GM Currently Weighing Production Viability Of Buick Avenir
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Buick undoubtedly surprised the world when it unveiled the Buick Avenir concept at the North American International Auto Show back in January.
Even unveiled alongside the Chevrolet Bolt EV and the 2016 Volt, the long, flowing four-door concept stole headlines around the world. Many even called it the star of the show.
Which made us all the more sad when we heard rumors it wouldn’t make it to production. While we heard it would herald a new design language for Buick and that many of its best bits could be seen on future vehicles, we were downright depressed when we heard it would never sit under showroom lights. Well, we have good news Avenir fans.
Like many of you speculated, it seems the Avenir isn’t actually dead yet. Quite the contrary, the company is currently examining its production viability.
“We always do business cases on things that are very nice and attractive like that. So yeah, we’re absolutely… you know looking at… you know, it was such a hit, what would it look like in production, what would it cost to do it. So that’s where we’re at,” Mark Reuss told Autoblog at the New York International Auto Show.
The question is, does Buick want to fish in the waters of the Cadillac CT6? Both are supposedly based on the Omega platform and both are said to share a 204-inch length.
Should Buick take the leap and offer an Omega-based luxury flagship to elevate the brand? We whole heartedly think so.
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Well here is the deal. You have the Omega only one car on it so far that will be low volume. How do you pay for the development cost? You leverage it out over several divisions on different continents.
You do it with a lower priced car that is still a luxury car but with higher volume. You target the 300 and Lincoln here in the states and you get a car like this.
What we have here is about 90% producible.
One key also to the delay is the new V6 engines. How long till they are out and how long till they are in numbers that can fill out production. This is not a car you just want to stick the old 3.6 in. GM should do the car right with the new engine and platform all at one time. In the past how often did we get an old car with a new engine or a new car with an old engine? It sends a poor signal. This is why the new DI engine is held for the Gen 6 Camaro.
Buick is going to get a lot of attention as it is the last of the divisions to get a make over. Right now all of their cars are old product, Old Platforms and rehashed Opel’s. All nice cars but at the end of their lives.
The new Buicks will be a jump from what they have and will be shared globally in the form of Holden, Opel and Buick China.
Now keep in mind even if they use some of the old names the cars will be much different than what we had in the past. Do not expect the GNX to be a Retro Coupe Muscle car as if they do it the car will be a well done GT 4 place coupe. Odds are it will not just be black. It could even be a sedan. Other cars will also not be holding to the likes of their past. The market has move on and Buick will evolve these models to be relevant to today just as today Regal only shared the 4 doors and 4 tires with most of its past models and not much else as it is a very contemporary car.
Buick is the nothing to loose division here in the states as we only have it because of China and they pay the bills. GM can take a few risk here so that could only help the case for this car too.
My guess is 2018 to replace the Zeta. It will be RWD and AWD. I also expect A TT V6.
Not sure why some on here are comparing the Avenir to the CT6 while the Avenir is still a concept with an interior 100% showcar concept in form. I would love to see the Avenir built but there is no telling of how much of the exterior and interior will be changed in order for the car to be in production form. I be surprise if the back end of the car be the same like the concept car.
While the Avenir will be cheaper than the CT6, it is understandable that the Avenir could sell better than the CT6 just like the Yukon Denali sells more in volume than the Escalade. Cadillac has nothing to fear from Buick since they will go further upmarket and have enhance aggressive styling in the future. Both Buick and Cadillac have totally different clientele.
When the actual production Avenir sees daylight, then we can compare it to the CT6. Now how much technology the Avenir will share with the CT6 remains to be seen.
I agree…. I think in 2018 or 2019 both Cadillac and Buick should have real RWD flagships…..Buick Aviner…….Cadillac CT8.
I think there will be a big Buick on the Omega platform, likely to hit market as a mid year 17 model. GM will need to off set the r&d costs of the Omega platform to max return for investment. I would expect it to offer the TT3.6 from the current CTS V-Sport as top engine offering. Don’t hold your breath for a V-8 as an option, if there is not on in cards for the CT6 surely Buick will not have one offered. Forced air V-6s were a Buick staple in certain top trim levels for years. Buick needs the Avenir to set itself above Chevy for top of line. As the Lacrosse/Impala are way to close.
I think we will see a Cadillac crossover built off the Omega platform as well, much like the first gen SRX was built off the CTS of the era. This could also happen with the ATS platform as well. Don’t expect to see those potential models migrate down the chain as they would need to be Cadillac only. That would leave the next Lambda platform for the rest of the GM family.
So here it is GM and Buick as a current owner of a Park Ave Ultra, if you build the Avenir I will buy it, as I also owned a Boattail Riv. Most important is Buick offers light color interior, I would have already bought a Regal GS if it offered anything other than black interiors. I think an all black interior looks cheap and I also live in the south to there is the hot as hell thing to consider.
This would be an amazing halo car for the brand.definitely something that would get them out of the grandfather’s car perceptions. But my worry is we get a CT six instead of an Elmiraj
yes Buick needs a true RWD flagship and soon…..right now the Lacrosse is the top car and its not a true flagship…..THE Lacrosse rides on the same platform as the entery-level Chevy Malibu for crying out loud.
maybe the new updated Epsilon platform could squeeze out more volume for a larger high-end Buick…… larger than the Lacrosse …..possibly called O2XX…above the P2XX Lacrosse…..the O2XX could be the same size a the CT6 and have the same body style as the Omega platform…a little different than the Lacrosse……Maybe a high-end Buick pricing $55.000—$70.000.
I really don’t care what the thing looks like, BUICK needs a true full size sedan. The LaCROSSE is a nice enough car but it’s too small to be a BUICK flagship. It’s smaller than the IMPALA. To me at least, BUICK invokes the image of a large to oversize sedan and Lacrosse doesn’t cut it. Regarding the shape of the body. At least GM is shrewd enough to not just rebadge the CT6 as a BUICK like they would have in the past being that often times BUICK and CADILLAC are sold at the same dealer. For some reason, many GM people in the past didn’t understand that if the BUICK dealer didn’t have what they wanted, chances are that the CHEVROLET, PONTIAC, OLDSMOBILE and CADILLAC dealer had something nearly indentical but seemed have blinders for their brand.
What are you waiting for, GM? BUILD the AVENIR and WE will buy it!!! That Beauty will enhance Bick’s product line and will SELLL!!! BUILD IT, damn it!