Buick has undergone a considerable rebranding effort over the last few years, launching a new logo, a new design language, and a bevy of new models. Notably, the last time the Buick logo received a major redesign was in 1990, and now, we’re going back more than 35 years to revisit when Buick sought to own The Great American Road with a tagline and marketing effort from 1988. Both are seen in a classic television commercial that was reposted to social media, giving us a blast from the past.
In the commercial, we see a series of natural scenes, including a woman walking on towards a lighthouse on a coast, a winding coastal road lined by trees, and a two-lane country road. We next see a business man exiting an office, while another runs towards a helicopter.
“It’s a pathway to leads from here to tomorrow, from sea to shining seas,” sings the music overlay. “The Great American Road belongs to Buick!”
We later see a sedan pass by a bicyclist, followed by a few more scenes of a sedan traveling down some two-lane roads as the music continues.
Interestingly, GM initially registered the tagline “The Great American Road Belongs To Buick” with the United States Patent and Trademark Office in April of 1990, and eventually lost the rights to it in April of 2001. It’s an interesting direction, and definitely stands in contrast to the current brand direction. Check out the full commercial from 1988 right here:
These days, the brand’s U.S. lineup is made up entirely by crossovers, with none of the sedans seen in the old school commercial featured above. Nevertheless, the products on offer are better than ever, with the new Envista leading the charge as the brand’s top-seller in the third quarter of the 2024 calendar year. Per the latest figures, GM sold just over 15,000 units of the Envista during Q3, an increase of 178.63 percent compared to the 5,385 units sold during Q3 of 2023.
Sales Numbers - Mainstream Subcompact Crossovers - Q3 2024 - USA
| MODEL | Q3 24 / Q3 23 | Q3 24 | Q3 23 | Q3 24 SHARE | Q3 23 SHARE | YTD 24 / YTD 23 | YTD 24 | YTD 23 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CHEVROLET TRAX | +56.59% | 59,299 | 37,869 | 15% | 11% | +129.50% | 149,762 | 65,255 |
| SUBARU CROSSTREK | +35.96% | 52,347 | 38,502 | 13% | 11% | +15.02% | 131,847 | 114,632 |
| HONDA HR-V | +16.36% | 38,542 | 33,124 | 10% | 10% | +31.91% | 114,805 | 87,034 |
| JEEP COMPASS | +70.87% | 34,632 | 20,268 | 9% | 6% | +18.05% | 84,474 | 71,560 |
| CHEVROLET TRAILBLAZER | -3.46% | 29,609 | 30,671 | 8% | 9% | -11.65% | 81,708 | 92,479 |
| TOYOTA COROLLA CROSS | +55.20% | 22,507 | 14,502 | 6% | 4% | +37.66% | 67,674 | 49,160 |
| MAZDA CX-30 | +7.62% | 22,358 | 20,775 | 6% | 6% | +24.08% | 73,580 | 59,302 |
| NISSAN KICKS | -5.81% | 19,153 | 20,334 | 5% | 6% | +4.00% | 52,144 | 50,138 |
| HYUNDAI KONA | -3.36% | 17,969 | 18,593 | 5% | 6% | +14.14% | 64,508 | 56,518 |
| VOLKSWAGEN TAOS | -6.21% | 15,397 | 16,417 | 4% | 5% | +9.38% | 47,673 | 43,584 |
| KIA SELTOS | +5.16% | 15,391 | 14,636 | 4% | 4% | +2.38% | 48,177 | 47,059 |
| BUICK ENVISTA | +178.63% | 15,004 | 5,385 | 4% | 2% | +622.19% | 38,890 | 5,385 |
| BUICK ENCORE GX | -26.84% | 14,675 | 20,060 | 4% | 6% | -11.41% | 44,646 | 50,394 |
| KIA SOUL | -24.11% | 11,629 | 15,324 | 3% | 5% | -19.93% | 40,094 | 50,071 |
| KIA NIRO | -27.97% | 7,030 | 9,760 | 2% | 3% | -13.59% | 25,132 | 29,085 |
| HYUNDAI VENUE | -0.58% | 6,472 | 6,510 | 2% | 2% | -13.23% | 19,843 | 22,869 |
| DODGE HORNET | +119.51% | 3,848 | 1,753 | 1% | 1% | +257.84% | 15,566 | 4,350 |
| MITSUBISHI OUTLANDER SPORT | +5.04% | 3,813 | 3,630 | 1% | 1% | -3.43% | 11,706 | 12,122 |
| JEEP RENEGADE | -92.98% | 450 | 6,412 | 0% | 2% | -50.03% | 7,776 | 15,561 |
| FIAT 500X | -43.75% | 81 | 144 | 0% | 0% | -17.77% | 347 | 422 |
| BUICK ENCORE | -100.00% | 0 | 701 | 0% | 0% | -97.81% | 126 | 5,765 |
| TOTAL | +16.35% | 390,206 | 335,370 | +20.13% | 1,120,478 | 932,745 |
However, as some readers will no doubt point out, North American units of the new Envista are produced at the GM Bupyeong plant in South Korea, which could make it somewhat at odds with “The Great American Road” tagline that the brand sought to use over 35 years ago. Nevertheless, Buick’s lineup continues to show relative competitiveness in the modern market.
Comments
Ah, the days when Buick meant a nice sedan or coupe with a touch of class that stayed clear of Cadillac but was certainly nicer that the Chevy. Buick advertised and promoted their cars back then and sold a lot of them.
Nice to see that so many of gm’s top selling crossovers are built in the United States (not…). I hope Trump follows through with lowering the corporate tax rate for companies that repatriate jobs while slapping punitive tariffs on all vehicles imported from low-wage countries.
Low wage – maybe – compared to our inflation ridden country, but high wage for them. Shouldn’t consumers prefer to have the best built, highest quality American brand Buicks, no matter where manufactured?
“The Great American Road belongs to Buick!”<— But not after we ship that road out to China first.
Our Buick and McCann-Erikson advertising team certainly enjoyed developing and executing the “Great American Road Belongs to Buick” TV, radio, and print advertising campaign, which began in late 1987.