Buick year end sales

[Cananopie]

I didn't see this anywhere else and I don't really care enough to post it in the GM section because Buick is really the only GM company that I care about, though it's interesting to see the other figures.

http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2006/01/05/205609.html

Key facts:

-Buick Sales are down only 8.8% from last year
-Only 92,000 LaCrosses were sold this year (8 grand short of the the 100k total we were hoping for)
-The LaCrosse sold approximately 8,000 more vehicles than the Century and Regal combined in 2004.
-The Lucerne has sold just shy of 9,000 vehicles for the year.
-The Rendezvous is STILL growing in sales despite it being 4 years old (only by a few hundred vehicles though).
-I'm disappointed to be unable to compare Relay and Uplander SV6 sales to the Terraza.

[VenSeattle]

Actual press release with complete sales info

Buick Terraza: 20,288

Saturn Relay total: 15,758
Pontiac Montana SV6: 23,439
Chevrolet Uplander: 72,980

Chevrolet Venture: 7,029
Pontiac Montana: 3,732

BPG dealers moved 47,459 minivans in 2005.
Chevrolet dealers moved 80,009 minivans in 2005.
Saturn dealers only moved 15,758 minivans in 2005.

Don't be too disheartened about Buick's decrease in sales. The short production run for LeSabre impacted Buick a lot. The good thing about this is that Buick should definitely post a sales increase in 2006 with full year LaCrosse & Lucerne sales combined.

(fixed the link)

[Cananopie]

Thanks Ven!

[Flybrian]

And for all the rental claims, fact is more LaCrosse were sold as retail compared to Regal/Centuries the year before. That means something. Ven is right about the LeSabre/Lucerne debacle. Lucernes are just now hitting the roads in this area, months and months after LeSabres stopped being built.

[razoredge]

Also please note and we all seem to forget to mention loss of Park Avenue sales 15,000- there. Notice Buick still outsells Cadillac and ............arg ! saturin yet no love for Buick :angry: Interesting that Auroras were still sold (18) ? I figured they were cleaned out last year. I wonder what the selling price was ? I can't believe how low Bonneville numbers were GP sells excellent W body sales alone smoke saturin GA & G6 combined beat previous GA only Cobalt outsold previous Cavalier there is hope

[GMTruckGuy74]

Interesting that Auroras were still sold (18)?

Exactly how do you find a NEW 2003 Olds Aurora??? You can't find one through GMBuyPower.com, nor Oldsmobile.com.... I'd like to know this answer!!!

[Teh Ricer Civic!]

old ones still sitting on the lots unsold

[razoredge]

Exactly how do you find a NEW 2003 Olds Aurora??? You can't find one through GMBuyPower.com, nor Oldsmobile.com.... I'd like to know this answer!!!

[post="69082"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

I dont have the answer myself but I do know that our areas one huge dealership sent them all back to GM. I think it was part of franchise buy out ? This dealership had all Oldsmobiles way in the back and just stopped selling them. They had 4 final Auroras a few standard Auroras and something less than ten Aleros sitting in the back of a 5 acre lot ????? NOT FOR SALE. I read reports from others that tried to buy 03 Auroras that were "not for sale"

[Mule Bakersdozen LS]

Those sales figures suck-I guess the public agrees with me in that those minivans are garbage and the worst ones out there-whoever made that bright decision to release those atrocities should be fired.

[Cananopie]

Here's something I'd like peoples opinions on.

We are always concerned GM is going to drop another brand and we always assumed it'd be Buick before Pontiac because Pontiac sells more. But while looking for the above information I came across many articles like this one about the sales of GM in China, specifically Buick's.

Wouldn't Buick's popularity in China make Buick a more popular world brand than Saab or Ponitac since Pontiac is only sold the Americas, right? If they had to kill a division, Ponitac would actually be the weakest, or is there something else I'm forgetting?

Let me know what you think.

[razoredge]

yea, your forgetting that saturin is pathatic, always has been, just look at those sales figures their nowhere from where they were 4 & 5 years ago when they killed Olds. saturin is a real problem, Id like to see the tally on how much has been spent on that folly.

[turbo200]

Here's something I'd like peoples opinions on.

We are always concerned GM is going to drop another brand and we always assumed it'd be Buick before Pontiac because Pontiac sells more. But while looking for the above information I came across many articles like this one about the sales of GM in China, specifically Buick's.

Wouldn't Buick's popularity in China make Buick a more popular world brand than Saab or Ponitac since Pontiac is only sold the Americas, right? If they had to kill a division, Ponitac would actually be the weakest, or is there something else I'm forgetting?

Let me know what you think.

[post="69190"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

You're right. This is one of the main things keeping the axe from swinging on Buick, it's growing presence accross the globe. But a realist would see that Buick's potential is limited, but still has lots of room to grow in markets like China and other markets like Asia. The reason I say it's limited is I don't see it reaching the mass world potential of a brand like Ford, which is popular in Europe and throughout the world. I don't see Buick becoming much of anything outside China and other, smaller Asian markets.

But China is still expanding, and Buick is doing huge there. So they definitely have a growing world presence.

And, razor, studies have shown that Saturn is the only GM brand import buyers will consider, beause they don't regularly associate it with GM. This and thier award-winning customer support staff, which matches and beats Lexus dealers' customer support , are the biggest reasons why you see Saturn having a product infusion. Saturn, to GM, is like a rose that never fully bloomed. They have not released enough products to see the full potential, and there haven't been any products Saturn has released, well aside from the current Ion, that have really tarnished the brand image they have. They don't have much of a brand image, but at least it's a fairly positive image in most consumers' eyes.

The Vue is an example of thier potential. And thier cars will soon be amongst the best produced at GM.

[razoredge]

So on one hand you say the public is so educated or informed as to what value or refinement is in a car and on the other hand you say they do not know that saturin is a GM product ? maybe back in 90-95 or so but thats all over now. Being a Buick and Oldsmobile owner that would never never stoop so low as to drive a saturin I just dont see the no bad image thing. saturin has a image for the cheeziest designs, styling and wobble panels, cheep ugly cars with a pathatic name. and they still dont sell I sure hope GM can turn a bunch of Japanese drivers because they are not going to turn me into a saturin Buick does have a positive image and it is not the one that some people growing up in the 90's & 00's painted on it through ignorance and hatred of everything "old" Buick has had so much potential, just sitting there but not utilized in over a decade. Much of which had to do with castration from management so other divisions would not have their toes stepped on. Yet today we have saturin taking a free ride on the gravy train that they never contributed to.

[turbo200]

The reason it has the image of blue hairs is because for many years, that has been all you see driving Buicks. Why is this? I don't know, but they haven't appealed to younger people for a long time. The Lacrosse, Lucerne, and RDV have all done a better job of this, but have still missed the mark.

[Cananopie]

Turbo, you have to understand though that China alone holds 1/6th of the worlds population and it's only going to grow. For that reason alone Buick could become more popular than any European brand for world popularity. The potential for Buick is therefore unlimited. However potential for Pontiac, Saturn, or Saab are limited, but for some reason GM is giving Saturn a lot of potential. Everyone knows Saturn is GM today as Razor said, but also Saturn isn't the cheap company of the past either. Saturn is getting more potential than Buick or Pontiac in the American market, getting the first real hybrid, getting the Sky, and still having a sports line. Saab is sold internationally as well but they hardly sell anything in America. I don't think Buick has missed the mark though turbo. I think they weren't aiming as young as you wished them to. It has more than successfully appealed to people in their 30's and 40's as opposed to those in their 60's and 70's as Buick used to. The Lucerne has appealed to a lot of people even in their 20's and that is definitely not who Buick is aiming at.

[razoredge]

Yea "missed the mark" whose mark? I never thought Buick was aiming for teenagers and 20 year olds, however mature 20's/30's/& 40 year olds like them plenty. Lucerne is way to new to warrant a "missed the mark" Wasnt the LeSabre one of the highest selling family sedans ? Just more typical sterio typing perception problems.

[Flybrian]

Its been proven over the years that Rendezvous has pretty much single-handedly towered the average age of a Buick owner, so I don't see how that 'missed the mark.' LaCrosse is too soon to really tell, but I have been seeing younger people in them (not the rentals). Lucerne? Please...its been out a month.

[razoredge]

yea, wtf's with this blue hair crap anyhow ? Does that fit into the openminded, worldly, multiculture, politically correct agenda ? Just curious, yarite. My best friend has had white hair comming since he was early twenties, now he looks like Jack Frost, highly successful drives a C5, builds hotrods, plays bass in a metal band and pretty much smokes everyone at everything for some dam reason, just naturally talented. People that use the grey hair term should be bitched slapped for an hour by Granny. Disrespectful punks Edited January 9, 2006 by razoredge