Buick Avista Concept Reportedly Falls Short Of Being Green Lit For Production
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Contrary to what we all want, it seems the Buick Avista concept will remain just that. A concept.
Wards Auto spoke with Buick CMO, Tony DiSalle, during the most recent Midwest Automotive Media Association event for the 2016 Buick Cascada. DiSalle described the Avista’s buzz as “outstanding” and “phenomenal,” but ultimately said it wasn’t enough to have the brand consider its production.
He also utterly denied rumors of the Avista transforming into a four-door coupe and replacing the Buick Regal.
“The energy around that car and the interest in it at the shows was amazing. It was purely a concept and meant to generate some buzz,” DiSalle said. “No other plans for now.”
DiSalle went on to stick up for the Regal, which is nearing its next generation shortly, despite a boom in crossover sales.
“Regal is the athlete in our lineup, and in fact Regal owners are our lowest-age buyers at 47 years old. Regal is a premium sedan in the midsize-car segment, and while the growth now is in crossovers, Regal is still very important because the midsize segment is huge and we need a volume car in that segment.”
“Speculation about Regal is just that, speculation.”
Buick’s chief marketer also stated the Buick Avista does not foreshadow future design language for the brand, something which rings contrary to what we were told during the Avista concept’s debut in Detroit. Regarding the exterior, Chip Thole, one of the design forces of the Avista, stated we can expect elements from the Avista in future Buick design, notably the taillights.
Buick has been two-for-two on its concept cannonballs at the North American International Auto Show, but we hope one of its dramatic concepts eventually do translate to production some day.
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some of the production cars look weird and awkward like the Cadillacs and Buick Lacrosse….the ATS looks weird in design and the Lacrosse is shaped like a flying saucer…the concepts look more like real cars….major fail GM.
The real question is why GM seems to be falling further behind every year . Cadillac is doing their best to refresh the models they have now to help pay the bills until a round of new product appears at the end of the decade .
Buick seems to be lost in what direction or market segment to go after . They need more to bring in new customers besides the white haired crowd that are buying Buicks SUV’s . I don’t believe you will see anyone under the age of 50 that will buy the new LaCrosse . As nice as it is , it will get lost in the hot SUV market . And if they don’t have anything else to offer its lost sales and income . But yet again you will read just wait until………. , that is getting very stale . The public that don’t even consider Buick will buy something else . They’ll get a 4 or 6 year loan just about the time Buick may be bringing new product to market , lost sale again .
GM is like 4 or 5 years behind the rest of the industry . Desperately playing catch-up .
Buick seems to be in the same shape that Oldsmobile was . They lost sight of their customers and never did regain their loyal customer base , they moved on .
GM is going to be in a world of hurt if gas prices go back up to levels of two years ago and people start dumping their gas guzzlers . Just what ( other than Chevy ) is GM going to be able to offer .
GM PDT, in regards to Buick heck yeah to what you are saying. Buick is a joke in NA.
Scott3 on here continues to make excuses for them. This division needs to take a chance.
If the sales are so damn good in CHina(which they are), then the General has money to burn on revamping Buick’s image here.
REVAMPING BUICK’s IMAGE in NORTH AMERICA NEEDS TO BE A PRIORITY.
If it pays off the rewards can be huge. THey can have their CUV’s and a few boring cars, that’s fine. If you give Buick the AVISTA and a slick Opel Hatchback. Those 2 vehicles can seriously make a huge statement.
I do not wanna see Buick neglected like this. BUICK SHOULD BE GAINING MARKET SHARE HERE….no doubt about it with no Pontiac, Saab, or Saturn around.
The Avista and a hatch would make other Buick customers more proud and comfortable on selecting a Buick.
And Scott3 don’t even start.
Dr. F
Wrong move huuuuuge mistake! This car would take Buick to a whole new level! All the Germans would be chasing this car it is beautiful! If nothing else a way to get younger buyers that normally would never step foot in a Buick a chance to see the great product that is available Regal GS, cascada, encore all of it is fantastic yet you still hear in showrooms across the country “I’m not driving a Buick” ring true! “That’s my Grandfathers car”! BS the cars and SUVs they make are dollar to dollar better than most product on the road! It’s sad that they won’t even acknowledge that it is part of future styling! Pathetic really they are talking in this article like the American public is nuts for even considering liking something like this! Like the guy is jealous a bunch of really talented smart kids put together such an awesome product! It’s people like this that will never ever let GM grow into the powerhouse it should be! Sorry for the long winded truth but it’s tiring to even listen too! WAKE UP BUICK this may be your last chance wake up!!! This is a homerun make it happen! Buicks elegant four door coupe makes history if it comes out! Sit back in the ivory tower and watch your market share collapse around you while you scratch your head and wonder why!! WAKE UP
GM reeks….cadillac reeks of stale designs and Buick reeks of crappy image….Chevy reeks of cheapness.
Stale designs for Cadillac, well that’s subjective.
Chevy is far from “cheapness”- their quality and brand image is rapidly improving.
Now Buick definitely “reeks” of a crappy image. A very crappy image in NA.
Dr. F
Translation: we continue to tell the public what to like and want, not the other way around. Okay, GM, make me feel as excited about the new Regal as I did with the Avista.
XM, It’s funny that you say that…As I can barely tell the difference between the Regal and the Verano coming down the road. The Regal GS has the different fascia compared to the other Regals.
If Regal is the athlete in the Buick Division…they need help.
Basically with this news Buick will go quietly into the night.
Given how Chevy’s Camaro SS outgunned the BMW M4; the Buick Avista could have really cleaned up.. especially given it would have had an entry price of $30-35K as the Avista could have eaten cars like the 2017 Audi A4 for breakfast.
Did Buick hire Mitt Romney to be it’s CMO? I ‘ve never heard so much double talk.
From the tone of Buick management’s backtracking and tamping down of the stunning Avista concept, it’s obvious that Cadillac has slapped them upside the head once again like they did on the beautiful Avenir concept. Buick car sales will continue to be tepid at best as Cadillac tries to find it’s place in the luxury market.
I would two of these tomorrow if they were available! Shame
What ever happened to Taking risks on new designs; Mustang, GTO etc. broke the mold in many ways. I am sure when these lines were released, Ford / Pontiac and other ground breakers received the same negative “production” risks described above. As for China / Australian markets……… There is a reason those folks are buying American cars – they are truly different from the status quo.
Not certain if GM entertained the idea of making the Avista fully electric to compete with Tesla and others but this concept would resolve the fuel issue described above,
Time to reinvent the American product lines – printing components is not futuristic; it’s already here.
Break out of the Slump GM / Buick; only then you can truly state “That’s Not A Buick”