Buick is reintroducing its brand plate script after five years without it. Well, sort of. We’ll explain.
Way back in 2018, GM Authority exclusively reported that Buick would delete the brand plate script (the large “BUICK” lettering found on the rear of vehicles) from across its lineup in conjunction with the launch of the 2019 model year. As covered previously, the brand plate script is essentially the only direct indicator of the vehicle make, with the Tri-Shield logo and model nameplate only recognizable to those with knowledge of that specific brand. Now, however, after five model years, the brand plate script is making a come back. Sort of.
The reason we keep saying “sort of” is because the brand plate script isn’t making a comeback across the entirety of the brand’s portfolio. Rather, only a few specific models will have “BUICK” written out across the rear end, specifically the all-new 2024 Envista and the refreshed 2024 Encore GX. Meanwhile, the refreshed 2024 Envision and 2025 Enclave continue on without the brand plate script.
Indeed, reintroducing the brand plate script on some models but not others could be seen as a little strange. However, it bears remembering where the brand was back in 2018 to justify the move. Back then, Buick didn’t have the best reputation, and as such, removing the brand plate script added a little mystery and intrigue for those who weren’t aware of the vehicle make. The move could also help folks to evaluate a certain vehicle without immediately dismissing it due to certain brand prejudices.
It’s possible that some of those prejudices have yet to be eliminated. In fact, some critics predict the brand is doomed to fail in the U.S. market due to the characterization of the brand lineup as “rental fleet cars” without much to offer customers. Even so, in a recent GM Authority poll, the vast majority (74 percent) of poll respondents think that Buick is doing just fine in the U.S., as compared to 26 percent who share the concerns of certain critics who think the brand will fail.
Comments
Over 70% of Buicks customers are new to the brand and that number is still growing. That’s a good sign. GM needs to not let the brand languish, keep making excellent value additions like the Envista and striking redesigns like the Enclave and the brand will turn around. (That Enclave is so nice its making me worried for Cadillac.) It will take time and it won’t hit the numbers it once did in the 70s and 80s as there is more market saturation these days but with Acura and Infiniti languishing, and Chrysler gutted to the point of being in its death throws its an opportunity for Buick to snatch up some of that attainable luxury market share. As for the reputation, GM just needs patience and the reputation will fizzle away. Every grandpa (boomer) I know who is in retirement these days are driving Camrys or Corollas.
85Zingo,
I agree with you but I’ve never understood why making cars that GM’s most loyal and seasoned customers will love is a bad thing. Back in the day, the 80’s 90’s, GM had Chevrolet for everyone and especially for first-time buyers and Pontiac specifically for the youth market. They had Oldsmobile in the middle tier and often as an upscale middle-age brand. Cadillac was the pinnacle and then Buick sat at that position for so many Americans who never saw themselves as “Cadillac material”. At that time, folks felt they had to achieve a high level of success and social status to pull off parking a Cadillac in their driveway. A Buick though, was a reward for a life well lived and financial success.
One knew when they saw a Buick, it likely belonged to an older person but I never personally saw that as a bad thing. In my family, all of the older family members drove Buicks; either Park Avenues or LeSabres and they loved them. They were big, luxurious, and comfortable. Those of us who were younger, like me, had a Pontiac and we were happy too.
I don’t see why that was bad, it was Sloan’s ladder of brands at work. Now GM’s brands, what’s left of them, don’t make sense. Instead of being “upscale” Buick now has lower average transaction prices than Chevy and Cadillac is a muddled mess that tries to occupy the youthful space of Pontiac plus EVs plus blinged out SUVs with no traditional S-Class type luxury sedan, the eponymous Cadillac, at all.
I know times have changed but I think having Buick positioned for older buyers and catering to what they liked was perfectly fine and successful for GM. I find it sad today to hear older people tell me that “they don’t make cars for me anymore”. My Dad who always shunned Buicks when he was younger finally told me “I think I’m ready for a Buick”. He went on to buy three but he’s stuck on his last one, a 2008 Lucerne, because they no longer make anything for him. That’s sad. He always bought a new GM car every 2-3 years but now he drives a 16 year old Buick because GM no longer sees him as an important customer.
That’s the problem though. Times have changed. Retired boomers are going for Toyota, Honda, and Hyundai sedans. I mean I guess it adds to your point that Buick doesn’t have sedans anymore for these customers but these customers have ditched Buick a long time ago for these asian brands. And those boomers that have money or as you say ” folks felt they had to achieve a high level of success and social status” went to Lexus or Mercedes. So it leaves Buick now having to scramble looking for newer demographics. I agree there is nothing wrong with holding onto your traditional customer, but long term its not a sustainable strategy especially with how saturated our market has become with so many global brands. The brand needed to reinvent itself and bring in newer and especially younger customers if it wants to stay relevant. The same goes for Cadillac.
Nobody is going for Toyota, Honda or Hyundai sedans, all their sales are in the toilet. Camry was down 10% last month alone. The Ford Maverick is outselling the Honda Accord by a long shot. Buick needs sedans like they need carburetors.
This site removed the ability to make corrections after submitting a comment which is annoying. So I wanted to clarify. What I was trying to say is they can’t just bank on an aging customer base. Yes I have said what is the point of bringing in new customer if they neglect their traditional ones. I have said that with Cadillac and their resistance to bring the 2nd gen XT5. But when that aging base passes the “capable to drive” line then what? That aging demographics won’t be there forever and if they maintain a grandpa car image with many people denying their old age these days they wouldn’t be caught dead in such a car. They also need to appeal to a generation of customers coming of age. It’s a really good sign when there are finally younger customers looking past the grandpa car image and seeing the brand for what it is.
Well Buick’s yawn inducing all Crossover lineup has literally nothing that interests me and I’m in my late 40’s! I don’t need or want a high riding hatch with a cheap crude sounding 3 or 4 cylinder engine now that they canceled there last V6. I would have considered a Regal sedan or wagon but even that was killed off way too early. About the only thing left in the entire GM/Ford or even Stallantis lineup is the Chevy Malibu and even that is being deleted and I won’t believe its return until I see an actual 2026/2027 model being produced! Very sad times
“My Dad who always shunned Buicks when he was younger finally told me ‘I think I’m ready for a Buick’”.
Buick owner here, and my only regret was not discovering Buick 20 years earlier!
But that was in the V-6 era, rock-solid smooth comfortable vehicles which really set Buick apart. Now it’s all 4-cyl CUVs like everyone else?? Sorry but they’ve lost the narrative. At least bring back the V6 and rock-solid smooth comfortable parts.
Yes, bring back the 3800 V6 and 4T60-E and stick them GMT T1XX based sedan platform. Slap in a heavy dose of “burlwood”-like trim, velour cloth seats (available in grey, red, & most importantly, blue), and a value-priced “Custom” trim featuring Dyna-ride suspension and 15″ chrome hubcapped wheels. Lets make the Great American Road Belong to Buick Again! …
When GM deleted the brand nameplate and seemed to enlarge the logos, it was seen as a good move, which also probably was an incognito cost-cutting situation. People knew the Chevrolet bowtie, hopefully the Buick Tri-shield, and the Cadillac multi-revised crest. So it was “something to try”.
Now there are new generations that like Buicks. That they have suddenly become “good values” again is great. “Affordable Luxury”, as always, if that old orientation still matters. Nobody complained that the price of a ’56 Buick Roadmaster could be equal to or a bit above that of a similar Cadillac DeVille, back then, but if a Banker drove a Cadillac, back then, it could be a bad sign, so many bought Buicks instead.
Buicks were always about smooth and comfortable rides and operations. Appreciated by doctors who had to make house calls in the country, in the years prior to what became the “Mid-Century” 1900s. Such luxury was also appreciated by older age demographics, who grew up when cars usually “rode rough”, so the smoooth Buick was a treat in their lives. Cue the song “How I Love to Drive My Buick”, by Milton Berle (on YouTube).
Oldsmobile left their name off the 1995 and most 1996 Auroras. I had several customers who asked why we had new Jaguars on the showroom floor! The thinking among the executives at GM, such as the ones from Bausch & Lomb (Ron Zarrella) and Procter & Gamble (John Smale), was that the partial word “OLD” was a problem. Evidently, at the time, they never heard of Old Navy or Old Times whiskey. John Rock, Oldsmobile’s last REAL general manager, complained that they were “shooting the horse out from under him”.
I bought a 1998 Aurora four years ago and the restoration is going fine. The cool factor today is that all the uninformed and illiterate drivers out there think the AURORA is a brand-new name.
Excellent comment, Jeff
I pine for a 1995 Aurora. I’d have to put an Oldsmobile script on the back, perhaps spelled out across the trunk applique.
I’m currently restoring a 1984 Cutlass Supreme now.
I have owned many GM brands over the last 45 years. Buick was by far the best brand I owned. I allign with all of Rocket’s comments on: family history of ownership, historic Sloan’s brand logic, Buick’s pricing today and placement within the brands. I bought a new 24 Cadillac XT6 and traded it in for a new 24 Buick Enclave Avenir because of its superiority. I believe GM should hire Rocket as he understands our history and future all to well. Thanks Rocket.
Badges are for old people who can’t remember what they are driving. Young people debadge cars because they buy cheap and don’t want people to know what they are driving.
And then there’s mick1 who took a magic marker to his mom’s Malibu badges
Now put the red, white and blue back in the logo!
It doesn’t matter if 99% of GM fan boys think buick is outselling Toyota, it doesn’t make it true. The fact is, buick sells mostly to rental agencies and at great discounts when new. That’s why the “new” customers, they’re enticed by the discounts and they’ll hate the thing before they dump it for another Korean turd, but not from GM.