InvictaMan

The Enclave is mid-size, what they need is a compact CUV. I'm thinking the new Delta II hatch will be the one they slot into that position. Buick needs it, the compact sedan, and equally important, a compact coupe. I think the coupe market is rising fast, Buick could be the near luxury contender if it does it well. Could lead to an IS convertible fighter.

I agree with you partially. The two brands should have always been in the same dealership, that way they could both benefit from respective marketing and floor traffic. With the demise of Pontiac, it makes sense to roll GMC into Chevy and let the luxury and near luxury divisions share the same channel. Buick has always suffered from being in dealerships that did not reflect their market; that is especially true now that Buick is regaining their image in vehicle design and quality. The biggest problem I see is the lack of advertising. In the South, all we are seeing right now are sporadic GM bankruptcy commercials, very few brand ads. Saturn ads are running, I guess to clear out some of that inventory before they loose it. Buick needs to be utilizing their new upmarket advertising now, in anticipation of the arrival of the LaX. Don't wait, and hopefully, don't do adds that say we are changing, do ones that say we are already there.

The interesting part of these totals is that they did so well against competitive brands with only three models. Anybody have the model breakdown to see which is the breadwinner?

Oops, thanks for the oversight correction, technically you are correct for the month of May. Pontiac's sales were surprisingly good for a division that was threatened. I want them to go out with a blaze of glory.

Link to Leftlane Article The ugly Acura, down 34 percent to 9,469 Audi, down 12.1 percent to 7,503 Buick, down 17.1 percent to 9,160 BMW, down 27.8 percent to 18,383 Cadillac, down 39.9 percent to 8,027 Chevrolet, down 23.7 percent to 127,510 Chrysler, down 51 percent to 15,987 Dodge, down 48 percent to 41,399 Ford, down 25.5 percent to 137,167 GMC, down 22.1 percent to 23,926 Honda, down 39.7 percent to 88,875 Hummer, down 40.6 percent to 1,094 Hyundai, down 20 percent to 36,937 Infiniti, down 38.1 percent to 6,496 Jeep, down 40 percent to 21,624 Kia, down 16.1 percent to 26,060 Lincoln, up 2.4 percent to 8,566 Lexus, down 33.9 percent to 16,922 Maserati, down 55.2 percent to 128 Mazda, down 40.1 percent to 16,718 Mercedes-Benz, down 30.5 percent to 15,134 Mercury, down 24.8 percent to 10,221 Mini, down 27 percent to 4,610 Mitsubishi, down 58.3 percent to 4,352 Nissan, down 32.5 percent to 60,993 Pontiac, down 52.3 percent to 13,329 Porsche, down 29.2 percent to 1,979 Saab, down 63.5 percent to 783 Saturn, down 55.5 percent to 8,046 Subaru, down 5 percent to 17,505 Suzuki, down 75.1 percent to 2,585 Toyota, down 39 percent to 135,661 Volvo, down 22.9 percent to 5,577 Volkswagen, down 12.4 percent to 19,568

Sorry this took a while, real world hit me, lol. Not a problem at all Cire, I appreciate everyone's opinion, whether I agree or not. Actually, you and I agree more than disagree about the revitalization of the Buick brand. My comments were meant to say: I enjoy doing these occasional chops to help visualize things for folks here, just regret that I haven't had as much time to put into them lately. I express myself in pictures, you express yourself in words. We each have our own talents.

Yup, that's it, at least as best as it could be on a quick refit and change of perspective. The Riviera Concept grill actually drops low into the bumper. Talk about a big toothy grill, in an effort to visualize the already known, the Riv grill was used to best represent this... The Buick HRV version of the new Astra. Which is undoubtedly what we will see here in the US, if this model comes. Much toothier and less refined I'm afraid. Maybe it doesn't drop down as far as the Riv, but based on proportions, it looks like it terminates low. The lower fascia in the HRV is the same mesh we see in the Enclave and LaCrosse, no horizontal bar. However, I did take artist license and sport up the shape some for a coupe. Sorry, but all of these images I do for everyone lately is in less than 5 minutes. No time to perfect them.

Only if Chevy keeps moving up market. I thought Chevy was supposed to do battle with the Asians, you know, the Toyotas and the Hondas. If this Buick was done correctly, it would not be in the same market.

This was a quickie study to see if it works, so please no chop critique, it was literally done in 3 minutes. What do you think of this option Cire? It kinda looks nice with the horizontal shapes going through the front wheel openings. Unique placement of logo, clean waterfall, a move from the ordinary without breaking Buick language. And a cheap do too. Of course, if we want to be true Skylark, a big honking logo on a stick on the front hood would be nice, lol.

Seeing that the waterfall grill has been used profusely on the new Buicks, I might agree with you; however, this is one of the nicest uses of the grill to-date. It looks good on this body shape and makes this compact look more upscale than its Opel cousin. I could go for the horizontal chrome bar in the lower facia opening, that is an already established Buick theme.

I could live with Skylark, though it does sound a bit '50s and we need to project a more modern appeal for Buick. Skyhawk seems redundant, make it amphibious and call it seahawk, lol. I think the new Buick needs to stretch further back than current memory if they are going to revive an old name. As we all know, they should have named the new LaCrosse the Invicta. LaCrosse would have actually been a good name for this vehicle. I say Invicta or Regal (if we skip over the Insignia). It needs to convey power, elegance and not sound like it needs sequins, a candleabra and a keyboard. Life is complicated enough, keep the public and the marketing team sane and choose one name for all three models. If they can't afford to change the sheet metal to look more Buick, then they certainly can't afford to create marketing tools for three different models that are the same except for the number of doors.

Or.... Invicta Coupe, Crossover and Sedan.

Voila! Buick Regal Coupe

Throw some Riviera Concept cues on that baby and bring back our Riviera! Could also make a nice Regal Coupe, that could lead to a performance version, say GNX. I personally think that this whole Delta II line should be the Regal line. With coupe, four-door hatch and sedan.

Yeah, the "hockey stick," not my favorite choice for Buick styling...

Here are the more exposing shots of the sister HRV from that same thread.

Alright, I'm more in tune with this car. This image kinda sold me... I guess I try to make everything new from Buick for me, but I now realize from these photos how this Buick is NOT for me, it is for families, if it were marketed here in the US. A first-class minivan. In that, the sliding doors make perfect sense. The design cues are much more logical in these images. The predominant hip line (very Buick), criss-crossing with the upper character line, very nice. That is not as visible in the earlier images. I'm even warming up to the upside down bump in the belt. I'm in love with the face on this car, wish the LED heads could stay in production, like Audi. Now, if they would take this front, some of the design cues (minus the upside down belt) and that level of interior and add them to a BUE, that could be for me! If ever they were to bring back the Rendezvous nameplate, this is were to do it, not on a CUV or SUV. The feminine nature of that name would be perfectly suited for this car.

Ah, it does have ventiports... Leftlane has some better pics of the vehicle starting here. These make the car look much nicer, with more interior views. Interior is very very nice. Looks like this will be people only in concept, in that those rear seats look like they are going no where. But then, the Enclave concept had a similar, more permanent rear seat configuration.

With the upside down sweapspear beltline gone, I think this thing could truly be a contender, much more attractive than the ZDX. Is DII capable of AWD?

That might be cool. I didn't have but a few minutes to put into it either. If you have time, feel free to snatch it off of mine and add it to yours.

In that we are in total agreement!

Good job! I like it too, I just think that a bump like that, vs the understated sweapspear, will date the vehicle faster. On mine, the sweapspear lines up nicely with the indentation above the rocker, plus on yours you loose some visibility out of the rear quarter. Yours is a much better design solution than the upside down version. Not being critical, just critique-al.

Oh, BTW, ventiports installed on the hood a la LaCrosse. Though they wouldn't look so bad incorporated into the chrome thingy running from the headlights. Make those rear seats drop down to a flat cargo deck and I would take this over a BUE.

OK, it was driving me mad, so I had to spend a few minutes on it to see if I liked it better. I do. Let's just say the Business has "had a little work done." Sinuous can be overdone, and then it can be Buick sexy and understated.

Was just comparing and this concept shares very little in common with the GM sketch of the '11 Zafira. The Zafira does have conventional rear passenger doors. I guess we have to ask: Has the direction for Buick changed since the Opel connection with Saturn is drawing to an end? GM has stated emphatically that the future US Buick line up will partially parallel the Chinese line up. Now we are hearing that Buick's will be versions of the German Opel line. Guess it could be both, seeing that the Regal is basically an Opel Insignia in Buick waterfall. Maybe we need to start a new topic to discuss the pros and cons of each. It will be interesting to see if the line will be Asian or German in influence. Seems German is more the direction Cadillac is heading. I miss the good old American Buick; with the upgrades, technology and tuning that better suits todays desires, of course.