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GM Should Absolutely Make A Midsize Buick SUV

Whether we like it or not, there is no denying that the crossover space is a profit-making machine with ongoing growth potential. With the exception of Cadillac, which is sorely missing a complete CUV lineup, GM was lucky enough to have its crossover lineup relatively well-established for the big crossover boom.

The automaker’s most recent introduction is the 2019 Blazer, equipping Chevrolet with a complete crossover range, from subcompact to compact and from midsize to full-size. Meanwhile, Buick – a brand that’s already fielding a relatively thin lineup that is likely to get even thinner in the next few years as it loses sedans – is strangely missing a full deck of utilities.

So it would seem that a midsize Buick SUV is just what the doctor ordered.

For the sake of simplicity, we will use the terms CUV and SUV interchangeably in this article, though we are entirely aware that the terms represent different kinds of vehicles.

The Lineup

Currently, Buick doesn’t field an entry into the midsize crossover space, as the brand’s current line-up includes three models.

Buick Crossover Lineup as of September 2018
Subcompact Compact Midsize Full-Size
Encore Envision None Enclave
2019 Buick Enclave Avenir Exterior - zoom - 010

2019 Buick Enclave in the range-topping Avenir trim

2017 Buick Encore exterior 003

2017 Buick Encore

2019 Buick Envision exterior - zoom 002

2019 Buick Envision

Meanwhile, the midsize crossover space is quite healthy: sales up 2 percent in the first half of 2018 and analysts project sales to grow between 7 and 15 percent by 2020.

Sales Numbers - Midsize Mainstream Crossovers - Q2 2018 - United States

MODEL Q2 18 / Q2 17 Q2 18 Q2 17 YTD 18 / YTD 17 YTD 18 YTD 17
HIGHLANDER +15.07% 61,372 53,333 +14.28% 114,254 99,975
GRAND CHEROKEE -6.55% 55,865 59,779 -6.07% 109,313 116,379
EDGE -9.96% 35,394 39,310 -4.50% 68,048 71,257
SORENTO +6.42% 31,374 29,481 +4.98% 52,760 50,256
SANTA FE -4.00% 30,633 31,910 -1.38% 59,185 60,012
ACADIA -25.20% 20,108 26,883 -10.69% 50,008 55,995
MURANO +3.62% 18,078 17,447 +11.83% 38,800 34,696
OUTLANDER +23.72% 10,407 8,412 +30.59% 23,506 18,000
TOTAL -1.25% 263,231 266,555 +1.84% 515,874 506,570

A large and growing segment is a good place to be in any business, and it would be a nice place to be for midsize Buick crossy as well.

A Dim Outlook For The Envision

Making the case for a new mid-size Buick SUV is bolstered even more by a very bleak outlook for the compact Envision. Sales took a 48 percent hit in the second quarter of 2018 and are down 25 percent in the first half of the year. But it gets worse: the crossover is currently threatened by tariffs against China.

2019 Buick Envision exterior 013 side profile

2019 Buick Envision poses for a photo during a media drive

Since the Envision is produced in China and imported to the US, a tariff would drive up the price to a point that it would be nearly impossible to sell the vehicle in the United States. So unless GM begins producing the crossover in North America, an idea to which the automaker seems highly resistant, it will almost certainly have to pull the plug, leaving an even larger hole in the automaker’s crossover lineup.

GM has been lobbying the U.S. government to get an import tariff exemption for the Envision, but that effort seems to be rather bleak.

Lapping The Overlap

A hypothetical midsize Buick crossover would fit in rather nicely between the Envision and Enclave, featuring Buick’s signature soft and elegant styling setting it apart from the pack. The theoretical model would most certainly ride on the regular-wheelbase variant of the C1 platform shared with the GMC Acadia and 2019 Blazer, as well as the Cadillac XT5.

2017 GMC Acadia Denali media drive - exterior 016

2017 GMC Acadia in the range-topping Denali trim

But therein lies a potential issue: in the majority of cases, Buick and GMC vehicles are sold in the same dealer, thereby creating a potential overlap with the Acadia. That, however, is only an issue in theoretical terms that doesn’t seem to carry over into the real world.

Take, for instance, the GMC Terrain and Buick Envision. Both vehicles share a common platform and size characteristics, and both are sold at Buick-GMC dealerships. Meanwhile, GMC is rumored to be working on a subcompact crossover (believed to be named GMC Granite) that will be roughly the same size as the Buick Encore.

GM can easily circumvent the overlap problem by properly differentiating same-segment vehicles, and there is no reason to believe the same would not be the case for our theoretical midsize Buick SUV.

If nothing else, the crossover-heavy marketplace that exists today and that isn’t expected to let up in the future has enough CUV demand to support GMC’s Acadia and the Buick midsizer simultaneously.

2019 Chevrolet Blazer Premier Exterior - front three quarters zoom

2019 Chevrolet Blazer in the range-topping Premier trim

Will It Enspire?

Lending a clue that a midsize Buick CUV is on its are two key data points.

First, GM has been actively pursuing trademark rights for the word Enspire since as early as 2012. The word perfectly fits the Buick crossover nomenclature, which starts with the “En” prefix – Encore, Envision, Enclave. The shoe fits for Enspire just as well.

Coincidentally, 2012 is the year that GM started working on midsize crossovers that we have come to know today as the Acadia, Blazer, and XT5. It’s not totally out of the question, then, that a fourth model will come to share in the fun, the sales and the associated profits.

2018 Buick Enspire Concept exterior 001

Buick Enspire Concept

And then there is the topic of the Buick Enspire concept. The brand revealed the show car in China in April as an electric crossover of sorts. The notion that the Enspire concept is a well-veiled preview of a midsize CUV with potential electric capability is not totally out of the question just.

2018 Buick Enspire Concept exterior 002

The GM Authority Take

As it currently stands, Buick is at a rather peculiar historic crossroads: with sedan sales on the decline, the brand could soon find itself with no passenger cars in its lineup. Meanwhile, heated competition on all fronts of the crossover space prevents the marque from standing still and doing nothing in the CUV race. But that doesn’t mean that Buick can’t compete and win: in fact, it’s already winning big time with the second-gen Enclave, and there’s no reason to suggest that it can’t do the same with a high-riding midsizer.

And though Buick execs say it is perfectly happy with three crossovers in its range (which could very soon dwindle to two), it would seem that the most logical thing to do is to fill out its crossover lineup with a new CUV. Sure, Buick electric cars may also be part of the plan (though maybe not), we all know that a crossover will bring in the money today, rather than in a decade or two, as is the case for an electric offering.

So it’s really a mystery why we haven’t already seen a midsize Buick SUV grace the lens of a spy photographer or an auto show floor.

In Summary

Here’s why a midsize Buick crossover to fit between the Enspire and Enclave makes perfect sense:

  • A large and growing segment is a good place to be in any business, and it would be a nice place to be for midsize Buick crossy as well.
  • A dim future for Envision due to potential tariffs
  • Little overlap with Acadia via substantial product differentiation in styling and product values
  • Sufficient evidence for a Buick Enspire via trademarks and a concept
  • A crossover represents sales and profits today, not tomorrow – as is the case for EVs
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Tom is an automotive enthusiast from the New York City area and has worked in the car media industry doing both video and writing work. He spent most of his early career working with an automotive based YouTube channel and has since expanded his horizons into other digital industries.

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Comments

  1. Called it on the Envision like many others on here before. The whole Made in China thing is not going to fly with American consumers anymore, especially when China steals technology and manipulates its currency and trade tariffs that cause American manufacturing and jobs to suffer.

    No more, history is changing and Americans are not putting up with the bs anymore. China knows it too and is desperately trying to figure out what to do…Mexico capitulated after realizing they have to have fair trade or they will have none at all. Canada will have to follow suit or they will not have an auto industry anymore, period.

    And the Buick Enclave is just a much better vehicle inside and out to boot, so why buy an Envision that will be more expensive soon…

    Reply
    1. I don’t believe American consumers care of they car is made in China. That’s not the ultimate threshold point where someone decides if they’ll ultimately purchase that car or not. I remember when my parents both said they’ll never buy a car from a foreign auto manufacturer. Next thing, my step mother is driving a new personalized Nissan Cube in 2012. Ultimately, it’s what fits your lifestyle, and personality. If a car interests me, checks all the right boxes for criteria, being made in China won’t stop me from purchasing that vehicle.

      Reply
    2. Are any Buick SUVs/Crossovers made in the USA?

      Reply
  2. Envision died when Buick started threatening to kill off the car due to tariffs… as bad as it was that the car is built in China, the Buick threat made the car a total bad investment. If you buy one even with a huge discount, how do you know you will be able to get replacement parts if you are in an accident. Resale value history for Buick is bad already (and I have a 2018 Enclave….traded in a 2014 Buick Enclave…got killed on value….not expecting much when I trade in the 2018 in a few years) ….the Envision resale value is going to tank. Buick needs to get their act together NOW….can’t wait two or three years or they will end up like Cadillac, trying to renew itself after losing sales for years.

    Reply
  3. Totally agree. I wanted a Buick, but was forced to buy an Acadia. We went with a Denali, but I still find it lacking in luxury. Ride is a little stiff, interior design a little cheap, considering the $52,000 MSRP. We wanted a midsize with a small, occasional use, 3rd row.

    If they make a short wheelbase Enclave with 3rd row (don’t leave that out, as Chevy did with Blazer), we might be trading in the Denali well ahead of our normal schedule.

    Reply
  4. Like Nike says: Just Do It.

    Reply
  5. Just re-badge the Blazer as an Envision and give it Buick front/rear clips, Buick interior an a 2.0 turbo for starters, done….

    Reply
  6. Bring it on!!!

    Reply
  7. enuff with the suv and cue…..they need to vigorously push the Tourx….low, sleek and capable of holding a ton of stuff….

    Reply
    1. Much more effective to push a product wanted by the masses, rather than one desired by the niches. Both can work, but one of the two has a significantly greater upside.

      Reply
  8. One has to think that it’s just a matter of time before it’ll be done as it shouldn’t be difficult to build a Buick variant of the 2019 Chevrolet Blazer; but we’re on the outside looking in and given the Buick Enspire EV CUV concept vehicle, Buick may be planning a mid-sized CUV that is an EV that could be sold anywhere in the world.

    Reply
  9. Buick can avoid tariffs on the Envision by moving production to the United States.

    Reply
  10. How about transfer the Acadia with Buick styling to Buick. GMC should go back to making just trucks anyway. Replace Terrain and Envision with a second-generation Envision, made in Orion, Lordstown, and/or Mexico for North American consumption. Chevy gets a proper 3-row mid-size crossover, basically to Traverse what Tahoe is to Suburban, except the “Nomad” (SWB C1XX) is a mid-size, Traverse a full-size. (Nomad replaces the 2019 Blazer abomination; that name goes on a real truck-based SUV where it belongs, and none of these vehicles resemble a Hyundai, either. And make f’ing sure passenger and cargo room and space efficiency are prime, its a family crossover, not a Pontiac Grand Am. If you see the one below has a class-horrible 63 seats-down cubic feet and the one above has 98 (was 116), make damn sure it has at least 80. 64 cubic feet the 2019 abomination has is piss-poor for a vehicle of that size, and barely larger than the Equinox, which despite still being much larger outside than its competition, STILL has much less space than its key rivals. (A Ford Edge has 73.) And all V-6-only, no fours of any kind, save possibly for a Hybrid. This ain’t Europe or Asia, never will be.)

    Back to the Buick-yes, it gets 3 rows. Yes, it has the 3.6 V-6, PGW Glass, and a new grille, not the wannabe Subaru crap. All of these are made in North America, in currently existing plans for NA consumption. They can be made in China and have FUYAO Glass and have non-V-6 engines, lesser trim levels, and have a grille design shared by 6 makes if they want in China. NOT HERE! Luxury trims only, but the base model can have cloth. No more 1SV crap for Buick either. Leave it to a Cruze or less Chevrolet, no more of that for Buick or GMC, unless its a basic, SL-trim pickup or cargo van. Buick needs to be about luxury, comfort, style, innovation, and content. And make damn sure passenger and cargo space are near tops in segment.

    (I sound overly cynical here, but I want GM to succeed, and have been a lifelong fan. But then I see bad decisions and space-inefficient crap like Envision and “Blazer”, and Chinese glass in many of the vehicles that makes me think…”why the hell did we bail these guys out in Aught Nine???!!”)

    Reply
  11. GM / Buick have bee talking about a 4th suv for about 3 years , has it happened NO , another STUPID move from GM . now what they will probability do a design for the Enspire and not assemble in the USA . GM blames the poor sales of the Envision on price and tariffs but refuse to accept the fact that American consumer will not purchase a car from CHINA .

    Reply
  12. Before I buy another BUICK SUV/Crossover, one needs to be made in the USA! I currently own a 2012 Buick Enclave, and a great as it is, I will only buy American going forward.

    Reply
  13. F*ckin’ amazing things here. I am very glad to see your article. Thanks a lot and i’m looking forward to contact you. Will you kindly drop me a mail?

    Reply

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