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."

Detroit's GM Fans Have no Daewoo-built Buick on their Radar

Recently I've posted quite a bit on my favorite car forum regarding my desire to see Buick import an Excelle or a Tosca as a Buick to combat the steep 40% decline in Buick sales in the USA.

GM fans at GMInsidenews.com will have none of it.

Narrow thinking, in my opinion has lead to the problems Buick is having as a brand. Buick has more than a few opportunities around the globe to bolster its product portfolio, but is stuck with styling duds like the Terraza, and clone cars of other traditional GM brands already offered sometimes in the Pontiac dealership next door.

In the last few years that Buick has dropped like a rock in sales, Suzuki has risen at least that much on the back of GM Daewoo product sales, specifically the Forenza, sold as a Buick in China and Taiwan.

The GMI guys generally hate my suggestion, mostly due to the "Daewoo-Stigma" I expect that they have, but I think its worth restating the option when GM fans spout that "there is no other choice, they're doing the best that they can, Buick can only reskin Chevies and Pontiacs and hope for the best with new styling".

A radical change could help Buick, if only GM were brave enough to give up the silver-haired set mentality and give an entry level car from GMDAT a try. Certainly it couldn't HURT sales. And image? You've got to be kidding me. People around my workplace consider the new Hyundai Azera to be a better car than "A stodgy old Buick".

It would indeed be able come out of "thin air" because the products have already been sold by Suzuki here in the USA, and countries like Australia and Canada seem to have no problem importing the Epica.

The best of Buick's offerings now is a reskin of the GMC sold in the showroom next door at BPG dealerships (Enclave). And all it really offers is better (subjective) styling.

And from the responses to my idea, my guess is that most people at GMI just want more reskinned Epsilon(II) s, Lambdas for Buick.

Formula: reskin, rehash, QuietTune, and hope it sells along with 5 other stablemates. Like the Rainier. Or Terraza. Or LaCrosse. Such HUGE hits...(sarcasm intended)

Its a stale, dated 1980's GM-style approach to selling cars that might have worked once, but not since that little thing called the 

Internet caught on.  And Buick deserves to fail if that's all GM (and its fans) can come up with - more reskins of mechanical quintuplets of every new platform GM North America makes.

More tired excuses, or action and revitalization and a Buick that really attracts younger people with value-packed pricing? The best "entry lux" cars that Daewoo can offer, or a continued slide in sales with promises that newer, better styling alone will save the day with a reskinning and heavy chroming of less expensive models, essentially a Mercury-like (gussied up Fords available at the dealer across the street) strategy?

We'll have to wait and see.

Photo above: Taiwanese Buick Excelle (Forenza/Lacetti-based)

GMI Goes to China: Ming's Trip and Observations

Wrote this last fall - see the original post with photos here: http://www.gminsidenews.com/forums/showthread.php?t=38295

GMI Goes to China: Ming's Trip and Observations
www.GMInsidenews.com
10/5/06

Recently I had the opportunity to travel to China for a few weeks. Although I was much too busy to take a trip to the local Buick, Chevrolet or Cadillac dealers there, I knew it would be a good chance to get more up close photos of cars like the Buick GL8 or Wuling vans that we usually only see in stock photos. With the intention of buying a new Chinese camera as soon as possible, I looked forward to the opportunity to catch a few shots for GMInsidenews and maybe find a magazine or two to rip scans from.

I arrived in Guangzhou, a large city along the Pearl River (also the name of a decent local beer), not far to the north of Hong Kong. Despite my screen name, I'm not Chinese. This wasn't a "back to roots" trip or something, but a trip for personal reasons. That said, I have lived in Asia in the past for a substantial part of my life (specifically Japan), but China did take me by surprise.

The stereotypical images of Mao Zedong portraits posted on buildings is far from the reality in Guangzhou. I didn't see a single one. No sign of Communism, control or censorship aside from the blacked out CNN report critical of Mao (blackout right after the narrator said "Critics say Mao Zedong was responsible for killing millions...") during the last day of my stay. Oh, and the occasional group of 6-10 marching troops not far from my hotel, who I never saw anywhere else in the city. Capitalism is in full swing in Guangzhou, which is constantly replacing old architecture with new Western-style buildings. Parts of the city look just like areas of Tokyo I'm familiar with, like Shibuya or Akihabara. Clean and fresh, with colorful advertisements covering the sides of buildings and Chinese pop music blaring from speakers or large screen videos.

There is plenty of old culture that survives, however, reminding you that you're in China. Restaurants with snakes, turtles and other creatures I couldn't identify in aquariums might have up to six young women standing outside, calling customers in, wearing colorful traditional Chinese dresses. Or small tea shops with stunningly beautiful teahouse waitresses in traditional clothing, serving umpteen varieties of flavorful tea in a very Chinese way (as opposed to the Japanese way I'm used to seeing). One sip and you'll never want to drink Lipton or Celestial Seasonings again.

Take a wrong turn and you'll find yourself in a narrow street with dilapidated buildings that look like they've been standing for at least 100 years, with crumbling traditional Chinese brickwork and old women cutting the heads off live chickens in the street.

The city of Guangzhou is a vibrant, bustling place, full of the hopes and dreams of small-time entrepreneurs and capitalists unleashed. But the air is terrible. A cloud of pollution hangs over the city like a morning mist that never leaves. Breathing it in the open for extended periods made me feel like I had food poisoning until I learned that it was the air, not the food or water that was making me sick. And that brings me (finally, some of you will say) to the transportation itself.

Motorcycles are on the way out in Guangzhou, soon to be banned from the city limits due to the emissions their 20-30 year old engines belch out. Bicycles, contrary to the stereotype, are not the main means of transport. Cars and Vans rule the streets of Guangzhou, and if they don't at the moment, they will as soon as the motorcycle ban is in place. Public transportation is similar to in parts of Japan, with a smooth-running, modern subway system, and buses.

And when I mention vans specifically, I don't say it lightly. Those of you who know me well on this site will know that I love small vans like the Nissan Elgrand or Vauxhall Vivaro. I just love vans in general, and if I could I'd have a 4-cylinder van for daily use, and a big GM van for the weekends. If I ever end up working / living in China, you can bet I'll be getting me a small boxy van. Its an illogical obsession of mine, I'll admit.

The vans in China are work-type vans, but I'd say they are a full third of what I saw on the road at any given time, not counting the Volkswagen taxis. The most common type of van is very similar to the Wuling van pictured below. SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile is a joint-venture between General Motors and Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation. OK, let me restate that. The van below in a stripper form is what I saw most commonly. I got a kick out of a fully pimped-out Wuling van, though (above). I want one!

The other side of Guanzhou is the cars, so many of which are luxury cars. An alarming number. Outside my rather pricey (for Chinese standards) hotel were BMWs, Mercedes, Lexuses, Nissans and a few Chinese Buick LaCrosse sedans. Many had window curtains and deeply tinted windows. A man in Guangzhou who speaks English told me: "20 years ago, to get 3 beautiful women, you needed to have a motorcycle. Today, you need a BMW."

Buick has a strong presence in China, as anyone who follows the global auto trends knows. I saw it up close and personal. I must say that overall, the Buick cars in China have a richer appeal than the ones in the U.S. that look more like they belong in a rental fleet. Even the lowly GM Daewoo built Buicks have an air of luxury around them in the details. Where the Suzuki Forenza or Chevrolet Optra might look a bit mid-pack mainstream, the Buick Excelle appears to use the right combination of chrome, more detailed body panels, and attractive paint to achieve an overall impression of "money". The Excelle wagon revived my interest in wagons, and I again lament that I can't buy an inexpensive, Euro-styled, 4-cylinder wagon like this one from a traditional GM brand that lets me use my GM card earnings.

One of my favorite Chinese Buicks, was the GL8 Minivan. The Terraza should have been designed to look like this. Not like an Uplander with a gaping mouth of black plastic slats and an ugly, protruding shnoz. It doesn't try to look like an SUV, and I wonder if it wouldn't have been cheaper (and more effective) if GM North America had just restyled the front end of the old Venture/Montana to look more like this Chinese model. I looked inside one and it had the new CSV interior, and a fancy nav system that looked better than what I recall seeing here in the U.S.

But the car that just says what is right with Buick of China and what is wrong with Detroit's version is the LaCrosse. What a stunning design. I regret that I was unable to take a photo of the car, and I don't have a full front shot, so I'll use a stock photo for the front, and those I scanned from a Chinese magazine for the rest.

Chevrolet and Cadillac cars were harder to spot, but I did see some very attractive dealerships for both brands on the outskirts of the city. Unfortunately I was not able to stop in and take photos. The Aveo is heavily advertised in China, and I saw a few new Gentra-style Aveos in the streets. The Aveo TV ads were fun and just as fresh and "young" as the Toyota Yaris ads here in the States. Several of the ads I saw for the different GM brands struck me as better than the "lets rehash another song from the 1960's" ads for the U.S. brands.

All in all, China opened my eyes to the possibility of Buick as a potentially desireable brand in the U.S. But the product portfolio will need to change drastically to make that happen. No more W-bodies. No more 3800 chugger. No more Chevies with swapped out grilles like the Terraza. The Enclave is a good start, and actually resembles the Chinese LaCrosse in its styling cues.

China's car market and the potential for imported cars from China also made me hopeful that someday my dream for a small 4-cylinder van that isn't shaped like a spaceship or a wedge - but a fully utilitarian box with a good sized cargo area - might be realized someday. A GM-Wuling for my garage? Well, I can always dream...

See the photos here: http://www.gminsidenews.com/forums/showthread.php?t=38295