looks great on the outside. Nice cross between the Regal and Lacrosse. Interior looks ok, keep in mind this is for the Chinese market, not the USA. The US version would be more upscale.

 

Okay, is this it?

 

Essentially yes but the 1st link posted is not covered in tape and has production headlights and grill. You will see tonight.

 

Can you see this?

 

Buick is making a mistake with this...

They've done a lot of good recently with the Enclave, LaCrosse and I think the Regal will be a hit too...

but for a compact luxury car to work it has to be more in the vein of an IS350 and less in the vein of a Chevy Cruze

 

So..just RWD vs. FWD? I think the target market would prefer FWD, at least were I am in the North East

 

No, not necessarily...the IS350 just has a different presence than this car does.

To me this car looks like a econocar with nicer headlights and a Buick emblem...there isn't enough differentiating it from your every day run of the mill econo cars

 

I have to agree with this. The public (at least, the semilux-buying public) is able to distinguish between something unique and upmarket and something econo-rebadged. I'd like to see them wait for Alpha myself.

 

Nope. All of the usual image hosting sites are blocked, as is *.blogspot.com and about a zillion other useful things.

It's almost time to go home... I'll just wait.

 

Look at where Lexus is going lately with the HS250h (Prettified Aurus) and upcoming CT200h (compact 5 door hatch) CAFE loves compacts and I think we'll see more and more - even from luxury brands.

I don't think that the front end of the Buick is that bad, but I think the rear is bizarre makeup on a bland face and the interior definitely needs work for the U.S. We've already seen far more classy and upscale looking Astra interiors and they could easily upfit this car for the U.S. market. I think better wheels would help, too. I'll need to see finalized U.S. trim before I'll be able to fully decide...

 

The Cruze looks to be more "hard plastic" where the Buick is "soft touch". The Buick is really just a carryover from the Opel, so it gets a lot of the same treatments. The Cruze gets the fabric dash, the Buick in theory would get a colored dashpad. Both cars should come with either the blue/white display or the larger full color display. But WHY? The Buick should ALWAYS get the full color. Period. Both cars clearly use the same gauge cluster with a different bezel assembly. Heck, GM uses this same cluster in a bajillion cars and I'm getting sick of seeing the layout again and again. The Steering wheels will offer the same control options (which again, are the same on like every GM car). The ambient lighting is a nice touch, I'm a fan of it. That's my only really positive comment.

Why buy the Buick? Slightly different exterior styling and headlights? Why pay the premium? You know GM is going to charge a few grand more, I want a few grand more of toys for it. It's a rebadge - and not like the Enclave.

And this is what their competition is going to bring to the party:

GM needs an alternative to MyTouch. BAD.
It looks like a Cruze with different headlights and grille to me. It really does.

For some reason Acura, Infiniti, and Lexus all don't think they need a car starting under about $30k. Is Buick a luxury brand? Do they need an $18k compact sedan? What is this supposed to go against here in the states? Who are they targeting? What is the point?! I don't get it!

 

 

I can now see the real images. I like everything I can see clearly. I'll reserve judgement on the interior until we can see a picture without glare. I like the hatch interior (which we can see clearly), and I assume it'll be the same in the sedan.

I like the hatch version better than the sedan, but both are handsome cars. Throw a ~250hp turbo Ecotec in there (with either a manual or a responsive manumatic with proper* paddles) and I'll think long and hard about buying one.

* proper = left for downshift, right for upshift. Camaro has this right.

 

"Neon" was the first thing that jumped to mind for me, then I saw the same sentiment in the writeup. It might look better in person (as was the LaCrosse for me).

 

Buick could use a Volvo C30 or Mini Cooper, but this is not that.

Are we even sure this is going to be sold in the States?