We still don't know the name of Buick's all-new small sedan that will take its place right under the 2011 Regal in the carmaker's line up, but these latest spy shots from Germany give us our best look to date of the upcoming compact-sized model's exterior and interior design.
And if the styling looks familiar that's because Buick's baby sedan is in essence the North American version of the upcoming Opel Astra sedan.
From what we gather by looking at these revealing spy shots, the only differences worth mentioning aside from the badges concern Buick's signature waterfall grille and possibly, the styling of the tail lights.
As with the 2011 Buick Regal and the Opel Insignia, the small sedan's interior is identical to that of the recently revealed Astra hatchback.
There are no surprises under the sheetmetal as Buick's Opel-sourced model uses the same Delta II platform found on the Chevy Cruze.
Even though it's too early to know specific details about the powertrain options, we reckon that Buick's compact sedan will probably 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 with 180 ponies.
The big questions, is how U.S. consumers will receive Buick's smallest proposal that will compete head on with the VW Jetta and its like, especially after the failure of Saturn's version of the Astra.
Of course, the are many significant differences between Buick's and Saturn's Astra, the most important being that the Buick is based on the new and not the previous generation Astra, it will come with more powerful and modern engines and that it's a four-door sedan and not a five-door hatchback.
34 Comments:
A few things to consider are that the Saturn brand was taken from a "value leader" position to a premium position almost overnight. It wasn't very smart for Saturn to offer such a "high dollar" 5 door, when they were know for cheaper cars. Another thing is that Honda, Nissan, and Toyota essentially are the same across the pond as their Acura, Infinity, and Lexus counterparts. So the rebadge isn't such a bad idea, if we get Opel in the process. Finally, with the loss of Pontiac, this gives the Buick GMC dealers an entry level vehicle, that will hopefully be as polarizing as the Terrain/Equinox pair. People love one or the other, so generally very little cross shopping takes place.
Im sick of badge engineering. Buick doesnt have any its own style, just rebadge Opel products. Like Chevrolet did with Daewoo. Why can't they instead introduce the Opel and Daewoo brand in US.
Fuck you, GM ! King of rebadging.
It's not rebadging if the car isn't available on the continent. Up until recently the bulk of the Lexus lineup would be considered rebadged JDM Toyota's according to your logic.
Please tell me which Lexus model is rebadged JDM Toyota? Remember Lexus has entered Japanese market in 2005, means Celsior, Aristo, Altezza, Windom, Harrier are no longer available.
"Please tell me which Lexus model is rebadged JDM Toyota?"
ES and the Camry?
CT and the Matrix?
RX and the Highlander?
GX and the 4Runner?
LX and the Land Cruiser?
Forgetting anything else? Some are just minnor body style changes, but they are the same car made by the same people in the same factory irrespective of where they are sold; japan, 'states' mars, etc. All rebadges and all deeply unimpressive.
Lexus is nothing.
That interior needs to be stepped up (down?). Nobody wants colors in a luxury car. Give me some boring yet inviting tannish/brownish seats.
yeah GM should introduce the Opel and Daewoo brand in US...
"RX and the Highlander?
GX and the 4Runner?"
I dont see anything common between these cars
Rebadging is because they are too lazy to design and create a new car, they (i mean GM) just change the logo and the grille in the same car, and sell in different markets with different brand, and we consumer think they have many models, but in fact only one.
Haizzz !
"I dont see anything common between these cars"
My, aren't we an unobservant little one.
"My, aren't we an unobservant little one."
What are you talking about, buick baby fan boy, lol.
I wish one of the brainiacs on here would explain what is inherently wrong with either badge engineering or platform sharing?
Without the huge cost savings of platform sharing, most mass market car companies would go out of business. As for rebadging, renaming a car for different international markets where both brands aren't sold together (think Opel/Buick/Holden) can make good business sense.
Think about Chinese market. Opel is sold there, so why does GM change the Opel Insignia to Buick Regal?
Lawrence, leave the simpletons here to their stupid conclusions, they're not the ones who know how to run a business, they only understand their own bloated opinions. Of course we all know the exorbitant cost of bringing over and maintaining Opel, quite frankly, it doesn't make sense, and that would obviously bankrupt GM. But the simpletons here who manage to connect the dots with Opel and Buick associate badge-engineering with an overwhelmingly ignorant hate. There's a reason some of us go to college and understand how companies and business work, we put idiots like the above in their place.
GM's positioning of the Insignia within the Buick brand in China reflects their strategy of moving the car upward in to a more luxurious brand. In China, Buick is a widely-revered brand, the people there appreciate Buick more than the German luxury brands. It would make sense for GM to capitalize on this by badging a very good car (the Insignia) as a Buick to achieve greater sales.
The interior looks almost identical to the CRUZE and the A-Pillar window is very ugly and unnecessary. It needs a 200hp engine to make it worth more than a similar Cruze.
The Chinese market doesn't have Opel, they have Buick. If it weren't for the Chinese market, Buick would have been eliminated in the restructure for sure.
RX and highlander, GX and 4Runner are the same car.
Simple.
VW is the only company which has a lot of experience to keep a lot of car brands under the roof. For exapmle SEAT and Skoda belongs to VW and use its technology, but they still have their own identity most of the cars are based and not just rebadged. The brands operate independently within the group and decide themselves on the products they want to develop. Just ask at Opel, whether that's the case. For many Europeans, a car is more than just a vehicle, and therefore worth spending more.
For example a Corvette is a good car and cheaper than a Porsche, but many people want a Porsche because of its the image. Ask a German or european if he prefers its Opel car from the US for what he spends a lot of money. I don´t think so. The GT aka Saturn Sky was a flop, because it has nothing to do with the old GT or with the Opel brand. The customers are not stupid to know that it is from America. You only thing what GM reached with that is to destroy the brand and nothing else.
@Jenny
Total bullshit! The U.S. is not a third world country that there are no radio, television, Internet or magazines. Have you ever heard of globalization? Apart from Opel is not a garment but a car brand that strikes in the public between all the Toyotas, Fords or whatever. Of course, this is connected with a big risk, but without trying it and say that it does not work is nonsense. Opel build good cars and your Americans like them, or not? You should also not forget that the company in Europe must be utilized.
"GX and 4Runner are the same car."
Maybe GX and Prado?
Anonymous, I think you are off base here. It is not the Chevy badge that keeps the Corvette from being successful in Europe, it stems mostly form a perception of a cheap interior (true) and a lack of refinement (not true anymore). Also, the GT was never launched in Europe. All car companies share platforms due to the economies os scale. Why should GM or anyone else create a whole new car when you have already a fine vehicle in another that can be used. What is your beef with GM?
I still contend this car needs to be/have a hatchback version; similar to the Opel/Vauxhall Astra sold in Europe if it is to achieve any North American commercial success and be competitive. That goes for the Chevy Cruze as well
"but they still have their own identity most of the cars are based and not just rebadged."
Seat Exeo?
Seat and Skoda ARE just rebadged brand with no autonomy. VW is no better than GM in this respect.
Who cares if it is badge engineered? As long as it turns out to be a quality vehicle there's nothing wrong with badge engineering. This is done to keep costs down and pass along savings to the consumer. Personally, I'm happy that GM has introduced these vehicle platforms in China, Europe etc first, and worked out the bugs over there before introducing these vehicles in the US. Also, many manufacturers share platforms and technologies. It's the present and future of the auto. Better get used to that fact.
Yawm! I doubt I will ever get excited about a Buick. They should focus on large cars.
Hope they call this Skylark when it hits the US market.
I'm sure Buick (well, if they're smart) will introduce a hatchback Skylark or whatever they call it if the sedan is a sucess. Why not, when the design is done and the tooling is available? There are both two and four door hatch versions ready to go. Particularly if say Ford moves a lot of hatchback Focuses. But historically of course hatches in the US haven't sold as well as sedans, but maybe we're getting smarter. Corollas for instance are hatches in Europe but sedans here. On the other hand, the Versa hatch is doing well vs. the sedan. Maybe the Mini and Fit, only coming in hatch form, have also helped the image.
Speaking of badge engineering, in England Opels are sold as Vauxhalls. The difference is actually limited to only the badges, unlike the various Buick-Opels which have a different grill in the same opening. Everyone in England knows they're identical to Opels, but they like their Vauxhalls and also it indicates they were made in the UK. Most Buick buyers probably won't even know, and no one will care. Those that do know will only be more attracted, if not consider a Buick at all, because it is a German design. You know, like BMW and Mercedes.
I like the idea of this. For those who call this "rebadging," they don't really understand the meaning of the term. It's not rebadging if it's not offered to the same audience as anything else. And it would make absolutely no sense to sell Opels in the US. For those who remember, Opel used to be in the States, but failed miserably and has a terrible reputation still. Plus, there is no dealer network.
Anyone remember the Cadillac Catera??....OPEL!
"Anyone remember the Cadillac Catera??....OPEL!"
It doesn't matter. It's still GM.
"Rebadging"
Thats why the old GM went bankrupt.
Why do u US citizens keep calling this rebadging....the Opel is NOT Even sold in the US...Buick is so it makes perfect sense for the newly rejuvenated and youthful Buick to offer an upscale small car in the US and China....plus it will bring new buyers into Buick dealerships and help GM make a profit on small cars the way other companies do....Good job GM....if the car is as refined and competitive as the new Regal and LaCrosse, it should do well here.
To an anonymous who said that China doesn't have Opel... well they actually do! I was there and saw many Opel cars, specially the Astra, just like the american Astra sold by Saturn until recently...
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