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Automotive News & Views The Rebirth of Buick.........
418 messages, Last post on Nov 23, 2009 at 3:57 PM
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Replying to: cooterbfd (Mar 23, 2009 4:54 pm) This is also a good example of the dilemma at Buick: it is a big-car brand in a world that is trending towards smaller cars.
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Replying to: nippononly (Mar 24, 2009 7:37 am) Well, in the new GM order of things (just Buick, Chevy, Caddy,and GMC, with the "niche" Pontiac), I would see 3 cars per brand (6 for Chevy, with the Aveo, Camaro, and Corvette), small, medium, and large. Aside from Pontiac, and the 3 other Chevies, you could have: Buick "Special", Chevy Cruze, and Cadillac BLS for small, Buick LaCrosse, Chevy Malibu, and Cadillac CTS, for Medium Bucik Lucrene, Chevy Impala, and Caddy STS or DTS for large. Now, with platform sharing worldwide, there is no set rule that says all these models must be sister ships, although seeing as how they are meant for NA distribution, they probably will be. 3 cars is hardly dilution. What they must be able to do is build 3 separate, distinct, and likeable cars. Look at the medium examples. The Malibu is likeable, good quality, and sells. So is the CTS. Most of the LaCrosse's comments are positive. I think it will sell. As for the small cars, If GM can price the Cruze just below the J3 entrants and it is likeable and of good quality like the Malibu, it will sell. If they aim a Buick entrant in that class just below the likes of say, the Volvo S-40, or the Lexus IS, and it too is likeable and of good quality, then it too will sell, w/o diluting the brand, especially if the BLS went after the C class or 1 series.
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Replying to: cooterbfd (Mar 24, 2009 7:00 pm) 1 car is enough for dilution if they merely rebadge a Chevy. If they develop a model for Buick that is significantly different from the corresponding Chevy, like using the same-size Cadillac as the basis for the Buick, that would be different. Will existing Buick devotees buy a small car? I kinda think not. Will Buick be able to attract new people to the brand with a good small car? Maybe. |
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Replying to: nippononly (Mar 26, 2009 6:47 am) |
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Replying to: nippononly (Mar 26, 2009 6:47 am) That would be my hope. Even a delta base for a small Buick isn't wrong, provided they build it like a Buick, and not slap a tri-shield on a half assed version of a waterfall grille that fits where the Chevy grille does. Again, I look to the compact Volvo for a target audience. |
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Replying to: cooterbfd (Mar 26, 2009 12:41 pm) The only thing I'd worry about is that the Buick version might end up not being all that much nicer than the Chevy version. GM is starting to learn that you can't build inexpensive cars cheap anymore. Witness the Malibu, which is pretty nice inside, even in base trim. I really don't see the Saturn Aura as being more upscale looking inside, although I do like the exterior style better. And I'd say the Malibu is actually nicer inside than the G6! Even the Cobalt, for all the ragging it takes, isn't that bad inside, at least IMO. The only problem though, is that as these low-end cars get nicer, they start pushing up into Buick territory. And Buick can't go too high up, or else it'll start competing with Cadillac. Maybe they can pull it off, though? I hope they can. And Buick has had reasonably successful small cars in the past. The 1980-85 Skylark, in spite of being on the infamous X-car platform, was a decent seller and had a good enough following that it didn't tarnish the name. In contrast, the raps that its siblings got ensure that the names Phoenix, Omega, and Citation would get consigned to the history files. The 1985-91 Skylark/Somerset Regal were reasonably successful, too, if not smash hits. And they certainly seemed like a lot more car than the Corsica and Beretta! 
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Replying to: cooterbfd (Mar 26, 2009 12:41 pm) But look what happened to the compact Volvo - people quickly figured out it was not better in most respects than the Mazda3 with which it shares pretty much everything, and now it is being discontinued! The S40 is a PERFECT example of the pitfall Buick MUST avoid if it hopes to attract anyone to the brand with a small car offering. I have little to no faith that Buick will be able to avoid this pitfall.
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Replying to: nippononly (Mar 26, 2009 3:22 pm) But a poster said that the Volvo versions of Ford vehicles had special steel rather than the mundane steel used in Fords. I believe the poster was comparing the 500 with a Volvo. Isn't there a quality difference in the S40 and Mazda? An S40 parked next to us in the garage in Cincy his week. I wasn't impressed. I was impressed with the baby Mercedes C320 on the other side. Your point of having a definite value improvement in the Buick version is well taken.
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Replying to: imidazol97 (Mar 26, 2009 5:10 pm) |
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"I have little to no faith that Buick will be able to avoid this pitfall." Would that imply that GM has learned nothing about brand differentiation and segmentation since, say, the introduction of the X-cars in 1979?
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