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Starting in 2019. I hadn't heard this until now. I don't think this is such a good thing. Either you're proud of your brand or you're not.
I remember in the last years of Oldsmobile, you'd sometimes be hard-pressed to find the word "Oldsmobile" anywhere on the exterior of the car. I think the Aurora was famous for this. The idea was the same as Buick's...to distance themselves from their former "stodgy" image. I think that was a mistake for Oldsmobile.
An article that goes a little further and discusses the end of Buick in America. He also confirms my contention about "Oldsmobile" badging on the Aurora.
This is apparently all related to Buick's sales in China, which are close to 1 million cars per year. Buick sells only about 200,000 cars per year in the U.S. Is it any wonder Buick and GM are focusing on the Chinese market? Buick cars sold there do not have "Buick" badging on them.
Last edited by jaunty75; March 19th, 2018 at 08:31 AM.
GM has been here before trying to apologize for its brands. In the late 1990s, GM had a Chairman of the Board named John Smale, a former CEO of Procter & Gamble, maker of Tide, Pringles, Ivory soap, etc.
G.M. went from the greatest to the most pathetic in 25 yrs. It's sad.
Shocker! (Sarcasm) While I do realize all the companies had some form or another of similar cars (Like "A" & "B" bodies) today you would be hard pressed to notice anything but slight differences between a Buick, Chevy or GMC. Does it really pay to have the different tooling for a simple flair here and there? The engines are all the same, the body panels are damn near all the same the only difference is trim pieces such as grills and interior. To this I say what's the point? The company Billy Durante formed hasn't been the same since the late 70's. This was the begining of the "cross bread" years. Each company made one or two types of engines which all of GM shared.
Durante formed the company to monopolize the car industry, in today's market there's no point in that. Individual achievement doesn't rank when it comes to corporate profits. This paved the way for company pride to go right in the toilet.
In the end does brand even matter when they are all the same vehicle? You pay more for a GMC & a Buick which is the same as a Chevy. I know some there's a claim that GMC trucks are build more heavy duty. I've owned both and mechanically I've never seen a difference. A 2500HD is a 2500HD. An Enclave is a Traverse is an Acadia.
My DD is a 2010 CTS. The only place it says Cadillac is the door sill. I think the idea is you identify the car by the design language. I think it works for Caddy. Prob not for Buick.
Re platform sharing I think you are overstating things for the current lineup. Its true for SUV's and P/U's but not really for the car lineup. Buick has more in common with Opal, which isn't sold here. The Impala and Lucerne share a platform (with the Cadillac XTS) but both are pretty well differentiated, IMO. Both are also pretty nice cars I'd say. The Malibu & Regal may share some tidbits but they are hardly the same car.
Problem is Buick isn't building cars anybody here wants, because nobody here wants cars.
I don't think it's a big deal. If you look at most of the European and Japanese cars, they don't have the marque name on the car anywhere, just the logo. Buick's logo is unique enough and well-known enough that it's sufficient by itself. It's quite conceivable that Buick could go away in the US. There aren't enough sales here to justify the brand, so the odd scenario of an American car company exporting solely to China could happen.
GM has done that before. First gen Monte Carlos said Chevrolet in only one spot for one year, then it was gone. I don't think the Corvettes said Chevrolet anywhere but the hubcaps.
The market is collapsing a bit. An automaker needs one mass market brand, and one premium brand. All the Asian brands do that, VW, Ford, and Chrysler do it. In fact, I think GM is one of the last ones with more than two divisions. It costs less and is easier to make 200 Chevelles than 100 Cutlass and 100 Chevelle.
Almost all current Buicks are just rebadged foreign models. Since Holden of Australia closed permanently last year the division will need to look elsewhere for new models. GM should drop Buick and either GMC or the Chevrolet truck line. This would end the redundancy and allow GM to concentrate on the remaining divisions & models.
I thought the only reason Buick's where still being built, was because over seas they couldn't get enough of them ! If so, maybe they can't read Buick, or maybe Buick means something else in there language , so stick just the emblem on it !
Encore, Envision, and Enclave are all strong sellers in the US. Encore in particular sold almost 90k units alone last year, and while the Enclave was down, that was most likely driven by the new model coming up for '18.
Most Buicks are sold in China, though... those sales alone are reason to continue the brand.
Of course this brings us back around to Oldsmobile. Durant motors produced vehicles in Lansing, which went defunct and was purchased by Fisher body and produced the bodies for those who have Lansing built cars. We still have a park named after Durant in Lansing
Personally I like Buicks, but they equip most of them with light colored interiors which are hard to keep clean. My Alero has a beige/neutral interior, I am glad it's a Sunday driver.
I think all GM brands will die with the company in my lifetime. I'm 62, btw.
GM divisions held something around 65% of US market share at one time, when they were making cars people wanted to buy.
But it failed to move with the times, making cars that were perceived as old fashioned and of indifferent build quality. Whatever the truth, that is how they were regarded by many.
Why buy a Chevrolet when an Asian or European car does as good a job and will be less troublesome?. It may be this is a fallacy, but it's what many think.
By the same token, a Cadillac or a choice of upscale German or Japanese models?.
A Buick or a Medium Price car from almost anywhere?.
I'm not anti American, or American cars, but I can't see GM turning itself around even it is nationalised, a most un-Amercan way of business. BMC once was in a similar position in the UK, and no longer effectively exists, despite repeated bailing out.
I'm not anti American, or American cars, but I can't see GM turning itself around even it is nationalised, a most un-Amercan way of business. BMC once was in a similar position in the UK, and no longer effectively exists, despite repeated bailing out.
GM will get bailed out again if they're in dire straights. MOPAR has been bailed out twice already.
GM had a huge mkt share b/c the Japanese brands didn't exist, and we had just gotten thru bombing the German brands almost out of existence. Comparing mkt shares from the 50's thru 70's, even the 80's, really isn't an appropriate mkt analysis. GM is right-sized to a global economy, in my opinion -- unfortunately, it took the recession of 2008-09 for it to occur. Mary Barra was smart to have GM focus on emerging mkts such as ride sharing and autonomous driving. Whether people like the idea or not, it's coming. I personally can't wait, b/c I'm sick and tired of traffic jams on my way up north every weekend, all summer long.
I love my Buicks, and will probably buy another when my Lesabre is passed on to my oldest son in 2 years. He does want me to get the gas gauge and passenger side window motor fixed, though.
2002 Avalanche
2003 Cadillac CTS
2003 Silverado SS
The Silverado was OK, but the first 2 were colossal pieces of sh*t, and we owned them for only about 2 years each.
The Avalanche had to have the intermediate steering shaft lubed repeatedly during the time we owned it, and I'm sure after the guy who bought it after us was told he needed a new shaft (after the warrantee period ended of course). Brake pedal was spongy and went nearly to the floor (was told this was "normal"). In cold weather especially, the engine had a horrible noise upon startup known as "piston slap" (also apparently "normal")
The CTS, among other problems, had the steering rack go bad, and we couldn't drive it for over a month while GM tried to find a replacement for this (apparently) elusive part. They "forgave" a payment after I b*tched about that.
We haven't bought (and won't be buying) any more cars from Genital Motors , and I don't care what becomes of the company or what brand designations they put on their latest monstrosities.
Last edited by aliensatemybuick; March 21st, 2018 at 08:54 AM.
That's a bummer you had such a bad experience buying new GM cars. My wife and I bought a new 2011 Ford Flex and it was a decent car. We only ever had it in the shop a few times under warranty up to about 110k miles. We took the chance when it hit 98k miles and I put about $1500 dollars into it. Too bad it needed expensive work shortly there after. We traded it in on our Kia Sorento. I don't think I will ever buy domestic again unless it's a classic. There's no reason to when the Korean cars are cheaper and have a better warranty.
My DD is a 2010 CTS 3.0AWD. Its been a good car but not without needing some stuff over time. I think with any car that is the trade off for not having a car payment. At the time I bought the CTS ny wife was on her 2nd GMC Acadia. The 1st one was great. The 2nd one ended up being a colossal POS, to the point we sued GM. The problems started shortly after buying the CTS. That was replaced with an Acura MDX. That was OK but but had a few issues here & there, plus the dealer service isn't what you expect from a luxury brand. That was replaced with a Ford Explorer. Not happy with that at all plus the dealer sucked. The dealership issues drove me so nuts I went out of pocket for a few grand to break the lease. Yeah, that bad. Now she has an Infiniti QX60. I know its a fixed up Pathfinder but no issues thus far & she's happy with it.
I bought a 2006 Buick Lucerne with the Northstar engine in December of 2005. The first one the local dealer sold. It has been the best car I ever owned. When the Northstar goes down, I will have it rebuilt and go another 150K miles.
Weezer, I appreciate you informing me. I am not that familiar with the tech.
I think the title of the article may be a bit misleading. If you have a logo, you don't always need a name badge. I don't think the Highlander we make here at my plant says Toyota anywhere. The grille and the tailgate have the logo, as do the wheels, steering wheel, and the engine cover. Only writing I think, on the sheetmetal, is Highlander and the trim level and engine like SE V6. Our logo is a recognizable funky T ellipse. Buick's insignia is recognizable, for sure, although I do not know what all it means.
The first generation (1995-1999) Aurora only had the Oldsmobile name on the radio fascia and the engine cover, although a very small "Oldsmobile" word mark was added below the Aurora name on the trunk lid of the 1997 models in observance of the 100th anniversary. The idea of this was to create a brand within a brand. Before its official debut, GM showed an Aurora to two focus groups, telling one that it was an import car that would be sold by Oldsmobile dealers and telling the other group the truth. The group who were led to believe it was an import praised the car for its design and build quality while the group who were told the truth condemned it for exactly the same thing.
Buick came very close to being axed along with Pontiac, Saturn and Hummer in the 2009 bailout but GM officials fought to keep the brand because of its popularity in China. Domestically, Pontiac was outselling Buick, which sold fewer units in 2008 than Oldsmobile had in 2000 when its demise was announced.
As far as dependability of more recent GM cars goes, my daily driver is a 2011 Impala with 61,000 miles on it that has been the most trouble-free car I've ever owned. Quality-wise, the worst thing on the car wasn't even made by GM. It was the crappy Goodyear tires that came on it from the factory. I replaced those with a set of Michelin Premiers from Costco and it was almost like getting a new car.
I saw the Aurora pre-release at the Chicago Auto Show. You could see there was a Rocket emblem flush on the rear panel between the lights, but was painted over black.
Like someone said earlier, this is nothing new. First year Corvairs had Chevrolet on them(1960), but 61 on never had Chevrolet on them again. An errant bowtie on the hubcaps maybe.
I believe there's about 6 people in the world that will GAF about what Buick does in the future. If they slide off the face of the earth, I got a strong feeling I'm not even going to notice.
Case in point. On a 69 442 for example, you won't ever find the word "Oldsmobile" on the outside of it anywhere. Nothing new here. Only way a millennial would know is if they even remotely understood what a rocket emblem was on the wheels. Lord knows they won't know what 442 means.
I believe there's about 6 people in the world that will GAF about what Buick does in the future. If they slide off the face of the earth, I got a strong feeling I'm not even going to notice.
^^^THIS! I couldn't even tell you what cars Buick makes (or more correctly, sells) today.
March 19th, 2018, 08:23 AM
, and I don't care what becomes of the company or what brand designations they put on their latest monstrosities.
