Buick had a bushel of new vehicles to show at its Buick Day on Monday ahead of the 2019 Shanghai Auto Show, and as expected, the GL8 Avenir concept was one of them.
The minivan, or multi-purpose vehicle (MPV), doesn’t usher anything groundbreaking in, but it does preview a refreshed design for the model in China. The GL8 was last refreshed in 2016 when it became the first vehicle to wear the Avenir sub-brand’s badge. The most notable changes are to the front fascia, though it’s unclear if anything is different at the rear. Buick did not provide photos of the GL8 Avenir concept’s behind.
Up front, the winged grille now flows directly into the revised headlight design. Previously, the model simply featured the chrome grille surround and a break between the winged grille piece and the surround. Now, the style line flows directly into the grille and into the headlights. The grille shape appears identical, however.
Also new is the lower front bumper, which now boasts angled chrome trim pieces, rather than the current Buick GL8 Avenir’s long lower grille with a similar winged element. It gives the MPV a boxier look.
Current-generation Buick GL8 Avenir
The finer elements, such as the grille itself, feature a wave-inspired design. The theme continues inside, which Buick also did not share photos of, with a waterfall-type design on the seatbacks, cushions, and armrests. A 12-inch touchscreen for infotainment purposes is present, as is a 14-inch head-up display. The cabin features light gray and blue/black tones that pay homage to Chinese ink painting.
Of the recent concepts Buick has shown in China, the GL8 Avenir is the “closest” to production, per the brand. We’ll likely see the updated GL8 and its luxurious Avenir counterpart later this year. And yes, it will still ride on the archaic U-Body platform. Americans will know it as the bones underneath the long-gone Pontiac Trans Sport, Chevrolet Lumina APV, and Oldsmobile Silhouette.
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Comments
GM PLEASE BRING BACK THE LACROSSE! Why is it that after you decided to make it beautiful and desirable, you killed it in North America? Don’t forget that Buick is what started it all. Don’t turn your back on them now. You need to dissolve the brand GMC! They are just duplicate automobiles that Chevrolet already makes. Take that money and invested in more beautiful sedans for Cadillac and Buick so that you can actually compete with the other luxury car brands in the world.
Dillon O:
I agree 100%. The dealership I worked at for 11 years had Buick, Cadillac, GMC and Honda. Everyone, and I mean everyone that came in looking at GMC also had been to or was heading to Chevrolet. They (the typical GM brass) claim that GMC is the “premium” brand, yet they go and offer high end models of all the Chevrolet’s (High Country, etc). which just step all over the GMC’s.
Drop GMC. Give Cadillac true American luxury with names from the past. Invest more into Buick for the American market giving us 4 or 5 SUV’s as well as 2 or 3 quality sedans. Make Buick mid-pack and push Cadillac up-scale just a little. Leave Chevy as the true entry level brand for GM.
“Give Cadillac true American luxury with names from the past. I”
Don’t forget, there is no such thing as American luxury, just as there is no such thing as German, Japanese, Korean, or English luxury.
There is just luxury. Capital L luxury.
Luxury is not bound or dictated by nations or by people. It is an expression exclusivity of the best one can get. No nation has a monopoly on what luxury. There are only examples of what luxury is from respective nations; some are good and some aren’t, but collectively, they exist as examples of what a discrimination buyer has to choose from.
I refer you to the following, where your understanding of luxury consumption is both wrong and misleading:
http://gmauthority.com/blog/2019/04/cadillac-boss-says-brands-electric-cars-will-have-separate-naming-strategy/#comment-813722
Grawdaddy = my biggest troll.
And the biggest critic of your glaring character flaws when it comes to your understanding of luxury products.
I wouldn’t want you thinking that luxury is like politics, and therefore has distinct political nuances and national variations.
Ugh. Looks like a rejected design taken out of Toyota/Ford/Honda wastebaskets. Thanks, Mary. For nothing.
Bring back the LaCrosse with the design now offered only in China. Identify its American niche correctly and market it aggressively. Win/win. For Buick and the customer.
It doesn’t say if it will be available in North America.
It looks like a Honda Odessey.
The mini van market it’s live and well in the car rental business. Since I live near Orlando the are million of families visit here and they all want one thing, mini vans. With a load of kids, strollers, luggage and maybe grandma and grandpa, the mini van fits the bill. Thousands are rented and my sister got about the last one of the week, grandkids and all. But everyone who rents these won’t be caught dead buying one. So why not rent a Tahoe or Suburban? If you think park admission is high, have anyone priced one of these to rent?