WERM

Why to they make 2005MY Buicks with HUBCAPS?

Seriously, I saw a Lacrosse today with HUBCAPS..

I thought these were supposed to be "Premium" cars...

97z28/m6

because they are the world largest automaker and its your duty to buy them.

Darth Xed

Not every person cares if they have aluminum wheels on their family sedan.... in fact, a lot of people don't really want to pay for them either.

I don't see what the big deal is... they are just on the base models, and it's not like Buick is Cadillac or anything.

Threxx

I can't remember the model name off the top of my head right now, but I sat in and extensively examined the car that Buick is supposedly targeting the Lexus ES330 with.

All I can say is

I mean I didn't drive it or anything... so I can't comment there, and realistically knowing GM's powertrain and chassis designers I'm sure it's competetive.

But good grief, the interior and exterior build quality and interior material quality is so ridiculously cheaper in the buick that a couple of my friends who were with me who are most definitely not 'dash strokers' like I tend to be sometimes didn't believe me when I told them that Buick was intending for that car to compete with the ES330. Sadder yet is that the ES330 model is now approximately 65-70% of the way through its lifespan. In another 2 years it will be getting a completely new interior and exterior design, updated traction/suspension/chassis enhancements, and the all new GR-series V6 motor that has just been released for the Avalon and all new GS300.

In other words, the new Buick isn't even playing par for a 3 year old course.

Caps94ZODG

where are the port holes

formula79

I think you have been stroking more than your dash.....


Sorry you left yourself open

Seriously, I wonder how many Buick buyers feel the dash and say "Nope, I am gonna go buy a Lexus...their dash feels better". But that's the thing....Buick buyers won't care...but the person cross shopping a Lexus will. It seems like GM designs it cars to keep current buyers, not gain new ones....that is the saddest part.

Threxx

[QUOTE=formula79][QUOTE=Threxx]who were with me who are most definitely not 'dash strokers' like I tend to be sometimes didn't believe me when I told them that Buick was intending for that car to compete with the ES330.Not haven't stroked anything else today but I will before I go to bed.

Dash stroker is just a figurative term anyhow... in all reality I just pay more attention to the quality of materials, quality of assembly, and overall attention to detail/layout/feel of things on the inside of the car than many others do.

90 Z28SS

The base Lacross has hubcaps because its in the league of a base accord or camry ( both hubcap machines ) and not a lexus . Bob set his ownself up with big claims of benchmarking standards of the luxury world ( errr...the BMW pontiac ) Why not just say were taking Buick into a entry level luxury market , why call out lexus or BMW for that matter

Lose the benchmarking stratagy and start being the benchmarked , GM was once there some time ago . That should be a banner in all GM desing studios so they read it all day long

WERM

This is where I get confused, because according to your first sentance, I must deduce that Buick = Chevy. But later, you say it's an entry level luxury car, but entry level luxury cars are generally considered to be BMW 3-series, MB C-class, G35, IS300, and A4 types of cars, which are NOT hubcap laden machines.

I a Lacross at the auto show and though it was much nicer than older Buicks, it was not nearly as nice in attention to detail and overall feel as the Ford 500 (and it's not that Ford is known for great interiors). I'm a little put off by the pushrod motor (it is a "premium" car, right? ) but the hubcaps just plain scream "Cheap-o".

It's bad enough that GM has too many divisions, but the real killer is that they don't seem to know what each one is supposed to represent and where it is supposed to fit in the grand scheme of things. I'm just confused.

Caps94ZODG

They did it with Caddy...for me they are on the right path, just cant stop with the cars they got now..they gotta get new stuff out..new V sries to fill the yrs before newer cars come out..the SRX V8 is a good one..

Caps94ZODG

and Saturn is supposed to be moving upscale?? so is buick going out???

just stupid

Eric77TA

The LaCrosse is a stopgap model. It too will be all new around the time the new ES330 hits the streets. Whether it will be competitive then remains to be seen. Perhaps their biggest mistake was in not just calling it "Regal" and saving the new name for the whole new car. Like the current Grand Prix, this is a facelift and very little more. The LaCrosse is the replacement for the Regal and the Century, so lower line models have wheelcovers, like most Centuries had. Many of the older Buick buyers, like Xed said, don't want to pay for aluminum wheels.

Yes, it's a dilemma. Buick is in the dangerous position of trying to keep their previous buyers happy while attempting to attract new ones that have less in common with their old buyers than Rosanne Barr has with Heidi Klum. They might have been better of taking something along the Caddy route - keep one "old" style model (like Caddy has with DTS) for your traditional buyer, while trotting out all new stuff for your new buyer. It's hard to take a car like LaCrosse and say "Here, 67 year old man, here's a bench seat Buick with a pushrod engine and some wheelcovers for you - just like you like" While simultaneously saying - "Hey, 45 year old guy, check out this buckets and a console beauty with a DOHC engine and some sweet rims" while you're pointing at the same car. I have a lot of hope for the future of Buick, honestly, but there's going to be some definite growing pains in between.

90 Z28SS

I didnt say I thought Buick was there yet . The Lacross is certainly not . All I was saying is they should stop publicly naming luxury brands as benchmarks and just say were moving buick to a entry level lux segmant , thats all .