VenSeattle

1st Gen - MY1995-MY1999 2nd Gen - MY2001-MY2003 2nd Gen Aurora debuted in early 2000 as a MY2001. There wasn't a MY2000 Aurora.

HE, I'm in love with this one!

That's not the only reason why they're hard to find. Total Aurora sales from 2000-2006(current) is 65,441. To put into perspective, Lucerne has only been on sale since the end of October/early November 2005 (a little over 8 months) and GM has sold 52,935.

Why is the increase in Truck Fleet sales surprising? I'd figure GM is getting rid of as many GMT800s as possible to make way for the GMT900 SUVs that are on sale now, and the Trucks that are about to debut.

I'm not saying sell the "current" Chinese Buicks here now... but going forward they need to offer the same line-ups. However, I would bring the 2007 Excelle over here if it meant Buick would share the next LaCrosse and Lucerne/Statesman/Royaum internationally. (Aren't they going to export the Enclave to China?) I haven't seen the interior pic of the 2007 Excelle, but I'd want to offer it in NA under Buick completely loaded (Quiet-Tuning, ESP, ABS, TC, Xenon headlights, Onstar, power everything, even memory heated seats) except with two engine choices (Ecotec 4 or 2.8lHFV6) and two options (leather & navigation). Tune the engines for optimal fuel economy, and price it from $21k-$24k. Sure it wouldn't be completely competitive HP wise, but if it offered everything standard along with the longer warranty and good MPG it would be a good alternative and an upscale entry for Buick (sort-a like the TSX is for Acura). It would also allow for the 3.6l to be standard on the LaCrosse and the 4.6l V8 to be standard on Lucerne. I definitely approve of the front end on the Excelle. I think it looks great. You have to give Buick credit. The Lucerne is a transitional vehicle and Buick is remarketing itself as a premium/luxury brand in NA. For the Lucerne to be selling on par is a good sign. Olds wasn't so lucky with its transitional vehicles.

Definitely agree on consistency. Most of GM's divisions lack consistency (except maybe HUMMER & GMC). Some worse than others, but every vehicle in a brand needs to convey a consistent message and image. Every single vehicle built by GM needs to have a justifiably assumed level of quality built into it. I don't feel time will be held against Buick. Warren Brown wrote a (non GM) car review in the Washington Post. The way he phrased the change in direction for a certain manufacturer was near perfect about how I feel regarding Buick's situation: I believe 100 percent that the above statement is key to Buick's success. With Buick's continued success in China, Buick's combined market volumes can sustain a single line-up of premium and luxury vehicles. Buick can not allow a temporary tarnished image in the US to prevent it from claiming back what it actually is. The root of it all goes back to consistency. Buick needs to be the same here as it is in China.

I don't remember this being posted before, but it appears to be a good reference source for the current status of North American manufacturing plants (only saw a few mistakes that I know of... such as Lansing Grand River opened in 2001, not 1990.) Automotive Manufacturing Solutions July/Aug 2006 I'm glad to see that there hasn't been a closing announcement made for Hamtramck yet. The PAAS implementation caught my eye. A comment from this article caused me to wonder what is Hamtramck's true product capacity now with PAAS? Another question is 'why would GM update Hamtramck with no new products planned as mentioned in this recent article (June'06)?' ...future expansion of Sigma production? Enjoy!

I'll concede to the upcoming E550, but the Northstar doesn't exist in a car that competes with the new LS. The STS directly competes against the GS. Let's see if GS gets the 4.6l for 2008 also. Yes I'd like the Northstar V8 to be bumped up to 5.0 with more performance also. Perhaps when the DTS is remodeled onto Zeta or the ULS (unless they've become one and the same.) As for the CTS's V6, I suspect it will get the DI 3.6l as well. Can't wait until we know for sure.

I'm constantly baffled by comments like this... The Northstar is not "underperforming". Direct competitors to the Northstar V8: BMW 4.8L V-8: 360HP Infiniti 4.5l V-8: 335HP Audi 4.2L V-8: 335HP Cadillac Northstar 4.6l V-8: 320HP Mercedes-Benz 5.0L V-8: 302HP Lexus 4.3l V-8: V-8 300HP Jaguar 4.2L V-8: 294HP

VUE for me. My sister-in-law bought a Black V6 2006 VUE a few months ago. It looks great and she loves it. She traded in her Honda Odyssey for it without any influence from me!

I liked the Buick Signia also... It looked much better in person than it did in pictures.

That's who I use too... and not just because they're HQ'd in Bellevue WA

I just want to see the production vehicle in person. I really don't think the wood is going to look that bad... however, I do agree with you Bimmer that the aluminum trim will look better on the Aura, if only that it more inline with Aura's image.

29-yrs old

I'm sure the new ASPEN will burn up sales charts based on looks alone. That new Sebring will make Camry & Aura rue the day.

I agree. Buick and Golf go way back. Their relationship doesn't bother me in the least. I plan to learn one day... some day...

:rotflmao:

Luckily he doesn't have to worry about a thin plot. The Transformers has enough "depth" to the story for three movies. The problem with Pearl Harbor is that it was a true story that he massacred. He won’t have that problem with Transformers (although he better stick to the original story line.) Let's hope he does better than in the past.

ShadowDog, Very well put.

Will Unicron be in the new movie? I wouldn't think so, but anything is paossible. The voices of Starscream and Soundwave need to be similar if not the same too.

Hey Pauli... Check it out. It's closer to your neck of the woods than mine. Looks in great condition. 1993 Black Buick Riviera

Heh... you can pick the Buick logos that goes on the shirt. It doesn't have to read "BUICK GOLF"

When I have questions, I just email Buick directly from Buick.com - they're very good at replying and it's an honest-to-god Buick/GM employee who responds... not some stupid form letter/email reply. Yeah pauli, what number did you call? edit... you answered the question Also, I found the Buick merchandise store... Don't know why I've missed it. http://www.buickmerchandise.com/

Yeah... "Road to Redemption" meant nothing compared to this...

Sorry, but I have NO IDEA what you're talking about. The interior materials for the dash (upper and lower) are soft-touch plastics and the door panels are made of the same soft-touch padding as the dash. The interior materials in the LaCrosse are superior to the last gen Camry and can honestly be considered superior to the current since the Camry uses hard plastics for the lower dash (remember, we're not talking about style, but materials). The Avalon has mouse fur for the headliner while the LaCrosse's headliner is woven fabric. It sounds like you didn't touch anything in the car.