RDMSTER Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 In an interesting article in the business section of the 11/15/11 New York Times the success of the Buick brand in that most important market of China was discussed ( sales of over 550,000 in'10).Chinese auto market experts quoted in the aticle stated that the Buick brand was held in high esteem for the products it offers there as well as for it's history as the car of choice of their last emperor,as well as the country's first provisional president Dr. Sun Yat-sen and People's Republic Of China's first premier Zhou Enlai. Audi was similarly well regarded,but Mercedes was seen by many Chinese as an old persons car and BMW had a somewhat tainted image as a vehicle for the arrogant,rash,and possibly corrupt. A Chinese auto reporter was quoted as saying " We joke that our market revived Buick from the dead-it's only partly a joke" Only partly a joke indeed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jim_Edwards Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 Our GM bailout money at work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexRiv_63 Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 My wife and I visited China in 2010 spending most of the time in and around Bejhing. In addition to being amazed and a bit frightened at how large, modern, and "Western" it was we were surprised at how many Buicks we saw. Some models were very similar to US cars but some quite different such as a very large minivan style that they do not sell here. We saw other US makes but Buick was the most common. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NTX5467 Posted November 18, 2011 Share Posted November 18, 2011 Actually, well before any bailout situations, when many USA corporations started to have very significant presences in China, many people were caught off guard when GM stated that if it were not for GM products being sold in China, GM would NOT have made a profit that particular year. This revelation was something like 10 years ago? That revelation also pre-dated such things as $2.00/gallon gasoline and other things which caused the USA vehicle market to decline over the past years.In one of Pat Brooks' articles in "THE BUGLE" about his and his wife's participation in the road rallye which went through China, he mentioned that they were in a smaller town for a rest stop (or possibly an overnight stop). One older Chinese gentleman took him to a storage garage where he had a 1957 Buick. It was not a fancy Buick, but it was still a Buick and THAT was all that mattered to him. Remember, too, that Buick was the GM Export Brand since the earlier times of General Motors. I suspect the roomy interiors and smooooooth ride were significant luxury features in those earlier times.With all due respect, the Chinese citizens' love of Buicks is at least ONE century old, not just recently.Enjoy!NTX5467 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nzcarnerd Posted November 18, 2011 Share Posted November 18, 2011 Something that needs confirmation but it think that one model of Buick that sold well in China was a variant of the Australian-built Holden Commodore - the model that the - shorter wheelbase - Pontiac GTO of the early 2000s was based on. The same car was sold as a Chevrolet in the Middle East and also maybe in South America. I don't know the current situation but they might still be selling the model that the Pontiac G8 was based on - it has been around since 2006. The same car was also being promoted to the US as a police cruiser with Chevrolet badges. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1939_Buick Posted November 18, 2011 Share Posted November 18, 2011 (edited) The Australian built long wheel Holden Caprice badged a Buick was sold in China. V6 engines are made in Australia (cast & machined etc)Holden Caprice - Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaInternationally, Statesmans and Caprices are sold as the Buick Park Avenue, the Chevrolet Caprice and the Daewoo Veritas. Previously, Statesmans have been badged as the Buick Royaum and Daewoo Statesman.< snip >In 2005, General Motors began exporting the Statesman to China, where it was badged as the Buick Royaum. The Royaum was initially equipped with the 3.6 litre Alloytec engine fitted to the Statesman, however a 155-kilowatt (208 hp) 2.8 litre version of the same followed later in the year.[33] < snip >Like the second generation model, the WM is exported to the Middle East as the Chevrolet Caprice. In China since 2007, the sister model had been produced as the Buick Park Avenue, mainly using locally sourced parts and sharing some globally sourced parts.[41] Reported in newspapers here in Australia a few days ago GM Adelaide are building some police cruiser for some US state. Rear wheel drive with V8'sHolden Caprice based police pursuit cop carChevrolet Caprice PPV - GM confirms more Holden cop car deliveries | GoAuto11 July 2011 By MARTON PETTENDYCHEVROLET has revealed first details of Holden’s US police car export program just days after it emerged that a number of unmarked Commodore-based detective vehicles were sold to private US citizens, but remains tight-lipped about exact sales numbers.US website Jalopnik recently reported that a Maryland car dealer had sold a small number of Holden’s Australian-made Chevrolet Caprice Police Patrol Vehicle (PPV) to local individuals after advertising a total of 13 modified Detective vehicles for sale on its website.Last week General Motors told Automotive News it had closed a legal loophole that allowed dealers like Criswell Chevrolet to sell PPVs to non-governmental customers,.......... Edited November 18, 2011 by 1939_buick (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danhar1960 Posted November 18, 2011 Share Posted November 18, 2011 I got to spend a few months in China a few years ago. I thought it was great that Buicks were everywhere. Danny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NTX5467 Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 To see what's being sold in China, you can go the GM-China website. If you can't read the language, at least you can look at the pictures and numbers, but I think there are some translation websites you can also access. A few years ago, it was neat to still see stand-up hood ornaments on Chinese Buicks. Similarly, there is a Holden website. There's also a USA Chevrolet Caprice PPV website, too.Regards,NTX5467 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Oracle Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 The Commodore is still sold as the Chevy Lumina in South Africa I gather, and Omega in Brazil. We have had Vauxhall-badged HSVs for some time and now have the latest Vauxhall VXR8 whihc is usually a sedan but now it seems that Maloo and Clubsport versions are available to special order:Vauxhall VXR - Performance forged on the racetrack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rsd9699 Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 I think I remember a Hope and Crosby road show featuring Buick's over seas.Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NTX5467 Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 I think I remember a Hope and Crosby road show featuring Buick's over seas.RonMaybe everybody was too concerned with their female co-star (Dorothy Lamour???) to notice the Buick?Happy Holidays . . . From TEXAS!NTX5467 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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