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New Buick Electra concept car


Bill Stoneberg

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Sorry.  Naming an electric vehicle "Electra" just seems a bit hokey to me.  Glad to see the nameplate return and all of that, but . . . .  

 

"Lambo" double-suicide doors.  Whoops!  Ahhh . . . "butterfly"  Might "sting" if they malfunction?

 

(Just thought of some poor jokes about "lyrics" and "sonatas")

 

Just 400 miles/charge?  In TX?

 

Thanks for the link!  Enjoy!

NTX5467

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On 10/1/2020 at 6:50 PM, Bill Stoneberg said:

Here is the new Buick Electra concept car. Unveiled in China.

 

When I saw your announcement, Bill, I was picturing

a good-sized, good-looking, comfortable car.

I was hoping beyond hope it would come in more

body styles than merely a 4-door sedan.

 

Then I opened the article.  It's another gray

utility vehicle, and to my sense of beauty, rather 

angular and deformed as well.  Sigh!

 

Hey Buick designers!  Remember the timeless

qualities of grace, beauty, and color.  Then when

your cars have top reliability, they'll be back to

the high production of 1955, 1965, and 1973!

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15 hours ago, John_S_in_Penna said:

 

When I saw your announcement, Bill, I was picturing

a good-sized, good-looking, comfortable car.

I was hoping beyond hope it would come in more

body styles than merely a 4-door sedan.

 

Then I opened the article.  It's another gray

utility vehicle, and to my sense of beauty, rather 

angular and deformed as well.  Sigh!

 

Hey Buick designers!  Remember the timeless

qualities of grace, beauty, and color.  Then when

your cars have top reliability, they'll be back to

the high production of 1955, 1965, and 1973!

 

It is a disappointing design.  Like following in the lines of that truck Tesla is releasing pictures of.  However, it seems that is what the market wants right now.  And all manufacturers would likely be expected to cave in to the desires for their market share, rather than appeal to a much smaller segment of that, which in this case is the collector car market.  Each of the Big Three have had their affair with the retro look.  With the possible exception of the Dodge Challenger, I don't think the others have been successful.  So it appears unlikely that we, the collector car market, will ever move the products our way again.    It is kinda sad.  I love looking at all the old photos that keep being posted on this and other sites and reveling in the many different ways the cars were finished in the past.  And I am thankful for the remotes on todays car that let one locate their vehicle, with a toot of the horn,  in a sea of silver ghosts.  

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Without the necessary length to develop any "lines", anymore, we get "blobs" with flat sides and disjointed shapes.  Unfortunately, a Nissan Altima looks "boring" compared to a Toyota Camry.  With Mazda being somewhere in-between.

 

Chrysler and Ford seem to have the best luck re-creating/adapting "retro" into their models.  The current Camaro looks comparable, but a bit too much "Hot Wheels" look and high pricing seem to have limited it's appeal, no matter how fast it might be.

 

GM's "problem" seems to be that they come up with some awesome show cars, which get very good reaction, then immediately announce "NOT destined for production", which deflates the whole deal.  Cadillac 16, Buick Avenir, and that stunning Buick coupe that was done by two young designers, on their own time.  It seems that many GM divisions have "lost their way", as BMW, Mercedes, and Volvo have found it. 

 

To me, Volvo appears to be attracting a customer demographic which Buick used to have.

 

Also, to me, it appears that GM's greatness was lost in the 1980s with "The Procter and Gamble" marketing approach, which led to "Brand Management" and later marketing blunders.  Which ultimately led them to bankruptcy.  Too many "hired-in managers at the upper levels, who knew little/nothing about cars and what made them attractive to the buyers.  Not to mention that whenever GM vacated a marketing segment of vehicles, the import brands were immediately (seemingly) ready with a product to fill that void.  Which only lessened GM's market penetration and increased it for the competition.  This is what happens when "management" changes or has a "memory-reset" every few years.  And when profit percentages start to out-weigh real profit $$$$ in importance.

 

Just my observations,

NTX5467

 

 

Edited by NTX5467
additions (see edit history)
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Same o same o.  Nothing new under the sun.  Every generation, I think, looks back with nostalgia.. 

 

 Remember when we were young and turned girls heads? Guess we still do, only they turn AWAY.  lol.

 

 Kinda the same?

 

  Ben

Edited by Ben Bruce aka First Born (see edit history)
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For thousands of years each succeeding generation, whether cars or humans, has not been able to meet the standards set by the previous generation. Babylonians, Geeks, right up to the babies born yesterday. Those whom get it go to their grave smiling at the humor. Those that don't exit with what was once called black bile inside them. Either way it is an end of life thing.

 

I did learn to keep my gray convertible away from places where it would be critiqued. Out in the corn fields alone is best.

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5 hours ago, 60FlatTop said:

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That's very insightful, Bernie, and thank you for

sharing it.  It shows that the thought, "They don't

make them like they used to" is age-old.  People

of any age yearn for what they remember as the

good old days.

 

I'll bet the buggy-riders of 1890 thought that

"Today's buggies don't come close to the ones

I remember as a kid.  Give me an 1860 buggy

any day!"

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It's a generational "thing".  Many remember the wimpy exhaust sound of a Chevy inline 6 with a glass pack, compared to a "big V-8" of the time, with dual exhausts being "much better", by comparison.  That V-8 "burble" as it went down the street, as we hoped the driver might "get on it" so we could enjoy the sounds.  Now, any V-6 with "dual pipes" is what many young 'uns think is cool, as we cringe at the sound.  Much less a 6-cylinder diesel with no muffler and the injection pump "turned up".

 

A few years ago, I looked up one Sunday afternoon and there were two late-model Dodge Ram Cummins pickups facing-off at the red light on the main drag in town.  Where a pair of '68 Road Runners might have been 50 years ago.  I smiled and shook my head when I saw what was happening.  Each successive generation has their own "hot rod memories".

 

As loud exhausts and unsilenced air cleaners give way to "whirrs" and "tire noise" . . . as we progress into the future.  Which is where the 807 horsepower Dodge Challenger SRT Super Stock comes in, too, for those that remember how it used to be.

 

Enjoy!

NTX5467

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In 1961 or 1962 my Dad took me to a car show and I vividly remember this man standing by a row of identical Model T Fords. Only the roof configuration varied. He is like many older men I have met in life. He would never realize that he was imposing his values on those he thought ignorant of any of his "valued" knowledge, rather than sharing or mentoring. And his ilk continue to be spawned.

 

American Gothic - The Story Behind Grant Wood's Iconic Painting | Widewalls

 

Thanksgiving and Christmas are coming up. He will be the one pointing a gnarled, palsied finger, and starting each sentence with "the trouble with that". Don't do that.

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6 hours ago, dkbuick75 said:

Electra concept is a skunk !  If the designers are trying to kill the division, designs like this have them on course !

even though it is dead center on the design language today’s buyers are looking for. Manufacturers sell to buyers wishes, not a handful of collectors antiquated wishes 

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