pronstar wrote: Buick will not go anywhere...it's too strong of a brand in China, and China will soon surpass the US as the largest car market in the world.
You may have noticed that Buick, BMW, VW and other concept cars that make their worldwide debut at the Shanghai auto show...
We might see it leave the US (unlikely IMHO). But it won't be completely killed.
You're right Buick is a big deal in China and China may well be the Elephant in the car sales business in the near future.
Another poster said that years ago, GM started you off with a Chevy, then when you got wealthier and older, you went with Pontiac, then Olds, then Buick, then Cadillac.
Even back then, many of us got wealthy enough only to get as high as Olds, or Buick...then that was it, our last car.
But even those who only got to Olds or Buick in the GM scheme of things, eventually did have their last ride ride , as GM intended...in a Cadillac....a Cadillac hearse.
SoCalDesertRider wrote: GM has never made any sense with all their duplicate, triplicate, quadruplicate, etc cars. I agree that eliminating Buick, Pontiac and GMC and just having Chevy and Caddy would be the wisest thing GM could do. Ok, second wisest... First wisest is to get rid of that rediculus Hummer!
Maybe most already know this but back in the day it did make sense. Up until mid-70s or so, the cars really were different.
GM's marketing plan back then was to get everyone started off in a Chevy, then move them up to Pontiac (the "performance" division), then Olds (a little more lux), onto Buick (still more lux) and ultimately to Cadillac.
Even after the mechanics of the lines basically consolidated, they still had the options and advertising geared to take advantage of the brand identity/mentality they had cultivated all those years.
Granted, now, it doesn't make sense - and I think that's what's going on now, although long overdue.
Guess they lost sight of their roots. As far as I can remember, the various GM cars were all the same starting in the late 60's.
Badge engineering made sense when the domestics owned the car market.
But in a competitive market, badge engineering resulted in domestic car divisions that competed with one another for the same consumer...
Alfred Sloan was the "father" of badge engineering but it was never his intention for Chevy to compete with Pontiac for customers. Blame the bean counters, who mandated fewer and fewer product distinctions amongst the divisions to cut costs and boost shareholder value...which is of little solace now that GM's market cap is $6 billion...which is less than Starbucks.
I don't think just because you own one that makes you pretentious.
Stereotyping someone by what car/truck/SUV they drive is an easy way to fall into the judgement trap. I am quite sure we have all missed many an opportunity because we were quick to judge, or profile someone based on a first impression.
As far as that goes....I have met some pretty arrogant people that drive a Toyota Prius. But that is not to say all Prius drivers are snooty.
8.1 Van wrote: The only person under 40 years old driving a Buick is Tiger Woods because they pay him millions to do so.
My wife is under 40 and loves her Buick. (It's a Grand National.)
John
1984 Ford B-700 school bus conversion, Thomas body
A bunch of other vehicles
3 nutty cats (Maya, Vierna, Briza)
One lazy dog (Marmaduke)
One wife (Liz)
"A wasted youth is better by far than a wise and productive old age"
-Jim Steinman
SoCalDesertRider wrote: GM has never made any sense with all their duplicate, triplicate, quadruplicate, etc cars. I agree that eliminating Buick, Pontiac and GMC and just having Chevy and Caddy would be the wisest thing GM could do. Ok, second wisest... First wisest is to get rid of that rediculus Hummer!
Maybe most already know this but back in the day it did make sense. Up until mid-70s or so, the cars really were different.
GM's marketing plan back then was to get everyone started off in a Chevy, then move them up to Pontiac (the "performance" division), then Olds (a little more lux), onto Buick (still more lux) and ultimately to Cadillac.
Even after the mechanics of the lines basically consolidated, they still had the options and advertising geared to take advantage of the brand identity/mentality they had cultivated all those years.
Granted, now, it doesn't make sense - and I think that's what's going on now, although long overdue.
Guess they lost sight of their roots. As far as I can remember, the various GM cars were all the same starting in the late 60's.
Hardly. The divisions each had their own ENGINES until the late 70's (and some kept them until 1990). Many of the cars had completely different styling from division to division.
For that matter, the big cars (Impala, etc.) used different front suspension until about 1970.
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