Buick News: No Encore For Buick Verano

[Drew Dowdell]

Buick's compact car, the Verano may not see an encore after the model run is up at the end of the 2017 model year according to a report on AutoNews.com.

 

With the addition of the Buick Envision going on sale in a few weeks, Buick see crossovers making up 70% of its sales going forward. It's not hard to see why Buick would come to that conclusion. GM sales figures for December 2015 show the Verano moving 31,886 copies for the year while the similarly priced Buick Encore sold 67,549 units.

 

Buick's strategy lately has been to fill "white space" in the market. Offer models that don't quite have an exact match to offerings from any other brand. When the Verano debuted in 2011, it filled such a white space being a small car with premium features like heated steering wheel, large for the time entertainment screen, and a powerful turbo option. Since that time, redesigned versions of the Chevy Cruze and Honda Civic have started offering those features and more. Canceling the Verano makes it a one-and-done model.

 

The writing apparently has been on the wall for the Verano for a while. In December we noticed that the Turbo model was apparently being dropped for 2017 as it no longer appears on the Verano's VIN card.

 

 

The biggest impact will be to Buick dealerships who will now have to convince 30,000 customers a year that they don't want a sedan and what they really want is a shiny new Encore or Envision.

 

Source: Autonews.com

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[Cmicasa the Great]

Figured this was coming. I read somewhere that Buick, while being the softer side of luxury, would be pursuing a niche that was also currently owned by Subaru. Might be a good move IMO, as the car market seems to be stalling as of late. I will bet good money tho that the Verano isn't just be killed, but replaced by an Astra

[Paolino]

That's sad... I liked the Verano a lot.  I see a ton of them on the road, surprisingly.  I liked it when I test-drove it, but there was literally no back seat behind me when I got in and put the seat back.

[cp-the-nerd]

This is an odd decision. The Verano was a great seller for Buick until they let the car get stale without so much as a refresh in 5 years. It's incredibly reliable and quite good looking. I really wanted to get my fiance into one (especially now when you can get them super cheap) but the EPA estimates and blingy details put her off. Meanwhile, Chevy has a plethora of compact cars, and even Cadillac is looking into sub-ATS size options.

 

If there was a place for redundancy and elimination in the line up, I would have said drop the Regal if for no other reason than consistently slow sales.

[Suaviloquent]

The new Cruze kinda does everything the Buick Verano does well, for less money and while being more efficient. It does not have the 2.0T, but I figure even that was not much of a reason why people got the Verano.

[cp-the-nerd]

The new Cruze kinda does everything the Buick Verano does well, for less money and while being more efficient. It does not have the 2.0T, but I figure even that was not much of a reason why people got the Verano.

 

The same exact thing could have been said about the previous gen Cruze while the Verano was selling 3,000-4,000 units monthly. Luxury is always going to be frivolously more expensive.

[smk4565]

Not too surprised but the Regal is even a slower seller than the Verano?  Is Buick going to keep the Regal?  I know they have an update coming, but how long will that model last?  Interesting that Buick was paired with GMC so they would have a car brand and an SUV brand together, now Buick is becoming primarily an SUV brand.  You might walk into a Buick-GMC showroom in 2020 and see 10 crossovers/SUVs and 2 cars.

[Suaviloquent]

Compared to the outgoing Cruze, the Verano was actually quite luxo for itself. I don't think there is much of a competing vehicle, in terms of price point. It also has the Bose Quiet-tuning, so it's a supremely Buick kinda car.

 

I'm just going off some of the reviews for the loaded Cruze Premiers - apparently they are really quiet and also have all the advanced safety and mobile infotainment tech.

 

I dunno.. The last gen Cruze only had one real strength - it was fairly quiet, substantial (because it was really heavy)...but nothing else was that exceptional. It was a bigger car than most on the outside but the rear seats were cramped for the exterior size. The new Cruze is way better packaged.

 

The Verano has a great interior plus had the advanced lighting options, and the 2.0T turbo motor. It seems like to me Chevy is going to have a more powerful version of the Cruze. 

 

I actually think you could get a Verano still on the lots for quite a bit less than a new loaded premier Cruze. But the new interior option - especially the Brown interior really spices it up

[cp-the-nerd]

Compared to the outgoing Cruze, the Verano was actually quite luxo for itself. I don't think there is much of a competing vehicle, in terms of price point. It also has the Bose Quiet-tuning, so it's a supremely Buick kinda car.

 

I'm just going off some of the reviews for the loaded Cruze Premiers - apparently they are really quiet and also have all the advanced safety and mobile infotainment tech.

 

I dunno.. The last gen Cruze only had one real strength - it was fairly quiet, substantial (because it was really heavy)...but nothing else was that exceptional. It was a bigger car than most on the outside but the rear seats were cramped for the exterior size. The new Cruze is way better packaged.

 

The Verano has a great interior plus had the advanced lighting options, and the 2.0T turbo motor. It seems like to me Chevy is going to have a more powerful version of the Cruze. 

 

I actually think you could get a Verano still on the lots for quite a bit less than a new loaded premier Cruze. But the new interior option - especially the Brown interior really spices it up

 

That's still a flawed argument, you could say that about every car in the Buick line up compared to the newest Chevy counterparts, yet Buick continues to make gains in the retail market. A Verano with the 1.5T mated to the 8-speed automatic would be a healthy advantage over the Cruze, and GM is certainly capable of luxury interiors above and beyond what they give to Chevy.

[Suaviloquent]

I'm not saying they should not continue the car. But you can't go ham over fist trying to enter or remain in every segment. Clearly the Verano is no longer the Buick it needs to be. If they redid it, it would just gouge sales out of the Regal. Or the Regal will remain a smaller, more nimbler car than the Malibu.

[Drew Dowdell]

I'm not saying they should not continue the car. But you can't go ham over fist trying to enter or remain in every segment. Clearly the Verano is no longer the Buick it needs to be. If they redid it, it would just gouge sales out of the Regal. Or the Regal will remain a smaller, more nimbler car than the Malibu.

 

The Regal and the Verano both need to move up in price and content. Let them start doing plastic seats like Benz and BMW and make those standard, give the Verano AWD and drop the 2.4 use the 1.6T instead,  The Regal Turbo needs a bit of a power bump to at least GS levels while the GS should go higher.  Regal needs a visual refresh and bring over the wagon, sprucing up the Regal interior materials couldn't hurt either.

[regfootball]

wish i had more time to add some thoughts but their argument may be spun to make sense, but the reality is Verano kept Buick in the game for a few years and brought new buyers to the brand.

 

Just because they didn't update it is not necessarily a reason to axe it.  The new Astra is a great base for the Verano.  Not everyone who wants entry to Buick (i.e. the cheap lease vehicle / small vehicle) wants the crossover.

 

For this to work, there has to be a better base trim new Regal that is cheaper and has better gas mileage.  Something you want to drive because the new Malibu is not nice enough.  Notice for this model year Buick finally got a clue and brought the base price of the Regal down because honestly the price is part of the problem with the current Regal.  When the new one comes out they may be able to get some higher prices again because the car will be roomier, but they have to make a version of it that is price accessible if they do get rid of the Verano.

 

Buick cannot push their whole price structure up too much...it would be just like Cadillac's problem.  Buyer revolt.

[hyperv6]

The Buick was a tough fit with the Chevy premium line and much similar offerings. 

 

I would like to see Buick offer more and more Euro influenced Opel like cars. Move them up in price but give you things you will not get in a high end Chevy. 

Make better use of the white space. 

If you are not going to sell large volumes go for more of a OPC like car. GM has a chance here to make Buick the Euro like car Pontiac always wanted to be but was never permitted to make. 

[Drew Dowdell]

The problem with that idea Hyper is that the Astra is basically the same car as the Verano is here... it's updated, sure, but it's just your standard slightly more premium compact.

 

Though, they have done a really nice job on the interior....

 

[Suaviloquent]

I think the Cruze is much closer to the Astra now, but you have to get it more loaded as well to resemble anything close to that image above.

 

The problem is that aside from styling, the cars are pretty much two sides of the same coin. Chevy could have easily made the Cruze more sporty like a Mazda 3 or Ford Focus, but instead they focused on a relaxed ride, and NVH.

[daves87rs]

 

I'm not saying they should not continue the car. But you can't go ham over fist trying to enter or remain in every segment. Clearly the Verano is no longer the Buick it needs to be. If they redid it, it would just gouge sales out of the Regal. Or the Regal will remain a smaller, more nimbler car than the Malibu.

 

The Regal and the Verano both need to move up in price and content. Let them start doing plastic seats like Benz and BMW and make those standard, give the Verano AWD and drop the 2.4 use the 1.6T instead,  The Regal Turbo needs a bit of a power bump to at least GS levels while the GS should go higher.  Regal needs a visual refresh and bring over the wagon, sprucing up the Regal interior materials couldn't hurt either.

 

 

 

+1

 

Would help bunches here....need to give the Regal bigger balls...would be fun to make a little monster out of it...

[Suaviloquent]

GM may be a huge automaker. But let's get back to our senses. 

 

I think a Verano might have done well, if it weren't so that GM is no longer fond of cheap Buicks. But then I think how much less the gap really is now between the Cruze and the oversea Astra, the new Verano may as well be an interior upgrade above all else.

 

And with GM more and more focused on top-end profitability, I hardly think there is any space for a Buick sedan cheaper than $25k, because you can get there in a Cruze quite easily, and still not be fully loaded.

 

Even then, small sedans have a questionable future. You are getting midsize sedans that match the FE of many compacts. The only reason why a small CUV works is that the taller rooflines allow you to package seats that are higher, so you get more space out of less wheelbase.