Earlier this year, Buick dealers were shown photos of the upcoming 2018 Buick Regal, along with a wagon variant of the midsize sedan.
While wagons are, for some reason, always on enthusiasts’ radars, the general buying public at large in the United States could care less. It’s with this thought we come with today’s Community Question: does Buick need a wagon or hatchback?
While Buick seems to have backed away from its “white space” motif (we haven’t heard the brand mention it much recently), it definitely has an intriguing lineup of vehicles. Luxury sedans, crossovers, a convertible and even a mild performance variant found in the Regal GS.
We think Buick has a lot of potential to take over where Saab left off: quirky, fun and luxurious. Therefore, a wagon or hatchback would certainly fit the bill. And if the 2016 Buick Cascada and Buick Encore are anything to go by, filling dead niches seems to be working out for Buick thus far. A wagon could do good things for those looking for something outside the traditional crossover.
Now, it’s your turn to sound off. Vote in our poll below, and take to the comment section should you feel chatty.
Comments
They need a Voltec model sized as a sleek compact-midsize crossover
Or a realistically-priced ELR successor taking some design cues from the Avista. Affordable personal luxury coupes are one of the biggest white spaces out there. Buick could take the practical route and offer it as a hatch, maybe a shooting brake.
-Comfort? Check.
-Practicality? Check.
-Efficiency? Check.
-Does anybody else do it? Nope.
-Performance? This is Buick, not Cadillac or Chevrolet.
Not necessarily a hatchback because of Cruze hatch being available shortly, but a wagon…definite, YES!
I LOVE WAGONS. GM needs a wagon. Buick is a real nice landing spot for that wagon.
I agree, I too love wagons, I was thinking about a Cruze 5-door, but I’d splurge for a Buick Wagon, and that is a classy vehicle.
I’ll be looking to replace my Camry in maybe 3 or 4 years, and if there’s a Regal wagon available by then, there’s a great chance I’d buy it. I’d love having the extra cargo capacity, but I don’t want an SUV, and I was already thinking of buying a Regal for my next car anyway. A wagon would be an attractive option if it doesn’t cost too much more than the sedan.
sedans are loosing its popularity to utility vehicles….I love Hyundai santa fe SUV….it is easier to drive and have better visibility than my 07 Impala sedan I had before….I find SUVs more attractive than sedans and you can get more interior and cargo volume in a smaller exterior in CUV/SUV.
A wagon feels like a backwards step. People are retreating from sedans and a wagon is a sedan with lots of seating. Unless it’s a beautiful wagon with some retro nods to camping and such — I think it would be DOA.
So if people like SUVs one reason must be the additional height. And so really the question to me would be if Buick needs a minivan. Which at least addresses current trends. The team that designed the Avista should redesign the Zafira for Buick.
A hatch simply makes me wonder why the Astra hatch isn’t domestic.
Regarding a Minivan Pitch —
— Americans have this prowess/bad @$$ thing which helped kill minivans. They’re not ‘manly’ enough. And so simply releasing an SUV redesigned as a minivan would still not sell. What would sell a minivan, in my opinion, would be certain practical and pretty features unique to it. Making it kind of irresistable in some ways.
1. In warmer climates it’s really inconvenient to have to hit the supermarket and then go right home before your food melts. But really… how hard would it be to offer A.C. in the back where the groceries are? Related —
2. — so you brought some cool water for your suburban trip. And you leave it in the car while at Best Buy. And when you come back out — it’s warm. I’d like a thermos like storage space that, once closed, helps keep your colds COLD or your warms WARM. Right?
3. So you’re driving early or late in the day and suddenly you’re assaulted by a sun visor event. So you start flipping things here and there just to be able to continue seeing the road. (WAY more dangerous than texting.) What if the car had a button you pushed and ‘eyecare’ mode kicked in for the driver in all needed spots. On and off. This one is an engineering trick that’s been long overdue. I bet it’s not impossible.
4. I’ve spied the interior of the Opel 2016 Zafira. It’s very… meh. Generic. Dark even. Not the least bit interested in selling to women. Or kid friendly. It doesn’t say ‘fun’ at all. I wouldn’t even bother reintroducing a minivan if certain trims didn’t dazzle the eyes with color and patterns.
5. If SUVs are trying to look manly… this means you’re leaving a female market wide open. So where a Traverse may make a woman say, “Yeah, that’s okay I guess” a pretty Buick would really catch the attention of certain moms.
Zafira is not a minivan. It’s an mpv. Like the Mazda 5. If the Zafira were offered here, it would target a different market than a Pacifica or Odyssey.
Good point. But it’s minivan-ish by American standards 😉
True. The average American only segments vehicles into categories like is a car, truck, suv or minivan. They may also notice the different between brands. But only some people, mostly enthusiasts, like us, pay attention to anything and everything else.
Retro nods to camping makes wagons ugly. Think Aztec (DOA, except for cult following). Europe has been producing beautiful wagons for decades (BMW 5 series & Merc E-class). And you can still get the nuclear bomb version of the E-class wagon over here. But if Buick brings over an Insignia wagon it would be in between an E-class and a Golf Sportwagen. It would be great value while still being beautiful. That calculation is currently not available here in US.
Now you’re right about the Astra hatch. Though it should have been available here after Saturn was axed. They should have just changed the badge from Saturn Astra to Buick or Chevy. But it won’t matter when the Cruze hatch arrives. Finally.
I would very much like a Buick wagon. But an Encore is not filling in a dead niche. It’s a very-much-alive niche.
I think Buick would do well with a wagon but not a hatchback . But make it a tall wagon like the Volvo XC90 . And base it on the new LaCrosse which would be bigger than the Regal . I’ve read alot of articles in the last few months that seem to suggest that people are turning to smaller crossovers because they are getting tired of the bigger SUV’s .
Plus the wagons built now are not the same as decades ago . The new ones have a taller seating position and are loaded with the latest technology and are very luxurious .
Buick is doing very well right now so what better time to introduce a Grand Tourer based on the same chassis as the new LaCrosse . Maybe the writers here will come up with a rendering of such a vehicle for us to look at ! 😉
The XC90 is not a tall wagon, its a crossover SUV. Volvo’s tall wagon would be the V60 Cross Country.
Buick needs something similar to V60 Cross Country, and based on their Regal TourX trademark filing that’s probably what we’re going to get.
Subaru and VW/Audi sell plenty of of Wagons. It seems like AWD and wagon is a nice match and that’s probably why Buick trademarked “Regal Tourx”.
Also, everyone thought mid-sized trucks wasn’t something worth the trouble, that the Taco owned what was left, but now GM can’t build them fast enough to meet demand.
There are plenty of people that want practical vehicles (yes it’s true), and smaller pickup trucks and wagons are still some of the most practical and functional vehicle types.
If GM wasn’t so short sighted, they could have both. The 2nd Generation Verano would square off nicely with the Audi A3 and the upcoming Volvos. If GM was really serious about hatches, they would also offer a hot hatch GS variant to compete with the Focus RS, Golf GTI, and WRX. Am I asking too much?
One would think there would be a need for a Wagon or Hatchback variant especially given how much cargo capacity this gives a vehicle over the sedan as the previous generation Cadillac CTS Wagon had about the same capacity as some SUV that were larger in size yet Cadillac had a difficult time selling CTS Wagon and it’s one of the reason why there isn’t a Wagon in the current CTS (despite the fact that Cadillac engineers told Motor Trend that they only needed to sell 39 CTS Wagons to recoup all of the engineering and development costs).
Actually the CTS was a nice wagon but far from packaged well for much space.
They needed to sell more than 39 cars to cover the cost. The original plan was to sell about 75% of production in Wagon friendly Europe and Cadillac pulled out of Europe before the car arrived.
If they were so cheap to build then we would see more of them but they need a greater number of volume to cover the extra cost involved. 39 cars would not cover the tooling cost alone. Just think about how much a die cost just for the roof panel and not to mention the quarter panels, rear doors, bumpers and interior molded parts.
The issue with wagons is the low roof limits some cargo that will easily fit in other models. Also the extra head room also adds to the ease in loading many items.
While CUV models may not have tons of additional cargo room most still have more and more ability to carry larger volume items. That is what most buyers see and go for. Over all utility is a strong selling point of the CUV. This is one of several reasons my wife has one now and will replace it with another.
I think it was 39 CTS-V Wagons to cover the dev cost of just the V variant.
That holds more logic as it would mostly share parts with the coupe and sedan
Instead of a wagon, they should do a short-wheelbase minivan. Think a shortened Transit Connect with comfortable seats, low road noise, and a fuel-efficient engine. Quiet but parks easily. This would be a lot more in demand than another wagon.
The wagon should be an option at Buick as long as Opel is there to carry the volume. The truth is Buick can not carry the volume alone no matter how anyone wants to spin it. With Opels help it can be done and should be done.
Buick to should offer a 3 door hatch with a sport package from OPC. They carry the price range to support car like this where Chevy would have a hard time selling a $35K $40K hatch. Buick can do it again because Opel and Vauxhaul will carry the load of volume. Also Holden would share in this too.
As for Mini Vans. About the only one that is still selling is the Chrysler because of the loyal base. The fact is guys do not buy Mini Vans. The second fact is half the women do not like Mini Vans either.
Fact three if you maker it taller and offer AWD men and women will buy it if you call it a CUV and make it more truck like.
No opinions here just look at who is driving them and it is proof enough. In my area mini vans are vanishing and all the CUV and SUV models are women 25-55 driving most of them. They like sitting up high and it just holds more appeal to them.
As for mini vans you can add about any option you can think of and it will not change much. Women will still pick the more truck like taller product and a man who still owns his own pair will not want one even for a winter beater.
As for wagons they are niche vehicles in America and it will not grow much. They are not as easy to load or carry things as most SUV models are. The taller roof makes for much easier ability to carry bulky items most wagons will never carry.
Also wagons sit low. most women have adopted the taller vehicles right now.
Leave the wagon to Buick and Opel as the bulk will sell in Europe and the volume there will permit it to be shared here in smaller numbers that would not support a business case alone.
CUV/SUVs tend the be better in very way than sedans.
(1) more rear head room resulting from more upright rooflines and more cargo space.
(2) higher seating position and better visibility.
(3) easier to get in and out of and easier to put stuff in.
Yes build it and offer the 3.0 TT in it ,the Regal sedan and the Lacrosse.
I might consider a Regal TourX wagon if it has the torque-vectoring AWD. I’d prefer RWD, but the CTS wagon is dead and the Commodore is all but dead and will never make it to the States… so…I might compromise since there isn’t an ideal wagon anywhere near my price range.