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Automotive News & Views The Rebirth of Buick.........
421 messages, Last post on Nov 27, 2009 at 3:10 PM
You are in the Automotive News & Views Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & claires
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Positive differentiaters for the Cruze-based Buick should include luxury and performance, in my opinion. If the powertrains are identical, it'll be difficult to justify spending more than for a Buick. One way to do this would be to aim this Buick at Mercedes C-Class intenders with a budget that falls about mid way between the Chevy Cruze and the C-Class. In other words, C-Class luxury, with superior performance to the Chevy Cruze. Why not aim it at BMW or Lexus? BMWs are too far from Buick. It would be too much of a leap. In terms of Lexus, to attract younger buyers I think that the smallest Buick needs to be more performance oriented, in appearance and driving dynamics, than the ES350. It has to move away from the current Buick image, and maybe be more like the spiritual successor of the Buick Century of the mid-'50s. In fact, they could make references to that desirable and successful model in their advertising. VW references it's old Beetle in its current ads. |
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so many brands crowding this marketplace, the question really becomes what is going to bring people to check Buick out. They are just like many other brands on the fringe, Mitsubishi, Suzuki, Kia, Isuzu before it did its final slide into permanent darkness, Mercury, in that there are so few buyers annually now that no-one is even noticing they are there. Then Buick specifically has the added disadvantage of the stigma of GM. Some of the small brands have very devoted followings so that even sales are low they are consistent, Subaru is an example of that. Kia seems content to flood the rental fleets every time sales drop, and Buick will often do the same, although GM is moving away from that. That is not the path to long-term sales success anyway. Lemko's girlfriend's Lacrosse was the reliability leader in its segment in the JDP 3-year survey, by the way. Kudos! 
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Replying to: lokki (Mar 19, 2009 6:02 am) As the shot pans away, make sure the camera lands on the mpg read-out showing 30mpg. That's what I was getting on the rental LaCrosse I had last year. People just don't know that Buicks get pretty dang good mileage. I was impressed.
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Replying to: nippononly (Mar 19, 2009 7:41 am) The stigma of GM? To me that's a flawless diamond-studded solid 24K gold advantage!!! 
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Replying to: steve_ (Mar 19, 2009 8:58 am) From what I've seen, dealers still want insane prices for used Park Avenues. I've been searching Auto Trader, Vehix, etc. and there are some places asking huge prices for 100K+ mile Park Aves. Wassupwitdat? 
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Replying to: lemko (Mar 19, 2009 10:15 am) Yes, I know, but YOU must know by now that there are a LOT of people with the opposite opinion, right? Bear in mind that Buick is playing in and around the entry-lux area of the market, which is an area where people have a LOT of choices. |
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Replying to: hpmctorque (Mar 19, 2009 4:37 am) I'd say it's more the product itself. It just doesn't appeal to buyers of other vehicles, many of which are also reliable. I saw the new LaCrosse at the Philadelphia Auto Show, and while it is based on a solid platform (updated Epsilon), I thought the sweepspear effect on the side sheetmetal was placed too high, which made the car look too stubby. And the portholes should be on the OUTSIDE of the hood crease, so that people can see them when looking at the side of the car. Overall, it looked like a solid effort, and will appeal to current Buick buyers, but I prefer the new Taurus. And I'm not sure whether it will get new buyers to consider Buick. There is a lot of competition out there. If Buick does bring out a smaller car based on the Cruze, PLEASE don't call it the Skyhawk... 
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Replying to: grbeck (Mar 19, 2009 11:29 am) If it ain't broke, don't fix it! That 3.8 V-6 is a gem! ...and the age of its buyers, who tend to drive their cars rather gently... Girlfriend drives her LaCrosse like a NYC cab driver. Buick should use her as their spokesmodel. Any car that can hold up to her driving style has to be pretty awesome. Heck, my '88 Park Ave takes the daily brunt of Philly driving for me and I'm no doddering old geezer with the cruise set at 20. I can drive that Park Ave quite aggressively. If Buick does bring out a smaller car based on the Cruze, PLEASE don't call it the Skyhawk I agree. The best name would be the Special for a small Buick.
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Replying to: lemko (Mar 19, 2009 11:55 am) No way, NOBODY can drive a Park Avenue aggressively, it's not capable of it, unless you mean tailgating, which I am confident you don't. It has no handling to speak of, and I have driven PAs on more than one occasion. Great highway cars, I might add. Good for renting for a long trip when you have three or four people coming along to split the expense.
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"... I thought the sweepspear effect on the side sheetmetal was placed too high, which made the car look too stubby. And the portholes should be on the OUTSIDE of the hood crease, so that people can see them when looking at the side of the car..." Hmmm, I was quite impressed with the styling of the 2010 LaCrosse that was on display at the Washington Auto Show. However, as I respect your views, I'm going to evaluate the styling cues you mentioned more critically the next time I see this car. My main disappointment with it was the weight, 4,000+- 4,200+, depending on whether it's FWD or AWD. All things considered, though, I prefer this new LaCrosse over the Acura TL (my wife's current ride) and Toyota Avalon. |
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