Bob Lutz Replies to my Park Avenue Question on Autoline Detroit "Extra"

A couple of days ago I sent viewer mail to Autoline Detroit, a TV show that I have permanently Tivo'd on the Speed Channel. Thanks to John McElroy, my question directed to Mr. Lutz was asked during his interview!  I originally posted this at GMInsideNews.com, and Autoblog later picked it up.

Reply from John McElroy of Autoline Detroit TV:

I got to ask Mr. Lutz your question, but it will be in the “Extra” section that we post on our website, not in the broadcast version.


Link to the "Extra" section (Internet Broadcast): http://www.autolinedetroit.tv

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Question that I sent (note I tried to avoid getting a stock "we can't discuss future product" answer):

From: ******@yahoo.com(edited to avoid spam mail)
Sent: Monday, April 30, 2007 6:10 PM
To: viewermail@autolinedetroit.tv
Subject: A Question to ask Mr. Lutz if you will

Mr. McElroy,

As of now there are 527 Replies and 31,801( ! ) views on the Chinese Park Avenue thread at this GM enthusiast forum:  http://www.gminsidenews.com/forums/showthread.php?t=47787

Please ask Mr. Lutz his straight opinion (even if he can't tell us when or if it is coming to the USA) on this car that was recently shown at the Shanghai Auto Show. We just want to hear what he thinks of it, and what he thinks of the lackluster reaction to the "Super" LaCrosse and Lucerne models by comparison.

Thanks,

- "Ming" Staff Member of GMInsidenews.com

One of the hottest car brands in China? Try Buick!

Where have all the Hot Buick Sedan Designers Gone, Long time passing?

Where have all the Buick Designers Gone, Long time ago?

Where have all the Buick Designers Gone, Gone to China Every One,

When will they ever learn, (to stop focusing on SUV's, Trucks & Crossovers in Detroit)

When will they ever learn?

Well, they've gone to China, as evidenced in most of the excellent-looking Buick of China lineup. The snippet of article below backs that up:

Source: http://autos.canada.com/

One of the hottest car brands in China? Try Buick!

Yes, Buick, that old fogey U.S. brand that even spokesman Tiger Woods can't seem to cure of its old man smell. In China, Buick might as well be BMW, although the Germans are here in force, too.

To add to the weird factor, while General Motors has opted for nonsensical names for its Buick models in North America, it's kept its mojo in China. So, instead of lame names such as the Canadian-built LaCrosse (deemed so naughty a name in Quebec that GM had to rebadge it Allure for Canadian buyers), the Chinese get the Park Avenue and the Regal, a lower midmarket sedan called the Excelle and a large family wagon called the GL8. (A Chinese-built version of the LaCrosse is here as a Camry fighter.)

Buick may have lost its history in the U.S., where the brand is down to just two sedans and some sluggish-selling SUV models, but it's a force in China. After selling just 19,826 units in China in 1999, sales have soared to more than 250,000 and are estimated to have totalled 303,000 in 2006.

This year, barring a miracle comeback in the U.S., Buick China will easily outsell the U.S. market. If it's embarrassing to the Detroit brass, they are certainly putting on brave faces.
"Buick's already bigger here in China than in the U.S. That doesn't bother me at all," said Rick Wagoner, GM's chairman and chief executive, at the Shanghai show. "I think it is one of those things that doing well in China has actually enhanced the viability of Buick in the U.S."
Unlike in North America, where the Buick lineup, resources and dealer lineup have shrunk pretty much in lockstep, GM and its 50/50 Chinese partner are pumping money into Buick as a Chinese luxury brand.

One of the showstoppers in Shanghai was the Buick Riviera coupe concept car. Complete with gullwing doors and engineering to fit a new Chinesemade hybrid system slated for production in 2008, the car was notable for where and how it made its return after an eightyear absence for the Riviera name.

Sure, GM may have sold 1.1 million of them between 1963 and 1999, but it took a Chinese joint venture to (apparently) give it new life.

GM's Bob Lutz says Pontiac, Buick are on a Path to Recovery

Another interesting quote from Maximum Bob in today's news.

I know that Pontiac is looking a lot better as a brand these past few years. The Solstice, upcoming G8, and even some of the existing cars like the G6 Convertible are very appealing to me and those I work with who aren't GM fans.

But Buick? Well, Bob has the best idea of GM's plans for that withering brand, but I don't see any kind of recovery coming. Aside from the looks of the Enclave (which has a reskin-twin right on the lots next to it...the Acadia), the brand has very little going for it, and nothing in the future product pipeline that I've heard of that really changes the game for them. Another Epsilon-platform variant will not save Buick. And from what I can tell that's where GM is putting its Buick eggs-in-a-basket. If the Enclave doesn't do stellar sales, then all they have is a Mercury-style Chevy Malibu reskin?

That's not enough.

But who knows, maybe I'll wake up some day and Buick and Mercury will be the biggest brands in the U.S. market, and people will rave over the classy & conservative restyling of mechanical clones of cheaper Fords and Chevies. And Buick's market share and relevance will skyrocket.

Maybe pigs will fly, too.

Personally, I prefer my suggestion of an American-market Daewoo-built Buick. That's a new game plan, not the same old one from 1995.

Lutz: GM brands on mend
2 years after calling Buick and Pontiac damaged, he says there are signs of life
April 7, 2007
BY JUSTIN HYDE
FREE PRESS WASHINGTON STAFF
General Motors Corp.'s Buick and Pontiac brands are no longer "damaged," according to Vice Chairman Bob Lutz -- but they're still years away from full vitality.

Two years ago, Lutz created a stir at the New York auto show when he called Buick and Pontiac "damaged brands" and warned that GM would have to consider killing one or both if trends did not reverse.

"They're still not where we'd like them to be, but the vital signs have at least turned up," Lutz said in an interview with the Free Press. Reviving them is "going to be a gradual process that will take another five to six years."

Suzuki Sales & Production Ramp Up; GM's 1-year Stake Buyback Deadline to be Deferred

Suzuki to raise 2007 sales 8% on overseas demand - company may keep GM's 17% stake longer
25 Jan 2007bbj.hu

Suzuki Motor Corp., Japan's fourth-largest automaker, plans to raise sales 8% this year as overseas demand for its compact cars rises, will increase production capacity in Hungary.
The company plans to sell 2.35 million vehicles in 2007, compared with 2.17 million last year, Suzuki said in a release today. Domestic vehicle sales including minicars will fall 3% to 675,000, while overseas sales will rise 13% to 1.68 million. Chairman Osamu Suzuki will spend ¥1 trillion ($8.3 billion) for the five years ending March 2010 to expand global production, as models including the SX4 and Swift compact cars attract more buyers.
Speaking at a press conference in Tokyo today, Osamu Suzuki said he's not worried about Daihatsu replacing Suzuki as the biggest minicar maker as long as his company's total production is growing. The chairman, who turns 77 next week, also said he plans to keep his position „as long as I'm alive.”

Industry-wide sales of minicars, powered by engines no larger than 0.66 liters, rose 5.2% in Japan to a record 2.02 million vehicles in 2006, according to the Japan Mini Vehicles Association. Sales may drop 3.1% to 1.96 million this year, the group said. Suzuki, which released two new minicar designs in 2006, had a 30.2% share of Japan's mini-vehicle market last year. Daihatsu, a unit of Toyota Motor Corp., plans to raise minicar sales at home 3.3% to 620,000 units, the company said in December, introduced three new models, and had a 29.7% market share.

Suzuki plans to open a new plant next year to build only compact cars, in Sagara City, near its head office. The company has been trimming its minicar production in Japan since September.
General Motors Corp., the world's largest carmaker, in March 2006 reduced its stake in Suzuki to 3% from 20%, by selling a 17% stake to Suzuki Motor for 230 billion yen. Suzuki said at that time it would hold the 17% stake for a year to give GM the option of buying it back. Osamu Suzuki said today his company may keep the stake longer. „We agreed to keep a good long-term strategic partnership,” he said, referring to a November meeting with GM CEO Rick Wagoner. „So we don't need to stick with the deadline.” GM and Suzuki have partnerships including joint production in Canada and co-development of fuel-cell cars and gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles.

Source:
http://www.bbj.hu/main/news_21780_suzuki+to+raise+2007+sales+8%2525+on+overseas+demand+-+extended.html