It may be an understatement to say that there’s been a significant amount speculation, discussion, and expressed sentiment about the Buick Encore before the vehicle’s official unveiling at the Detroit Auto Show in January. “How’s this a Buick”, asked one loyal GM Authority reader. “Can I fit the Encore inside an Enclave?”, asked another. Suffice to say, the preliminary reactions were mostly negative.
After the Encore’s unveiling, however, many have changed their tune and opinion about the subcompact crossover: “Nicely done!”, commented a GM Authority patron. “The interior is beautiful, gorgeously appointed with nice warm colors.”.
Indeed, even the toughest Encore critics (such as yours truly) have come around to the idea of the vehicle being successful in wearing the Buick badge. To that end, Buick’s press material has assisted in understanding its purpose — and, more importantly, the target market — of the Encore. For instance:
“Buick Encore is a great-looking, smart choice for those who want luxury crossover amenities in a more maneuverable and agile vehicle,” said Tony DiSalle, U.S. vice president of Buick Marketing. “It represents a luxury alternative for a new audience of Buick customers, and delivers features and flexibility not typically found in vehicles of its size today.”
In other words, the Encore breaks new ground for crossovers. Its subcompact dimensions make it smaller than the smallest premium-luxury CUVs in North America today: Encore is smaller than C-segment stalwarts such as the Audi Q5, Mercedes-Benz GLK, BMW X3, Acura RDX, and Infiniti EX — placing the Gamma-based crossover squarely in the B-Segment with the likes of the BMW X1, and Audi Q3. And more than anything, these classes emphasize just how different the Encore is to the Enclave. For instance, the full-size Enclave is an impressive 33 inches (83.82 cm) longer than the Encore, which measures 168 inches in length to the Enclave’s gargantuan 201, with trunk room to spare even with the third row upright.
As such, it could be said that with the Encore and Enclave, Buick is serving two extreme markets while possibly missing the sweet spot: the compact and midsized crossover segments that represent the majority of car and crossover sales. And because of that, the Encore is a good start… but we hope it’s only the beginning of Buick’s long-term crossover strategy.
One of the segments in which Buick currently does not compete is the compact CUV space. This void could be filled by an all-new vehicle arriving sometime around 2015. Here are a few interesting developments that should be noted:
- The next-generation Chevrolet Equinox and Captiva will merge to become a single global vehicle riding on the Delta platform used by the Chevy Cruze.
- Opel’s compact Antara crossover — which first debuted in 2006 and made available as the Saturn Vue in North America (currently sold exclusively to fleets as the Chevrolet Captiva Sport) is due for a complete revamp in the next two years. If GM continues on the path of taking Opel up-market while aligning it with Buick — a strategy put into question by the ongoing turnaround plans at Opel — then it could very well be that the next-gen Antara could join the Equinox/Captiva in riding on the Delta platform while creating a quieter and more refined Buick variant. In fact, this vehicle could have been previewed by the Buick Envision Concept and could be similar to the symbiosis between the Opel Mokka and Buick Encore, as well as the Opel Astra and Buick Verano.
- And then there’s the complete repositioning of Cadillac as a performance-luxury brand. The strategy will result in the creation of a new compact Alpha-based crossover to take on the BMW X3 and Mercedes-Benz GLK. The compact ATS-based crossover could even end up replacing the current-generation Theta-based SRX. If the Theta-based SRX is dropped, then Buick could have a chance to re-skin the crossover and have itself a quick entry into the also-popular midsize CUV segment… not to mention the fact that the Theta architecture and tooling will have been well paid for.
| CROSSOVER | PLATFORM | CLASS | LENGTH (INCHES) | YEAR ON SALE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ENCORE | GAMMA EXTENDED | SUBCOMPACT | 168 | 2013 |
| ENVISION | THETA | COMPACT | 180 | 2015 |
| MID-SIZE CUV | THETA PREMIUM? | MID-SIZED | 190 | 2015 |
| ENCLAVE | LAMBDA | FULL-SIZED | 201 | 2008+ |
Comments
I agree on the aspect of Buick offering vehicles at both ends of the spectrum being off and would first think, “yes they need something in the midsize space”. Thing is your foregetting the GMC Terrain also has to share showroom space with any Buick vehicle. As it stands for Buick/GMC crossover/SUV line up: Encore, Terrain, Acadia, Enclave, Yukon, Yukon XL (order based on size and price). If the next Terrain would become more compact crossover sized then yes a midsizer (same space as MKX) would be a welcome addition to the Buick family. You can’t alienate GMC since most of the dealers have both GMC and Buick under the same arch as well as it was also saved from the chopping block back in ’09. If thats the case then a new Explorer sized crossover should make its way to GMC to offer 5 passenger seating to combat Grand Cherokee.
GM should let Buick battle Lexus and Acura while Caddy goes after BMW and Audi since those brands are luxury sport while Lexus and Acrua are more on the comfort side but also offer some sport, just not on the hard core level i.e. CTS-V, M series BMW, AMG Mercades.
Hmmm. Lexus and Acura, eh? I personally wouldn’t mention the two in the same sentence since their vehicles provide vastly different driving experiences.
Lexus is focused on soft lux, while Acura tries to be performance-oriented… but always comes short of the true market leader (BMW). All that is to say that I wouldn’t even worry about Acura. They’ve never been a sales leader or a leader of transaction prices (or high mand share, for that matter). They will sell 7,000-9,000 units of their rebadged Hondas and be happy to make a profit. No real innovation is taking place there… and people only seem to buy them for their affordability. At least that’s my experience.
In other words, Acura is its own thing — but not worth chasing. Lexus and BMW, however, are not only sales leaders, but are more profitable as well.
I thought Acura was chasing after Buick (ILX and Verano?)
Acura is a direction-less ship selling rebadged Hondas that pretend to be performance luxury cars. Look up Honda Accord Europe. See what you get 🙂
Either way, the point is that Buick has a decent direction: making comfortable, quiet vehicles. What’s an Acura?
I know the European Accord is the TSX. But I guess Honda will be a FWD luxury-wannabes sporty car?
It’s a lame excuse for a luxury car company. They’ve never been a leader in anything, and never will be until Honda gets serious about it.
To be honest their infotainment system sucks!! I really don’t know why they are not offering touch screens and this goes for MB and BMW too!!
Thats basiclly why I had used them as competition for Buick since Buick can (and did) engineer a good sport vehicle when they want to as well as best of the best on the soft lux as you put it forefront. Now I agree Regal should of had a turbo V6 like the Opel/Vauxhaul but Buick made it their own thing that way. But I will agree that all Acuras are rebadged Hondas. I would much rather a Verano Turbo over an ILX 2.4L if I was to choose between the two vehicles.
Alex,,,,,excellent. Acura is a Honda really and Buick isn’t regarded as a comparison to Hondas…other than for the price range, I guess. Lexus as you said before is the challenge…..maybe in a year or so Buick will ugrade as you have suggested so it is more of a direct comparison 🙂
Agreed, Dan. I hope so as well 🙂
Although they have different targets, it’s tough with GM having 3 contenders in the Lux CUV market.
Cadillac with the SRX, and I’ll assume they will have another CUV by 2015 (2014MY?) maybe Lambda based.
GMC with the Denali lineup (Terrain Denali covers the compact segment).
And Buick with the Encore and Enclave.
Back in the 70’s there was healthy competition between the GM brands, especially with each getting their own V8. Oldsmobile had its own engine for the 442, Pontiac had its 389 and 421 and Chevrolet had the 396 and 427. But now a-days global platforms and powertrains is imperative.
With the Encore and Verano I think we are beginning to see a direction from Buick that is unique and catering specifically to a broader market then we would expect. Personally I am getting on board with this direction, Buick is filling in the voids others are afraid to be in and yet catering to the average joe luxury buyer, not the rich snob I only buy Lexus or Acura buyer. My point is Buick is smart enough not to go after those people but go after the markets shortcomings, it really is brilliant. For people who have traditionally bought GM The Buick renaissance will pull them back in with unique offerings while intriguing the not so diehard Lexus, Acura people. That’s my take anyway, I will be test driving this vehicle when it comes out, most likely my wife’s next ride or a used Captiva from the Enterprise Car Sales lot…
Seems that you’re speaking from experience in regards to Acura and Lexus buyers 🙂
Really, though, it’s just the luxury buyer who some may have a problem with in general.
Andrew is right, GM is already kind of covering it with the 3 different lines. If they kind of targeted the vehicles a little more then it would be perfect. Thinking SRX-V…. lol turbo 3.0L under the hood? ^^
I definatly agree with you Yabadabadoo that they are filling in areas that most automakers ignore. I’ve driven a LaCrosse, Regal and a Verano, loved all of them and I’ll test drive this when it comes in as well. Nothing wrong with just taking a test drive. ^^ I’d go with this over a Captiva since this will have more luxury touches to it and I bet the wife will fall in love when she sees it on the lot.
Ha I basically repeated what you said in your first comment. I opened the page and went to a meeting for about an hour, guess I should have reloaded the page to see your comment when I got back to my office!
I think that sometimes you can have too much product in your lineup. Just because you have a “gap” somewhere doesn’t mean you need to fill it. GM needs to let the other divisions have some breathing room especially since most of them are sold on the same showroom floors, and they end up competiting with each other as much as they do with other brands. Buick doesn’t need another CUV after this. All they will do is cannibalize sales from Chevy or Cadillac in the end.
Buicks and Cadillacs are for completely different customers who seek immensely different luxury driving experiences. As such, the two luxury brands may compete at first… but the customer will end up purchasing either one or the other. Wouldn’t you say that’s better than losing a sales to another luxury brand?
There is definitely a “buzz” in the market about the Encore. We have people in the showroom asking about it regularly. For many single people and childless couples of all ages, the Enclave/Acadia is much larger than they want, even the Terrain is too big for some people.
Can someone who’s seen the Encore tell me, does this thing sit pretty low to the ground like the Vibe (which to me just looks like a hatchback) or is it actually raised up more like a real crossover?
It’s higher/taller than the Vibe… it’s a “real” crossover unlike the Pontiac.
Thanks, Alex. Cool, I was disappointed to miss the local Auto show (Minneapolis) this spring because I really wanted to see the Encore and ATS. Knowing that it’s a real crossover and sits higher makes me think it could make a good all-season commuter for me. Although I hope it will be available w/more engine choices than just the 1.4T.
Buick can compete in the same size compact catagory with GMC. GMC’S styling is no where near Buicks. For the midsize catagory you can have GMC use the streched Alpha platform and go after Jeep and Cadillac can go after BMW & Mercedes, while Buick can go midsize fwd on shorter Epsilon II against Lexus and Acura.
I don’t get it when people say “Buick needs to go after Acura” (I guess because they’re FWD) and Cadillac needs to go after the Germans (RWD). How many other companies can someone name that have 2 luxury nameplates that cover these 2 market territories. GM just finished trimming the fat. They need to follow the KISS principle. Keep It Simple, Stupid. It reminds me of Hitler in World War 2. He got all arrogant and cocky and decided to invade Russia after already battling the west, which spread resources too thin.
You can’t be all over the map trying to compete with everybody.
Guys, guys, guys… let’s take a step back to understand that the luxury car market is decisively split into two completely disparate driving experiences.
1. Sport-luxury defined by BMW’s driving experience and approach
2. Soft luxury defined by Lexus’ experience and approach (and the old-school Cadillac).
Sales are also split between market leaders — BMW and Lexus. GM has two luxury brands with Cadillac and Buick. Aim the former at BMW (one sales leader conquered), aim the latter at Lexus (second sales leader conquered). Guess who can literally own the luxury space? GM can!
The fact that Buick is not aligning with other luxury brands will be a draw in and of itself as well. I don’t think Buick needs to be the next Lexus or Acura, when those consumers are so diehard for those brands, create an alternative that screams value, that will pull the masses in eventually.., good job Buick love the direction…
Yes, Buick and Cadillac will never draw in some of the loyal European (snob) buyers……but, Buick and Cadillac will bring in a lot of people once the cars are driven…..the new gen of GMC cars is excellent…why buy Acura or Audi when GM cars have all the quality and better style and lower price??????
Wouldn’t the Encore be better as a Chevy? People say the Captiva is not available to the public because it is too close in size to the Equinox. I had a Vibe and it was a good around town car for the family. Need that hatchback!
The Captiva is at the end of its lifecycle and is going away within the next two years. As such, it’s not a vehicle (or an architecture) with any kind of future… making it rather irrelevant for discussion. The Captiva and Equinox will be replaced by the all-new (compact) Equinox riding on Delta:
http://gmauthority.com/blog/2012/06/next-generation-chevy-equinox-2015-delta-platform/
A Chevy based on the Encore’s chassis is called the Trax — and it’s a subcompact:
http://gmauthority.com/blog/2012/05/this-is-the-new-chevy-trax-crossover/
If you want a car that replaces the Vibe, you should lobby for the Cruze hatch — not a crossover.
But the Terrain?
The Terrain? It’s not a Buick.
I know but will it go on Delta or stay on Theta for the next Terrain or will it kill off?
Keep it stupid simple was the GM of old, let’s recal the 2004 – 2007 Malibu. Great if all you care about is having 4 wheels (German Tuned suspension thx to Opel) but god help us the most bland exterior and interior for a modern car imaginable… We know what happened with that vehicle, became the king of the rental fleet cars; and we know what happened to GM. Enough said, so NO the KISS concept you came up with should not be applied to any modern vehicle. Aspects of that concept can apply to some products don’t get me wrong. But car buyers don’t want it applied to there vehicle…
You really missed the point with what I was saying. I’m saying GM needs to keep their lineup simple, and not saturate it with minor variations of a theme, or they might as well have kept Oldsmobile and Pontiac. The companies that have strived and progressed the fastest are the ones which were able to keep their product lines fresh. It’s hard to do that when you’ve got 10 different platforms that need constant attention. Now with fewer models and divisions, GM is able to pay attention and invest into their models better than before.
@Mozeby Why 10 different platforms? Four at most:
– Subcompact crossover: Gamma
– Compact sedan and crossover: Delta
– Mid size sedan and crossover: Epsilon
– Full size sedan and crossover: Super Epsilon (or another one)
Since these will likely be shared with Chevy — but of course luxed-up for Buick’s sake — the cost advantages should be readily apparent. However, the General should have Buick engineers, just as it now has brand-specific designers, who are in charge of keeping the Buick and other brands’ lineups fresh, innovative, luxurious, etc.
GM is already hard at work in consolidating architectures to the tune of halving the platform count by 2018:
http://gmauthority.com/blog/2011/08/gm-to-cut-number-of-platforms-engines-in-half-by-2018/
This isn’t as complex as I think you may have assumed.
shouldn’t it have 6? Including the Alpha and GMTs?
I was referring only to Buick in that reply.
Alex I always wanted to ask you this but what do you think about the New Infiniti JX and the Newly Refreshed F150?
I think that’s a good topic for the forum, Vic 🙂
just started that topic alex but no one is looking… wanna be that first person alex?
You seem to think that because something shares a platform that therefore it doesn’t cost anything to develop a new product on that platform. Building a CUV off a car-based FWD platform costs quite a bit more than just building another car on that same platform. You can’t share sheetmetal and major components like doors and windshields that way you could when you build a new product like the Lambda triplets.
And GM has more than 4 platforms. Where are the RWD car platfroms (CTS, Camaro, Caprice) the mid-size truck, full size trucks and SUVs, HD trucks. And when you consider the different variations of all these platforms, it’s mindboggling all the different combinations that exist. Adding more to the mix isn’t a healthy way forward.
“You seem to think that because something shares a platform that therefore it doesn’t cost anything to develop a new product on that platform.”
To the contrary; building a variant off an existing architecture costs significantly less than building an all-new platform for a vehicle. Not only, that, but a high(er)-margin luxury product like a Buick can make the development of a vehicle on an existing platform (shared with a Chevy, for instance) very much worth it financially. In other words, net revenue from such a product far outweighs any and all development/design/engineering costs.
Furthermore, you seem to be of the opinion that a world-class organization like GM can’t handle a few variants built off a single architecture. Let’s not go overboard with KISS here, shall we? The goal is and always should be to serve the customer as valuably as possible as frequently as possible. Heck, GM is *already* consolidating platforms by half — at some point it doesn’t make sense to continue reducing them — as flexibility and value is lost.
In fact, the entire goal of sharing an architecture across vehicles is to apply different top hats to the same underlying platform. Top hats are inexpensive and transition quickly from engineering to implementation while adding a huge amount of variety. Platforms, on the other hand, are expensive and have a lengthy completion time.
Ultimately, a compact or a midsize Buick crossover (or both) could both be easily based on existing GM architectures with Buick top hats and distinguishing Buick elements (Quiet tuning, fine interior design & materials, leather, and other lux features) — thereby opening a whole new market to the brand while not stepping on the proverbial toes of Cadillac, Chevy, or GMC. The end result is Buick appeals to a new and very broad audience and sells more high-margin luxury vehicles while keeping development costs to a minimum.
On the one hand you’re bashing Acura (or Honda) for not being a serious competitor in the luxury market because they only “rebadage” lower end Hondas, yet you’re saying that Buick should be doing the same thing.
How many crossovers does GM need? They’ve got a subcompact now, a midsize, fullsize and then the Tahoe and Suburban. And that’s not even counting the trailblazer available else where in the world.
Eventually they will cannibilize sales from their own lineup. Just because you design all these different sized utes, doesn’t mean that you’re going to get new customers to buy them all. The majority of GM’s customers are returning customers, and if they’re not buying one product, they’re buying another. So therefore, if sales of one goes up, another will go down. Especially in the higher priced classes. These aren’t first time buyers out of college like the Sonic or Cruze buyers, but people with families. They’re probably on their 2nd or 3rd purchase by now and only look at certain brands.
It seems that you’re making a few over-reaching assumptions. Let me attempt to set the record straight.
Firstly, the comparison of Buick to Acura because they both sell modified versions of a lower-end product is fair… until you consider that Acura markets itself as a performance luxury brand — yet its vehicles are nowhere near the level of the leading performance luxury cars (BMW, MBZ, Cadillac). Buick is not feeding prospective customers the BS that Acura is — i.e. that its cars are performance-oriented (or are engineered in a superior way resulting in an astounding level of top-level performance); to the contrary, Buick is content on making soft, quiet, and comfortable luxury vehicles. One doesn’t need a special drivetrain layout (BMW, MBZ, etc.) to do that.
Secondly, GM itself doesn’t need any crossovers — as people don’t purchase GM products. Customers buy Chevys, Buicks, GMCs, and Cadillacs. Not GMs. Either way, Chevy and GMC are not premium brands nor do they make premium luxury vehicles. So what we’re really talking about is Buick and Cadillac.
As far as those go, you should take a close look at the reasons an X5 is purchased over a Lexus RX… or vice-versa. Both Lexus and BMW make luxury cars, crossovers, etc., but their approach to doing so is worlds apart — and this is exemplified clearly in the final product. As such, there are two predominant luxury car buyers: those looking for soft luxury (Lexus) and those looking for performance luxury (BMW, Audi).
The two experiences are very rarely interchangeable, as they are so entirely different. And customers loyal to either one feel and understand this every time they get behind the wheel. Therefore, GM has a unique opportunity to beat both BMW and Lexus at their own respective games — with vehicles that do what BMW and Lexus do, but better. How? With Buick and Cadillac.
This is an opportunity that is not presented to any other automaker because everyone else has to make do with one luxury brand; luckily, GM has two — and can engineer a Buick to be a no-compromises soft luxury vehicle while making a Caddy a no-compromises performance luxury vehicle. This applies to the entire lineup of each brand — sedans, coupes, crossovers, convertibles, roadsters, etc.
So, “How many crossovers does GM need?” As many as the market effectively calls for.
Ultimately, you should at least attempt to understand that an Equinox/Terrain ≠a performance lux Caddy crossover ≠a soft lux Buick crossover. If GM can serve each customer in a fashion that exceeds their expectations with a vehicle that leads in everything they want in a car, then it’s a win for GM and whatever brand makes the car. Nothing else matters. Not complexity, not what vehicle they’re on… only customer delight — and the resulting profitable relationship.
another thing I want to add is Tahoes/Yukons are not crossovers, they’re BOF trucks
I see what you’re saying but I still disagree with a few points.
“GMC isn’t a premium brand and doesn’t make premium luxury vehicles.” OK, then what are the Denali branded vehicles in their lineup. They sure have a premium price tag. That and GMCs typically cost more than their Chevy equivilant and come with more standard features.
And the other is this notion that GM needs to make a Buick version of everything. What they should do is what they were already doing and that is to simply Americanize Opels. They’re unique (even if they share platforms) and don’t make you feel like you’re in a fancier Chevy. Leave the SUVs (CUVs) to Chevy and GMC or else you’re really making GMC obsolete by making premium versions of a Chevy as a Buick.
Denali is a trim line and sells in very small numbers. Sure, it carries a steep price tag for some added bling and a few unique features, but GMC is not a luxury brand. And if a GMC does cost more than its Chevy equivalent, it’s only by a few hundred dollars; again, not a luxury brand.
I think GMC is all about creating a less mainstream, less feminine (if you will) version of a Chevy crossover. Like so:
http://gmauthority.com/blog/2010/02/gms-gmc-brand-state-of-address-gm-authority-opinion-desk/
However, I disagree that Buick is “Americanizing Opels”. Instead, it’s more like “Lexus-fying” — making the car quieter and less connected to the road.
But even so, it still comes down to the customer: the fact is that Lexus came to lead the U.S. luxury car segment (by volume) by building what is essentially a better, more modern Buick. And now, there still remains a massive amount of potential customers who want a soft-riding and comfortable luxury car — the opposite of what’s being offered by the Germans and by the new Cadillac. Now is the perfect time to win those customers and bring them back to the Buick fold — a feat that neither GMC nor Cadillac can accomplish.
Yeah but even u said that Lexus is basically a Buick version of Luxury. So Americanizing the Opel would be to soften it up a bit. Buick has a wide car base right now reaching from the low 20K to almost high 40K price point. They’ve pretty much covered as much ground as they can.
The Enclave sits at that higher end and the Encore at the lower end of the Buick spectrum. The fact that there is a “gap” there in the middle doesn’t mean they need another CUV. You have to remember that Buick is a division of 1 car company. If your other family members are already competing in that bracket, then why would you compete against them. How much room is there between the Equinox, Terrain, and SRX? A loaded Terrain is as much as a base SRX. So why try and cram another option in there. Here in Canada, GM dealerships are exclusively GM so you usually have Chevy/Cadillac or Chevy/Buick/GMC dealerships. You can see where this is headed.
But then Mozeby, you have to know that Equinox is aimed at mainstream like CR-V, Rav4, etc. Terrain is aimed at Edge, Venza, etc. SRX suppose to aim at X5 (but right now aims kinda at where RX is but then if SRX goes rear drive then yes it’s about where the X5 is). So then that’s where Buick comes in for the RX competitor since Enclave is bigger than the RX. And also not everybody wants to have sporty ride like the SRX nor do they want to go down to Terrain. The customers from RX is just basically want a comfortable, stable, reliable, and efficient crossover with the luxury amenities.
@vic precisely!
i think i should of said a high-end highlander with a lexus badge
@Vic. Then how much of a price gap do you think there will be between this Buick and the lower Chevy and GMC and higher SRX? In the end it’ll mean mediocre sales. Just like when GM decided to make 4 SUVs off the same platform (Trailblazer, Envoy, Ranier, 9-7).
Also the RX competes with the X3, not X5. The SRX is already competing in that class right now, quite successfully. Why would Cadillac abandon that. Buick doesn’t have the status to take on Lexus right now. If they plan on competiting against Lexus, then they’ll have to be significantly cheaper to win customers, just based on that fact.
okay for that trailblazer they share the same sheetmetal, and really for the Thetas they have different sheetmetals and style than each other. Not unless the customers are really car guys like us, they won’t tell the difference. Yes there aren’t that much of a difference in terms of price but it’s what the people want. And my mistake for the RX and X5
@mozeby Who ever said that brands need to be organized into stair-step pieces segments? Let Buick and Cadillac intersect… the purpose is to build a luxury car for those who value performance (Cadillac) and for those who value comfort (Buick). As long as the unique selling proposition is different and there’s choice of luxury vehicles within the GM family, Buick and Cadillac can intersect all they want in price, vehicles, and features…
If Cadillac and Buick must have a crossover on the two class in the middle then doesn’t one have to stay on rear drive and one stay on front drive? And if Buick have a Delta based crossover then who would it be it’s competitors since the competitors listed are rear drive based except for Audi?
Our crystal ball tells us that all Caddy’s future CUVs will move to a RWD architecture, except for possibly the Lambda II-based large crossover… But in the segments where it matters (where BMW wins), Caddy will have direct competitors to the X3 and X5. In other words:
– ATS Crossover vs. X3
– CTS Crossover vs. X5
As for Buick, it doesn’t need competitors to enter segments. A compact Buick CUV will be perfect for those looking for a quiet, silent, comfortable luxury crossover. Nothing too sporty or aggressive. A mid size Buick CUV would have the closest competitor in the Lexus RX.
So then that would leave the SRX FWD to SRX RWD?
From what we understand, yes.
I think if Cadillac is doing that then they need a proper AWD system as their selling point like the BMW’s AWD or Audi’s Quattro
Proper as in how? Just curious 🙂
Like the ones that’s found in Quattro or Xdrive
The only “true” AWD application is Quattro… and while BMW is working hard to change this, Xdrive in its current state is a tack-on system for RWD applications. But given sales results, it doesn’t seem that consumers care, or even know the difference.
But it is still their selling point for AWD system though isn’t it?
It is an AWD system… not sure if it’s a selling point given its inferior nature.
But that’s what they’re known for.
Mozby, ah ok… Understand now… Good points…
@Mozeby — not to resurrect an aging thread, but I just saw this and felt compelled to reply 🙂
“@Vic. Then how much of a price gap do you think there will be between this Buick and the lower Chevy and GMC and higher SRX? In the end it’ll mean mediocre sales. Just like when GM decided to make 4 SUVs off the same platform (Trailblazer, Envoy, Ranier, 9-7).”
That’s the thing — you’re thinking that the stair-step market/lineup consists of Chevy/GMC