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Automotive News & Views The Rebirth of Buick.........
410 messages, Last post on Oct 29, 2009 at 12:33 PM
You are in the Automotive News & Views Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & claires
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Replying to: cooterbfd (Mar 18, 2009 1:29 pm) |
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Replying to: berri (Mar 18, 2009 4:28 pm) Lexus does have their IS, which is Corolla based. The C class and 3 series would be comparable in size to the Cruze, if it is comparable in size to the Cobalt. Now, I'm not saying I'd agree with a Cruze based Buick myself, and unless it has a based price of $22-23K it may step on the Cruze itself, and where does that price the Lacrosse?? (I don't even want to go there) Problem is, the BPG group will want a small (relatively), inexpensive car to sell at it's dealerships too. Pontiac makes the perfect sense for it, but it would be cheaper to make it the Buick, as it would be sold in China in pretty much the same form.
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Replying to: cooterbfd (Mar 18, 2009 5:00 pm) Based on what!. The IS and Corolla have about as much in common as a Malibu and CTS, probably less since you can get the same v6 both the Malibu and CTS. What do the IS and Corolla have in common? The IS is RWD/AWD with a longer wheelbase and wider track and v6 engines only. The Corolla is FWD and only has 4cyl engines.
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Replying to: cooterbfd (Mar 18, 2009 5:00 pm) Nope 
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link title Just when it seemed the automotive world was in such upheaval that nothing more shocking could happen, Jaguar and Buick have tied for the top spot in the 2009 J.D. Power Vehicle Dependability Study. Kudos. |
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Replying to: cooterbfd (Mar 18, 2009 1:29 pm) |
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Replying to: dieselone (Mar 18, 2009 6:43 pm) |
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Yes, really, as the link in message 167 shows. Congratulations, Buick and Jaguar, another brand plagued with dependability issues just a few years ago. For many years, Americans bemoaned the fact that domestic cars weren't as dependable as the import brands. Now Detroit, and Buick especially, is delivering on dependability. Will this buy market share for the domestics? I sure hope so, because, quite aside from any sentimental or patriotic attachment one may have for the Detroit 3, your tax dollars and mine are on the line for the domestics to pull through this sales slump. How else will the government loans ever be repaid. I think it's fair that, since the domestic brands lost market share when quality was lousy, if consumers are objective, some will trade their imports for Detroit 3 cars. Of course, dependability is only one of several factors that consumers consider. The marketplace is the final arbiter of who wins and who loses. That said, though, I hope the latest dependability news helps overcome the negative perceptions that prevent many people from even considering domestic cars.
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Buick's problem isn't reliability...... it really is perceptional. Several years back I tried to persuade my 70 year old mother to buy a Buick. Good car and comfortable, reliable, powerful. All the things she wanted...AND there was a Buick dealer who'd been there 50 years just a few miles away. No doing. Buick's were 'old people's cars' and she might be 70, but she wasn't THAT old. She bought an Avalon. I also don't believe that a small car would serve Buick well. Either a "Cimmaron" or a stripper would hurt the near-luxury image that Buick needs. I see a TV Ad for Buick that starts out with a view through a car passenger door window showing a harried looking mom in a beat up mini van shouting over her shoulder at a couple of screaming kids. A power window rolls up and the screaming is replaced by quiet, beautiful music. We pan the camera to show a well-dressed and elegant woman in her early 40's smiling gently and then pulling away from the traffic signal. The camera lingers on the Buick name on the trunk of the car. As the gentle classical music continues, a voice-over says: "Buick. Because you're earned it". That approach, I think, would help differentiate Buick as 'successful people's' cars to aspire to after the kids are gone...... |
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You make some good points in terms of perceptions, but perceptions can and do change. I think the lag time for perceptual change is a big challenge for Buick and the other domestic automakers. Can they hold out until perception catches up with reality? The next several weeks and months will likely give us the answer. Insofar as the smaller Cruze based Buick is concerned, this isn't such a small car in today's and tomorrow's world. Not when Chevy will introduce the Spark. The Aveo and Spark are both smaller than the Cobalt, and, from what I've read, the Cruze is somewhat larger than the Civic and slightly larger than the Cobalt. To succeed, the Buick version of the Cruze will have to look and feel more upscale than the Chevy Cruze, outside and inside, and have one or two unique features. I don't know whether Buick will pull it off, but I think it could be done. |
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