Drew Dowdell

Plug in, alcohol burning, hybrids with variable displacement engines. that was easy.

Oh... see, I want Buick to soak up the Buick-type buyers. That's what I picture the LaCrosse II existing for. The ES isn't aspirational to you and I because we know it's just a Camry De Lux. However Regina Realestateagent sees the L on the hood so it's aspirational for her. The RWD Zeta Park Ave should go up against the LS, and the Enclave is already putting the hurt on the RX. The IS, GS, SC and LX are covered by Cadillac.

100 Million? For what? Engine and transmission are both the same. You can't tell me that suspension tuning and different bumpers cost $100 million.

.

Is it the name that is bad.... or the car? Odyssey Altima Malibu Tundra all were also-rans, but look at them now.

I'm not putting any timeline on my bet..... I agree with you completely. keep in mind, I work for a company that trades oil, natural gas, and electricity. we're fairly major in the industry.... and I have access to some of the best minds in the biz. most of my speculations are coming from the traders.

I'm not predicting the fall of big oil. I'm not even predicting a decline in prices yet, but we're already in an unsustainable position. A good 20% of the current price is just inflationary speculation at this point. There is going to be a point where one or two major oil producing countries are just going to say "screw it" and open up the taps while the money is great. Once that happens many of the other oil producers will start cheating as well. My bets are on Russia.

waaaay over speculated. yeah the costs are high, but it's turning into a situation similar to the housing market.

nope. no way. it will be a niche product at best..... which is unfortunate.

Tell people you have a Seville, Eldorado, Deville, Escalade, Continental, Town Car, Navigator.... people know you're driving a luxury car. And I disagree about the name Cutlass, I owned a convertible. When discussing my car people would say "They made a convertible one of those? I bet that was a sweet ride. My mom had a Cutlass years ago... she drove it till 200k miles then traded it in on a Toyota" These days, tell someone you drive a 300.... Is that the new Ford that took over for the Taurus? Or that new Bentley looking thing from Chrysler... No I think it's a Mercedes. Could be a Lexus.... maybe BMW... no those all end with "i". I don't think you're giving enough credit to the names of yore..... then again, neither do the car companies.

Well.... now this has become a thread that I really need to stay out of.

Maybe GM could sell them the Atlas design once the Trailblazer dies.

I say who cares what it makes you in the eyes of others. Do what is right in your heart as long as it's legal.

How many people do you think remember the name of the mid-sized entry from Buick, Olds, or Pontiac in 1989? How many people do you think remember the name of the mid-sized entry from Lexus, Mercedes, or Infiniti in 1989?

For those of you who can't remember why 2007 was soooo bad. <video>

tanx..... see what happens when you use alpha-numerics rather than actual names? What do you think Buick should be chasing in this market?

How very KIA of them!

I've never been in an XL7, but the pics of the interiors looked attractive enough for a 20k SUV. Dunno about the fit though. Acadia... Enclave. Yeah it's silly for one dealer to have both.... about as silly as people's refusal to buy a Buick evar.

I agree, disagree and disagree with you. I think Chevy should have a Lamda for a few reasons; 1. It is effectively now the replacement for the Trailblazer once the GMT-360s are gone. 2. It's effectively an Uplander replacement. 3. It will help to provide a softer landing once CAFE smacks the hell out of the Tahoe. I think Chevy should also have a Theta 3-row also.... based on what they did with the Suzuki XL-7. That turned out to be a pretty good SUV hindered by an also-ran brand name. There would still be a substantial size difference between the two SUVs. I'm not sure how they'd pull off pricing however. The Traverse is getting dangerously close to Equinox territory. The Acadia is the second most popular Lambda right now. Like it or not, there are still people who will refuse to buy a Buick simply because of the name but are open to buying a GMC. For that reason, along with the lack of Saturn dealers, the Acadia was a good move.

I think it is not only possible, but likely that Buick and Cadillac can have matching price points all the way up the scale for similarly sized vehicles. Cadillac will be the sportier, "euro", agile car while Buick will be the softer, more traditional American luxury. If anything, GM is in a better position than Toyota because they can differentiate the two. Is Lexus "sporty", "euro", "agile" <IS, GS> or is it "soft" and "supple" <ES, RX, LS>? The idea here of course is that there is no confusion at GM. You know what you're getting with a Cadillac and you know what you're getting with a Buick.

that really isn't something you can... or should... resolve to do. Needs to just happen naturally.

I know. but I've just been too addicted to Star Trek: Armada II lately

Agreed. I'm all for making great small cars. I think people would buy small/efficient cars if the ones in the US weren't so cheap minded. If more people buy them, that raises the CAFE for the company and allows them to also sell the larger cars.

Concentrate more on things that are important <moving, house projects> and less on things that aren't <computer games>