Buick Enclave is the name of the Lambda crossover

[caddycruiser]

I think people are reacting a little too harshly to the name of the Buick crossover.  Guys we haven't even seen a spy picture of the Enclave.  There were lots of naysayers who criticized the Rendezvous for its styling, being related to the lame duck Aztek, the pathetic 3.4L V6 and the crappy interior - yet it was a huge sales success.

Now Buick is talking about bringing out a crossover designed from the beginning on a dedicated chassis to be a crossover, offering premium engines, styling that is supposedly "jaw dropping" with the intent of competing against Lexus - and yet so many people complain about the name.

Probably if you don't like the sound of "Enclave" then it isn't marketed to you.  Go buy the Acadia or Outlook instead.  Many upscale neighborhoods have the word enclave as part of their names.  This new name rolls off the tongue easier than Rendezvous and like someone else said, doesn't have the association with the Aztek to over come from the marketing end.  With GM aiming for Lexus we can expect good things in terms of fit & finish as well as sound dampening.  The Lucern is a wonderful replacement for the aged LeSabre.  I have high hopes for this new vehicle and think we should all just sit back and wait until Buick unveils it next spring.

[post="35956"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

Fully agreed here. Now from what I've read and heard, I'm VERY excited about seeing any of the Lambdas (well, except for the Saturn Outlook for some reason....even looks boring in camo'd spy pics...). Actually, another reason why I can't wait is that, if these things trully can seat 7 comfortably and have a moderate level of cargo room in them at the SAME time, and not be cramped up like the Rendezvous is, either the Buick or the GMC might be a VERY strong candidate to replace our Suburban in a few years.

By then, the massive cargo and people hauling duties should be reduced around the house, but it would be nice to still be able to seat as many people OR easily fold flat all the rear seats and just make a nice big cargo hold. As is, the next big ute's, the GMT-900's don't seem like they'll be too strong on the latter regard, since there's still a big space eating solid axle under the back.

Regardless, can't wait to see the pics and be able to tell mom she doesn't have to wonder about what she can replace her 'Burban with when the time comes! http://www.cheersandgears.com/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/AH-HA_wink.gif

Well, unless they turn out boring and/or dorky like the Lacrosse, Lucerne, Yukon, etc. seem to have in different degrees....

[titan]

How would it HURT Buick to be paired with Cadillac in a quest for lux status?  It wouldn't.  See the Saturn thread where I outlined a strategy.

Cadillac-Buick dealerships, both sharing common components and platforms, and Buick and Cadillac both representing the luxury market, but two flavors: elegant luxury, and sporty luxury.  Cadillac being more BMW/Mercedes while Buick is more Lexus/AUDI

[post="35949"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

Buick doesn't need Caddy to get lux credenitals. They need product. Putting two nameplates with so slimiar product would be overkill. Caddy should be standalone. Buick and GMC should be paired together, since I can't see Buick getting they're own stores across the board. Buick and GMC's product would compliment each other, because GMC doesn't have lux cars, and Buick won't have (atleast, I don't think so) larger, BOF SUVs and true trucks.

[turbo200]

Enclave is a diplomatic term for territory isolated in a foreign country. In current use it typically refers to a homogenous "ghetto" of foreign nationals within another country, e.g. "the American enclave in Paris". It's a terrible name for anything, whether a car or subdivision, beyond proud and elitist it says "you are not our compatriots and we don't want to associate with you".

[post="36024"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

good point, but not many people are smart enough or assertive enough to care to even find out. You overestimate the consumer if you think they will care at all about what the name means, even those that bother to search the definition won't end up letting it make thier choice on the matter of the car purchase. Ultimately, this name won't go down in history as one of Buick's finest, but the car will speak for itself

[Robert Hall]

How about 'Autoclave' to go with 'Enclave'?

Edited October 29, 2005 by moltar

[Chicagoland]

People here are complaining, but are not the target buyers. Sorry, the Grand National, Roadmaster, Century, and Regal names are not coming back.

[Paolino]

People here are complaining, but are not the target buyers. Sorry, the Grand National, Roadmaster, Century, and Regal names are not coming back.

[post="36450"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

They'll come back--just in time. And Roadmaster was already confirmed.

[caddycruiser]

People here are complaining, but are not the target buyers. Sorry, the Grand National, Roadmaster, Century, and Regal names are not coming back.

[post="36450"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

Great point, and now with more and more NEW Buicks and their new styling and pieces, I'm starting to see why they NEEDED new names. Century, Regal, LeSabre, etc. were nice in their hay day and very fitting for a beige-metallic, ugly hubcapped, and bench seat "comfy" car your Aunt Bertha drove, but they'd just take some of the focus away from the "new" of the latest cars and their changing image.

Lacrosse, Lucerne, and Enclave sound like three very uppity starts to me. Now they just gotta ditch the minivan, throw away that stupid Trailblazer clone and it's nasty interior and sloppy road manners, and HEAVILY upgrade the Lacrosse, and they just might start getting somewhere....well, at least as far as a luxury brand can get without a single RWD car in the lineup... B)

Too bad they're going to HAVE to be sold next to Pontiacs that, while better, still have a "trashy" image of sorts in the minds of a lot of people. Edited October 30, 2005 by caddycruiser

[wildcat]

Paulie: Where or by whom was Roadmaster confirmed?

[C.H.U.D.]

  If GM was marketing sushi they would call it "cold dead fish."

Haha classic!