Kendrick Lamar’s 2024 album “GNX” has sparked a wave of new interest in the classic Buick muscle car that inspired the name. Lamar is a Buick GNX owner and loves the car so much that he used it in the name and the art for his surprise album, which dropped last November. Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime show brought even more much-deserved spotlight to the iconic Buick GNX (even though the car on-stage was a butchered Grand National).
Although “GNX” is a household name for GM Authority readers, it’s a car that a lot of people outside of car enthusiast circles have never heard of. Almost four decades have gone by since its debut, so its star power was gradually fading. But Lamar’s new album has generated so much new interest in the car that eBay searches for “GNX” have surged over 78 percent since the debut of the GNX album according to data shared with GM Authority. In the same timeframe, searches for “Grand National” are up 16 percent.
The more modest bump in Grand National searches may or may not be related to Kendrick Lamar, but the huge influx in GNX searches is surely a direct result of the new album and subsequent Super Bowl performance. From November through mid-February 2025, the word “Buick” was searched an average of 985 times per hour globally. Most of those searches probably weren’t looking for a crossover.
Of course, searches and sales are very different metrics. Many of those searches are likely made out of curiosity about the value of the car. It’s still a little early to say whether Kendrick Lamar’s album has significantly increased the value of the Buick GNX, which was already a rare and desirable muscle car with one of the highest cash values of any Buick in the brand’s history.
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Buick responded to the hype around Kendrick Lamar’s album shortly after its debut with a subtle social media post. The @buickusa Instagram page posted a photo of the driver-side profile of a Buick Envista ST finished in Ebony Twilight Metallic paint (GBO) with 19-inch black painted aluminum wheels (RVB) against a white background, imitating Lamar’s album art featuring his Buick GNX in the same pose.
Although the Buick GNX is enjoying a lot of positive attention at the moment, we still think it’s very unlikely that we’ll see a production Grand National or GNX come from Buick any time soon. If GM thinks there’s no business case for a Chevy Camaro at the moment, then a two-door, rear-wheel-drive muscle car from Buick doesn’t have a prayer of getting greenlit. However, it’s still nice to see the Buick GNX get the attention it deserves.
Comments
I get Drake’s hatred for Lamar now.
There was no business case for the GNX back in ’87, but they built it anyway. And they created an icon.
It is hard to convey to a modern audience just how crazy the GNX was when it appeared. To say it came out of left field would be an understatement. After 15 years of emissions-choked sports cars, a BUICK shows up and blows the doors off of everything on 4 wheels. And with a V-6! It was, and still is, a stunning piece of engineering and a stunningly beautiful automobile.
The GNX is the honey badger of cars. I’ve loved this car for a very long time, ever since I was a little kid seeing it smoke Ferraris.
Can’t be true. People only want trucks and SUVs these days. They must have searched for the Buick Rendezvous and got the GNX by mistake.
I have never responded to anyone elses comments before but, Stuart (and I know you are fishing for feedback), you are completely wrong, sorry incorrect. You are OBVIOUSLY not a car guy. GNXs are and have always been one of thee great icons of the Automotive world. Period.
You obviously don’t understand sarcasm.
Olds 442, Chevelle SS, Pontiac GTO, Buick Grand National ……
NOW ? … some lame lowT snowflake ending in “ tiq “ .
Smh , a big opportunity for Buick to use this free promo but don’t have nothing to give to public, the wildcat gnx should be out with the 6.2