Someone enlighten me,

I cant understand why this brand is so near and dear to GM? I seriously thing Oldsmobile always had more going for it then Buick. Also, add to it that the Pontiac G6 or Impala alone outsell most if not all Buick products.....

Yes, their new (possible) Lacross is a very pretty car, but how is Buick any more important to the US then Pontiac? or GMC?

Buick offers a stripped down version of a similar cadillac DTS
A version of the Impala which is less exciting then an Impala,
And an SUV that has 4 other brothers and sisters each costing less and offering similar equipment with larger dealer support.

I can not remember the last person I met who bought a Buick or would? Does GM have a fantasy that one day Americans will once again embrace the large American chromed sedan with fender vents much as the China market has? I just dont see it happening here!

I feel like this is beating a dead horse by denying and keeping lame brands in production to avoid the shut down cost. I feel like in another 5 years it will be "we need to close down Buick, the revival just isnt working" much as is coming out of Saturn and Hummer currently. This has pi$$ed me off for some time now and this is coming form a Pontiac owner. I have always had a GM product and favor Chevrolet because their size compared to BPG, but If my GTO were offered in a Chevy version I would have bought it for brand reasons just to be away from Pontiac and have the extra dealer support of Chevy rather Pontiac, but it wasnt.

 

The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few; China.

 

I think Buick fits in a slimmed down GM lineup in a logical sense.

Chevy = 'everyman car and trucks'
Buick = Mid-lux
Cadillac = Full lux.

I don't think Pontiac can fill the mid-lux spot, as it's regarded as the 'performance division'... but it has the issue of overlapping with Chevy in that regard, and Chevy beating it at it's own game anymore.

 

WHY does everyone here think taking a hatchet to GM is going to solve all kinds of problems? They aren't going to make more money by selling fewer vehicles. Lots of the employees associated with the product are cross functional...it's not like you can cut 'just the Buick people', because the same people would still be working on the shared platforms that show up in other divisions. All you'd end up doing is cutting product, and still maintaining a bunch of the cost.

Why is Buick still around?

1. It has the potential to make money especially as the China market grows.
2. Shutting it down would cost even more money.

In other words, they're better off keeping it than canning it. Simple as that.

 

I don't think "the few" and "China" fit together in the same sentence. Perhaps someone knows what the recent sales are for China and what future projections are. Even with the current global economic conditions, I'd imagine it'll prove significant in the long run.

 

One reason the brand is near and dear to GM is it's the very foundation of GM.

The G6 and Impala weigh heavily toward low profit fleet sales. With the rental companies curtailing their purchases in January, their sales fell significantly. G6 was down 82% - outsold by Lucerne.

The Vibe was Pontiac's best selling car in January.

I think he meant that China were "the many." Sales were down in general in China last year with Buick hit fairly hard

China: Consumers Snubbed Buick Brand in 2008

SHANGHAI, China — General Motors has posted its first year-on-year sales decline for its passenger vehicles in China, and analysts are saying the company's new models — especially those badged as Buicks — have failed to appeal to Chinese consumers.

http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do...ticleId=138987

 

I see it to a point, but what is the sense of offering overlaping vehicles and subpar marketing to try to get a few extra sales? GM Can not afford to sell anything but the best pickup's, the best SUV's, the best sedans, and the best luxuary and performance cars.

I probably wouldnt buy a GMC unless either really didnt like what the Chevy version looked like or the GMC offered something that Chevy didnt (Denali model, or a nice SLT Yukon)

Same goes for Buick, I like many can see the Impala under it and with ALL the automotive choices on the market, and we really do have alot of options, the "lifestyle game" of your "older so you graduate to this model" or your "performance oriented" so you go to that brand is old and no longer applicable to the modern GM.

Their are plenty of cars offered under the grouping of Ford or GM that are not offered in America. Besides, the american Buick is nothing like the China Buick.

 

We just had this thread, but simply put, Buick has some models in the pipeline and GM doesn't want to pull the trigger yet.

In the long run, I don't predict much of a future for the "Buick/GMC/Pontiac" channel -- it's duplicative and unneeded for an appropriately sized General Motors.

 

How well does Buick sell in places outside of the U.S. or China? How about Canada, Europe or Mexico/South America?

 

I don't understand the overlap either. I see that GM would be doing good to make 1 ~ 3 cars off of the same platform and make it/them the very best in the market rather than 4 ~ 6 versions of the same car that are mediocre.

Lastly, I don't understand the car game. I simply hope that GM knows their business better than us. Until we understand GM's purpose and plan for their brands I will continue to scratch my head.

 

Pontiac is very broken. I will argue there is more performance at Chevy than Pontiac.

Corvette, Camaro, Cobalt SS (possibly but not really anymore Impala SS).

vs.

G8 and Solstice

G6 is a direct competitor to Malibu.
G5 is a Cobalt.
G3 is an Aveo.
G8 could be the next Impala.
Solstice might die with too few sales, or need to share a platform with another vehicle. It could also be absorbed in to Chevy.

Pontiac is really about 2 vehicles, and those two fit into Chevy. No one I know of thinks better of Pontiac than Chevy. Pontiac sells many more fleet vehicles. Lastly, why should GM advertise a car like the G6 and Malibu twice? Every commercial for a G6 isn't a commercial for the Malibu, but they are going after the same target audience b/c there is no more performance on a G6. Sorry, it just doesn't exist. And, the performance market is a lot smaller than people on this board want to think it is.





Buick doesn't have a great line up right now, but neither does Pontiac. Margins are higher on Buicks. Buicks new vehicles are going to be much nicer than Chevy, the way GMC's are nicer than Chevy. This makes a significant marketing position when compared to Chevy. Pontiac's performance just isn't there as a differentiation. A G6 GXP is pretty much the same as a Malibu with the 3.6L engine, and there are 0 products right now that are thought of being a replacement that would make a difference between the two. The G6 is a fleet monster, which is almost 0 profit.


Buick has a huge following in China. Keeping this brand alive will help it in China (which sold more vehicles last month than the US did). If GM can use some of the same cars in China and the US, it will be a great victory for them. They will have nice vehicles in both markets that should compete well.


Also, I am now a Buick buyer. I bought a 2009 Enclave CXL. I am very compelled by the new LaCrosse and want to see the new Regal. Pontiac has none of this coming. They have a G8, G8 GT, G8 GXP, and maybe a Coupe. I won't drive a Solstice b/c of the room (or lack there of, especially trunk). The G6, well, I can't stand the way it looks from the outside. I am not a fan of it. Many people aren't. That leaves me with a Chevy, or for a little bit more, a nicer Buick. Malibu vs Regal for a bit more is a good decision for potential buyers to be making. Malibu vs G6 makes GM the same amount of money for twice the marketing.

 

This won't be true in the near future. New LaCrosse will be sold in both the U.S. and China, looks like the Regal will soon be sold in the U.S., Enclave is now on sale in China. Some of the Buicks in China are a little different - Daewoo based Excelle and Holden based Park Avenue, but pretty much every U.S. Buick from here on out will likely have a future in China, too.

 

or the "one" (Pontiac).

 

No body is going to buy a $35,000 FWD Chevy and a $35,000 Cadillac should be FWD. That is were Buick comes in. They can sell a FWD car that is a little pricier than a Toyota or Honda.

 

bump... anyone know?