What Buick wants, what Buick needs

[wildcat]

Buick fans each have their own ideas about what Buick needs to be competitive. Today, Mark Phelan of the Detroit Free Press posed a similar question to various auto analysts. Here is a direct link.

Edited June 14, 2007 by wildcat

[gm4life]

It was a good read. Intresting.

[Hollingsworth]

Interesting. At this point, the brand manager of Buick should be slapped if he doesn't have a poster of Lexus's line-up in his office. It's the only logical direction for the brand. Be an American, stylish counterpart to Lexus. And I think the Enclave is a very good first step in that direction; however, there's still a long road to walk.

Edited June 17, 2007 by Hollingsworth

[cire]

If GM still plans to combine Buick, Pontiac, and GMC into one dealer network, then Buick must have a very focused place in GM's brand lineup. Buick should be an American style near luxury division. To keep the division's focus sharp, Buick would only sell crossovers and midsize/large sedans; bringing over a compact engineered on the Delta II platform would only dilute the brand's image in the United States. The brand should drop the LaCrosse and Lucerne model names and use some historic models names that have more recognition with the public. The brand should also only offer the six speed automatic; four speed auto transmissions are not on par with the brand's near luxury image.

Here are some ideas for a future Buick vehicle lineup:

* LeSabre: Midsize front wheel drive sedan built on the Epsilon II platform. Styling should be elegant and understated, much like the current Lucerne (yes, I realize the former LeSabre and current Lucerne are full size sedans).

* Park Avenue: Large rear wheel drive sedan built on the Zeta platform. Styling should again be elegant and understated, but offer more flair than the Chinese version of this model.

* Riviera: Large 4 door rear wheel drive coupe (similar in concept to Mercedes CLS) built on the Zeta platform. Styling should be sporty and a bit more avant garde than Buick's other models. This model should be Buick's "halo car".

* Rainier: 5 door, 5 passenger midsize crossover built on the 2008 Saturn VUE platform (Theta II?). Styling should be as expressive and sporty as the recently introduced Enclave.

* Enclave: Stays in the lineup just as it is.

* Rendezvous: 5 passenger rear drive convertible built on the Alpha platform. Styling should be sporty and expressive. I know it is just my opinion, but the word "Velite" is meaningless to me (other than the name of the concept vehicle). Most of the buying public is probably not aware of the concept car. Rendezvous would be a perfect name for a convertible.

Just some ideas. I think Buick has a proud history and I would like to see it continue in GM's brand lineup.

[InvictaMan]

Here are some ideas for a future Buick vehicle lineup:

* LeSabre: Midsize front wheel drive sedan built on the Epsilon II platform. Styling should be elegant and understated, much like the current Lucerne (yes, I realize the former LeSabre and current Lucerne are full size sedans).

* Park Avenue: Large rear wheel drive sedan built on the Zeta platform. Styling should again be elegant and understated, but offer more flair than the Chinese version of this model.

* Riviera: Large 4 door rear wheel drive coupe (similar in concept to Mercedes CLS) built on the Zeta platform. Styling should be sporty and a bit more avant garde than Buick's other models. This model should be Buick's "halo car".

* Rainier: 5 door, 5 passenger midsize crossover built on the 2008 Saturn VUE platform (Theta II?). Styling should be as expressive and sporty as the recently introduced Enclave.

* Enclave: Stays in the lineup just as it is.

* Rendezvous: 5 passenger rear drive convertible built on the Alpha platform. Styling should be sporty and expressive. I know it is just my opinion, but the word "Velite" is meaningless to me (other than the name of the concept vehicle). Most of the buying public is probably not aware of the concept car. Rendezvous would be a perfect name for a convertible.

I suggest the following changes:

LeSabre = Regal, it has great heritage, including sporty spin-offs.

Ranier = Invicta, has history, sounds victorious in a sporty way and sounds great as "Enclave and Invicta" siblings.

and as much as it pains me to admit it....

Rendezvous = Skylark, can we overcome cute for common sense? It would be a matter of marketing — a noir version of the bird in logo, like Robin in the later Batman movies.