Flybrian

Didn't the Wagonaire leak like a bitch?Anyway, I could see the XUV being more of a success with a simplied manual operation top and midgate system as an option on the SWB Envoy.

Europe. Check out the decal on the door...

The difference there is the lack of Crown Victoria badging. With the STS, Cadillac has made several announcements attesting to its 'S-Series' designation. The new format doesn't make much sense, isn't coherent, and...doesn't make much sense, but its what it is.

OMG 4REALZ IT TAKES ME 5 MIN TO CHANGE MUH AIR FILTAR 40 MIN TO CHANGE ALL MY PLUGS AN WIREZ AN 5 MIN TO GET AT TEH THROTTLE BODIE WAT A PIN IN TEH @$$!!!1!1!!1!111!1!111LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

Look at the 2004 GTO for a clear example of why GM needs to intervene in some cases. GM MSRPs the car for $30k, dealers jack it up to near $40k with lame racing stripes and spoilers, and people walk. Sales suffer because of dealer greed and in that case, "market" pricing killed demand.

If you're around all those cool cars and a misplaced Camry ruins your experience...lame.

I don't read anything written by Flintstone anymore because its just a rehash of articles and opinion columns we and others have discussed two to three weeks prior...

The Sebring seems very...flat inside. Very slab-sided, which is fine on an ugly brick like the 300, but this car is decidedly more curvy. Not bad, though. The Aspen is a bad joke.

The view from the rear seats is better than the view from the front! The worst part of that particular car, however, is the EPA compliance issue. That would possibly kill the 'deal' of picking this up cheap. Shame...

The current Maxima just looks bloated in all the wrong ways. The one-piece rear bumper/clip area adds to its ass-heavy appearance and the lack of any ride control for the rear suspension results in extremely heavy 'dip' when four are seated inside. Too many of the details are too unappealing for me to like it, and I did like the preceeding Maxima. I haven't driven Nissan's CVT, but thus far, my limited CVT experience leaves me feeling weird.

Yeah, though I appreciate 'winning,' STS is just...STS.

I've averaged around 19 in mostly city driving with heavy a/c usage in my Aurora. Every time I start sweating bullets as the fuel pump registers $55.00, I remember what a horrible experience those rental Corollas were. Nothing is more comfortable than wafting down the interstate at highway speeds in a large V8 car.

:rotflmao:

A Theta Rendezvous may not be a bad idea and I know quite a few advocate a nice, luxurious version for that reason. However, there is a gulf between 'price' and 'value.' My question to you is - would you rather see Buick reduce volume and increase profitability by selling vehicles that are a good 'value', or simply continue offering the best 'price' with a bloated lineup of rebadges as it has at different points in the past? I think Buick would have a lot more respect with a tighter lineup of truly fantastic cars, ditto with Pontiac. GMC is there to provide the financial float to pay for the initital cost of these better cars and combined, the three make a complete lineup. That is the logic I see behind the quoted material in your original post. I know from an enthusiast's point of view - despite having 8-10+ carlines in the past - I'd much rather have the choice of three Oldsmobile models than none at all.

Given what they had to work with, it was very well-executed with traditional Buick styling cues. Keep in mind, the entire crossover segement is foreign by its very nature. The Americanization of it thanks to Buick worked out pretty well; I'd consider it a home run - again - considering what it was built off of and what was under the hood. Old's certainly would've received a production Recon or Profile, with their more modern looks, if Olds had remained around. On one hand, you complain Buick is starved for relevant, well-executed product that will sell itself, yet you judge the one relevant, well-executed Buick as of late as being a "combination of errors." You attested yourself how many you got off the lots. Fine. Let's go back to late-2000 and shelve the Rendezvous. Kiss 50-70k sales a year good-bye. Kiss the lowered demographics good-bye. Maybe kiss Buick good-bye? Like it or not, its a vehicle that carried Buick through some doldrum years. If outselling the brand-new Acura MDX every other month and coming extrodinarily close to beating out the 4-year-established RX300 is an "error," maybe Buick needs more similar 'poor decisions.' And as far as the Enclave goes, the Rainier (as much of a hackjob as it is) shows that people are willing to pony up over $30k for a Buick utility, even one that's not very good. The Rendezvous shows Buick has a customer base for a 7-seater. Enclave will sell itself on its luxury, its value, and its handsome American good looks.

Jesus Christ.

Also according to Kia, the current Amanti has "exhilarating performance" and "contemporary styling."

If you don't personally like the Rendezvous, just say so. Your blasts against it fall flat. What about that snooty Rolls-inspired, French-named coupe that became legendary? Or Canadian-made Centuries that somehow dominated the midsize quality rankings? Foreign-named Electras, Invictas, and the French-themed LeSabre? What about the 1991 Park Avenue being dubbed an "American Jaguar?" Must also be lousy marketing...

Rendezvous nearly dominated the premium midsize crossover segement for years and brought down your average buyer age like no other model, even the Regal GS. I will agree in GM's piss-poor Lucerne rollout. Leaving dealers with nothing but the most undesireable 'value edition' trims of their best-selling product with its replacement still months away was simply idiotic. However, the Lucerne is doing very well in sales; adjust for massive fleet dumps of the 2005 LeSabre, and the numbers are rather impressive, especially considering the hightened focus on well-optioned Lucernes versus LeSabre Customs. Agreed about the advertising sentiments, though Tiger Woods and golf go hand-in-hand. Use it, exploit it, love it. I would hate to believe that e-mail is factual because there is still plenty in store for Buick in future, your report notwithstanding. I would hope you replied to that franchisee telling him to keep his head high, believe in the product he's selling, believe in the Spirit of Buick, and use what collective pull the retailers have to persuade GM that Buick can pay dividends similar to those reaped from Cadillac's revitalization instead of giving up and kowtowing to this doomsday ideal.

This topic has actually not gotten worse compared to the original post...

In addition to the LaCrosse and Terraza, "the future" in fall of 2004 could include... Velite concept Lucerne LaCrosse Super Enclave concept Enclave production And who knows how much of Lambda's development cost was taken from Buick's $3.2 billion? Who knows how much of it went to China, where they actually buy these cars, keeping in mind an entirely different LaCrosse was debuted there along with the "Buick" Royaum and other models, in this identical timeframe.

In reference to Edmunds, Motortrend, and Car and driver. They're usually the worst. Is wholly accurate.

Satty, Satty, 2x4 Can't fit in the Fusion's door

Yes, yes, we've all seen your mom

I actually also thought 300, but the way the question is phrased makes me think like... RWD -----> FWD ---------------------------------------------------------> RWD