First Enclaves roll off the line

[Windy-57]

Moreso than that they need a top of the class Lacrosse. The EP Lacrosse can't come soon enough. I actually will venture to say that the new Malibu should have been a Lacrosse and that the current ugly Malibu could have soldiered on a few more years.

Yup, LaCrosse is the next big step for Buick. If the next LaX is on the level with the Enclave, people will be sounding the trumpets of Buick is back.

But, while an improved LaX is important to Buick, GM needs the Malibu this year. That car will go a long way toward continuing the turnaround and will generate the revenue to invest in other projects such as the next LaX.

Edited April 14, 2007 by Windy-57

[regfootball]

The Rendezvous sold amazingly well for what the minimal investment that went into it. Over the years, it regularly outsold the MDX and came close to meeting the RX300/30. That's saying something.

The Enclave only adds to its success.

one reason the rendezvoous sold so well, the aztek/rdv had extra large cargo areas compared to tradtional trailblazer/explorer type suv's. it was a nice bridge between the huge cargo area of a minivan and the small cargo areas of hip suv's.

[regfootball]

Stop bitching about the Enclave it is an extremely sharp looking CUV.

perhaps the best looking CUV on the market.

ok, tied with acadia.

[VenSeattle]

Moreso than that they need a top of the class Lacrosse. The EP Lacrosse can't come soon enough. I actually will venture to say that the new Malibu should have been a Lacrosse and that the current ugly Malibu could have soldiered on a few more years.

I disagree... It's better for Buick to soldier on for a year or two and be the first to receive Epsilon II than just now get the 2008 Malibu and be the last division to receive Epsilon I. Enclave marks the first product resulting from Buick's supposed $3-Billion revival. The products following Enclave will restore Buick to its original market position. The Eps II LaCrosse can do that. The 2008 Malibu wouldn't.

The 2008 Malibu will finally make Chevrolet competitive in the mainstream mid-size sedan market though.

[91z4me]

I disagree... It's better for Buick to soldier on for a year or two and be the first to receive Epsilon II than just now get the 2008 Malibu and be the last division to receive Epsilon I. Enclave marks the first product resulting from Buick's supposed $3-Billion revival. The products following Enclave will restore Buick to its original market position. The Eps II LaCrosse can do that. The 2008 Malibu wouldn't.

The 2008 Malibu will finally make Chevrolet competitive in the mainstream mid-size sedan market though.

Both valid points. I do see that the NG Malibu will provide funding for many other projects and I DO think that the NG LaCrosse should get EPII instead of the soon to be out of date EPI. I concede my statement.

[gm4life]

Each good points but the Malibu is more of a bread and butter product than the Lacrosse. No denying that.

[turbo200]

Both valid points. I do see that the NG Malibu will provide funding for many other projects and I DO think that the NG LaCrosse should get EPII instead of the soon to be out of date EPI. I concede my statement.

NG lacrosse needs to be a lot more mind-blowing and unexpected than Malibu. think what malibu means to chevy the everyday division, lacrosse needs to reflect that huge jump in refinement and sophistication and style for the premium brand. i'm hoping for something much more jaw-dropping in terms of a cohesive design and image than the recently introduced park ave. something more along the lines of what the riv concept is shaping up to be. i wish they'd do the park ave over here too, if it's long wheelbase, so that it could establish that benchmark of a really expensive Buick, even if it didn't sell that much, around 45k, that could help cover the DTS segment.

[PeterPuck]

"Wouldn't want it to look like a minivan"

"It would look like a minivan"

"That'd make it too much like a minivan"

Heh. Fine, those of us who like form=function, high-capacity, remote-sliding-door vehicles get the point.

The expression, I think, is "adding insult to injury". The injury being that GM and Ford have dumped our customer segment totally, and Chrysler isn't going to offer AWD, so we have to buy Asian.

So I guess the insult doesn't really matter much, right?

No, no, you don't really want a sliding door. You don't want the option of value pricing. You're too embarrassed to drive a minivan! You want an expensive crossover! You want to ding cars beside you at the mall or to squeeze your kids out of a 8" wide door opening.

There, now we got that out of the way.

These Lambdas are going to become another case of "Why isn't anyone buying these things? They're the best in their class!" Maybe, just maybe, the market hasn't demanded them. GM and Ford need to get it through their heads that they do not set the market trends out of sheer will, or unwillingness to offer what the market wants. Somebody else will give people what they want if they won't do it.

Edited April 22, 2007 by PeterPuck

[Drew Dowdell]

The Rendezvous sold amazingly well for what the minimal investment that went into it. Over the years, it regularly outsold the MDX and came close to meeting the RX300/30. That's saying something.

The Enclave only adds to its success.

didn't it actually beat the RX in sales one year?

[Drew Dowdell]

No, no, you don't really want a sliding door. You don't want the option of value pricing. You're too embarrassed to drive a minivan! You want an expensive crossover! You want to ding cars beside you at the mall or to squeeze your kids out of a 8" wide door opening.

There, now we got that out of the way.

These Lambdas are going to become another case of "Why isn't anyone buying these things? They're the best in their class!" Maybe, just maybe, the market hasn't demanded them. GM and Ford need to get it through their heads that they do not set the market trends out of sheer will, or unwillingness to offer what the market wants. Somebody else will give people what they want if they won't do it.

I'm sure there are still some Terrazas out there for sale.

If you want "value" pricing. Don't shop a Buick.

I don't understand where people have such an issue with car doors at malls. I never have a problem parking the Avalanche at the mall with 4 friends in it. But then again, I'm not talking on the cell phone, playing with the iPod, checking the Nav screen, and syncing my PDA while I'm trying to park either. If you pay attention it shouldn't be an issue.

[enzl]

No, no, you don't really want a sliding door. You don't want the option of value pricing. You're too embarrassed to drive a minivan! You want an expensive crossover! You want to ding cars beside you at the mall or to squeeze your kids out of a 8" wide door opening.

There, now we got that out of the way.

These Lambdas are going to become another case of "Why isn't anyone buying these things? They're the best in their class!" Maybe, just maybe, the market hasn't demanded them. GM and Ford need to get it through their heads that they do not set the market trends out of sheer will, or unwillingness to offer what the market wants. Somebody else will give people what they want if they won't do it.

I think they'll sell fine...and at a good transaction price (most importantly).

The problem is simply that GM is replacing sales with substitute product. The Lambdas will end up keeping volume constant, as GMT900 and GM360's are effectively rendered less saleable by a sister product across the showroom.

[PeterPuck]

I'm sure there are still some Terrazas out there for sale.

If you want "value" pricing. Don't shop a Buick.

I don't understand where people have such an issue with car doors at malls. I never have a problem parking the Avalanche at the mall with 4 friends in it. But then again, I'm not talking on the cell phone, playing with the iPod, checking the Nav screen, and syncing my PDA while I'm trying to park either. If you pay attention it shouldn't be an issue.

By "value" pricing, I mean a family vehicle that doesn't cost as much as a Lambda. Minivans are cheap, and most families can afford them. The Lambdas are not cheap. Not all families are upper-middle class. People buy the el-cheapo Dodge Caravan in huge numbers for a reason. People who want a better minivan will opt for an Odyssey, not a Lambda. We can expect to hear of many dealers forced to turn people away because they wanted a "van". Contrary to popular belief, most minivan drivers and potential buyers are NOT ashamed to drive a vehicle with a sliding door any more than they are ashamed to have kids.

And the sliding door is a wonderful convenience; especially the remote feature. This, by itself, makes it worth it for our family to drive a Montana. You can NOT trust a child to open a hinged door if there are vehicles parked next to you. The next vehicle is almost always within striking distance, especially in crowded Calgary where we live. Dropping the kids off, you can just press the "Open" button on the console, and "Close" when they're gone. Picking them up, same thing. If your arms are full, you can manage to press the "Open" on the remote rather than put everything down to let the kids in. It's a huge opening; bigger than that of a hinged door, and the larger opening can be very convenient.

Edited April 22, 2007 by PeterPuck

[Drew Dowdell]

You can NOT trust a child to open a hinged door if there are vehicles parked next to you.

sorry, I literally LOLed at this one.

I never had a problem as a kid with opening my own door and not banging the car next to me. We had a Dodge Colt Vista which was about as mini-van as you could get without the sliding doors.