Buick may add new entry-level sedan

Posted Mon Feb 25 2008 9:35 AM by Viknesh Vijayenthiran

Recent strong performance in North American vehicle satisfaction surveys and increasing popularity across China has led management at Buick to consider expanding the current lineup. One option is to add a new RWD flagship sedan but a more viable solution is to add a new volume sedan position below the current LaCrosse (pictured).

GM execs are concerned about stricter CAFE regulations are desperate to add smaller and more fuel-efficient models to help improve fleet average fuel economy levels. If given the green light, the new model would be based on the Buick Excelle that’s set to go on sale in China next year, an inside source revealed to Automotive News. "I definitely think there might be a market for a luxury-crafted smaller car for Buick," said a senior GM source.

Holding back the launch of such a model are fears that it could cannibalize sales of GM’s other midsized sedan models and there’s also the issue of where to manufacture the car. The Chinese version of the car, the Excelle, will be based on GM’s new Alpha RWD platform but this could prove to be too expensive for an entry-level U.S. model.

Reader Comments

Mon Feb 25 2008 9:40 AM
HECTOR says

Really? Is this what the market is clammoring for, an entry level Buick? Ask your average man on the street to name one Buick model and he probably won't be able to. Do you catch my drift? GM shouldn't be thinking of an entry level Buick. GM should be thinking of sending Buick the way of Oldsmobile.
Mon Feb 25 2008 12:19 PM
Jim says

GM still doesn't get that every division can't have product for all market segments. A smaller, luxury sedan, think MB C-class, that is cheaper to operate but not necessarily cheaper to buy, perhaps. But a smaller less expensive Buick will only steal sales from Saturn and Pontiac. They should kill Pontiac first.
Mon Feb 25 2008 10:15 PM
HECTOR says

Kill Pontiac first?! Now that they are bringing the cool G8 to the USA?! Hell no! Get rid of the geriatric crowd at Buick first.
Tue Feb 26 2008 11:05 AM
Jim says

Fine, kill Buick. One brand needs to die and GM can transfer any strong model to the other. But I believe that Buick is doing much better than Pontiac.
Tue Feb 26 2008 11:37 AM
admin says

Buick is going crazy in China. As long as it is successful there, GM has no reason to kill it off.
Tue Feb 26 2008 1:27 PM
Borger says

Buick won't die, Chinese sales will keep it alive and well. Pontiac is the brand that needs to go the way of Oldsmobile. Lutz himself said, that the Zeta platform will never meet the new CAFE standards. That platform is a fat heavy pig. Rumor within GM is that the Pontiac G8 dies after the 2009 model year, can the Zeta based Camaro be that far behind then Hopefully the Camaro will move to the Alpha platform.
Tue Feb 26 2008 5:39 PM
NaBUru38 says

Pontiac has cool cars, Buick doesn't. Last weekend I entered their website (I know little about American luxury brands). Their two sedans look terribly old, more than the Jaguar X-Type or the Saab 9-5. There's no point in keeping such a marque in the market.

All western carmakers are relatively new in CHina, and Buick's bestseller model used to be a rebadged Corsa (don't know if it still is). GM has so much brands that they can pick one every two years for the Chinese market and remain among the bestsellers.

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