The Auto Writer

As GM emerges from its short stay in bankruptcy court, a new company is taking shape one that will be freed of several brands including Pontiac, Saab, Saturn, Opel and Hummer. That leaves Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC and Buick behind, two of which whose purpose in the new GM is crystal clear while two others are murky at best.

Where Chevrolet, Cadillac Stand

Chevrolet represents the “All American Standard Bearer Brand” for GM, the entry level, catch-all make that is designed to lure new customers while keeping established ones satisfied. Sure, customers may eventually climb to Buick or Cadillac, but with the widest number of vehicles offered, many are content to call Chevrolet home.

On the other side of the spectrum is Cadillac, the “All American Luxury Brand” although Lincoln may beg to differ on this point. If you want consummate American luxury, then Cadillac delivers. And if the DTS, STS and Escalade are too American for your tastes, the CTS line does a decent impersonation of a European touring sedan.

Somewhere in the middle of these two are a pair of brands that lack pizazz – GMC and Buick. And that is where things begin to get cloudy.

GMC, Chevrolet Perpetuate Badge Engineering

A scrutiny of the GMC line reveals that Chevy trucks and GMC are virtually the same, perhaps just a bit different in some of the packaging details. GMC and Chevrolet persist in the practice of badge engineering, a syndrome GM has long used to round out its product line up. Perhaps GM has plans to move GMC in a different direction, but for now every GMC product is sold elsewhere, chiefly at Chevy dealers.

Buick’s position in the company should be clearer, but with different signals being sent out by GM management and marketeers, the customer may not have a clear picture of what the brand is about and where it is headed. Clearly, the big Buick Enclave SUV is a strong departure from Buick blandness, offering a style that is bold, crisp and the envy of Cadillac dealers who probably are still wondering why they aren’t the ones selling the Enclave as the next generation Escalade.

The all new LaCrosse midsize sedan is an improvement over the generation one model, but its place in the company is not too clear. Has it been developed to compete against Acura and Lexus or has the LaCrosse been designed to appeal to Toyota Avalon and Nissan Maxima drivers? Or something else?  I’m not sure and have read varying interpretations from inside and outside of GM which makes it difficult to say with all manner of certainty.

The Aged Buick Lucerne

Then of course we have the aged Lucerne, the big front wheel drive sedan that is new on the outside but underneath rides on a 1980s H body platform. I honestly like the way the car looks, but with the standard V6 in place the car is slow as molasses when compared to similar models. Besides, cheap interiors should have died with the 1990s – the Lucerne perpetuates this madness in spades.

Winding Road magazine published an excellent piece recently – General Motors 4.0: What is a Buick? – which airs many of the same questions about Buick that many people are asking. And therein lies the problem – if GM has a plan for Buick, then they need to clearly state what that is. “Take a look at me now” may make for a memorable tag line, but not if customers aren’t all that sure what they’re supposed to see.

See Also — Buick LaCrosse On Track For Summer Release