whatever!

Bring back the Reatta!

Sounds desperate. But anything to keep the overpaid IG Metall workers happy…
Note to LLN: Were you say 9-3, you probably mean 9-5.

Yet another example of us being asked to ‘Save the American Automotive Industry’… yet, the manufacturing of vehicles to keep the Big 2.1 afloat continues to migrate offshore.

Will someone please explain the thinking? (Spare me the talk about how foreign brands have been doing this for years and are successful… How U.S. companies have no choice but to produce outside the U.S. in order to stay competitive on a worldwide basis, etc.)

Bottom Line: Saving the U.S. auto industry has to involve keeping production in the U.S.

Or it becomes a mistake (and a waste) on SO many levels.

It aounds suicidal to build a faux 350Z, badge it as a Buick and import it despite the dollar-Euro exchange rate. Also, we all remember how well the Merkur XR4ti worked out.

Am I missing Need More Oil for GM commentary? Is he having dinner or stool? What gives?

Gm won’t build a Reatta since they are canceling the Cadillac XLR.

Anyway… They should kill Saturn TODAY and give Buick the Insignia as the Regal.

Guys, this may works! Let Krautz pay for their version of UAW. I wish the whole company moved over and became German problem.

A baby Buick just sounds so cute. And speaking of cute and wrinkly, since old people tend to shrink a lot a smaller car would play right into Buick’s demographic. You know, somewhere between adult diapers and ‘we are gathered here today…’.

I’ve already got the ad campaign all worked out: “Introducing the new Buick Dependz- this could be the last Buick you will ever need!”.

These chevy–opel transitions are getting old

I wish Buick would just die already…just like most of their customers…

I’m still a little confused as to why GM insists on going on with this brand. The only brand in the industry with a “Last Time Buyers Program.” Their demographic is dying, literally. Why does GM need two luxury divisions?

I feel this is a good idea. Buick can regain its status as near luxury and be an alternative to people who simply can’t afford an actual luxury car. Zcarsales, GM is going forward with the brand because it can become successful and its a great way to capture people with smaller amounts of cash. Buick could be a gold mine if its treated correctly.

AMERICAN, NOTHING ELSE

(1)
Kill Saturn & Pontiac.
(2)
If GM is serious about Buick here’s what they should do……Build a car in between the size of a 3 series, Audi & a Benz in both coupe & sedan flavors. Next, the performance model should be a twin turbo six with the Grand National name, it would complete with the likes of the M3, Audi’s S series & M.B’s AMG brands. Then……..build a limited edition version called the GNX, that could go against the Audi RS cars, BMW CSL’s? & M.B.’s black series.
If that doesn’t get people to seriously look at a Buick………nothing will
(3)
G.M. should move the Corvette a little further upmarket. As a Corvette owner I wouldn’t mind spending a more $ if they bridged the gap with Porsche in terms refinement & so on & finally give it a decent interior.

So we give GM billions in taxpayer dollars and this is how they use it?

I thought the failure of the Astra had already proven that European-manufactured GMs won’t work in the United States. The Euro is too strong compared to the dollar… and the importing costs are outrageous. It just doesn’t make business sense.

Yay for triple posting… can we get an edit button here?

If GM wants to be serious about Buick they should take a long and hard look at Toyota. Both brands are aiming for 40-60 year old buyers… the heart of the geriatric market. These old-timers want reliable cars with plenty of room for family & friends & groceries, a smooth supple ride, above average fuel economy, and all the creature comforts of home. They don’t care about speed or flashy stand-out styling. Get the quality up… get the standard options list up… get the fuel economy up… lose the rest.

GM, just STOP. You know what you should do GM? Get rid of the Buick brand adn bring in the Opel brand. Buick is always going to be in some peoples heads as a old folks brand, so how do you fix that? You don’t. Oldsmobile (who was not seen to be near the old folks brand as Buick) was deleted, so why not the worse Buick?

I said this when they started changing Saturn to be the Opel of the U.S. but at least they weren’t seen as an old folks brand, just a cheapo one.

Opel is a good brand name with good equity in this country, plus the history of Opel is kind of ironic since they were sold in the very Buick dealers in the late 60’s-early 70’s that they would be taking over.

Maybe GM also needs money from the European Union, or from the German government / the land of Rheinland-Pflaz, which might be eager to support their industry there ?

According to their great success in China, killing the Buick brand in the US would also kill the strong image it has in Asia – “all America in a car” glorious and shiny memory… or sort of.

Hey, Beemerdude, didn’t BMW and VW just ask for Government support? Yeah, I thought so. If it weren’t for Mini, BMW would have been begging in the fall, before the D3 went to congress.

It’s better to buy an American car built in Germany than a foriegn one built in the states. At least the money goes to the rightful place and Americans are doing the right thing driving an American nameplate

Buy American, Buy GM. It is your duty

Didn’t GM already sell Opels through Buick dealers in the 70’s? I seem to remember it wasn’t particularly successful then…

Yes, but that was selling an Opel in America in a time where foreign cars were seen as unreliable death traps. The majority of shoppers (especially Buick shoppers) wouldn’t have a clue that this stylish little Buick wasn’t American. For those who do know the difference, most people prefer foreign now anyway. Win with the ignorant, and win with the even more ignorant.

Need More Oil, what kind of ignorant statement are you making? I’ve seen bad things from you in the past… but come on. I’d rather buy a Toyota built here in the US than a Buick built in Germany. Toyota is keeping those blue-collar factory workers employed here in the states… which directly effects our economy. Who cares if a small percentage of the profits go to the suits in Japan? I would much rather keep John Q Public working on the Toyota assembly line than see more of my money go to an idiot like Lutz.

Another website says that this would deploy a twin-turbo V6 and AWD in its top-of-the line model, and that is exactly what Buick should do. They should limit their offerings to taking on the BMW 3 series/Audi A4/Benz C-class and matching them in every way, interior, styling, and performance. Frankly, it’s their only hope of saving the brand. Let Caddy take on the 5 series and up. There is no point in engineering a smaller luxury performance sedan when you already have one in your arsenal. They should then let Chevy and/or Pontiac do battle in the lower cost volume segments currently dominated by Honda and Toyota. The management at the big three should finally start to believe that it will be their products that will lead them to prosperity, not accounting gimmicks, marketing campaigns, or quality-skimping cost cuts.