wildcat

Is that "waterfall grill" a fake one? It looks like it's drawn on the covering. Will the Delta II Buick have Buick cues like a sweepspear or portholes? Or will it have Opel cues? Wait a minute --- I thought it was supposed to in some way(s) resemble the Buick Riviera Concept? This vehicle shown couldn't be hiding a Pontiac badge on the grill, could it?

thread title For those that aren't REALLY into Buicks... Guess Buick fans can't play :angry2:

Thank you very much for finding and posting this. But I don't even see a sweepspear, so what are the clues that this is a Buick?

Is this "For those that aren't REALLY into Pontiacs..." or can anybody play?

On the "GM Fastlane Blog," Susan Docherty has replied to some of the people who wrote comments about her claim that Pontiac is "Alive and Kicking." Here's an excerpt of one response: ". . . We’re learning a lot from the customer reaction to the G8, which we’ll be using as future Pontiac’s are designed and built. AWD is something we’ve talked about . . . and it’s something we can consider for the future. As new Pontiacs come to market, I hope you’ll see the kind of positive changes you’re suggesting." Susan Those statements seem to indicate that new Pontiacs are being planned and that Pontiac does, indeed, have some kind of future. But because her words seem to fly in the face of what, for instance, Pontiac Custom-S has foretold, there's only three possibilities here: 1. GM has had a change of heart about Pontiac. 2. Docherty's superiors are not being truthful to her. 3. Docherty is not being truthful to the public. Which is it? As a long-time GM supporter, I'd like to think it's 1.

In an article by Jame LaReau in the March 9th Automotive News, "GM taps Opel for future Buicks," product sharing is discussed. To read the story click here or see the details below. DETROIT — Even as General Motors explores the sale of Opel, it will tap its European unit as a source for future Buick sedans. For the past two years, GM has shared Opel vehicles and design with Saturn. Sources familiar with GM's plans say those products now will go to Buick. The Opel Insignia, due to go to Saturn as the redesigned 2010 Aura, will go to Buick as the 2010 Regal sedan in the United States, says a source familiar with GM's product plans. "Opel is one of the brands that we're going to look at in terms of future sourcing," Susan Docherty, vice president of Buick-Pontiac-GMC, told Automotive News. "In fairness, we've got to look at everything. "I wouldn't want to make a statement that all future Buicks we do will leverage the Opel platform because that wouldn't be true. The Enclave didn't use Opel nor did the new LaCrosse sedan. It's an avenue for us to explore, for sure." But what happens to Buick's product plans if GM sells Opel? "I don't know the details of what GM is trying to get done with that restructuring," Docherty said. "But even so, we'd stay with the idea that GM will utilize all of its global architectural platforms." Another source close to GM says it would be in any future partner's best interest to honor the global architecture-sharing programs in place. Docherty declined to comment specifically on Buick's getting the Opel Insignia. She said that as GM works to cut Pontiac's product offerings, the company can offer new Buick vehicles to keep the Buick-Pontiac-GMC channel well-rounded. Buick's lineup will focus on sedans and crossovers, Docherty said. "We're looking at a bunch of stuff from a sedan standpoint," she said. "We're going to add some more sedans, so stay tuned." In its viability plan, released Feb. 17, GM said that if it cannot sell Saturn, the brand will shut down after its current product cycle ends in 2012.

But Chevrolet gets one of EVERYthing

Not bad, Oldsmoboi!

Chrysler sales dropped (only) 26%, retail, in February 2009. Read the first announcement here.

Did you really

Susan Docherty, GMNA Vice President of B-P-G, claims in a post to the GM Fastlane Blog that Pontiac is "Alive and Kicking and Part of GM's Future Plans." Here is a direct link.

Opel urgently needs money to prevent a cash crisis that could result in the total failure of its operations. The time frame is weeks. The cash-starved General Motors brand has appealed to governments in European nations where it has operations to supply emergency funding to bridge a €3.3 billion liquidity shortage. German Economy Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg said today he will not be pressured into making a quick decision on granting state aid to struggling Opel. http://www.worldcarfans.com/9090302.005/op...y-from-collapse

GM: Opel spinoff won't end product partnership Dave Guilford Automotive News March 2, 2009 General Motors vows that its tightly knit product development partnership with Adam Opel AG will continue, despite GM's plans to sell a minority stake in the German automaker. "Opel remains an integral and important part of GM's global operations and will continue as such in the future," GM said in a statement Friday, Feb. 27. Teams in Germany have produced GM's global compact and mid-sized vehicle platforms. The Buick LaCrosse coming this summer is the first U.S. vehicle built on the new mid-sized platform. The Chevrolet Cruze, due in mid-2010, will be built on the compact platform. But the final structure of the Opel spinoff is far from certain. GM said it "remains open to discussions on partnerships, equity positions or other alignments that will strengthen the relative position of Opel/GM." "Discussions are just really beginning in earnest," a GM spokesman said Friday. GM created the spinoff plan in an attempt to win financial aid for Opel from several European governments. GM requested 3.3 billion euros (about $4.21 billion) to remedy a cash crisis at Opel but faced resistance because Opel is a subsidiary of a U.S. company. GM Europe plans to form a joint-stock company for Opel and British sister brand Vauxhall. GM Europe President Carl-Peter Forster told a news conference Friday that the new company will remain linked to GM while letting outside investors take a stake of more than 25 percent. GM has owned Opel since 1929. John Revill contributed to this report

Chicagoland: I like to think that none of the "brand loyalists" want their favorite to, as you put it "get all the goodies." Hopefully, they're more realistic than that. But I do think that it's entirely reasonable that the brand loyalists should want their favorite to get something class-leading and competitive, and not be starved of attention. For example, it's not fair for Chevrolet to hog everything, leaving nothing for the other makes. If, as in the past, Pontiac were the performance brand, then Pontiac should have received the performance models. If the brands truly were differentiated, it should have been simple to see where a new model or type od vehicle should fit. While I understand that Chevrolet had the role of volume leader, just because Chevy has a strong dealership doesn't mean that GM had to cave to its every whim and give it one (or more) of everything. GM should have been spreading out its product to the appropriate division(s), sharing platforms but not designs to the point where they're obvious rebadges. But I guess that's all water over the dam at this point.

Well I didn't have to scroll too far down the (so far) 61 responses to find people suggesting that GM get rid of Buick instead. So, no thanks, I'm NOT going to sign that petition. I'm tired of this jealousy of "why get rid of Pontiac, why not Buick." I don't hear anyone like me saying get rid of Pontiac. By the way, their petition goal is to get 100,000 signatures. Good luck.

Presuming GMNA survives, what will this mean for Buick product that is just now aligning with Opel? Or do you think eventually Buick will become a China-owned operation that - possibly - exports cars to NA?

To my eyes, it looks a little ugly from the side - if this sketch proves to be on the money. As some of us have proposed, if Buick gets a similar vehicle, "Buick Electra" would be an ideal name. But I ALSO like the name "Buick Riv-E," a nod to the name "Riviera" and "E" for electric. Pronounced "riv-ee."

Chevrolet: - Brand Positioning: • Expressive Value • High Value Appeal with High Retail Volume - Dealer Throughput: • Growing to match Toyota in large markets Buick-Pontiac-GMC: - Brand Positioning • Buick: Sophisticated Quality, Luxury and Craftsmanship • Pontiac: Youthful & Sporty – with niche focus • GMC: Engineering Excellence with Capability and Functionally - Dealer Throughput: • Growing to match Nissan in large markets Cadillac: - Brand Positioning: • Performance Luxury with Aspirational Appeal • Global Luxury Brand - Dealer Throughput: • Growing to match Mercedes in large markets

Chevrolet Malibu vs. Impala? Some call the present Malibu a great car but the older, simple Impala still outsells it. Here's what the Los Angeles Times observes, on the eve of the announcement of GM's viability plan.

The deadline is looming to present a plan for viability, and Reuters says GM is considering Chapter 11 to form a new ( ! ) company. To view their story, click here.

The last few days Bob Lutz has been on many people's minds. But here's a new interview with Rick Wagoner, from an article by Sharon Silke Carty for USA Today. here

"GM to restructure European sales, marketing" John Revill Automotive News February 5, 2009 General Motors is restructuring its sales, marketing and aftersales operations in Europe to give its Opel, Chevrolet Europe and Saab brands more autonomy. The change will allow each brand to be more responsive to market conditions, Brent Dewar, GM Europe's head of sales, marketing and aftersales told Automotive News Europe. "This year will be as challenging as 2008. We want to speed up decision making and focus our resources," Dewar said. The initiative will see three executives named brand leaders, effective March 1. Alain Visser will be vice president for Opel with responsibility for promoting the German brand. Currently, Visser is GM Europe's chief marketing officer. Wayne Brannon will become vice president responsible for Chevrolet sales in Europe. Currently, Brannon is executive director of Chevrolet Europe. Jan-Ake Jonsson, currently managing director of Saab, will add responsibility for Saab's marketing and sales in Europe. Dewar said GM Europe's multi-brand structure had served the carmaker well but "we will now transfer to a set-up with more autonomy for the individual brands." Dewar said the three brands will launch key models this year, which will allow each marque to have its own marketing strategy. Opel will launch a new generation of its Astra lower-medium car, Chevrolet will introduce the Cruze lower-medium car and Saab will launch a new 9-5 medium-premium car. GM said it will have an opportunity to stress the differences between the brands. "Chevrolet is very different from Opel and both are different from Saab," Dewar said. Chevrolet is GM's value-for-money brand in Europe. Opel is its volume seller and Saab is near-premium. Chevrolet's Brannon said the restructuring will boost the brand's profile in Europe. "We intend to be more of a player in Europe," he said. Despite the economic downturn, Chevrolet increased its European sales by 10.7 percent to 507,000 cars last year. Saab's Jonsson the new structure would give the Swedish brand greater responsiveness to the markets. "We will not be working through many different layers and we can better focus our brand," he said. GM's sales in Europe including Russia and Turkey fell 6.5 percent to 2.04 million units in 2008 compared with 2007, the company said last month. Its European market share fell to 9.2 per cent from 9.4 percent. Sales of Opel and its sister brand Vauxhall fell 10.5 percent to 1.63 million after the financial crisis spread into key western markets such as the UK and Spain. Opel is seeking about $1.4 billion in financial guarantees from the German government in case parent GM files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Saab's global sales fall 25.5 percent to 93,338 units. GM has launched a review of the Swedish brand with options including a sale.

long legs

creaming (hah... you all thought I'd say "rimming")

drain opener