Comments on: Buick previews multiple ‘Avant’ small car concepts

By: carstuff

carstuff — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 10:53:51 +0000

Think more like mini. C30 styling is unattractive and really has no coolness to it. BUT pricing for this Buick at around $22k sounds about right (C30 starts at $24).

This Buick has to be something that brings in younger, single buyers in. I know it is not Buicks current image but build the right car and they will come.

By: Flipper

Flipper — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 07:56:35 +0000

Nice looking, but . . . a small Buick better be priced right. Forget the BMW 1 series, this cars real competition will be the Volvo C30′s of the world. And they don’t sell @ their ~ $25k price point.So how will this Buick?

By: anyclearer

anyclearer — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 02:53:38 +0000

good point carstuff, hadnt thought of that. Im just impatient on seeing something from caddilac for a dts replacement and a 1 series fighter, They have a great cts and suv’s and would love for them to have a great lineup.

By: global_lightning

global_lightning — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 20:23:06 +0000

If they were really targetting the Chinese market then they would call it the Double-Dragon Super Boraku Impressive – Queen Edition.

By: carstuff

carstuff — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 12:03:57 +0000

like to add another comment to above.

When GM was in trouble a year ago they strutted out all their stuff to the press (as did Chrysler but they did not have much) to show that they do have a good product line up for the future. Those vehicles shown are now coming out and to great accolades. Now that GM is solvent and have good product out they perhaps do not need to show what they have coming out. Yet Buick does since they need to change a deep rooted mindset in some.

By: carstuff

carstuff — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 11:44:52 +0000

any, I think Cadillac is a lot closer to production than Buick. Buicks are just concepts and probably 3 years away. Also, as you can tell from the comments, Buick needs to convince buyers that they are not just cars for old people. You do that with a strategy of showing the kind of vehicles that you will be building well ahead of time.

Cadillac however we all know as a premium sports brand. Also the 1 series and DTS/STS replacements are much closer to production.

Also perhaps they have learned their lessons with the Camaro and Volt. They have shown all along what they are doing and all we hear here is how long it takes and how delayed they are and on and on. Where in actuality they are right on schedule with a normal amount of development/engineering time.

By: AutoCritical

AutoCritical — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 06:15:50 +0000

Interesting ideas, I guess the translation to them from sketch to model will let us know if they will be any good. An engineering package can sometimes destroy a car!

By: anyclearer

anyclearer — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 03:36:05 +0000

anyone find it odd, that out of nowhere buick has alot of concepts, but the premium brand of cadillac…….cant even preview a dts replacement or 1 series fighter, but just talk about them.

By: carbonsigma

carbonsigma — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 03:17:28 +0000

@ahnuconun, yea, just like they own the word “Cabriolet” and “Sportback”?

By: carstuff

carstuff — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 02:32:19 +0000

whoops psychographics

By: carstuff

carstuff — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 01:35:14 +0000

I have said for months Buick needs to put out a small compact to sell in the same psycographics that the mini sells in with a Buick twang-luxury and comfort. This is it. Something cool looking at not too high a price. It will sell.

By: ahnuconun

ahnuconun — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 22:59:03 +0000

Has anybody told them Audi owns the Avant name?

By: F50

F50 — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 19:32:27 +0000

andy, the Kappa platform is with the old GM iirc, imo I think Fiat/Chrysler should buy it, its a good base for a Crossfire successor, Dodge Demon(Or maybe a base Dodge Stealth coupe to go against the base FWD Coupes[Altima and such]) and an Alfa Roadster.(And possibly some other small Chrysler/Alfa sedans)

By: andy

andy — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 19:03:59 +0000

did Penske buy the Solstice/ Kappa plant with Saturn? though the wheel base is almost a foot shorter than the 1 series it would provide a rwd platform ready to go for this project

By: Ring-Taxi

Ring-Taxi — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 18:03:22 +0000

Looks like a baby shoe.

By: lemonade

lemonade — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 17:28:47 +0000

these sketches are 2-3 years old. Nothing physical in development like these images suggest. Probably just PR/ eye candy.

By: 2morrowdesign

2morrowdesign — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 17:22:10 +0000

WAY TO GO GM ! Build it/them !
I like the sportiness of them, hopefully it will be cheaper than a 1 series and have RWD.
If so, I would buy one !

By: ChuckTown86

ChuckTown86 — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 17:18:28 +0000

Sketch #2 and #7 look the best, IMO with #2 having more potential at becoming reality. However, for #2 I would like to see a sleek traditional chrome door handle, or even a flush with the suface door handle, like an Aston Martin. The blackout b-pillar door handle, although well intergrated, reminds me of the Chevy Beretta. Regardless, I am 23 and can see myself driving on of these models. If they only they had models like these out earlier, things might have been different. Lets hope they come sooner rather than later. COME ON SKETCH #2.

By: johnnycanuck

johnnycanuck — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 16:56:50 +0000

…tuques in the winter. Bug spray in the summer.

By: MHW

MHW — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 16:53:14 +0000

With GM being down to only 4 brands I think it’s a given that Buick will be coming out with cars that don’t exactly fit their old business model. Buicks average buying age continues to fall with each new model. It started with the Enclave and will fall even further with the new LaCrosse. I think the new Buick is going to try to appeal to all age groups with their main goal being affordable luxury. One thing that these concepts demonstrate is that Buick has some talented designers which makes for a promising future.

By: ricky_b

ricky_b — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 16:35:58 +0000

My interest is peak. Now commit to a show car with real materials.

By: cor1977

cor1977 — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 16:35:54 +0000

Personally, I like the 4th and 5th pictures. I would be anxious to see what, if anything, would come of them.

By: Ramatai

Ramatai — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 16:35:12 +0000

I like the coupe’s apart from the grill. I really don’t like the shape of the radiator grill on the first picture. Even the coupe’s grill is awkward, a nose job would be a sensible move for Buick IMHO.

By: RaineMan

RaineMan — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 16:31:44 +0000

So is this going to end up being a Buick-badged Chevrolet Cruze? We all know Buick’s last exciting vehicle was the GNX. Maybe they are just afraid of raising the heart rates of their average (geriatric) buyer too much.

By: DenverGuy217

DenverGuy217 — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 16:30:15 +0000

so what actually does sell in Saskatchewan?

By: andy

andy — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 16:27:15 +0000

7th picture looks like Buick-ized stingray sort of…
Idrinorbarsaku, how often do early sketches ever go into production (furthermore how often do production vehicles look exactly like their early development concepts), look at the BMW Vision ED concept, certain styling cues will be used on up coming models but thats about it, same thing here, designers are just working with ideas of what it could be, hence the name ‘concept’. Maybe nothing from these sketches and rendering will be used, or maybe they will take the roof line from one, and keep the smart door, etc.

By: johnnycanuck

johnnycanuck — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 16:22:28 +0000

I’m having a tough time envisioning standout sales numbers in places like Kansas or Saskatchewan for something like this.

By: idrinorbarsaku

idrinorbarsaku — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 16:16:23 +0000

you know what’s funny? Back in art school, we all drew up designs like this, not for a specific brand, but just for a rough design. They weren’t drawn to show what a car company can do, they are drawn to show how good they can come up with a concept design. I guarantee you none of those cars(as depicted from the pics) will EVER see production!

By: DenverGuy217

DenverGuy217 — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 16:15:08 +0000

I think its confusing because Buick is such a large volume brand in China, its hard to fathom them having any real purpose because of the low volume and aged demographics we see in the US. In China, Buicks like the one based on the Opel Insignia are thought after by the up-and-coming young career crowd like a BMW everywhere else. Still difficult to believe, but great news for the brand. Will they ever be able to poition themselves that way in the US remains to be seen. I hope they can.

By: Me

Me — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 16:09:30 +0000

If the 1-series is indeed the target, I gotta believe handing should be a big goal here. People don’t buy the 1series for luxury. They buy it because it’s a nimble car with great dynamics -and RWD. This car could be great.

By: eff1Fifty

eff1Fifty — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 16:05:58 +0000

Ok I’m just gonna put this out there, I don’t mean to offend anybody’s opinions, but BUICK CONFUSES ME. Vueicks, minivans, electric cars, sub compat cars, Riviera reduxes… as a consumer I’m confused. Who are they targeting? Old? young? family units? chinese?

What do u guys think? Are they headed in a direction that will be productive? Or are they trying to LOOK productive so thr US gov will leave them alone?

By: A.C.

A.C. — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 16:03:09 +0000

i think lf-ch is better

By: Elvacano

Elvacano — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 15:50:05 +0000

I do see some Infiniti/Nissan on the second one, but it’s probably just a concept drawing. Let see how it materialize.

By: DenverGuy217

DenverGuy217 — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 15:40:37 +0000

The 2nd one has a lot of Infiniti coupe element to it. With a toned down rear quarter panel design, rear-wheel drive and a nice 2.0 turbo I’d be standing in line with a check.