wildcat

CD/BP: If it wouldn't cause any problems for you to answer, may I ask a few questions? 1. Have you had an opportunity to photograph any spy shots of the Buick crossover? 2. Would this type and make of vehicle -- in general -- be of any interest to car publications, or do they prefer non-SUVs or Toyotas, Hondas, or even other GM makes, etc. 3. Since the Buick has been shown to the media and will be on display at some upcoming car shows (not too long from now), is the likelihood that we'll see a photo of one diminished? Thank you very much for being a part of this forum.

If I've done my search correctly, the only "live" unused Buick names GM presently has filed with the U.S. Patents & Trademarks Office are: Invicta Bengal Other possibilities, including Centieme, Roadmaster, and Wildcat :o, are "dead." I'll be happy to be corrected by thegriffon or anyone else in the know. pontiaccrest: Shades of the Ford LTD! Sounds more like a trim line, anyway.

Polish_Kris: Thank you for taking and sharing these. IMHO, the dark gray one (license AXHA 336) looks really good.

Nah, they're positioning Buick as it will be at its best... with a V-8 Lucerne CXS and the upcoming Buick Lambda crossover. We've all read the great reaction about the latter, especially, so they're just setting the stage for those two vehicles.

If Buick is now said to be aiming for Acura, I hope that the next-generation LaCrosse shrinks, to be a Buick competitor to the Acura TL or TSX. In other words, something needs to be distinctive about each of Buick's 4-door models - they can't all be big, conservative 4-door sedans. How about one (the flagship?) offered in AWD, or one in a coupe variation? Dsuupr: Thank you for your input.

The story in the 10/24/05 issue states, "Americans who are 50 years old and older make up 39 percent of the nation's adult population. But they will account for half of U.S. auto sales this year. That share will increase to 53 percent by 2010, predicts Art Spinella, president of CNW Marketing/Research Inc., a consulting company in Bandon, Ore." Buick often bears the brunt of jokes about how the average age of its buyers is [ fill in your choice of jokes, such as "dead" ]. But the Rendezvous showed new Buicks can lower the demographics (didn't Rendezvous owners average 58 or so?). So that's perfect if Buick can skew slightly younger with its new product, zeroing in on 45 to 59 year olds. But it still worries me that the industry trend at the moment is smaller vehicles - so I think that Buick needs something small, too.

Me again. Wanted to say "happy birthday" to VenSeattle.

If GM would put the accent on chrome and use heritage names (and have "a touch of nostalgia baked in," as Lutz once said, perhaps about a future Buick), I'd say "Reach back, leap forward!" Or if Buick is aspirational, I think they should use "Wouldn't you really rather have a Buick?" - as long as the product line is solid. Or go back to "The Great American Beauty." <_< But when they started "Dream Up," they promised they would stick with it, after "It's All Good," et al. Once again, a turnabout and no longevity. I agree that, even without "Super" and "Reserve," should they amount to specialty "packages," Buicks need to be well-equipped and not bland as-is.

Thanks for posting this, Northstar. If Buick doesn't yet have a name for it, I don't think they should call it "Centieme," especially if that is defined as 100th. Not the right name for the vehicle at this point. Would they use Invicta? Roadmaster? Will they poll the auto show crowds for suggestions? But they do need a name - we can't keep saying "the Buick mid-sized sport ute" :rolleyes: or "Buick Lambda crossover" indefinitely. At odds with what Automotive News stated, is the Buick still coming out (earlier than anticipated) in '06, as an '07?

I'll be customer #1 for a "compact Buick crossover SUV wagon." (That's a mouthful!) People sometimes say Buick shouldn't have any small or compact vehicles, but I disagree. The market in general seems to be moving away from big, so please don't let Buick be limited to big. There are small and compact vehicles of all kinds, from economy to luxury, and there's no reason a Buick can't be smaller (it just has to have the same character traits: smooth ride, luxurious, power in reserve, etc.).

How about a Roadmaster "Leather Man" option? All black paint job, leather seats, chains instead of door handles. :P < hit dead-on by the tomatoes >

" . . . The acceleration of the GMT 900s [ will get ] them to market . . . " CD/BP: Do you think it'd be better to release all 3 ASAP, or stagger them, with Saturn, then a month or two later GMC or Buick? :P Conversely, has the Buick Lucerne suffered from "get everything else out first and delay it to market"?

dutch: Which is the Chinese Buick that a possible "5-seater crossover" may be based? Is that what has been discussed previously here as a (Theta) Equinox rebadge for model year '09? Is Centieme confirmed as the name of the Lambda crossover? If so, did they explain why they wanted to eliminate the name Rendezvous? Is it thought that the Lambda crossover is much "more" of a vehicle (not just a simple re-fresh), so they didn't want to use the name Rendezvous? When they talked of the 5-seater and he RWD flagship, were images (drawings) shown? Or just talk? Finally, can you shed any more light on the use of "Super" in other Buick models, or the use of "Reserve"? Thank you very much!

dutch: Much thanks for sharing this information.

The line of the hood and the space between the grille and the headlights in this new C & G / CSpec image does remind me of the Lucerne. So is the belief that there'll be a LaCrosse Reserve, too? How do these potential names sound... LaCrosse Super LaCrosse Reserve Lucerne Super Lucerne Reserve Rendezvous Super Rendezvous Reserve And, imagining what if... Velie Super Velite Reserve Invicta Super Invicta Reserve Riviera Super Riviera Reserve Roadmaster Super Roadmaster Reserve

Since you're teasing us with this one image (but nothing else), are you sure this isn't the front of the Lambda crossover. I know you said the entire line-up will have it by '08, but (not knowing what other images you have) could this be the Lambda front?

Sounds super to me! (I mean the part that Satty said :P )

VenSeattle: LOL at the Big Gay Al reference!

stoopsbuick: Thanks for the scoop! I keep reading and re-reading your post, but no more information comes out of it. :P Was the new Buick Lambda crossover there? Any other glimpses (drawings?) of future Buick plans?

Among the comment on developments at GM this week is an article by Jonathan Fahey, "Rick Wagoner Is Running Out of Excuses," on the website Forbes.com

There's a photo of Rick Wagoner speaking, with some car images behind him. I can see the Malibu and a G6 convertible. But what is the larger car on the left? Here is a direct link. It almost looks like a Buick Park Avenue, but with changes. Thank you to whomever answers the question.

As I write this, Buick is trailing Saturn and Pontiac. So, in other words, what this poll is saying is that Buick most needs product development attention and dollars at this point.

It could make a right-smart cool Buick! "Buick Special"?

As traditionally the most conservative of GM's makes, Buick should use a lot of classic styling, heritage names, and design cues. You're right, the most desirable names include Roadmaster, Invicta, Wildcat, et al. Advertising once said "the great American road belongs to Buick; "Buick... the great American beauty"; etc. but, more recently, they gave the vehicles European styling and/or Swiss or French names. Huh? GM can't be as stupid as it seems; so must we think they are trying to kill Buick with a half-a**ed new names marketing experiment, and little attention or money?

What is the likelihood the wagon could be a new Holden Adventra LX8, to be shared with Buick as an AWD Roadmaster or Invicta? Neither Pontiac nor GMC should have a wagon; Buick would seem ideal.