wjfox

We can safely say they are getting mixed reviews. I thought Heart was pretty good. Although I hope they don't have to turn the rachet that slowly when building an engine. It could be better if it showed more power, speed and style in the proression from wrench to XLR, but overall not bad. I like Crest less. It showed me how to make a bejeweled wreath and crest emblem and showed no product that is worthy or wearing such a bauble. I think these will appeal less to a younger buying set than Breakthrough did. If they want to appeal to younger buyers they should show smooth leather seats, a well negotiated corner, a Roadside Assistance or Onstar operator and similar things with the Gorillaz Feels Good Inc in the background.

The Ion isn't such a bad small car. I think the thing that hurt it right out of the starting gate was bland to ugly styling inside and out. The 2 door is more conservative that either of the 2 previous 2 door versions and the original Delta based 4 door front facia was just ugly. The update with a real grill looks much better, but the side view is kind of heavy handed and ugly. On the inside it looks cheap and wierd with the center mounted guages. If there were a lot of right hand drive Saturns made it would make some sense, but since GM doesn't appear to market the brand outside of North America it didn't make sense to design in weirdness when flexibility of right or left hand drive wasn't needed. The Delta platform seems capable of getting some good press, so maybe with high fuel prices headed higher a redone ion makes some sense. But it sounds like the decision is already made to bring in the Opels.

I find it intriguing that Buick could place so high and Pontiac and GMC so low when they share a lot of platforms. I wouldn't expect quality performance between platform mates to be that different. We have to remember that JD Power measure all complaints or "problems". I have a hypothesis that Ponitac (and maybe GMC) owners are more demanding of their cars since they are sort of BMW wannbes. Buick and Cadillac drivers might be more content just having attained the brand name. The one that really disappointed me was Saturn. They were supposed to be a different kind of car, but not worse than average in quality.

I guess I'm just not a truck guy. I don't find anything particularly attractive about these designs. They look like pickup trucks. I think the Tundra looks a little bit better, but it still looks like a pick up truck. I just hope GM go the details right on these things; that they do their jobs as trucks better. Then they will sell a bunch of them, because obviously America loves pick up trucks, even if they all look about the same.

Buick should dust off the GS moniker, round the horsepower down to and even 300 and maket it as the LaCrosse GS 300. Then everyone would understand that they are trying to be the American Lexus. They could even dust off the upgrade moniker they used for a while in the 70s and call it the LaCross Luxus GS 300, then there could be no confusion. But seriously, I agree, this car needs a redesign to be taken serioulsy. I'm OK with performance Buicks having a sleeper look to them. It fits with the image that they once had, and I think they want back. of oppulance without decidence, but the LaCrosse isn't just a sleeper, its comatose. Even the derivative styling of the Chinese LaCrosse would make it at least look contemporary and plain. I test drove a LaCrosse shortly after they were introduced and was pretty impressed with the dynamics and the fit and finish, but the styling is so dull that I couldn't part with the cash to buy a better Buick. I just hope the Enclave is a glimpse into what they are willing to do with styling, then I might be able to see my self in a Buick again.

I agree with Balthazar, and others that the name Invicta is better than Statesman. I have absolutely no fear that an Invicta would jump out of the garage and stab me, or anyone else. Has any one else ever noticed that most of the classic Buick model names have seven letters? LeSabre Invicta Wildcat Special Century Electra Skylark Riviera even Skyhawk as forgetable as it was. There are some classic exceptions, Roadmaster, Centurian, Park Avenue and Regal, althought the Regal came into being about the time that Buick was losing its true identity and just becoming the basic, uninspired GM product that had a gaudier interior. Now there were other exceptions, but most were sub-models, GS, GNX, Grand National Even today most of the lineup has new seven letter names Terraza Rainier Lucerne LaCrosse and Rendezvous don't but they aren't exacly what Buick is promising for thier new Lexus competitor station in life anyway. (Then again, neither is Terraza and maybe not Rainier.) Back when Clark Gable drove Buicks and they were the Lexus of their day most of them had seven letters. That's one reason I was excited to hear them dusting off the name Invicta. Its a name they didn't wreck by putting it on the stuff that pretty much wrecked Buick's reputatioin in the industry like LeSabre, and Century. Do you think old folks still buy Buicks because the like to drive substandard cars? No, its because when they were young and impressionable, a Buick was something to strive for. In my opinion, bring back the Invicta name, which hasn't been wrecked by putting it on an X, A, W or other hum drum under performer. Put Statesman in the same group with Studebaker Commander, Packard Patrician and even Dodge Diplomat - government employees that didn't make lasting possitive impressions. When Buick gets around to building outstanding cars again (Enclave looks promising, LaCrosse does not) they could bring back a sporty version named Wildcat and a smaller car named Skylark. But please get the product right first. There isn't and Audi, Lexus, Infinity or Mercedes-Benz buyer that shouldn't be thinking about shopping at a Buick dealer.

I think that premium small sedans would do well in several markets. North America for one. I drive a Catera because I like more modestly sized cars. While a Catera isn't a small car, it certianly had the features to make it a premium car. I could even go a size smaller. I look forward to the Aura arriving, but I'd like to get one with 4 place heated leather seats like the Catera has, the chestnut and walnut interior I see on the concept photos and other nice features. I drive a smaller car because I choose too, not because I have to. My last car was a Grand Am with a Quad OHC and about all the options I could get with that engine. If Buick wants to compete with Lexus, then they will also be competing with BMW, Audi, VW to some degree, Infinity and Acura. Each of those has premium small cars. I would be very open to looking at a Skylark as a car to replace the Catera. The key to making premium small cars work for GM is the product. I would think the 9-3 is in that neighborhood, but I've honestly never been in a 9-3 so I don't know. Epsilon seems to be a decent place to start, for the premium cars all wheel drive would be a nice addition to go up agains Audi and Quattro. But ther are other aspects of Epsilon they could play up as premium like their safety / crash ratings. I started this out saying premium small cars could do well in several markets. I think they would include Holden and Vauxhall, maybe Opel, but not as premium as Saab. And just as safety could be one aspect of premium (for Buick, Saab, Cadillac Europe, Vauxhall and Holden) sporty premium could work for Pontiac. There is a ton of opportunity for variations on premium sedans. They just have to get the product right.

I hope its breath taking in a good way. I thought the 2000 Impala was breaktaking, but surely not in a good way. I hope they don't go too retro, but all of this has been done beforel. In the early to mid 70's lots of cars were trying to catch some design elements from the 30s and some fine looking Grand Prixs came out of that.

I think it looks too much like an Audi too. Audi's have always been pretty clean in the styling department, but now that everybody from Holden to Hyundai to Ford is copying it the overall look is going from clean to bland. I don't understand why GM doesn't use more of its "dream" car styling. The Chevy SS from a few years back had an Audi like green house, but the much different fenders made it look great. The LaCrosse concept was several orders of magnitude better looking than the dull thing they gave us. This is far from a bad design, but it sure isn't going to light any fires like the A4 and A6 did back when they were new and what the 300 is doing now. It seems edgy styling has been a good thing at Cadillac. The styling can be edgy without the product being quite as edgy as the Art and Science look. The new Enclave is awesome (asumming it comes to market pretty much unchanged). But this Statesman is way too deriviative to get anyone excited about the way it looks. Its not offensive, but thats about the best I can give it. If this platform begets Buicks, and I hope it does. I hope the make the scale of styling change as bewteen the dull US LaCrosse and the at-least-a-copy-of-a- more-recentl-styled-car Chinese LaCrosse. Even better would be to give it some modern as tomorrow style.

I think its a shame that the GTO didn't get more critical acclaim also. I've never driven a new GTO but I own one of its brethern, a 99 Catera and this chasis has a lot of capability. Every vehicle is a compromise, but the Catera, and the GTO are pretty darn good blends of handling, ride, room, economy, luxury and style. The Catera's been the most trouble prone car I've ever owned, but when it working, I love it. I think its also a shame that when Pontiac responded to the ridicule they were getting for over wrought plastic cladding and busy styling, that a clean machine like the GTO got about as much ridicule. Personally I love the GTO styling, but I have also liked Cavalier styling since 1982. The problem with that car wasn't its styling, but that its styling didn't carry it. To me the GTO was a modern iteration of a BMW 6 coupe - understated competence. But alas, too many years of building cars that have less than inspired styling (Malibu, 200-2005 Impala, LaCrosse 04+Grand Prix) cheap interiors (GM 1980 through ~2004) and shaky quality have tarnished the image of every one of its brands. I really think the problem is bigger than the GTO. It took a long time for GM to go from Kings of the Road in the 50s -70s to depths of they sunk to in the late 90s and early 00s. The new product is better, but it has to be even better than it currently is, very high quality and competitively priced to win trust back. Its obvious that boring styling doesn't make a car sell badly. Just take a look at the best selling car in the country to see proof.

If GM is trying to make global platforms buildable anywhere in the world (which is such an obviously good idea I'm suprised to even hear that it wasnt' a given) then they might build the Astra here, somewhere. Another thing that surprises me is the money GM has spent to rework the old Vectra, which was a pretty good looking car in Europe into the dopey L-series. I've also wondered why it takes them so long to leverage new cars of a developed platform. When did the newest 9-3 start up on the Epsilon platform was it in '03? Why did it take until 05 to launch the G6. In other parts of the world they sell Astras as Opels, Vauxhalls, Holdens and maybe even Chevys with few changes other than flexible right or left hand drive. If Saturn is supposed to be the import fight just bring the current Astra over here now. And while the Aura looks very sharp, the Euro Vectra could have made the trip over two years ago filling in the hole left by the unlamented, from plain to uglier L-series.

Wow! The LaCrosse was a side step from Regal / Century, the Lucerne was a step forward. This is a leap. If they can keep the quality numbers as good as they've been in the past few years, then Buick could compete with Lexus. Outstanding job Buick design team. I just hope all the dynamics and appointments get journalist excited about it. It is obviously a few years later than Pacifica, but its every bit as cool on the outside and way cooler on the inside. Its also much better looking than Ceniteme.

I've long thought that the General has been very slow to bring new products to market, even on existing platforms. When did the new Saab 9-3 come out on the Epsilon platform? Was it 2002? When ever it was they aren't getting around to selling the Saturn Aura until 2006. By the time GM gets full use of the platform it will be obsolete. When I saw the Opel Antera / Saturn Vue concept pics I thought - OK GM finally has its design groove back, but if it takes too long to turn good new concepts into reality it won't much matter.