@Brian_E Thank you for your common sense, straight-forward, and grounded approach to the topic. You basically summarized the global auto industry and the history of each U.S. brand within GM in one fell swoop. I’ve communicated several times to @moanalua and others here that Buick shouldn’t even be mentioned in the same breath as Pontiac, since Buick is 1) more profitable, 2) significantly more upscale, and 3) pursuing a totally different customer than any of the existing or past GM brands, perhaps with the exception of Olds. Compared to Pontiac, Buick makes totally different cars for different people with different values and priorities in an automobile.
As for Buick’s popularity in China… That doesn’t really matter, since almost half of Buick sales in the country are related to one model — the Buick Excelle, which is a badged-up Chevy/Daewoo Lacetti:
http://gmauthority.com/blog/2012/02/what-is-this-buick-that-sells-20000-units-a-month-in-china/
It’s an old (archaic?) model that is on its way out. Even so, the fact is that GM would be stupid not to compete in the global soft-luxury segment that’s profitable and in high demand (as far as luxury automobiles are concerned). It just do happens that there are more Chinese buyers who love the brand than in North America, where Buick has had the displeasure of a sullied image, which I think will change in the near future.
At the end of the day, it’s Buick vs Lexus, not Buick vs Pontiac; instead, it’s Chevy vs. Pontiac — and always has been.
