For years, Buick and Opel shared a nearly common design across multiple vehicles. With Opel and Vauxhall out of GM’s global portfolio of brands, Buick took the news as an opportunity to start truly rethinking the brand’s design language. A fresh start, if you will.
Car Design News went inside the Buick design studio to get a sneak peek at what’s to come from the brand, and although photography was off-limits, the models shown flip the brand’s current perceptions upside-down.
According to the website, Buick showed off a model simply referred to as the “Orange Car.” The car is reportedly a “bold” and “aggressive” inspiration model that hasn’t been approved for production. However, its design influence was seen on a full-scale model inside the studio that had been approved for production. The site said it’s a four-door crossover with a swooping roofline and is not a replacement for any model Buick currently sells. Thus, we can expect another crossover to join the Buick brand in the future.
Supposedly, the Orange Car start as simple design sketches from a GMC designer. Helen Emsley, Buick’s Executive Design Director, simply told the designer to build it. Now, the Orange Car is a full-size clay model. It’s unclear if the model will be approved for production (Buick obviously wouldn’t say), but if anything, it serves as inspiration and ethos for future Buick coming.
It’s not to say the design language will fully form from the inspiration model, but it has been a “rallying point” for designers inside the studio.
Designers also dismissed the idea Buick will become a China-only brand. The majority of the brand’s design work is completed at the design studio based in Warren, Michigan. A few other teams are located in China, Australia, and other countries still.
Count us excited for Buick design unshackled from Opel requirements.
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Source: Car Design News
Comments
I hope it looks as good as the Regal sport back, which I couldn’t lease because it was German!!
Your decision or something in a leasing company’s language? Just curious.
Thanks
Hi Sean,
This is exciting news! We can only hope that it means future Buicks that reflect the brand’s history and individuality, build on its reputation for quality and reliability, and position the marque going forward for its best-ever products!
Buick has great design talent, but for year it has been limited to concepts. Envision Concept, Avenir Concept, Avista Concept – all striking designs, but only watered down design elements made it to production. Out of all of them, I think Avista is the design direction to take Buick. Position it as the soft and elegant luxury brand, while Cadillac will be the more sharp and technological luxury brand.
Please stop teasing the public with pics of the Avista coupe and BUILD it! I totally agree with other comments regarding this being the direction Buick should take for the future. Buick has given us the Gran Sport, Grand National and GNX IN the past. Build the Acosta coupe and continue that performance tradition.
My last GM car was a 2006 Monte Carlo. If Buick makes this coupe I will order one asap.
I think since Buick is American brand we should also get the new two door car here in the US. Buick has made some great cars, the regal name is one of my favorites. also with it’s cousins Chevy Monte Carlo, Pontiac Grand Prix, Oldsmobile Cutlass supreme. I also think if they gave the little Buick convertible a retractable hard and a few more ponies under the hood it would have been a great seller.
Just think how many two-door cars are sold in the US yearly. Add to that convertible two-door cars and you realize you’re pretty much chasing a dead market.
I agree, but I’d still love to see Buick produce a new Riviera, similar in concept to the 1963-65 model year cars. They were Magnificent and they were 100% American cars !!!
The market is dead partially because the segment stopped being cutting edge. Everyone wants crossovers because of car comfort and SUV function. I would love the Buick regal sports wagon, but I can buy a equinox for way less. Make a lower sitting crossover that has a car profile with all the functionality for the same price and people will migrate back.
give Buick a chance to spread its wings….take the new designs, build with them, get them to market timely and for God’s sake….some sophisticated marketing!
I have fond memories of the Chevy Monte Carlo, Pontiac Grand Prix and Oldsmobile Cutlass supreme and have owned and loved a few of each but since their demise nothing has impressed me enough to purchase one. That’s why I am still driving a 13 year old GMC Sierra that I purchased new. GM has nothing else to offer me.
Pretty apparent that the automotive sales world is changing. I’d except sales volumes to continue to drop in each segment, even including SUV’s, Trucks, Crossovers and autos. The prices and the demographics are all pointing to a revised strategy. Niche markets, with lower volumes, improved products and customer acceptance I think will point the way to success. I don’t believe auto companies can continue to look for high sales volumes with ever increasing average transaction prices as the way of the future.
Wow! Beautiful car. So beautiful I see it never happening. If they do go in this direction, they will have to hire an advertising firm that can come up with a campaign to relate it to the public. The current firm has proven it has no clue how to accomplish this goal.
Like all the other comments, this car will never be built. Buick is all show and no go ! Why shojld we beat our collective heads against a wall. The day of strong and beautiful production sedans and coupes are long over.
Sean, great story! Buick informed me via email that the 2020 Envision would begin production today…on their US website it still has only MY 2018/19. Any word when 2020 MY will be posted?
Built at your local Chinese carry-out (catmeat included), lol..
“Count us excited for Buick design unshackled from Opel requirements.” Why the excitement? Opel provided Buick with actual cars and they will be missed. In fact, GM’s loss is Peugeot’s gain. Take a look at the Peugeot 508 and tell me that is not a gorgeous car.
True. The 2010 LaCrosse launch (a GM- tweaked Opel design) was more striking than today’s, methinks. Same for the Regal the next year.
But – time for Buick to have the handcuffs off and show what they can do, free of prior restraints.
The 2010 Lacrosse is not an Opel design. The Regal was an Opel designed by two British guys, and then Buick tweaked it for their needs. The Lacrosse was mostly designed between the U.S. and China. China did most of the interior work, the U.S. did most of the exterior, and Germany the platform.
So typical. Brag about design change and never deliver. Avista, which is shown here TWICE is a tease as always. Tired of getting strung along. Avista would kill the Camaro/ATS in sales and will never get produced. Sad…GM cares more about profits than sales and the consumer gets screwed. Don’t want a Buick made in china anyway so continue the lies GM, I’m not biting anymore.
So there really is a Santa Claus. This is good news for Buick if it actually happens and isn’t more show car hype like Avista that never happens.
If you go back to 1963 and read the ads for the Buick Riviera…bold, powerful, a gentlemen’s sportscar. Buick needs to inspire us again with their innovative design and great engineering.
That Coupe is a stunner, we’ll have it in Australia ASAP, please.
Please give us a 7.0 liter option!
Too bad even IF they built it, there would not be a manual transmission option. There are still some blue haired dinosaurs that enjoy a handful of manual and three pedals.
One can only hope!! With luck, Buick will unveil some new concepts and models at the Los Angeles Auto Show. I’m planning to buy a Blazer since Buick really has no equivalent and their current designs are too sedate. If it really wants to change brand perception that appeals to the young and young-at-heart, it has to produce more Orange car designs and give German and Japanese automakers reasons to worry.
GM heard the outcries of the people when it changed the 2020 Camaro’s front end and added the LT1 trim to the Camaro. If GM is free from Opel, just maybe it will be able and willing to build the cars that we long for, or at least some of us.
It has been stated before by myself, and by others, the things that we miss about the General motors brand and we can only pray to the powers of the automotive universe that be, that GM will start listening to us more and become a car company of the American people once again. We can hope that instead of following in the footsteps of Ford’s Motor company that they will bring out better sedans and no do away with them. GM has a lot of loyal customers and enthusiasts across the board who have been mourning the loss of Pontiac since it left us ten years ago. Many of us would love for Pontiac to be resurected as the car lineup of GMC and have that wonderful brand back in our lives. As far as what is going on with Buick, I feel that GM has a unique opportunity to go after the middle grade premium cars such as Audi, Lexus, Hyundai’s Genesis line, some of the nicer Kia vehicles like the Stinger, the K900 and the Telluride, Infiniti, along with Acura. allowing Cadillac to compete with the edgier and more premium cars such as BMW, Mercedes Benz, Maserati, Porsche, Ferrari and even possibly Lamborghini. Buick should bring cars back like the Riviera, the GSX, the GNX, the Regal T-type, the Century, keep using the Lacrosse but on a rear-drive based chassis, the Avista, the Electra (nice name for an electric car), the Buick Wildcat and update their SUV line. Granted the possibility for any of this to happen is very slim. It would be nice to have Chevrolet GMC/Pontiac, Buick and Cadillac all back under the GM umbrella and have cars brought back to working class prices.
I am proud of all of our American auto manufacturers. I was raised on GM products and I think what Buick is doing is fantastic! I wish they would do a retro Grand National, one of the baddest cars ever built!! GM, Ford, Dodge keep up the good work because I’m proud of you!
All Buick needs is additional unique cars. No badge jobs will cut it in today’s market. The coupe SUV is a great idea for them, and I think that a line of performance SUVs would also be great for them. Maybe just call the performance SUVs GS models, like the Regal GS. Imagine a next-gen Encore GS with over 250hp from a 2.0T!
Buick hasn’t had a two-door hardtop since the 1985 Riviera. This is so overdue! Nothing but four-door sedans and four-door SUVs for decades from this car company (except for the recent Cascada, which is being phased out). No wonder Buick has been considered an old man’s car for the last few decades!
That Buick coup in the picture is spectacular! It looks like something out of Mercedes. A beautiful job and, actually, in my opinion, better looking than anything out of Mercedes or BMW. Love it!
Buick has been all talk and no action for way too long. I’m a diehard Regal fan, but other than grandma/grandpa designs, the brand really hasn’t done anything worth a second glance. Why can’t Buick do a muscle car? Even Cadillac has muscle inspired design cues. Too bad Oldsmobile or Pontiac didn’t outlive Buick.
I hope we’re not building ourselves up for a disappointment. Could the “orange car” be the recently-unveiled 2020 Buick Encore for China? It’s color is orange and it’s “a four-door crossover with a swooping roofline.”
Meanwhile, as it mentions in the full Car Design News article, I can see a “a purer, more sculptural design language” on the side of the 2020 Buick Encore GX, which, like other current makes and models such as, for instance, the Volvo XC90, is free of swoopy character lines (like the “hockey puck” of recent Opel designs).
I am a die hard Ford Truck fan. When it comes to cars the big three all suck. Please Buick do it right.
Buick wasn’t the first thing that came to mind when I thought about this, however when I saw that Buick was now free from Opel and had some big changes planned along with a “Crossover Coupe” I thought about some of the other Crossover coupes out there, specifically the Porsche Cayenne Coupe. As my imagination went deeper I thought, “What if Buick took the design of the Avista Coupe and made it a crossover?” Out of GM’s entire design Camp, Buick and GMC (to me) have the best design Ideas. My thought was to take the Avista coupe’s design language on a variation of the Alpha-2 chassis (or VSS-R platform), give it Brembo brakes, Magnetic ride, AWD, Electronic limited slip differentials, 22×10″ front/22×12″ rear wheels (same 5-spoke design as seen on the Avista) a rear lip spoiler, AGR seats (leather and alcantara w/ heated & cooled), flat bottom performance steering wheel, a dash that is inspired by the Camaro and the Chevy blazer but with differences such as the 12″ touch screen infotainment screen, a digital instrument cluster, Rockford Fosgate stereo system, alcantara headliner, sunroof, privacy glass windows and of course a Buick level of interior comfort. As far as engines go, the 3.0L Twin turbo V6 should be the base engine and a revised version of the LF3 should be the top performance engine under the hood. Upgraded turbochargers, intercoolers, a revised intake manifold, new fuel system, improved valve train, engine tuning and exhaust should set power levels to 475hp and 505lb-ft of torque. Induction noise should not be muted and an extensively tuned exhaust system should be present to produce a very deep throaty sound that should not drone and never sound nasal, even when the car is in stealth mode as it should have different exhaust modes and drive modes. This shouldn’t be a great handling Crossover, it should be a sports car with utility and comfort. This vehicles should nearly match a 1LE SS Camaro in handling even though it will never sound as good as a Camaro. The Same goes for the Avista coupe (which should be produced immediately with the same drivetrain options listed above for the Crossover coupe. I also think that GM should offer performance package upgrades for these cars such as GMPP cold air intakes, GMPP suspension packages, GMPP exhaust upgrades (not Borla, not Corsa, Maybe A.W.E or Magnaflow) GMPP Stage Packages (with Stage-tuned ECUs, intakes, injectors, wastegates, Blow off valves, down pipes & exhaust systems), GMPP cosmetic upgrades (wheels, lights, spoilers, hoods, seats, steering wheels) etc. As for the electric variants, I would follow the lead of audi in giving the electric vehicles an organic (yet electric) sound with the performance variant sounding like a proper electric sportscar with a deep intimidating howl). If you’re going to move into the future, at least do it right.
GM also needs some street performance trucks. Although this might be slightly off topic, i think it’s worth mentioning. GM could easily make a GMC Canyon Syclone with an AWD system, a hot 475hp 3.6L Twin Turbo V6, lowered magnetic ride, dual mode exhaust sytem exiting just in front of the rear wheels, Syclone aero upgrades, Syclone interior, etc. Not to mention an Sierra 1500 RST pickup truck with a 650hp LT4/10-speed auto setup. I mean come on why not? Even a 3.0L 410hp GMC Acadia Typhoon should be doable w/ a FWD based performance AWD setup (The EVO had it so it’s doable) 9-speed automatic, Brembo brakes, Magnetic ride, upgraded aero and cosmetic, Typhoon interior, etc. I think GM would really steal the show if they made cars like that. Something premium and American but still affordable.
Have you heard any updates about this story since it broke? I would love to buy a Buick CUV, but the Enclave is too long and the Envision is too dowdy and generic. When I look at the Envision, I think, “huh,” instead of “wow.” I’m thinking my alternative is only the 2020 Acadia Denali.