General Motors’ move to turn its Saturn division into a European import brand hasn’t exactly gone as planned, but GM could be considering a similar strategy for its Buick line. GM is reportedly working on a new small sedan for Buick, and early reports indicate the new model could be produced at an Opel plant in Russelsheim, Germany.
Rumors surfaced nearly two years ago that Buick was working on a new compact model, but little materialized in the subsequent months. However, GM’s push to make Buick a more premium brand and the pending sale of GM’s Saab brand means that the conditions could finally be just right for the baby Buick.
Why Germany?
Although a German-made Buick sounds like an oddity, it could be the perfect way for GM to utilize extra capacity at its Russelsheim Opel plant. The next-generation Saab 9-3 was slated to be made at the German plant, but GM’s strategy to make Saab a standalone company means the next 9-3 will likely be built in Trollhattan, Sweden.
The Russelsheim plant was also scheduled to produce the Saab 9-1, but those plans have been frozen as GM preps the Saab brand for sale. However, GM has already spent and untold sum of money retooling the Russelsheim plant to produce the Delta-based 9-1, which means GM is probably actively searching for a vehicle to fill the void left by the lame duck 9-1. The next-generation Saturn Astra could be one such possibility but, seeing how the Saturn brand could be dead by 2013, that doesn’t seem like a viable option. Instead, GM could be considering producing a Delta-based premium Buick at the Russelsheim plant.
Adding credence to that theory, one Opel insider told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung that GM was considering a plan that would lead to a “very great quantity” of Buicks being produced in Germany.
Could it work?
One of the biggest problems GM faced with turning it Saturn brand into an Opel import brand was the cost of importing vehicles from Europe. However, the Buick nameplate would be able to command a higher price than the Saturn brand, so GM could hide the added cost in the vehicle’s sticker price.
The new model is also rumored to be styled similarly to the Buick Riviera concept, so the car would definitely have the right looks to fly off the showroom floor. Interior volume would be down from a standard Buick car, but added content and the possibility of 40+ mpg would likely be enough for people to overlook its size deficit.
However, the German-made small Buick has yet to get the green light from GM brass. If the small sedan ultimately does get the go-ahead, expect it to hit the market in time for the 2012 model year.
