Enclave as hot as Prius!

[buickguy]

http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB119...6664555529.html

[AAS]

Where are they? Besides ours, I've seen one in Los Angeles and one rental (I swear I keep seeing the same one over and over again) in San Diego.

[K.C.]

I saw 4 this morning taking my daughter to school. I saw three CXL's, one in gold mist, one in carbon, and the last in cocoa. The CX I saw was the dark crimson color. The gold mist and the cocoa CXL had the 19 inch chromes, and the carbon CXL had the dealer accessory 20s on it that looked great!

[GMTruckGuy74]

My local dealer has 4-5 of them on the lot. A much larger B-P-G-H(ummer) dealership I visited last weekend had none. That's right, they were all sold out. Not one in the showroom, back of the lot, or parked inbetween the Acadias (or any other vehicle). I thought that was a little strange, seeing as how they are a "big time" GM dealership and should have at least one in their inventory. I guess they can't make them fast enough for certain dealers.

[Drew Dowdell]

I see them regularly enough now that they are no longer remarkable.

[Paolino]

I officially saw my second 1 today. It looks very nice in cocoa... didn't like it in silver though.

[Bimmer325]

I've only seen two.

[Cory Wolfe]

I've seen maybe three that weren't on dealer lots.

[gm4life]

I have seen three. The Buick dealer in town can't keep 'em on the lot. GO BUICK!

[PONTIAC06]

I see them everywhere...except on the local GM lot! Plus, it's got to be good news for Buick that about 55% of the buyers are under the age of 55...

[AxelTheRed]

They're a road staple up here in Buick Town.

[FUTURE_OF_GM]

A little off topic but, it's nice to see that 4 of the hottest 10 vehicles are domestics with 2 out of the top 4 and 3 of the top 5 being GM vehicles.

Edited October 13, 2007 by FUTURE_OF_GM

[caddycruiser]

Being someone who went recently shopping for one, only to REALLY be relieved to find a dealer that actually had one to see and drive...this is all very true.

The local dealer that we last bought from & have all service done at gets about 2 a month (not sure why they're so limited on what they get, given their large size), and each one is always gone within a day. Same story for most other dealers, aside from inventory/supply differences.

And having been on an Enclave owner's forum for some time now, the bulk of Enclaves are special ordered simply because there are none on the lots to begin with, and that's how most are relying on getting just the right one--with it taking anywhere from 6 weeks if you're REALLY lucky, to months in wait. Things seem to finally be evening out and picking up pace as far as this order time, lately, however though, based on what people are reporting.

The Acadia & Outlook are also doing very well, but not to the level of the Buick, for sure. Those two sell quickly but you can find a selection to see & drive...the Buick is almost impossible to find, in most places.

NOW, just continue to keep it fresh with little details here and there...and get the rest of the lineup on such a hot level. I think they can do it, the problem is, a sedan will never have the natural "draw" a large crossover does, in the US market.

[avant1963]

The key to this story is the 46.6% of buyers in the 36-55 age range. And more than half the buyers are under 55. That's how you get Buick's age range down. I would have like to see the most popular trade be an RX or MDX, but at least Rendezvous drivers are sticking with Buick.

[caddycruiser]

The key to this story is the 46.6% of buyers in the 36-55 age range. And more than half the buyers are under 55. That's how you get Buick's age range down. I would have like to see the most popular trade be an RX or MDX, but at least Rendezvous drivers are sticking with Buick.

EXACTLY. The Rendezvous was first to start attracting a lot of younger buyers, and did, but also in the lifespan, attracted quite a few of the typical older buyers as well.

With the Enclave, it seems like the people who WANT one and are buying the most are anywhere from their late 20's to 40's. A lot of these are also the same people trading in their Pilots (I've read SO many of those stories now...), MDX's, RX's, etc., because they're drawn in by the styling then astounded at the performance and versatility, that beats every other crossover available, all for a great price.

[Flybrian]

Another aspect to keep in mind regarding the Rendezvous trade-in figure is that the market is now flooded with affordable used Rendezvous, which for all its alleged pitfalls is still an above-average second-hand family hauler. I don't think its too much of a stretch to assume those younger-than-average owners will have a better image of Buick after experiencing one.

[caddycruiser]

Another aspect to keep in mind regarding the Rendezvous trade-in figure is that the market is now flooded with affordable used Rendezvous, which for all its alleged pitfalls is still an above-average second-hand family hauler. I don't think its too much of a stretch to assume those younger-than-average owners will have a better image of Buick after experiencing one.

Dead on, and I completely agree, especially with the Rendezvous.

Of course, my grandparents themselves took advantage of a great deal on a used '03 Rendezvous, always having wanted one...but the vast majority right now are going from their old & young first owners into the second hands of families and such on a budget who will continue to enjoy them. And, from this point, there already are and hopefully will continue to be a lot of continued sales going through the Enclave, and whatever other similarly impressive sedan(s) they will have before long.

[thegriffon]

The real impact of the big lambdas and higher fuel prices—the best selling midsize crossovers (smaller than fullsize trucks like the Enclave) are now the …

[maxximus1]

Yeah, how long has this been out now cause I just FINALLY saw one on the streets of Chicago yesterday. Stunning in silver and it definitely has presence.

damn I want one!

[pow]

The real impact of the big lambdas and higher fuel prices—the best selling midsize crossovers (smaller than fullsize trucks like the Enclave) are now the …

CR-V?

[caddycruiser]

Yeah, how long has this been out now cause I just FINALLY saw one on the streets of Chicago yesterday. Stunning in silver and it definitely has presence.

damn I want one!

See, that's the thing. The first sales were actually in late April, and continue to just a rapid pace, but you won't yet see one on every street corner. Think of something like the 300C, Beetle, etc. Insanely hot sales for quite a while, but it still takes some time for enough of them to get spread around that you'll see one daily.

Locally, at home, I've seen a total of 3 on the road, 2 from out of state, and the same for when I'm in PA mostly. Give them another year of sales, and you'll really see them out there, in addition to the already prevalent--mostly--Acadia, for instance.

[turbo200]

what would jim dollinger have to say about all this? his eyes are probably spinning from all the different kinds of people this car is attracting

s

[cire]

It's great to see Buick (and GM) with a bonafide hit in the market. It shows that GM has the talent and resources to make desirable products. The Enclave is gorgeous and worthy of all the success it is experiencing. I hope this is the beginning of a trend for Buick's Renaissance. Let's hope the upcoming Epsilon II midsize sedan has the goods to make a similar splash in the market.

Now if only Ford and Chrysler could do this, the future of the American auto business would look much brighter.

[gm4life]

Walked buy a silver CXL FWD with chrome 19's and loved it. They really are a neat looking CUV, then a young family in there mid 30's drove off in it!

[ponchoman49]

A Prius is hot? They leave me cold and a feeling of relief that I didn't waste my money on one.

[maxximus1]

wow... i see that my last post in here was on october14th and you know what... that was still the only time ive seen an encalve!

incredible how popular this crossover must be. i wonder in what city is selling the most of these.

[thegriffon]

CR-V?

Compact. It was the Edge and Equinox, ahead of both the Highlander and Pilot (temporarily at least). Sales of the Japanese duo have been siphoned off by the smaller CRV and RAV4 and the bigger Lambdas to such an extent that the American utes led the midsize segment for a few months (note that a lot of Highlanders go to fleet as well). All four still sell at twice the rate of the big fullsize crossovers (barely in the case of the Acadia), but still not as well as the Trailblazer—still the nation's most popular midsize ute most months (it may even take the annual sales crown from the Explorer).

[Robert Hall]

There are 3 in my office parking lot now..all w/ temporary tags...one in bronze, one in white, and one in black..they look sweet.... several Outlooks and Acacias... nice to see some new domestics in a typical suburban office park parking lot that has plenty of Pilots, Highlanders, Rav4s, MDXs, some RXs, FXs, X5s and MLs..

Edited November 21, 2007 by moltar

[Paolino]

Very interesting...

I turned on my tv this morning and the channel that was on was NBC... the first thing I see was a white Enclave pulling up a driveway. I said to myself, "Oh, it must be an advertisement." What it was, was a real estate agent bringing a client up to a house in Syosset--Syosset is an area on Long Island that is very upscale. Houses with tennis courts, vast pools and property is not uncommon. I just thought it was cool to see the vehicle, since all you ever see in Syosset are Mercedes, Lexus, BMW and very rarely, a Cadillac or Audi.

Ah, now I know why (the commercial ended)... they just said, "Open House NYC is brought to you by Buick." :AH-HA_wink:

But nonetheless, taking a guy who probably drives a Lexus, Mercedes or BMW, and getting him into an Enclave is a good thing.

[Sixty8panther]

I love the Enclave styling wise, best looking Buick with a transverse mounted V6 since the Park Ave. Ultra.

[SuperSport623]

Very interesting...

I turned on my tv this morning and the channel that was on was NBC... the first thing I see was a white Enclave pulling up a driveway. I said to myself, "Oh, it must be an advertisement." What it was, was a real estate agent bringing a client up to a house in Syosset--Syosset is an area on Long Island that is very upscale. Houses with tennis courts, vast pools and property is not uncommon. I just thought it was cool to see the vehicle, since all you ever see in Syosset are Mercedes, Lexus, BMW and very rarely, a Cadillac or Audi.

Ah, now I know why (the commercial ended)... they just said, "Open House NYC is brought to you by Buick." :AH-HA_wink:

But nonetheless, taking a guy who probably drives a Lexus, Mercedes or BMW, and getting him into an Enclave is a good thing.

i actually live next to syosset (plainview) and ive seen a few of the typical import drivers i know in town driving the enclave... it seems to getting pretty popular around here

[Paolino]

i actually live next to syosset (plainview) and ive seen a few of the typical import drivers i know in town driving the enclave... it seems to getting pretty popular around here

Really? I grew up in Syosset... my parents still live there and I have yet to see any domestic luxury vehicles infiltrate the area... except of course for the Escalade.

[SuperSport623]

yeah i see a few enclaves, and the 08 cts is coming out in force.... its pretty cool