Nothing really new, compact is still hidden behind the beautiful LaCrosse and Regal.

But for the Buick nay sayers, the below is simply amazing:

“Buick is in a product renaissance, with the Enclave and LaCrosse leading the way. Last month Buick sold its 100,000th Enclave crossover. The brand’s conquest rate has tripled in the last year, and the import conquest rate has quadrupled.”

I’d say this isn’t just based on the Delta II architecture. It looks like they took an Opel Insignia and grafted a new grill and badge on it. Headlights, doors, daylight opening are identical. The only real difference I can see is in the rear taillights and trunk and even that is insignificant.

Buick should come out and say it’s based on Opel. Some nice German build quality injected into the brand…

GM is doing it wrong. Since Buick is meant to be a premium brand to fight Lexus, introducing a sub-$20k model hurts them. I know they are trying to find a younger audience, but this is not the way to do it.

I still find it hard to wrap my head around this Buick “revival” that GM is trying…but the Opel Insignia is a good looking sedan, so I not going to complain when they slap a Buick badge on it and sell it on this side of the pond. Should be a winner for Buick. I wonder if they’re worried at all about it possibly stealing some CTS sales?

Um, LNN, the car featured in your lead photo is NOT the new compact, but a sketch of the new Regal. The new compact is shown in the background, behind the LaCrosse, which is behind the Regal.

Scratch that last part…with a 1.4L 4-banger there is no way this will steal CTS sales!

This is gonna be a sweet looking small car.

Buicks have always been farty and frumpish, and so is this one, only less so.

Madcapp said it last week… enough with the f*cking sedans Buick. Build a coupe or a hardtop convertible… the G6 is gone so there’s a nice recently abandoned niche to fill.

Oh wait, I forgot… better check it out with the home box office in Shanghai first.

So you consider the Opel Insignia/Astra farty and frumpish?

And The Winner Is… –

Yup, It’s the dame picture as before just in a different angle. Don’t know why this is news or why they put the picture of the Regal as the leading picture…

Slow news day…

What’s the CTS’s competition?, that is certainly not a compact, especially when the CTS-V is compared to M5

I’m kinda suprised this model is coming to the US due to the whole Fritz “I fvcking hate badge engineering” Henderson had to give this the go ahead in the last year for the NA market. I guess when you put that it was in development before the Regal was, um, not a Buick and the 2011 Saturn Aura as it was supposed to be it would have slotted very well underneath the LaCrosse. It’s also kind of generic and old people looking, and as much as I absolutely love the 2010 LaCrosse – it kind of is too.

If it wasn’t for the Regal – Buick would still probably always be for old people. Let’s see what this Regal can do to the brand!

I really like Buick’s recent styling direction. So kudos if they can pull this off.

To add some more comentary on the Regal – it’s interesting to note that if Saturn would still be alive under GM ownership – the 2011 Aura would still be a different beast than the 2011 Regal. With 90% certainty, the US market would never have got the turbo 4 cylinder and instead would have had asome form of the 3.6 DI engine as it wouldn’t have been butting heads with the LaCrosse in a Saturn lineup.

It also would not be coming out in early 2010 – but in late 2010 when the Canadian plant is up and running (the Buick will be built in Germany for the early production cars). Then again. that has alot to do with Opel not being sold too though, as they need to ramp up production in Germany to keep people working and not lay off workers.

One has to ask the question of why GM is still placing any emphasis on Buick? In the US, it is still associated with the geriatrics group (no matter what amount of advertising GM puts out) and it competes with Chevrolet. It seems GM’s perpetual dry-humping of the Chinese market keeps this passé brand rolling into service bays around the US. That and into the retirement communities. Buick no longer has its hallmark car: Riviera (which started life as a Cadillac design…way back when).

Again, data is there but not used. Buick has increased conquest sales from imports by 4 times. That is huge. The Enclave and LaCrosse are selling to new buyers. Again, the data is there but now one wants to see it because it will not compute in your brains.

And again this is a pic of the LaCrosse and Regal with the same pic of the compact behind them.

Bring it on Buick. Liking the rennaissance they are experiencing. RIP Oldmobile/Pontiac/Saturn

Looks very nice. However, the sketch makes it look like a huge car – certainly nothing based on a Cruze sub-compact. It also looks like it would cost way more than $20k.

Even if it is priced around $20k, given Buick’s proposed positioning and improved imaging as “near luxury” and as a Lexus fighter, I don’t think Buick should have an entry level car like this – it will only dilute the brand image as a cheapo brand, instead of as a near luxury brand. Buick’s cheapest car shouldn’t be any less than $25k. Cheaper cars should stay with the Chevrolet brand.

Cimmaron by Buick

I see a smart, well styled compact with a modern chassis and great technology. If this car finds it’s intended market, it will offer a compact with features unbefitting a Chevrolet in the GM lineup, that allows for younger buyers to get into the Buick brand, and (they hope) step up to a larger Buick in the future. This is the car for their future, as they are trying to build a luxury brand with a new image. They want to fight Lexus, they need entry level models to bring in new blood to the dealers. Lexus has the IS and now the HX250, Buick has to counter with an entry level model, and a smaller platform with tons of fuel saving technology. Sounds like they have a great plan for that IMO with what they can scavange from the parts bin.

I think the people at LLN just didn’t realize that the part of the sketch they are focusing on is actually the Opel Insignia based Regal that has already been revealed in the metal. The small Buick (Skylark?) is the one in back on the left and this picture has been out for a while. It will most likely look just like the version they’ve already shown for China.

That being said, I really like where Buick is going with their cars. Nice clean designs with great proportions and interiors. It’s good positioning for Buick and I think suits a different market than Cadillac.

I get your point zfender – and even though not a great car, the Oldsmobile Alero was a huge sales success for GM and brought the average age of their buyers from the 50’s to the upper 30’s it was that dramatic. I still see alot of younger drivers in that car.

140 HP isn’t enough to get out of it’s own way. It had better have 40+ MPG or risk being an epic fail for both sales and CAFE

OMG! Buick releasing teaser photos to it’s target audience of 65 year olds who don’t know how to browse the internets!!!

From the picture, it looks like a very attractive car. I myself probably would not look at this particular model as I would most likely check out the new Regal. It is interesting how everyone is on Buick for being an old persons car. I know quite a few people in their late 20’s to mid 30’s that own Buick’s. I am 34 and I would not be ashamed of driving around in a Buick. They have very good reliability scores, last time I checked tied with Jaguar in the top spot after 3 years ownership. This is ahead of Lexus for reliability which is where GM is marketing Buick. As for those, that insist that this is an old persons car. Look at Lexus. Who do you see driving them. Most are driven by old people as well.

Why couldn’t they roll out this car as the first ALPHA car? Make it cushy and posh like a BUICK should be, then roll out the edgier, faster, CADILLAC not long after. This since GM no longer has PONTIAC to sell the normal and then wicked car and have a nerfed and UBER version for CADILLAC.

While I have seen the CRUZE racer in action and it is awesome, I want GM to move away from building such chintzy cars. I still want the CHEVY ULTRA WTCC built.

Not bad looking, but it needs more HP. As for being compact, it looks bigger than a compact sedan.

the stereotype that buicks are for geezers is a stale and crusty a concept…clearly buick is being targeted at younger folks, and you need entry-level models like this to recruit folks into the brand…there’s no rational reason to expect the entire buick range to coincide exactly with lexus, they’re aiming at offset markets…

As long as this new model is AWD standard I like it. No more FWD Buicks, please. Those ARE for senior citizens.

This is horrible.Another generic, FWD Buick sharing it’s platform with a budget Chevrolet. Not to mention it will probably come with the same horrible, outdated rear suspension that the Cruze has (torsion beam), and possibly the same rear brakes (drums). Possibly the same engine (a pathetic 1.4 liter 4 cylinder), and did I mention front wheel drive standard?

The Lexus IS and BMW 3-series is the epitome of this class. RWD, sporty four cylinder engines, big car mechanics such as independent rear suspension and an agile chassis with a good interior.. This is just another Cierra, another Regal, another Skylark. Another piece of crap!

The only way GM will ever rid itself of this stupid image is if it completely stops re-engineering cars that shouldn’t be re-engineered in that way.

JayJC – Maybe you mistyped (or Roger Clemons misremembered) but the IS and 3 Series don’t offer 4 cylinders. I don’t think Buick is even considering the IS and 3 Series as direct competition, so I’d lay off bashing GM on that since it’s obviously not in a similair class or within $10k (maybe even upwards of $20k) of one another. Think of it as a modern Alero. The Regal is only a TSX fighter and this is under the Regal – remember?

You know what? The LaCrosse can’t compare with the Lexus GS and BMW 5 Series either with your logic. Well, no it can’t. But it sure isn’t priced within $20k of those cars either. Apples and Oranges bud.

As I keep asking. Do people really think there is not room between a Cruze/Civic/Corolla compact and a 3 series/ c class / A4 compact?

Seems like a pretty big hole there ($18k to $35K)

This might not be a bad idea. Americans want to buy an American product. But, it has not been so easy the past 10 years. Now that Toyodaa is hitting so many speed bumps, maybe Buick and Ford can take over some of the anti american market. I am looking forward to see what Buick can do with a smaller car.

What is with all the hate for Buick? Sure for years the brand was considered the old floks brand & GM is going to have a hard time changing buyers ideas of what a Buick is. Comparing this new small Buick to a Cadillac CTS is just wrong. IMHO the Buick that would comes close to competing with the CTS is the new LaCrosse. You guys are just going to have to adjust your ideas of what a Buick can be. The compact car segment is going to grow in the U,S. especially now that there willbe new CAFE standards by 2016. I am 40 years old and have driven Honda Civics for the last 15 years. I will be looking to replace my 2009 Civic EX-L about the time the new small Buick will be for sale. If the new Regal is any indication of what I might expect with this new compact it will be at the top of my list for consideration. You talk about badge engineering isn’t the Volvo S40, Mazda3, Acura CSX just badge engineerred examples of a current Euro Ford Focus & the Honda Civic? Isn’t the Lexus ES350 just a Toyota Camry in designer duds? The list can go on and on. Open your minds a little and give Buick a chance to change their image & expand their line up & if consumers embrace these new cars then everybody wins.

Looks good!! Probably becaise the Koreans desighned engineered and developped it
DAEWOO LIVES ON
GM A KOREAN REVOLUTION

Sketches my @$$!! I see the front of the Regal and the rear of the Lacrosse. Are they f@#$ing serious??

85ZingoGTR, if you click on the little pictures, it makes them larger. It’s called a teaser sketch. Not a design study.

Looks good. I’m with carstuff. There seems to be a potentially large market there that no one has tapped into yet.

sweet

Hey evrybody,Ford SUCKS!

Did not say it was not being tapped. The mini is in there as is the IS and some others. Just not as big as a market YET because if you have $25k you would just buy a midsize, but with gas at $5 and EPA forcing increases in larger cars prices compacts should be much more sought after.

There is a market for 2nd time buyers or professionals that see $35k just a bit much for a small car, yet want something nicer than a Corolla/Cruze.

The car in the lead image is the Regal. The new Buick compact is tucked behind the Lacrosse in the actual image.

The compact is based off of the Opel Astra, and will eventually be sold along the 3-door and 5-door in Europe as the Opel Astra sedan. But, we’re getting it as a Buick. Which, isn’t a bad idea.

As for the competition, the Buick compact has no direct competition. There is no compact sedan class between the Civic/Corolla/Cruze class and the A4/3/C class. The only vehicles that the Buick compact could compare to would be the Acura CSX (sold in Canada, not the US) or Volvo S40.

@ psiclone – Wait. It’s the 3rd car all the way on the left peeking out from behind the lacrosse? A.J. just pointed it out. The headlamps look a tad bit different from the other two. Yeah thats it. Ok. Looks like a buick. Now. What to do something with the bland Lucerne? I feel like Buick should force Mercury to differentiate a little more from Ford.