{"id":547284,"date":"2010-04-29T16:45:42","date_gmt":"2010-04-29T20:45:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.caranddriver.com\/?p=20301"},"modified":"2010-04-29T16:45:42","modified_gmt":"2010-04-29T20:45:42","slug":"next-up-from-buick-smaller-sedan-and-compact-suv","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/547284","title":{"rendered":"Next Up From Buick: Smaller Sedan and Compact SUV"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Following the LaCrosse and brand-new, not-even-quite-on-sale-yet Regal, Buick is planning a slew of new products, far more than ever before. On the recent Regal launch\u2014which, incidentally, involved flying to China to witness its impressive presence there and then on to Germany, where the car was developed\u2014we got the Buick team to talk a bit about future product (hey, we had plenty of time, after all). According to Buick marketing director Craig Bierley, the goal going forward is the \u201ctimeless proposition of understated luxury.\u201d This means Lexus-like interiors and execution with Acura-grade driving dynamics. Well, with \u201ca little less harshness\u201d than Acura, says Bierley.<\/p>\n

First on the list is a compact sedan, ostensibly built on the Chevy Cruze platform, although the Buick guys promise unique styling and a different powertrain, as well. Bierley promises that \u201cyou\u2019d be hard pressed to know they\u2019re on the same architecture.\u201d We\u2019ve heard this kind of talk before and have been thoroughly underwhelmed by the subsequent badge-engineering, but we hope he\u2019s right. It will also receive an all-new name, not one from the brand\u2019s past (Skylark was considered, we\u2019re told, but the last one was so ugly and forgettable that the company is hesitant to employ the name again). Bierley also states\u2014and we agree\u2014that the LaCrosse is skewed more towards ride while the Regal leans toward handling, and continues by saying that the new small sedan will be even more sporty and handling-oriented. Call us intrigued, particularly considering how competent the Regal is. Expect Buick\u2019s third sedan to be on sale sometime next year.<\/p>\n

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Next is a compact crossover, likely due in 2012. Less was divulged about the SUV, but it will be smaller than, and will therefore not share a platform with, the Chevy Equinox and GMC Terrain. Buick points out that its current lineup of two large sedans (Lucerne and LaCrosse) and a large SUV (Enclave) technically only competes with 14 percent of the new-car market in the U.S. By 2012, after the mid-size Regal and the new compact sedan and crossover, they estimate that Buick will compete with 46 percent of the market. Then, in the 2014\u20132015 timeframe, after various other unnamed products are launched, Buick expects to be present in some 60 percent of segments by sales.<\/p>\n

Related posts:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Buick Confirms Regal as Next Mid-Size Sedan – Car News<\/a><\/li>\n
  2. Buick Will Do Away With Trim Levels in 2012<\/a><\/li>\n
  3. Buick to Launch Four New Models in 24 Months<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Following the LaCrosse and brand-new, not-even-quite-on-sale-yet Regal, Buick is planning a slew of new products, far more than ever before. On the recent Regal launch\u2014which, incidentally, involved flying to China to witness its impressive presence there and then on to Germany, where the car was developed\u2014we got the Buick team to talk a bit about […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6419,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-547284","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mobile","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/547284","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6419"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=547284"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/547284\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=547284"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=547284"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=547284"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}