The Auto Writer

Finally it appears that everyone’s yapping about Buick is beginning to pay off. In a recent interview with Automotive News, John Cafaro, who is director of design for Buick and Chevrolet, said that one of his roles is to make sure that Buick gets some more exciting models to sell. One of the cars GM is considering for Buick is a flagship coupe, a statement maker which just may shake up everyone’s perception of the brand.

Color me piqued if GM follows through on giving Buick some special loving. Like so many others who follow the auto industry closely, we’ve been looking at what Buick sells in China and what Buick sells in North America and see a continental wide difference between the two. China can keep their Royaum and Park Avenue models, but something like the Buick Riviera concept unveiled in the not so forbidden kingdom in 2008 would go over well here.

Buick Riviera

And it looks like the Riviera or something close to it could show up in your Buick-GMC showroom within the next few years.

That’s good news for GM, because in killing off Pontiac they’ve confused a lot of buyers who aren’t necessarily willing to switch to Chevy or they have taken a glance over at Buick and see that its product line is wanting. Sure, the Enclave and LaCrosse are hits, but the Regal isn’t here quite yet. The Lucerne is old school, the one model which desperately needs to be retired.

If GM goes with a flagship coupe, Buick could benefit tremendously if not so much in sales as in image repair. Back in the day, GM offered a trio of upscale coupes including the Cadillac Eldorado, Oldsmobile Toronado and the Buick Riviera. All three models were luxurious, sporty and stylish, very good image builders for their respective brands.

Dying Off

Cafaro acknowledged that Buick’s customer base is dying off and they are not being replaced by younger buyers. That bodes poorly for any brand, but especially for Buick who needs to pick up some of the market share lost in recent years by GM. Cadillac and Chevrolet serve as book-end brands, while Buick is supposed to cover a significant portion of the middle ground. Indeed, GM is targeting entry level premium Lexus models when considering products for Buick, letting Cadillac compete with the upper end of the Lexus line.

I’ve seen a few sketches over the past day or two showing artist renditions of what the flagship Buick may look like.

But I’ll make it easy for GM: the Buick Riviera concept is beautiful so build it. Furthermore, grace this car with the Riviera name and you’ll be continuing down the road of revived naming convention you started when you decided to resurrect the Regal name.

Gee, I might even stop calling GM “Government Motors” if they clean up Buick.