WSJ: What Do The Buick Regal, LeSabre, Park Avenue, & Ranier Have In Common?

[Perian]

Link: www.wsj.com

Brand's Vehicle Quality Gains Are Offset By Decision to Dump Sagging Nameplates

The Wall Street Journal, Monday, August 13, 2007

What do the Buick Regal, Buick LeSabre, Buick Park Avenue, and Buick Ranier have in common, besides being Buicks?

They all scored among the top three in their class in J.D. Power and Associates survey of vehicle dependability for 2007. And all are out of production.

This is another one of those good news-bad news stories for Detroit's struggling auto makers.

First the good news: For the first time, General Motors Corp.'s Buick brand tied Toyota Motor Corp.'s Lexus brand for the top spot in the "Vehicle Dependability Study," which surveys owners of three year old vehicles and compiles their reported problems into scores and rankings. Lexus has been alone at number one spot in this survey for 12 years.

Toyota and Lexus didn't suffer a meltdown, by any means. Lexus models placed first in five segments, more than any other brand. Toyota brand models placed first in four segments, including large pickup trucks, the last stronghold of the Detroit auto giants. But for GM, Buick catching Lexus in long-term reliability is an important achievement the auto maker can use to further its case that it has left its quality sins of the past behind.

Now the bad news: Buick will face a challenge to get the most out of this coup, in part because of Detroit's tendency to dump nameplates in response to poor sales or a weak brand image.

Consider the Buick Century and Buick Regal. They placed No. 1 and 2 among mid-sized cars, beating the segment's highly regarded best sellers, the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord.

As J.D. Power points out, a reputation for good, long-term reliability usually translates into a concrete benefit for consumers in the form of higher resale value. On average, three-year-old vehicles retain about 56% of their initial transaction price, Power says. But cars with good reliability reputations can hang on to as much as 15 percentage points more of their value after three years, according to Power data, which is something customers remember. Brands such as Lexus, Toyota and Honda that manage their marketing strategies with resale value in mind have tended to gain share even as overall sales have declined.

What J.D. Power's new survey suggests is that anyone looking for a reliable three-year-old used vehicle now might consider adding the Buick Century and Regal to their lists. Too bad for Century owners that Power's data suggests the discontinued Century currently doesn't get many lookers. It's holding just 47% of its new price, well below the industry average.

George Hoffer, an economist at Virginia Commonwealth University who studies automotive sales and marketing trends in detail, says in a draft paper that Detroit's impulse to conjure up new names for a car could be one reason why Detroit brands keep losing share -- despite the evidence that the best of Detroit's new models have achieved parity with Toyota and Honda, the quality image leaders for the industry.

"For domestic lines a renaming results in a 22.22% decline in market share growth for that year. Nor does market share growth rebound in the model year after the renaming.," Mr. Hoffer writes in a draft paper.

The Century and the Regal names died in large part because they were associated with Buick's image as either an old person's car or a rental car. As Buick sales have declined, GM has pared back the number of Buick models to fit the brand's shrinking share, and tried to reposition Buick as a less pretentious version of Lexus – with cars that are dignified, ultra-quiet and highly reliable. Vehicles such as the stylish Buick Enclave crossover wagon, built to attract would-be buyers of the Lexus RX models, reflect this strategy.

Out-Lexusing Lexus was never going to be easy, since the real Lexus does what it does quite well. One thing Buick has that Lexus doesn't is a real heritage in the U.S. market. The problem is how to remind people of the heritage without also reminding them of the sour taste left behind by some Buicks of the recent past?

Ford's new Chief Executive Alan Mulally earlier this year decided that Detroit's formula for atoning for past sins -- consign the offending vehicle name to the memory hole and spend millions to launch a new name -- is nuts. That's why Ford will this fall revive the Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable names.

Buick plans to do its best to promote the J.D. Power tie with Lexus, as it has with similar positive quality rankings in the past., says spokesman Dave Darovitz. "Perception lags reality. Now that perception has caught up with reality. We are just now starting to get credit," he says.

It would be easier if GM hadn't let cars like the Regal and Century slide so far that killing off the names seemed like a good idea. Chalk it up as another legacy cost for Detroit to overcome.

Full article at link.

[Perian]

Speaking of dumped name-plates...

Anyone notice how well Oldsmobile did in the latest J.D. Power survey?

.

[windvale]

Originally Posted by Perian

Speaking of dumped name-plates...

Anyone notice how well Oldsmobile did in the latest J.D. Power survey?

.

They were tied with Studebaker, and right behind Rambler...

[kenman923]

Are you listening Buick? Maybe some of these nameplates need to come back.

[EllwynX]

I personally like the names Regal, LeSabre and Century. Good names they never should have let go imo. Even Skylark wasn't a bad name.

[steverino]

Originally Posted by kenman923

Are you listening Buick? Maybe some of these nameplates need to come back.

I agree, but I'm afraid it's too late to go back & resurrect the names. More confusion is not what GM needs at this point. GM should just promote the quality of the Buick brand not individual nameplates. When they mention Lexus, it's the brand, not the individual models. I don't even know the models that Lexus has (ES350, I think) but when someone says Lexus I know they are talking about Toyota's premium brand. Just push the quality of the Buick name and people will become believers

[GMFAN85]

Fortunately, the Regal name and potentially the Skylark name may be coming back in the next few years. The LaCrosse will be renamed Regal when it goes to the Ep II platform and if the Skylark is produced in China, you can be we'll see it here.

[New_Mexico_Sunset_on_Rt66]

Attention to excuisite and stunning exterior design is next. Along with interior materials that leave the competition gasping for air.

[PRO_USA1776]

Yeah, well I am waiting for the new toyopet, tercel, CVCC, B210, etc; this article is B.S.!

[NINETY_EIGHT_REGENCY]

Originally Posted by Perian

Speaking of dumped name-plates...

Anyone notice how well Oldsmobile did in the latest J.D. Power survey?

.

I noticed. That is telling too. It is about the number products you have and how you market them. Each vehicle has potential, but failed in the market place to be a success. It is funny this hind sight stuff.

[FBODYRULES]

"....and tried to reposition Buick as a less pretentious version of Lexus – with cars that are dignified, ultra-quiet and highly reliable."
less pretentious than lexus? now that would be really boring

Originally Posted by GMFAN85

Fortunately, the Regal name and potentially the Skylark name may be coming back in the next few years. The LaCrosse will be renamed Regal when it goes to the Ep II platform and if the Skylark is produced in China, you can be we'll see it here.

thats good news but i wonder how good a car from china would be? dont they use the cheapest materials?

[AndrewGS]

Sounds like the low-mileage Regals and Centuries you can buy from the elderly are deals.

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[PeterPuck]

Buicks are rated very highly in dependability because of the drivers who tend to buy them, not because they are incredible vehicles.

The average age of a Buick buyer is almost 70, if I remember correctly. When you consider how they tend to drive, and how much they drive, I'd expect some impressive quality stats.

As for the poor resale value, I think this probably has something to do with estate sales...

[mgescuro]

Originally Posted by kenman923

Are you listening Buick? Maybe some of these nameplates need to come back.

Well.. they are back.... IN CHINA

[hunchman]

Originally Posted by AndrewGS

Sounds like the low-mileage Regals and Centuries you can buy from the elderly are deals.

.

ya my mother in laws Regal which has 420,000 on it can be had for a good deal. Elderly drive a little more than some people think.