During Buick's Los Angeles Auto Show press conference for the unveiling of the Opel Insignia-based 2011 Regal saloon, the company's product marketing director, Craig Bierly, showed a teaser sketch of the next addition to the Buick range, a premium compact sedan."And now, I have more exciting news to share with you; the first public showing of a rendering that includes our entire future sedan portfolio," Bierly said at the presentation.
"In addition to the new Regal, which you see on your right, you see our LaCrosse in the center and at the far left, an all-new premium compact sedan with the styling and craftsmanship of Enclave and LaCrosse plus the European-inspired driving dynamics of the Regal - and at a price that will make this Buick our new entry point to the brand.
"Is Buick's transformation complete? No … but we believe we're making steady progress," Bierly added.
While Bierly did not give out any specific details on the car, it's safe to assume that, like the Chinese market 2011 Buick Excelle hatchback, the four-door saloon will also be based on the new Opel Astra (sedan version), which shares the same Delta II platform with the new Chevrolet Cruze.
Our spies have already captured Buick's compact sedan testing in Germany, though at the time, it wasn't clear if GM was developing the car exclusively for China or also for the North American market.
In the States, the new Buick compact sedan will most likely be offered with a similar engine range to the Cruze including a 1.4-liter turbocharged four-pot, and quite possibly, the Astra's more powerful 1.6-liter turbo unit with 180 ponies.
12 Comments:
The Buick compact sedan has Opel wheels and the side of this car is identical with the the new Opel Astra. It is nothing more than a cheap copy of Opel´s engineering. OPEL FOREVER. GM GO TO HELL!!!
More re-badging...so typical of GM (Gross Mismanagement). GM does not need Buick.
You know, because only GM rebadges cars...
Serriously, the first two anons seem like they just had the needle pulled out of their heads like in the matrix and somehow the who universe has collapsed in upon inself in a bizzare event of a badge being swapped about.
They are just 2 different badges on the same car sold by the same company. There is no opel just as there is no buick; those are sales channels, an image that is projected of the brand by advertising and historical records that makes the consumer think that this is 'an opel' or 'a buick'.
Same fucking car made by a global collective of engineeres, but because it was first sold wearing an opel badge, it's an opel. Go figure. No wonder you lot are having a hissy fit over a fucking badge.
That graphic is kind of cryptic. It wouldn't have hurt them to give more away.
This reveal reminds me of the first Chevy Cruze picture. I wonder if this Buick will reach our dealerships 2 years from now, just like the Cruze.
This looks like an Astra in the window line, panel creases, side indicator and mirrors but with new front lights bumber and grill.
GM does not need Opel. Actually, GM cannot afford to be involved with Opel any longer.
I think this is just a teaser the whole show is still to come. Without knowing all the features and product review, we need not jump into the conclusion. Even GM has shown some good results in terms of quality, so denying its credibility is not good.
ohhhh, GM always needs Opel, Holden, Daewoo....how else are they to come with new product in a hurry....they can't do that on their own you know. NOT good as Ford you see
Opel is GM!
Except for the third comment, there seems to be a lot of ignorance on the subject of GM and automobile manufacturers parent and satellite entity integration in general. The designers, engineers, and management at GM and Opel would just shake their heads at some of these comments.
On the proposed Opel based Buick...Looks great.
Buick needs a shot at introducing a new buying segment to it's market products, this would do that. This model as designed, should get more attention from a younger segment of buyers and the typical Toyota, Nissan and Honda buyer.
Build as it looks, and they will come.
3Deuce27
Pictures of the Chinese Buick Astra (or whatever it's called there) have been posted on this site. Like the US Regal (Opel Insignia) it looks like an Opel with a Buick grill and badges in place of the Opel ones, so the work is already done besides maybe some details like particular audio systems or suspension tuning or maybe some specific items to meet US codes. And by the way Opels are built and sold in England as Vauxhalls. About the only differences are the badges and right hand drive. Anyway these cars and the LaCrosse are going to change Buick's image in the US from second rate retiree brand to an equal modern competitor to anyone. They already have the build quality. Good luck GM - we all own 60% of you!
I think i would like to wait for some more time to check out the actual reviews on the same. Let us see how these cars perform on roads.
Only GM owns 100% of Opel it doesn´t mean that the brand is just a badge on a car! The Adam Opel GmbH is an independent car maker and the same applies to GM Daewoo. These brands operate independently in the GM group. To compare Opel with brands like Buick or Saturn is silly. If that would be so, then it would mean that a Maserati is a Fiat. There is a big difference between Opel, GM and Buick.
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