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Automotive News & Views The Rebirth of Buick.........
437 messages, Last post on Jan 25, 2010 at 8:27 PM
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The current Buick Lineup is a mixed one IMO: -The Enclave is selling well but it isn't that impressive to me as I think the market is shifting to smaller, lighter CUVs (Vue, Flex, CR-V, etc.). It is really quite "trucky" when you see it up close, the interior of the less than top line version is no nicer than that of a GMC Acadia IMO and the damn thing sits so high that the old folks who like Buicks will find it hard to get into. -The Lucerne has a crappy name but it's the only thing in the lineup with anything like the luxury land yacht appeal of the Buicks of yore. The styling while gimmick- free and clean is a little anonymous to my eyes. -The Lacrosse OTOH has little appeal even to the oldsters who gravitate to Buicks. You don't see many even in places like Florida and Arizona. Nope, Buick has a ways to go before it's reborn. |
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Replying to: lemko (Sep 22, 2008 6:43 am) I think the best thing Buick has going for it is this new Chinese styling. That Riviera they are going to produce for the Chinese market is the best-looking Buick in a long LONG time. And anyone contemplating the long-term future of Buick MUST at least take into account the strong likelihood that if Buick continues to be sold in the U.S. it will be Chinese-designed and built. China is a much more popular market for Buick, and the cars will eventually be designed and sold where they sell best. |
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Replying to: cooterbfd (Sep 21, 2008 6:32 pm) BTW, Saturn had the same number of dealerships when it sold over 286k vehicles in 1994 with one vehicle. They sell fewer than that now with 5 vehicles. Here are the numbers that matter for Buick. In the calendar year 2002, Buick sold over 432,000 vehicles. Calendar year 2007, they sold roughly 186,000 units. And through August 2008 (7 months), Buick has sold about 99,000 units, down 21% compared to last year. Basically, they have dropped over 50% in 5-6 years and still sliding. Everyone acknowledges that the new car market will remain tight through 2009 due to the economic crisis. I'm not sure where these sales are coming from.
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Replying to: dtownfb (Sep 22, 2008 6:38 pm) Just to show how far Buick has fallen...in 1983, they actually outsold Ford!
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Replying to: andre1969 (Sep 22, 2008 6:42 pm) Wow!!! I couldn't find numbers that far back.
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Replying to: dtownfb (Sep 22, 2008 7:07 pm) The 1980-83 period was a bad time in general for the domestic auto industry, but GM weathered it pretty well. Chrysler was actually back on track by 1983, paying their gov't secured loans in full that year, way ahead of schedule. But they were also a leaner company, and learning to survive on smaller volume. Ford was actually a wreck around that timeframe, too, but their troubles weren't as well publicized as Chrysler's. Anyway, in 1981 I think it was, Oldsmobile slipped past Ford and into the #2 position, and then Buick slipped into #3 for 1983. By 1984 though, Ford was on the rebound, as the economy improved, sales of the aero T-bird took off, and the Tempo proved a sales hit. I think they moved ahead of Buick for 1984, and then ahead of Olds for 1985, and a few years later they were outselling Chevy. |
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Replying to: fintail (Sep 21, 2008 5:13 pm)
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I have owned numerous Buicks, the last was the 95 Riviera. I liked the Buicks because I got a lot of the stuff that was otherwise only available on Cadilliacs, such as fully automatic climate control. The interiors were nice, but not overstuffed like the Olds Regency or Cadillac d'Elegance. But the 95 Riviera interior was too plastic for my taste, as was the 98 Aurora. I think that the Cadillac interiors on my 2002 Seville and my 2007 SRX are closer to what Buicks should have. I don't know if Buick's sales decline is related to the cheapening of the interiors or if it is a result of Buick offering very few models in the last ten years. Before Olds was dumped, Buick only offered the midsize and full size cars, basically two platforms. Now they offer three platforms.
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Replying to: sls002 (Sep 23, 2008 7:18 am)  It seems the Allante was as close to an SL as a period SL was to a gullwing. GM was arguably at its most clueless in the late 80s and early 90s. And that's saying something. |
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Replying to: sls002 (Sep 23, 2008 7:27 am) |
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