ehaase

I think it's too late. Too many people angry about problems with head gaskets, transmissions, the early Focus models, the first generation Taurus quality problems, etc. Toyota and Honda are too strong now. Ford's executives seem to be out of ideas. It wouldn't surprise me (although not a likely scenario) to see Ford go through bankruptcy and have its U.S. operations pared back to nothing more than a manufacturer of commerical trucks and Ford operations in Mexico, Europe, and Australia. Volvo and Mazda could be come independent again.

My uneducated guess is that you are probably correct, except that there will be nothing like the Buick "Rapid." No offense, but Moab is a horrible name for a vehicle.

The Lucerne Zeta probably will look nothing like the Holdens and will be a RWD sedan about the same size as the current Lucerne.

Mmm 2011 Buick Zeta Lucerne-D

I do not wish to offend the Buick fans here, as I respect a few of them, but Buick probably does not have much of an upscale image anymore among the general public. A GMC Sorrano (rumored name) Denali minivan may sell at a higher price and in higher quantities than a Buick minivan would.Buick first needs to rebuild its image with a good powerful RWD sedan, but that's not coming until at least 2011.

No, we shouldn't, because most of us are not objective. Many here just want more products for their favorite brand, even if that's not best for GM as an entity.I am probably the only person here who feels this way, but if cutting GM back to Chevrolet and Cadillac and nothing else would make GM more profitable and successful, I'd be for it. (And I don't claim to know what would be best.)

I am sure that GM has thoroughly studied the issue of giving Buick a smaller crossover, but based upon market and focus group studies, determined that such a vehicle would not sell well.

The decision has been made, so why get worked up about it? GM surely did not make its decision to give the van to GMC instead of Buick without a lot of focus group and market studies.

I am supposed to fly to Daytona Beach next Saturday, but Ernesto may end that plan.

We have discussed this back and forth for about 4 years now, but I think GM's current strategy for Buick is the only way it can afford to keep the brand alive. I don't think that you or VenSeattle or I, for that matter, have typical tastes in automobiles for people our age. I believe that people in their 30's and 40's would be more willing to buy a GMC CUV than a Buick CUV, no matter how well marketed or styled. I try to see things, not just as a fan, but from a business standpoint also, and I do pay a lot of attention to what industry analysts, including Evok, say.

No, it's not OK because GMC is the strongest brand. Younger buyers (not me, I would prefer the Buick myself, but I'm middle aged) are much more likely to buy a GMC than a Buick.

Even with gasoline at $3.00/gallon and higher? I support giving GMC, one of GM's strongest brands, a crossover or two, to give GMC buyers options with which to replace their Yukons and Envoys. GMC doesn't have the old person's car stigma that Buick, maybe unfairly, has.

As a newly graduated college student, unless you are making over $100,000 straight out of college or are from a wealthy family, please purchase something much more frugal than a Mustang GT. Middle class people can't get ahead buying expensive cars and trading them in every few years.

You and I are among the few here old enough to remember when the RWD Rivieras were new.

The Riviera was RWD from 1963 to 1979, even though it also used the E body platform (except for 1977 and 1978, when it shared the B body platform with the LeSabre).

Which model is that? I am not aware of any FWD Buicks until the 1979 Riviera. The Cord, the 1966 Toronado, the 1967 Eldorado, and the 1978 Omni/Horizon debuted before that.

I wish Buick fans (the last Buick I was crazy about was the Roadmaster) would resign themselves to the fact that the only Buicks for at least the next 5 years will be Lucerne, LaCrosse, and Enclave. Nothing more. There will be no convertible, no coupe, no small car, and no small SUV.

I think you should resign yourself to Buick having nothing more than 2 sedans and the Enclave. There have been countless posts and articles on the subject, and there is no reason to hope that Buick will have anything more between now and 2012. You really should resign yourself to the fact that Pontiac-Buick-GMC are one entity now and that Chevrolet and Cadillac are GM's highest priority. Saturn will get more emphasis than Buick because GM's research shows that Saturn is the division that can best appeal to import buyers. Buick's not getting a version of the Chevrolet Equinox.Do you have to have a crossover? Could a nice Lacrosse or Lucerne for under $30,000 meet your needs?

The sales figures I gave were for January through July 2006 compared to January to July 2005, not just the summer months. Even if you pull out the months with GM's employee pricing promotion, sales are probably still down by about 10 or 15 percent. However, I am too lazy to look up the figures and do an analysis. As I recall, LaCrosse sales were about 8,000 in July 2006, compared to around 13,000 in July 2005.

Automotive News said this week that the BLS will not be sold in the U.S., and I find AN more reliable than Edmunds. AN did say that the BRX will be produced. However, GM's core brands are Chevrolet and Cadillac. Everything else is peripheral. Some will scream that a smaller Cadillac will overlap too much with Buick. A smaller, more fuel efficient Cadillac sedan, if well done, may be a good idea as fuel prices climb higher.

Sales are down quite a bit. Through July of this year, Buick sold 42,685 LaCrosses, compared to 58,441 for the same period of 2005, down roughly 25 percent.

No one should get their hopes up about a Buick convertible. Today's issue of Automotive News said the following: Coupe, convertible: Buick is no longer considering a halo vehicle based on the rwd Velite convertible concept it showed at the New York auto show in 2004. As GM pushes Buick to align with Pontiac and GMC under one channel, Pontiac will take over as the sporty coupe/convertible brand. Pontiac has the hot-selling Solstice convertible roadster and recently introduced the G6 convertible hardtop, for example. This is what AN said today about the Lacrosse: LaCrosse: Buick plans to offer a 5.3-liter V-8 for the 2007 model year. A redesign is expected for the 2010 model year, possibly on General Motors' front-wheel-drive Epsilon 2 architecture. To reduce costs, all vehicles developed on Epsilon 2 (Chevrolet and Opel, for example) will be engineered by GM Europe in Ruesselsheim, Germany. U.S. operations are to provide specifications for such things as ride and handling. Styling will be determined by the region that will market the car. The LaCrosse will be styled by GM North America. Powertrains will differ by region. Also, here is what AN says about the Lucerne: Lucerne: A rear-wheel-drive Lucerne is expected, likely bowing for the 2010 model year. GM's global rwd vehicle architecture is being developed for several brands by Holden, the automaker's Australian operation. The Lucerne name may be replaced at that point.

I don't know why anyone would pick this over the Hyundai Sonata, especially with that gem of a V6. That would be my pick at this time in that market, although I may end up liking the Aura, 2008 Malibu, and Fusion (if it gets the 3.5) better.

If you won't listen to an idiot like me, maybe you'll pay attention to Evok. I love big coupes like the Riviera, Lincoln Marks, the big Thunderbirds, etc., but the market for big coupes is dead. http://www.cheersandgears.com/forums/index...69entry156069

They could, but they probably won't because big coupes don't sell well anymore.