Interesting what Buick is advertising elsewhere..

[Bill Stoneberg 1,394]

This showed up in my inbox from a friend in China.  This is one of the Buick's that they are selling.

Wish they would sell something like this here as opposed to only SUVs.

 

[JohnD1956 6,410]

Might be worth importing. What is the Chinese symbol for 60 mph? 

[dmfconsult 656]

That looks like the "Avenir"(?) concept that made the car show rounds a few years ago, so I wonder if these are just recycled photos? Doesn't look like they intended on building it, although I wish they would!

 

Buick is rolling out so many great concept cars that it can't build them all - Business Insider

[NTX5467 1,202]

There was a 2-dr coupe concept car that appeared just after the 4-dr Avenir concept.  It was designed by two younger new-hires with the approval of their supervisor, "on their own time".  It could easily have been produced on the existing Camaro platform, too.  It would have made a great halo car, far better than the Avenir could have been, I suspect AND use an existing platform to boot!  As GM's "mind" was obviously "somewhere else"!

 

But, like the Avenir, it was "Don't expect it to happen".  I suspect those two designers are now somewhere else?  With one great, production-ready concept in their portfolio.

 

It seems that many of Buick's newer concepts are first shown at the Chinese auto shows.  China is where a LOT of Buicks are sold.

 

There was also a photoshopped image of the last-gen GTO with a Buick (Regal, 90s-type) on it.  It looked very good, but was "just an image".

 

Just some thoughts,

NTX5467

Edited January 24 by NTX5467 (see edit history)

[B Jake Moran 678]

I have given up on Buick building a car for the American market. Remember Buick is no longer a true division.  All of their SUVs are rebadged most from foreign manufacturers like Daewoo. 

[NTX5467 1,202]

The Buick Encore (smallest SUV) is one of their sales leaders, of late.  Not assembled in the USA or on the Americas continent, as I recall.  When I drove one a while back, I was amazed at how smooth it rode, considering the short wheelbase.  Bringing the Buick brand into the driveways of a whole bunch of younger (new) Buick owners (many with families) and also those of older (new) Buick owners that need something smaller (and not a Lexus).  Be that as it may.

 

With GM not producing vehicles in Europe and Australia, that leaves North America, South America, and China as production areas.  Guess which one is the largest market?  AND where more Buick-branded vehicles are sold?

 

GM has had some outstanding chances to produce world-beating gorgeous cars over the past decades.  The Cadillac Sixteen concept, the Buick Avenir concept, and the later Buick "coupe" (could have been produced on the Camaro platform, with some upgrades!!).  ALL of which drew cries of "When you going to build that?"  GM's operatives said "Never" and the adoring crowds went on their way to look at other cars ("Nothing to see HERE . . .") of other brands, as some probably shook their heads in disbelief.

 

In the past decade or so, GM has seemed to desire to reposition its products as "tech leaders", as Ford and Chrysler have tried to stay in that hunt.  Voice controlled InfoTainment systems, for example.  "The car" as a WiFi hub.  Camera tech for pickup trucks that can see where the trailer used to be, but still is.  Of course, we'll see the Cadillac Super Cruise system on more vehicles in the future, too.  Some of these things are good and neat, but others seem secondary to what many people desire to do . . . just drive their cars THEMSELVES (but with some assists "in the background").

 

The GM "aspirational" desire to be producing a full slate of electrical vehicles to replace their current gasoline/diesel models is more in keeping up with European trends, more than anything else, considering many Euro brands NOW have full-electric vehicles on sale in the USA.  Not to mention in their "home" Euro markets.  Which is "market generated" rather than "politically motivated".  Things which have been in the making for the past decade or so as Euro air quality has diminished, with vehicle-use-location restrictions being put in place in many larger metro areas of Europe.

 

NTX5467

[Ben Bruce aka First Born 3,731]

The world, [ the times]  she is a changing. Each generation seems to be shorter than the last.  Or am I just  "gitten old" ?

 

  Ben

[Machine Gun 268]

11 hours ago, Ben Bruce aka First Born said:

The world, [ the times]  she is a changing. Each generation seems to be shorter than the last.  Or am I just  "gitten old" ?

 

  Ben

Yes, on both counts.

[Y-JobFan 224]

On 1/24/2021 at 8:55 AM, B Jake Moran said:

I have given up on Buick building a car for the American market. Remember Buick is no longer a true division.  All of their SUVs are rebadged most from foreign manufacturers like Daewoo. 

You do realize GM owns Daewoo, if you look around there are a ton of Enclaves, Envisions, Envision GX(soon to be added), Encore and Encore GX on the road, the Regal will be back in 2023/2024 as well.

 

The car in the original post is the Avista and was shown heavily around the US auto shows, it is not being built anywhere 

[NTX5467 1,202]

The Avista is the car I termed "the coupe" above.  In "red" at the 2016 New York Auto Show, as posted by "GM Authority" website.

[dmfconsult 656]

Yes, that's the coupe I was referring to as well.  In my view, that car would bring a lot of people to (and back to) the brand.  They may not sell a lot of these, but people would check it out and maybe drive away with one of their SUV's.  I for one, would proudly drive the coupe out of there! 

[NTX5467 1,202]

I would like to have something like that too, but it'd probably be priced out of my price range, unfortunately.  On the other hand, it could easily become the aspirational car that Thunderbirds were from 1958 well into the 1960s, as well as the first Rivieras in that era, too.  IF we were running GM, it never would have gone bankrupt, I suspect.

 

NTX5467

[B Jake Moran 678]

23 hours ago, Y-JobFan said:

You do realize GM owns Daewoo, if you look around there are a ton of Enclaves, Envisions, Envision GX(soon to be added), Encore and Encore GX on the road, the Regal will be back in 2023/2024 as well.

 

The car in the original post is the Avista and was shown heavily around the US auto shows, it is not being built anywhere 

You are correct. But what difference does it make?  Buick is no longer a manufacturer of vehicles. Completely badged whatevers.  

 

Woulda coulda shoulda dreaming with show cars is silly.   

Edited February 9 by B Jake Moran (see edit history)

[Y-JobFan 224]

4 hours ago, B Jake Moran said:

You are correct. But what difference does it make?  Buick is no longer a manufacturer of vehicles. Completely badged whatevers.  

 

Woulda coulda shoulda dreaming with show cars is silly.   

While they share platforms with some other models( and please remember platform or body has happened for 70 years), they are hardly rebadged, infact they are probably less rebadged now than they were in the 80 and 90's 

 

[dmfconsult 656]

I think the bottom line on the Avista is that Buick had a hit with just about everyone (even the press!) and did nothing about it.  They may have been able to put the Volt (extended range EV) drivetrain in it, or perhaps there is the opportunity for the newer EV GM drivetrain to go in.  It could have been a good competitor to the Tesla Model S, but unfortunately we'll never know.   Just a lost opportunity to bring new vitality to the brand.

Edited February 9 by dmfconsult (see edit history)

[NTX5467 1,202]

Later, more recent re-badging was when the Buick Cascada convertible was also a Vauxhall and Opel, built in Poland.  A European-built car that was co-opted for more plant production and model viability.  Only the emblems were changed  . . .

 

The Chevy Cruze first appeared in Oz, as a Holden Cruze, a few years before it came to the USA as a Chevrolet.

 

The Chevy SS and Pontiac G8 vehicles were of Holden origin, also.  Can't forget the last-gen Pontiac GTO as a re-badged Holden Monaro vehicle, especially for the first couple of model years.  In these cases, though, as with the Cadillac Catera (Opel), they were American-ized in content and orientation.  The re-born Camaro was of Holden heritage also, but re-engineered for the North American market, more than the other ones seemed to be.  Without many of the service problems the Pontiac G8s tended to have.

 

FWIW,

NTX5467

[Y-JobFan 224]

7 hours ago, NTX5467 said:

Later, more recent re-badging was when the Buick Cascada convertible was also a Vauxhall and Opel, built in Poland.  A European-built car that was co-opted for more plant production and model viability.  Only the emblems were changed  . . .

 

The Chevy Cruze first appeared in Oz, as a Holden Cruze, a few years before it came to the USA as a Chevrolet.

 

The Chevy SS and Pontiac G8 vehicles were of Holden origin, also.  Can't forget the last-gen Pontiac GTO as a re-badged Holden Monaro vehicle, especially for the first couple of model years.  In these cases, though, as with the Cadillac Catera (Opel), they were American-ized in content and orientation.  The re-born Camaro was of Holden heritage also, but re-engineered for the North American market, more than the other ones seemed to be.  Without many of the service problems the Pontiac G8s tended to have.

 

FWIW,

NTX5467

But you failed to mention the 600 plus changes needed for the American market for the Cascada, that’s a whole lot more than badge changing, of course there were safety issues to be addressed for the American market but also suspension changes, option changes and interior comfort changes. 

[NTX5467 1,202]

I can understand some syspension calibration changes (including wheel/tire choices), but not the basic suspension design itself.  I can see some posible issues with seat belt/safety restraint issues/bumper issues, plus infotainment issues (radio frequencies and bands).  Even the rh vs lh drive situations? 

 

But to look at the cars sitting side by side, "badge engineering" would be evident, to me.  Everything else for the particular market would be "bolt-on", typically.  Especially as GM's design orientation was to have ONE vehicle go many places with few changes relating to the vehicle's basic design/structure.  A structure that would comply with all safety regulations for the countries/regions where it could be sold new.

 

This was a grand plan that seemed to be modified, as the Camaro and others allegedly came in "too bulky", resulting in less-than-desired performance/fuel economy ratings when compared to the (USA) competition (meaning Mustang).  The later plan modified this a bit to put a little more market-related differentiation into the mix, up front.  Kind of getting back to where one basic structure was designed, but for specific markets, additional items could be added as needed.

 

For example, the Gen III Camaro body knew whether it would be a 4 cyl, V-6, or V-8 when it went through the plant's body shop, whereas the prior Gen II cars were "one car" with suspension items defined it as "normal", "F41", or Z/28" after the body was built.

 

There were lots of changes made to the Holden Monaro GT to make it into a USA "GTO", several realted to crash safety regulations in the USA.  Which included the first year's cars not being able to have hood scoops.

 

Over the past decades, I've observed as GM has swung back and forth between "purpose-built/designed" and "general design" orientations.  BOTH orientations which can be related to saving the corporation money, when the changes are advocated for.

 

Regards,

NTX5467

[BUICK RACER 940]

Was in Flint, Chrome and Ice Show in 2018, no info shared about it, lots people liked it, especially young ones!

[Y-JobFan 224]

It was also in Detroit for the international auto show the year it was debuted, I have seen it in both the Blue and the dark red and it looked better in the blue.  Wasn't it at the 50th annv of the BCA under the Buick tent?

 

 

 

 

Edited February 11 by Y-JobFan (see edit history)