GM needs more people like you in its ranks, Red. You understand the importance one of GM's overlooked strengths-its heritage. If Buick was serious about capturing younger buyers the first new model would have been the Grand National. The car Lutz called the Lucerne should have been named the LeSabre. This isnt Switzerland, what value does a car name have that reminds people of a store brand of milk? Buick buyers are loyal, average 62 years old and are likely resistant to change. When it is time to trade in they most likely trade for the same model. Now, when they go into a Buick showroom, they wont know where they are at. Look at all the advertising money spent on the new Lucerne (isnt is like 20-25% of Buick's adv budget), that instead could have been focused on even more new product.

It is great the LeSabre and Century won JD Power initial quality awards this past year, but the fact that they arent in the lineup today shows how flawed "someone's" renaming strategy is.

Cadillac will also have problems with this renaming scheme. I talked to a customer recently who owned a Deville and wanted to know about the new Deville. When someone mentioned to him the replacement was DTS, he had no interest in it.

I can think of a former Pontiac product that would be an unique, brand specific offering just like a Grand National would be for Buick.

 

Well, I don't see what was so Buick-y about the Grand National -- it was Generic-Midsized-GM-Coupe with a kickass engine. It could have been sold by any of GM's divisions, and I think the people who revered it were not your traditional Buick buyers. In retrospect the car probably should have been a Chevy.

I half agree about the naming -- Buick is a mature market and there doesn't seem to be any obvious gains in randomly renaming cars. But Caddy, on the other hand, is repositioning itself and it makes sense to get away from the traditional Sedan De Ville image. It makes sense for them to get the senior citizen stuff off the showroom and risk making customers adapt to the Deville Touring Sedan.

 

I think Pontiac and Buick have a lot of life left in these brands - they just need the right products and focus. Why did Pontiac need the Torrent when it should be positioned as a performance-oriented brand? Buick needs to stop being watered-down in an effort to try to retain old people as customers. Just how many new cars do you think a 65 year old is going to buy over the remainder of his/her lifetime? Also keep in mind an old saying in this industry: "You can sell an old man a young man's car, but you can't sell a young man an old man's car." My suggestion for Buick is to become an entry-level luxury brand and attract a young, affluent clientel. Do this instead of having Cadillacs compete in the entry-level luxury market and having that brand become diluted.

If you really need to eliminate brands for the U.S. market then consider nixing Isuzu, Saab, and if you have to nix Saturn.

 

Does Buick and Pontiac need a van? I doubt it. Did Pontiac need the Torrent? Probably not.

Saturn is here to stay.