What Is GM Planning For The Buick DDB Name?
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On November 22nd, 2016, General Motors moved to register Buick DDB as a trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. As some readers had observed, DDB likely stands for David Dunbar Buick — the late founder of the Buick brand that was so notoriously instrumental in creating General Motors as an automaker. The question is, then, what’s GM planning to do with the Buick DDB name?
One of the best theories we have come across so far has to do with GM’s Opel brand across the Atlantic. For the last few years, GM has been globally aligning Opel, which is sold in Europe, with Buick, which is sold in North America and China. For instance, the Opel Astra is sold as the Buick Verano, the Opel Insignia as the Buick Regal, and the Opel Mokka as the Buick Encore. The alignment between the two brands will get deeper still with time. To wit, Opel has a vehicle called the Adam — a cute and highly-customizable supermini with appealing styling, great handling, and high-tech infotainment. The car is named after the late Opel founder Adam Opel.
Keeping all that in mind, could it be that GM is planning to sell the Opel Adam as the Buick DDB in North America? If so, then both vehicles would be named after their respective co-founders — which is another fitting form of the ongoing Opel-Buick alignment.
2015 Opel Adam
If we’re right, don’t expect the current, first-generation Opel Adam, which is sold as the Vauxhall Adam in the U.K., to make its way over to North America, as the supermini was not developed with U.S. standards in mind. But that might change when it’s time for the new, second-generation model. Even so, DDB just doesn’t seem like a good name for a vehicle, so The General could be reserving it for something totally different.
Have thoughts, comments or observations on this topic? Share them in the comments section below.
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The name has no cache – totally uninspiring. The Opel Adam is simply not in line with the Buick lineup.
GM is simply up to their old trick of Name swapping. As we see today you have the Buick ” Encore” born from the lowly ranks as a Chevrolet “Trax” and as GM is habitually have done over the many years : The Cadillac “Cimarron” otherwise know as the Chevrolet “Cavalier”. What wonders a little paint colors and added plastic ornamentation can do. And add a hefty price people naturally expect from a Cadillac Dealer ? Different but the same ?
I know it’s not the same but I instantly think hhr when I here it.
It stands for Damn Dinky Buick.
I think it would be a name better suited for an engine family or maybe a 4 wheel drive system. But I don’t think Buick has that in mind.
I see the name more as an option package or for a coupe not a Adam.
When I see DDB I think Aston Martin..
David Dunbar Buick.
Plus one but we knew that hence their reference to Adam Opel.
What we are looking for is how and where it was going to be used.
Why doesn’t GM just import the Opel line to the US with its brand name intact instead of applying the storied Buick nameplate to products that have no alignment with Buick’s classical virtues or persona. No matter how nice a product or important to the marketplace it may be, the Opel Adam is in no way a Buick.
Adding another small import to Buick’s lineup only adds further confusion to the brand’s muddled identity. Today’s Buick is yesterday’s Saturn; merely a repository of mis-matched imported vehicles from GM’s global network with no cohesive identity.
As for the name, I suspect David Dunbar Buick would not approve. Typically when a company applies their founder’s name to a product, it represents the epitome of the brand and is their flagship product. This would be applying the founder’s name to a product that isn’t even a Buick.
Today’s Buick is today’s Buick. Storied Buick is completely dead. I’d even argue that storied Chevy and storied Cadillac are dead too.
It’s this simple —
Chevy = Good
Buick = Better
Cadillac = Best
… but don’t ask me where GMC lives.
GMC is a truck/SUV for Buick dealers and what is they’re most profitable products.
Storied Buick could’ve absolutely been resurrected with Avista and Avenir. Unfortunately that storied Buick rebirth remains a fantasy and a tease. Why do they even bother investing so heavily in inspiring cars they never intend to build? Their consumer marketing product viability studies are about as accurate as the mainstream media’s prediction of the 2016 Presidential election outcome.
I don’t see this mini coming to the States . It would be a mistake to rebadge it for Buick to sell here . Maybe it is going to South America , or some Mid East country .
Buick needs to be careful and not tarnish their image .
“D”estined to “D”estroy “B”uick !
Unless something changed GM said this model was not coming about a year ago.
Destin for nowhere here.
The letters are for some thing else.
Opel gt in Buick trim maybe?
Buick should make a high performance muscle car. Better than the Zl1, better than the Hellcat, and better than the GT500. I’m tired of SISSY cars from Buick. Make me a believer again Buick with a sales price under $60,000 and I will come.
Maybe I’m dreaming, maybe Buick die in 87 with the GNX. Maybe Buick. Can kick all there asses once again!!!
Why can’t Buick spend just a little money and put a Buick “waterfall grille” like all of their other models, in the convertible imported from Europe ?