This is what passes for sexy these days?

 

Have you seen one on the road? They are pretty decent looking in the flesh IMO.

All are either too small or back wheel drive.
Cascada made 1090 April sales. It outsold the Miata by 4 units.

Who's stumbling now?

Exactly...Its hilarious how bad some people want this car to fail. Its perfect for its target market IMO.

 

Apart from the Camaro, there are still affordable convertible options from Ford, Mini, Fiat, Mazda, and Volkswagen.

All are either too small or back wheel drive.
Cascada made 1090 April sales. It outsold the Miata by 4 units.

Who's stumbling now?

 

I was just about to say...

The review/sales paradigm strikes again. Piss poor reviews=great sales/gushing performance meat reviews=consumer apathy

Regular people don't read the rags

 

Another day, another true-but-missing-the-point review. The fact that he compares the Cascada to a Camaro and tells us the Camaro is in most ways superior tells me everything I need to know about him.

The two market segments don't overlap, period. Younger people, single people, muscle people, would choose the Camaro, EVEN if the Cascada dash had less buttons, there was more power under the hood, and the exterior styling was given some sizzle. Older people, parents with kids, northerners wanting a single vehicle for 4 seasons, and people who don't want to attract attention to themselves (yes, people like that actually exist!) will select the Cascada, even with some shortcomings. Because to them, 200hp is not slow, the styling is not bland, and who cares if they have to take 3 days to become acquainted with the location of each button. I know it's hard for some GM fans to accept this, but there are people in this world who would not be caught dead driving a Camaro, despite the fact that it's an excellent vehicle. Right or wrong, it's fact.

Let's just enjoy this Cascada for what it is, and hopefully the next generation brings with it some styling cues from the Avista. If they can do that, while maintaining the same basic size/value proposition, they'd have a hot seller on their hands.

Alternatively....
They could also go ahead and build an Alpha based Avista, which would be a great flagship for Buick. But that would be done for a different purpose and market segment than Cascada. Cascada is ultra-low incremental cost, and should be kept and freshened. Keep supply down to not flood the lots, and every sale will put money in GM's pockets. Much like the Chevy SS.

 

There is obviously a place in the market for a convertible such as this, as initial sales have already proven.
That said, I think a little more effort could have been made, at minimal cost, to "Buick-ize" the Opel Cascada, a la Encore, which would have neutralized a lot of the criticism I am reading in the reviews.

 

The Camaro convert starts at about 34 grand. Let me make a wild guess and say Camaro and Cascada would appeal to two different types of shopper.

At first glance, and second glance, the Cascada could pass for a VW or a Chrysler 200, front and rear. It does meet the convertible mission. CD says the chassis is stiff as a bridge girder. At around 8.0 to sixty it's strong enough for 90% of shoppers.

If you MUST HAVE a convertible, what are your choices? And what images do those cars get you?

(BTW, in looking for a Camaro convertible I observed that the Chibby site is less-than-spiffy, as most GM online sites seem to be.
Why would you use a medium yellowish type on a white background? Do you NOT want customers to read your stuff?
And why do you INSTANTLY pop up a "Here, fill out this form so some sales yoyo can bother you"?)

How many convertibles in the under-40 price class are on the market today in the US?

Miata, Mustang, Beetle, Camaro, Fiat 500, VW Eos, Miata. No Chrysler 200?

 

Miata is really a roadster, not a cruiser. Fun car, very small.

Mustang/Camaro as mentioned are really a different market.

VW Eos I'm pretty sure is dead. Did VW make a Beetle 'vert for the newest gen?

Fiat is also exceedingly small.

So you're 50ish, in a warm climate and want a mildly comfortable reasonably priced 'vert and isn't going to scream mid life crisis like a Camaro/Mustang, or you're a Sebring fanboy, basically the Buick is your last answer.

 

The Chrysler Lebaron used to be the leading convertible. Remember they finally made it convertible only?

This is essentially the new Lebaron and could fulfill that role.

It does have the quality of being ersatz or placeholder that's filling in the lineup until a 'real' halo 'f body' comes along.

 

Here are the lower-priced convertibles as I interpreted www.cars.com data:

http://www.cars.com/guides/convertible/all/?sf1Nm=modelMinMsrp&sf1Dir=ASC

2015 Smart $13-$18,000, peel-back top
2016 Beetle convert, $32,000+
2015 Wrangler, $23,000+
2016 Mustang, $30,000+
2016 Camaro, $31,000+
2015 Miata, $24,000+
2015 Mini Roadster, $26,000+
2015 Audi A3
1.8T FWD $35,600
2.0T AWD $38,600
2016 370Z $42,000+
2016 VW EOS, $32,000+ 200 HP 2.0

(Accuracy not guaranteed, Neanderthal methods used in research.)

The Chrysler Lebaron used to be the leading convertible. Remember they finally made it convertible only?

This is essentially the new Lebaron and could fulfill that role.

It does have the quality of being ersatz or placeholder that's filling in the lineup until a 'real' halo 'f body' comes along.

It sure has that LeBaron/200 flavor. With GM's 25% knock-off-the-sticker policy, you could be out the door for $24,000 plus tax etc.

Strange review, I get someone not loving it, but 1900 units last month is very impressive. Buick only sold 1306 Regals last month, so the Cascada has hit a real sweet spot. Once again we have a case where everyone wants what they think the car should be to trump the reality. The market is never wrong.

Nineteen hundred units for a new nameplate, convertible, in late winter, not too shabby I'd say. Let's wait 18 months and see how it rolls.

I agree that the Cascada should have received more effort to bring it up to date. However, sales actually seem to be off to a nice start.

Miata is really a roadster, not a cruiser. Fun car, very small.

Mustang/Camaro as mentioned are really a different market.

VW Eos I'm pretty sure is dead. Did VW make a Beetle 'vert for the newest gen?

Fiat is also exceedingly small.

So you're 50ish, in a warm climate and want a mildly comfortable reasonably priced 'vert and isn't going to scream mid life crisis like a Camaro/Mustang, or you're a Sebring fanboy, basically the Buick is your last answer.

Cars.com says the Eos is on for 2016. See link at top. Audi A3 really looks like the closest in flavor, but I'm hardly conversant in the convertible field so correct me if I'm wrong.

Mitsubishi sold a lot of Eclipse Spyders and Toyota sold a lot of Solaras. This steps into that void as well.

I can't find data for annual sales of convertibles.

At least 12K units. A few hundred million in revenue for what amounts to a badge swap ain't too shabby.

Not shabby at all. And pumped up by the rental market, you're rolling like LeBaron.

My neighbor bought one and I thought the exact same thing. It's pretty nice and they seem very happy with it.

I think the reality is people look to enjoy a convertible and driving dynamics aren't a huge deal. The car may have some flaws but it's doing OK. The LeBarons had plenty of problems and sold great.

The lineup will offer two choices: all or nothing. There’s a base Cascada and the Premium, and there are no options other than paint colors. But even nothing includes a lot of stuff. For $33,990, the base model comes with heated power front seats, a heated steering wheel, navigation, dual-zone automatic climate control, HID headlights, and LED taillights. At $36,990, the Premium adds forward-collision alert, lane-departure warning, automatic wipers, and new wheel choices.

Driving along the tourist-infested A1A, we couldn’t help but think how well suited the Cascada would be to the auto industry’s deepest shame: rental duty. But Buick is refreshingly candid about the possibility. The point of the Cascada is to get new potential customers interested in Buick. Brand executives aren’t too uptight about how that encounter happens. Getting people to notice your product—that’s marketing. And so is the Cascada. But with more power, and experienced in a place with some curves, it could be rather good as a car, too.
http://www.caranddriver.com/buick/cascada

 

Strange review, I get someone not loving it, but 1090 units last month is very impressive. Buick only sold 1306 Regals last month, so the Cascada has hit a real sweet spot. Once again we have a case where everyone wants what they think the car should be to trump the reality. The market is never wrong.

 

I agree that the Cascada should have received more effort to bring it up to date. However, sales actually seem to be off to a nice start.

 

:001_huh: SEXY is a bit of a misnomer...

If this thing doesn't sell well then Buick - KNOWING the car has major flaws, will declare the market dead and cancel the car from its lineup with no kind of update/replacement for it.

Seeing the previous comments, the car seems to be off to a decent start. But the market for convertibles being what it is, things may not stay that way for too long.

 

I just worry its going to have a stonking 6 months, then everyone who wanted one gets one and...

 

Really not a bad looking car, but "sexy" is the wrong adjective. The Meryl Streep of cars. She wasn't bad looking when she was young, but I never thought of her as sexy.

 

It's very 'meh' IMO. It doesn't look bad, but it doesn't look good either.

 

For certain it is not a halo car.

 

A day late and a dollar short. They should have waited for the next gen Opel's before bringing this microwaved meal over with a pinch of salt.

 

I love the design, and if I were in the market for a convertible, this would be top of the list.

 

The only reason this car is getting any bad reviews is because for some reason the automobile review writers think convertibles are suppose to be sports car.

New flash they aren't and don't have to be. GM is very smart with this car. All the tooling is there, change a few things and the public eats it up. Most people don't read these magazine reviews any way. They like a car, go drive it and if it fits their needs they buy it. Comparing this to the Camaro is just dumb, completely different customer. The Buick is a cruiser, the Camaro is not.

 

what other convertible is in this price range? and is in the more practical front wheel drive. i love rear wheel drive, but its not for everyone and for every part of the country.

 

It's not selling in pickup truck numbers, but so what? It sells well for what it is. Convertibles just aren't going to be mass market cars.

The thing that annoys people is GM's continued love fest over this as some sort of halo car, while the Avista, which showed a great deal of customer enthusiasm was squashed like a bug. Of course, they don't compete, and BOTH should be offered, but if you were going to green light only one of them, you'd pick Cascada? Yeah, right.

 

Sexy is the last thing that pops into my head... unless you're into upside down bathtubs. Avista is sexy. Avenir is sexy. Cascada, is not.

That said, if it's supposed to be limited market, it'll be fine. 20-something thru middle aged women will love this thing I imagine.

 

The Cascada is definitely not GM's best effort. It will probably sell in small numbers for a couple of years and then be discontinued.

 

And there would be nothing wrong with it selling 12,000 units, then 10,000, then 7,000 and getting killed. That's 29,000 incremental sales on a platform that's paid for. And those 29,000 people would not have considered anything else in the Buick showroom. They would have gone used car shopping, or maybe a tiny Audi A3.

 

Co-worker has a 2001 Sebring convertible. MSRP was $29360... that's more than I would've thought.
That's $39,478 in 2016 dollars. I guess the Cascada's pricing isn't so out of line after all.

 

Except look at what you can get in a convertible Camaro for that. I know it's RWD but I'm not sure how many that will be actually be a deal breaker for in a Vert.

 

Saw one in person at the local auto show...nice car. Seems the car reviewers are missing the point on this car.

 

This is a must have car for anybody interested in a convertible. It is just gorgeous, plus as a bonus it is hand assembled in Poland.

 

Sexy is completely the wrong word. Bland and inoffensive in an upside down bathtub sort of way is how I perceive it. Buick would have been much smarter to use one of the 2 liter turbo engines in such a heavy porker of a car with this kind of price tag.

 

Buick would have been much smarter to use one of the 2 liter turbo engines in such a heavy porker of a car with this kind of price tag.

The Opel version offers a 2.0L Family B turbo diesel engine paired to a six speed manual transmission.

 

It has rental written all over it.

 

That's what I think, too.

1,000+ units a month is great, but I have a feeling a bunch of those were fleet sales...

 

This is probably the same reviewer that called the ATS as the second coming.

Time will tell if this thing has legs, but I'm sure 1000 units in a month is way higher than what GM expected.