Posted that over there too:

http://www.gminsidenews.com/forums/s...&postcount=146

 

I like their disclaimer:

How can it be both rumored and factual???

 

Buick should be like Lexus. Smooth riding and quiet luxury car that is well put together.

(Nevermind that Lexus seems to want to take performance up a notch).

 

Caddy and Lexus to me compete against each other.

Buick should be Luxury at an affordable price. (Poor mans Caddy)

EDIT: Although, to be honest sometimes I do think GM still has too many brands for its own good. If they could figure out how to make them work I'm sure they could. But they don't seem to be doing a good job of it and if their solution is just to Rebadge a Chevy for a Buick... Kill it.

 

But that wouldn't really make it a "Grand National." I didn't say there might not be a performance Buick, I just think the return of the Grand National name is unlikely. First, it no longer really fits the Buick image (for better or worse), second Buick hasn't participated in Grand National racing in more than 20 years.

 

And Pontiac competed in Trans Am racing for how long?

 

I knew someone would bring this up, but Pontiac used the Trans Am name for 33 years. Buick used the Grand National name for 5. I would say "Trans Am" is more of a household name than Firebird is.

Pontiac never made any real serious effort in Trans Am after the Ram Air V 303 turned turned out to be a boondoggle. It was more about the image of the car than competition in the race. Challenger T/A was never competitive, either, but the series was hot, hot, hot at the time so they were capitalizing on a trend. It fit with their image.

How many people now even know that Buick was competitive in NASCAR at one time? How many people do you think associate Buick with that image?

I love Buick as a brand, my dad sold them for 30 years, we've owned dozens and I've ridden in literally hundreds. The Grand National was a great and glorious car that I know holds a spot in enthusists hearts but its time is gone.

 

Someone over there put up the X-Files "I want to believe" poster and I think their post was deleted. GMI is very much a fansite so I think a lot of people want to speculate about the absolutely best-case scenario.

The Grand National really stuck out as a sore-thumb even in Buick's 1980s lineup and it would really be weird today. I don't see the point of a peformance halo car if the rest of the lineup is relatively stodgy sedans and crossovers.

 

That's what made the original GN cool. It was a badass performer amongst more..."mainstream" cars.

 

Less time than the Barracuda..... which also came in a Trans Am (T/A) model.


That whole article is a mix of old news, speculation, and a dash of GM's internal "thinking" all mixed in. Not going to slam the article, because the guy actually seems to have taken some time to put things together, and did a good job. But the details of some of his article (especially the Riviera) shows he doesn't know much on how cars are developed, and just how much filler he came up with on his own, but there's enough meat there to balence things out.

Points to "sort of" correct his course:

1. GM isn't going to be importing anything from China in the immediate future. China will be providing most future Buick design, but the actual cars will be made here.

2. He is correct about the likelihood of traditional Buick names returning. The next Lacrosse won't be called Lacrosse. The WM Buick we were supposed to get was, at least in planning, called the Roadmaster and in production (in China) is called the Park Avenue.

3. The guy's analysis of the Riviera may be a bit whacked, but Buick has actually been trying to get a Riviera back in the showroom for some time. The Velite was imagined as a Riviera.

His Grand National is pure fantasy. (not as much as a never like Trans Am, but very close).

His claim of "reactions" to the Park Avenue is ridiculous. (What reactions? From who? The car's barely on the streets.... in China. It's been out in Australia for 6 months. It was actually designed with the US in mind anyway.)

The brand equity built up with the Rendezvous name has GM running FROM it, not contemplating bringing it back. (There's a reason the name was only around for a relatively short time. Short of Buickman, Rendezvous wasn't exactly a popular ride. What's next? Brand Equity of the Aztek name forcing a comeback?).

If you wonder what the future Buick Motor Division will be like, think Lexus or a Chrysler showroom containing cars with far better interior materials & design, more interesting engines, and without the neo-art deco external sheetmetal. It will bring in the type of people who just a few years ago would have bought a Cadillac (or 20 years ago, might have bought a Mercury), but like the Chrysler 300C, last gen Mercury Cougar, or Lexus IS, attracts a fair share of financial stable but flashy younger guys.

Don't forget, in the same showroom is likely to be sitting the serious road metal of assorted Pontiacs.

 

I was mixed on letting this one go. It is posted in the rumor mill, so it is obviously an article full of rumors. If anything I thought it would stir things up a bit, and create some discussion, which often leads to the actual truth.

Before anyone rips the guy...remember, there are plenty of things posted here by "insiders" that supposed to be "straight from the horse's mouth" fact...and they never happen because the info was either misinformation, plain wrong, or GM changed their mind. There are some great sources here, but how many rumors actually pan out as described in the end? If all the rumors posted here were true, we would have an 09 FWD Grand Prix, RWD Monte Carlo, a line of Kappa based cars, and a line of Colorado based cars by now. Whenever they don't pan out people are quick to say "well it was just speculation and rumors". That being said, I really think it is wrong for someone to call a rumor BS because GM frequently changes their plans. Even if something is not the current course, it could be in 6 months. I wrote and article back in 2002 when the F-body dies basically saying their would be a 2004 GTO. It was a complete wild *** guess...that I threw in for the hell of it. I was even shocked when it did happen....and tried to play it off like I knew all along. So I would save any "I told you so's" untill their are cars on the street.

 

But it was created organically, not as a "from the ground up" program. The rwd Regal and Turbo 6 already existed and Buick was actually WINNING in Grand National racing, thus a promotional opportunity arose. The car became more refined over time and turned into the awesome performance car we all know and love. The FWD LeSabre Grand National was introduced in 1986 when Buick changed to that more aerodynamic body style for racing, but with no Turbo. Of course Regal GN continued on until the G body was laid to rest. Buick had "T-Type" (sporty) versions of every car they made at the time and there was a Century "Gran Sport" but Grand National was only used on cars that actually raced. Racing isn't what Buick is about anymore.

 

Actually, Guy - the Trans Am 'Cuda was "AAR" for Dan Gurney's All American Racers.

The Dodge Challenger was "T/A."

Both ran 340 6 pack motors that bore absolutely no resemblance to anything that could be sanctioned for Trans Am racing

 

I think that Lexus really does not have the same type of cars that Cadillac has. To me Lexus is more like the successor to the American marks like Lincoln.

 

... or maybe Olds, but not Buick.