWD without the insane sportyness that the platform can provide. Different shocks, spring rates and the like and we have a great vehicle.

The issue Im seeing in the "product renaissance" of Buick is what product? The Verano and Encore? Sure, the Regal is nice but its almost 5 years old and the MCE of the Enclave has brought it up to date but what is there to really offer people they cant get elsewhere? GM has plenty of product like that offshore but refuses to use it. Just sad in reality that GM thinks they can operate a brand with 5 vehicles that all have 4 doors.

[Ammo]

I disagree with the column.

What holds back the Regal in the segment it's trying to compete in are its weak powertrains, bad gas mileage and weight.

Alpha (even Alpha+, which is what I'd like from a new Buick RWD/AWD sedan) solves that issue.

Maybe Buick doesn't need an Alpha sedan. But Alpha+? Where the price of entry for a CTS is expected to rise next generation? May have an argument there...

Plus, only one car (CTS) is using Alpha+. It would spread the cost of the platform around to drive it down.

[jetstar63]

What has changed so much in recent years that car divisions cannot share a platform or parts with another? Let Opel do it's own thing, after all the Regal was built in Germany. The Alpha platform is too good to confine it to one model and makes no sense for Buick to be yanked around by it's front wheels only. The people want the option of rear wheel drive, and they can call it Wildcat,or Regal etc. Buick also needs an Electra using the Voltec drive system, in my opinion.

[ausrutherford]

I think there is a place for 2 RWD Buicks. Grand National near the bottom and a Riviera at the top.

[CadiEldo67]

I don't know that there is room for Alpha in Buick. Make it inexpensive and it will resemble the Camaro in price, make it LaCrosse priced and it would be like an ATS/ATS coupe.

Maybe stick with the vehicles they have and bring over a hatchback version of the Verano (assuming it wouldn't be too much like the Encore), and maybe produce a FWD (with AWD as an option) coupe and wagon variant of the Regal. I also think they should make a crossover to fill the gap between the Encore and Enclave. They would then have a pretty full lineup that could better compete with near luxury brands.

I can't stress how much of a bad idea it is not to have an inexpensive wagon (when compared to the CTS) in GM's lineup. Best of all, the car is essentially completed in Europe.

Rather than offer what other brands offer, fill out the lineup with vehicles that you just can't get at GM.

[Carguy]

If GM were to replace today's FWD Regal with a RWD alpha based one sized between the ATS and the next CTS in the middle of the Buick lineup that would be a bold move and I would say a much needed one! Then at the top of the Buick lineup they could do a large RWD coupe Riviera and sedan Roadmaster leaving the other sedan models FWD! When was the last time an American brand offered a somewhat affordable mid-sized RWD sedan? Its been a LONG TIME people! And Buick already has positioned the Regal as a performance model with the present car and that would be a perfect fit to go RWD with it in the future! Just think for the first time in many years we could have an affordable,American RWD sedan to buy that could fittingly be a Buick that would truly be Regal among Mid-sized sedans!!

[prowlerjc]

I think the problem for the Regal is you can buy a Verano turbo for thousands less that most folks can't tell is any different from the Regal. I wouldn't buy one. I mean, I REALLY like it, but I don't like it $$$$ more, ya know.

As for the Alpha, Chevy needs to make a cheap 4-door 4cyl off this platform. The power junkies can upgrade turbos, engines, suspensions as needed, but a good cheap flingable chassis would do wonders.

[LetsRace]

Well this article is just a nice cold-wet-blanket..............LOL

Buick still needs a car above the Lacrosse, either a Riviera, and/or a sedan. Either way, I firmly believe that Buick will get some sort of Alpha variant.

There is most likely a lot of internal debate going on within Buick right now. With all of the recent (an upcoming) attention Cadillac and Chevrolet are getting, Buick could be in danger of becoming the "forgotten" division - Remember Pontiac?

I think that the "forgotten" division these days is GMC. We haven't seen a new product in that division for sometime and they need a unique one not another chevy.

[bballr4567]

I don't know that there is room for Alpha in Buick. Make it inexpensive and it will resemble the Camaro in price, make it LaCrosse priced and it would be like an ATS/ATS coupe.

If GM makes it Lacrosse priced that will put it likely 5-6k below the starting price of the ATS coupe (if its made). BMW charges a little over $2k premium for their 328 coupe over the sedan.

[Rocket 88]

This article is an excellent example of what is wrong at GM... in a word, bad branding.

Case and point: NOTHING slots between Camaro and ATS. The days of non GM dedicated buyers comparing divisional lineups is as outdated as transcontinental lesurely train travel.

The question is really not what is working for and not working for Buick, but what is Buick suppose to be. Halo cars rarely make sense when compared to the rest of the lineup. That's why they're Halo cars. Does Lexus' LSF make any sense?

I'm not saying Buick should or shouldn't build this, but real question is what is Buick about and is it really tied to Opel or just an occassional product sharer?

[emh]

I completely agree with Alex on this. Buick is currently the best focused and executed brand in GM's North American portfolio. I really hope they don't screw it up. Buick will never have the breadth of Chevrolet or the cachet of Cadillac. So it needs to be focused to succeed -- cater to a limited subset of the market but be very good at it. Get distracted with too many toy projects and the entire portfolio will suffer. Buick can't, and shouldn't try to, cater to everyone.

And the whole reason that GM got rid of bunch of brands was because of too much overlap among models. If you recreate that same overlap among the remaining brands, what was the point? They might as well have kept Pontiac.

I agree that 90% of people don't care about RWD because they don't even know which wheels are driven.

That being said almost 100% of people behind the wheel of a LS400 or XJ (Softer Luxury cars) notice the refined drivetrain characteristics of RWD. These are the highest end "Doctor's cars"---they are extremely profitable.

Those cars being refined has nothing to do with RWD. Many (including a lot of reviewers) claim the Audi A8 is the best large luxury sedan on the market right now. And it's built on a FWD platform. Refined cars can be built on any configuration of driving wheels.

[jadis]

Regal is selling like a dog because it doesnt have AWD. Someone in GM headquarters thought this car would ONLY compete with an Acura TSX or VW CC. Moronic and foolish and now they reap what they sew. The Regal is a serious and less costly alternative to the AWD sports sedans from Germany and Japan but since someone deemed it encroaching on ATS territory they *******ized the car, gave it FWD and very weak engines (even the GS performance is weak in comparison to others) and it is slow selling. Surprised? Hardly.

To all those who insisted Regal had some unknown niche as a FWD sports sedan I say you get what you asked for. NO SALES.