Now that we’re nearing the end of 2024, we’re reflecting on what a big year it was for a GM brand that doesn’t normally get a lot of spotlight. We’re talking about Buick and its design-driven reinvention that began in early 2023 and was completed in 2024.
Arguably, it started when the Wildcat EV concept was unveiled in June 2022. It was a design study that was radically different from Buick’s production models just two and a half years ago, but now it wouldn’t look so out of place in a Buick showroom. The design of the sleek Wildcat EV coupe was highlighted by a large, trapezoidal lower grille opening, a high-brow lighting treatment, and even a new take on the Tri-Shield logo.
Nothing quite like the Wildcat EV has made it to production, but its design inspired a whole new look for Buick, which was quickly adopted through the brand’s whole product portfolio. Buick gave us a quick succession of unveilings in the first half of 2023. It started with the refreshed 2024 Encore GX in February, the all-new 2024 Envista in April, and the refreshed 2024 Envision in June. Better late than never, the all-new 2025 Enclave broke cover in April 2024, coinciding with the redesigns of its C1 platform mates, the Chevy Traverse and GMC Acadia.
At last, Buick has a cohesive design language after years of warmed over Opel models sharing showrooms with Chevy relatives without much aesthetic consistency. Granted, the bulk of the lineup still consists of platform-mates with Chevy and/or GMC models, but the new design language, sporty ST trims, and luxurious Avenir models make the Buick brand feel special and unique in ways that it hasn’t in a long time.
Another detail about this rebrand that we appreciate might go unnoticed. Starting in the 2019 model year, USDM Buick models no longer said “Buick” on them. Now, they all do, most prominently on the hatches of the Envista and Encore GX.
As much as we’d love to see a new Grand National or GSX from the Tri-Shield brand, we’re happy to see this storied brand find its footing as a premium crossover marque. Yes, it only has four models, but Buick has one of the freshest lineups of any automotive brand in the U.S. right now, and buyers are taking notice. Q3 2024 marked Buick’s seventh consecutive quarter of sales growth and its best quarter since 2021, and a whopping 71 percent of buyers are new to the brand.
Comments
It is time for Buick to release a sedan into the US market. Preferably the LaCrosse that’s in China.
… And the ugliest nose on the market. The bigger it gets, the worse it becomes.
The Enclave is official off our buying list.
First, it is far from the ugliest. It isn’t great, but it isn’t bad and the more I see it the more it isn’t bad. Second, who scratches a vehicle off for looks? That should be WAY down on the reason for buying. That is part of the problem with people today, buying based off looks. Oh, this rides how you want, has the right features, power, price, mpg, etc, but not a fan of how it looks so you are going to settle for something that is less a fit? That is laughable and how people get upside down on car loans and in financial trouble…
Love my Envision, but had I known how hideous they were going to take the brand revamp, I would have passed on gm for the first time when I found out all that it was missing (lumbar, massage, rain sense, etc). Saturday a 20 something year old kid at Menards was oooohing over it. Now all the vehicles are just generic blobs with ugly fronts! The Enclave is the worst! So sad!
Line up is missing the 3.6L
Oooow. Wow. So Buick revamped it’s entire 4 car lineup. And made them all ugly IMO.
So let’s see. We have a 3 cyl Envista (sadly the best looking Buick left). A 3 cyl Encore GX with super ugly front. 4 cyl Envision and now a 4 cyl Enclave that looks exactly like a Toyota.
Zero sedans. Zero EV’s. No thank you Buick.
All new and nothing that stands out.
You either got to 1, stand out in the crowd, 2, offer great value. Buick does poorly at both. I’m not opposed to badge engineering the Chevy traverse, equinox and Trax, but you need to at least have something special, some kind of sizzle. Right now all Buick is is a way for GMC dealers to sell traverses and traxs.
It’s not hard to have a “fresh” lineup with only four products. There’s only one model that can even be called American. There’s one wholly Chinese import and two assembled in Korea models that are essentially Chinese also.
It’s pathetic to call this group “Buick”. At the end Saturn had become a repository brand for a hodgepodge of GM products produced worldwide. Today’s Buick is not far from that same sad state. It’s nothing like the upscale positioning with a full lineup of distinctive luxury-oriented cars Buick once offered. Instead Buick has become the bargain brand at GM.
For anyone who grew up riding in Buicks (a Riviera, Electra, and Park Avenues for me) and loving them and all things GM, it’s hard to accept and be happy with today’s lineup of diminutive dullards and it’s especially hard to say positive things about them.
GM desperately needs new leadership. The crew they’ve got now has Buick living off their reputation rather than living up to it and that’s a situation that can never last too long.
If GM put as much effort into Buick here in the US as they do in their lineup in China, Buick would do well and atleast modestly regain market share in the US. Especially when other near luxury brands like Infiniti, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, and Acura, if Honda continues to let it linger (and we’ll see how they are affected after the merger), are on life support. I love my now long in the tooth XT5, but when I sat in that redesigned Enclave in Avenir trim, wow. It was more Cadillac than my XT5.
Is GM ashamed of the name “Buick”? It wouldn’t be the first time. It considered renaming Oldsmobile “Aurora” or “Anthem” because our mouth-breathing fellow Americans didn’t like a car with “old” in the name. That wasn’t the real problem, though. It’s product and marketing.
bring back the LaCrosse sedan
I bought the Buick Envista Avenir and I am very pleased with the vehicle, I think GM did a great job building this vehicle and I don’t care if it comes from overseas, most everything we consume comes from overseas……….. Buick seems to be moving into the future as we are all moving into the future, if you want the Buick of yesteryear buy a classic and be happy with it.
Let me know how much you like that Milk Truck after 50,000 miles, 100,000 miles.
Cut the BS. A Buick is “Substantial, Distinctive, Powerful and Mature”. A quote from the great Ed Mertz, the best leader Buick ever had.
For the record, Buicks are NOT crappy little station wagons with four cylinder engines. Period!
Crappy 2/4 3 cylinders.
Gm has its corporate head up where the sun doesn’t shine. They have murdered their brand heritage with an army of underpowered look-alike suvs and evs that nobody wants. All that is left is to go totally woke like jag and alienate the rest of their customer base.
Some years ago I helped my daughter purchase a 2007 Buick Lucerne…a big, substantial car that was miles ahead of its predecessor, a 2003 Kia Rio. I wanted to make sure she and her two children were protected on the highway. Sure, it has its headaches (it is an older car), but the reason I bought it was that it was one of the few sedans left on the market. Today’s Buicks are little more and little larger than that Kia…
How depressing 1 assembled in America other series are made in communist china ,insult to the American people….
When it’s all said and done, unless you buy a vehicle for racing, for specific business purposes, or as a hopefully appreciating investment like some do for the classics, vehicles are nothing more than point A to point B transportation.
If it doesn´t include a sedan or a sports coupe, I´m not interested.
Buick?……..Not. Nothing in the line interests me and as they move to EV they go even further off my radar. I have a 2018 Regal TourX….a great performance, handling and comfortable long roof..I will not buy one of the current egg shaped vehicles and no EV for me. New GM’s all my life….Oldsmobile should never been discontinued.
Bring back a great Buick coupe, sedan and wagon…..all wheel drive with style.
Send Mary and her team packing……Make Buick Great Again.
I’ve owned two Buicks, an ’80 Regal Limited and a ’69 wildcat coupe. Real cars. We now own a ’15 Impala LTZ, bought new, and my ’13 XTS Plat. Also Mustang v6 and ’91 Cappy wagon. That’s where my heads at. These new models leave me cold.
Buick and Lincoln have the most boring lineup in the auto industry, which consists of 4 Milk Trucks, they will both be China-only by 2030.
Ugly Toyota catfish mouth grille revisited. No sedan? No hybrid? No thanks. Dead brand here, forsaken for China….for now.
Wow, so many haters! Thought this was the Christmas season, do you have nothing else to complain about!!
If big GM was smart it would bring out the wildcat concept in 2025 and call it a grand national (base model) gsx (mid model) and wildcat as the top shelf model. Have it ready to go up against the charger ev. Then they can cross it up and make Chevy Monte Carlo SS or call it nova SS. This will make 2025 a better year for everybody except competition
It’s sad and terrible what has happened to Buick and how far GM has watered it down and cheapened it the brand with the FWD Chinese and Korean import garbage they currently have. I remember growing up and riding in the backseat of a 1986 Century Custom 4dr. and 1994 LeSabre Custom. There also were models I remember such as the Skyhawk, Skylark, Century Regal, LeSabre, Electra, Park Avenue, Roadmaster and Riviera and Reatta which were True and Real Buicks. I also remember the DynaRide and GranTouring Suspensions and the 3100, 3300 and 3800 V6 Engines. Buick has Always been known for quality, dependability and reliability and were “Premium American Motorcars” and was also the ”New Symbol For Quality In America” I would absolutely Love it if Buick brought back Sedans, Coupes and Convertibles instead of having a boring and uninspiring 4 SUV lineup and upcoming an All EV lineup. I’ll NEVER buy anything EV. Buick needs to go back to their roots and go back to building true premium-luxury automobiles that were once large, elegant, comfortable, mature and powerful and were always positioned below Cadillac but offered at an affordable price less than Cadillac. Buick was Always below Cadillac but above Oldsmobile in the GM corporate brand ladder. GM definitely needs to push Buick way way upmarket next to Cadillac but not on it like it used to be for most of its existence. Buick should be competing with brands like Acura, Alfa Romeo, Genesis, Infiniti, Lexus, Lincoln and Volvo and maybe even with some Audi, BMW, Mercedes Benz models. Buick needs to STOP sharing platforms with Chevrolet and GMC and start sharing and using platforms with All and Only current and future Cadillac models. Mary Barra is a disaster and is completely ruining Buick and Cadillac as well as Chevrolet and GMC and is making everything GM sells All SUV’s and Crossovers as well as GM making everything Electric. The quality is terrible and isn’t what it used to be because everything is made overseas for cheap labor and more money=poor quality and quality control. Not much from GM interests me anymore. Everything is boring and is much of the same with no difference and is overpriced. She needs to go. Buick needs another Lloyd Reuss and Ed Mertz as their General Manager. Cadillac needs one too. Buick was based in Flint Michigan and Buicks world headquarters and assembly plant Buick City was there too. GM should definitely reinvest in Flint Michigan and should be bringing back ALL Buick manufacturing as well as ALL Engine, Transmission and parts and components manufacturing to Flint including a Brand New State of the Art Buick World Headquarters and Exterior and Interior Design studios with a basement with All of the Buick concept cars. Make Buick Great again and make it “The New Symbol For Quality In America” again as well as “Premium American Motorcars” Buick should currently be doing what Cadillac is doing and hopefully will continue to offer ICE engines through 2030. Bring back an optional 3.6 or 3.8 liter V6 for the Enclave and 3.0 liter V6 for the Envision and 2.0 liter Turbo 4 Cylinder for the Envista and Encore GX. Eliminate all of the 1.2 and 1.3 and and 1.5 liter engines. I’d Love to see the 3800 V6 return including the DynaRide and GranTouring Suspension Systems. DynaRide was a soft and floaty ride like Cadillac and GranTouring was sportier and firmer ride like some of the Japanese and European car brands were. GM needs to merge Cadillac and Buick dealer networks together but with their own separate showrooms for each brand and both Cadillac and Buick should be serviced together in the service department. Eliminate GMC because it’s redundant and is the same exact looking vehicle as Chevrolet. Makes absolutely no sense to have it with Buick in the same showroom and everything looking very similar to each other. Revive Pontiac as a true niche performance and muscle car brand since the Camaro and Chevrolet SS Sedan off the Pontiac G8 is gone and make Pontiac a standalone dealership network with special edition and limited production vehicles in addition to regular production vehicles. This all should have been done after re-emerging from Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in 2010.
What is missing from the Buick division? Once it was called Roadmaster. Then came Electra. So, what’s in a name? A lot if GM follows thru with the Electra lineup, they have teased us with. To be successful though the Buick division must match Cadillac in ICE and EV in balance. Buyers still want a choice. But what is missing is a comfortable and roomy Buick sedan. Perhaps the Roadmaster could return with Wildcat beside it. And forget the new Enclave grill. Too much like the tired Lexus grill well overdue for retirement.