Buick Future
The Allure sedan may be the first complete step in the new direction of Buick, but it certainly won't be the last.
Executives at the evolving GM division made it clear at the reveal of the Allure (known as the LaCrosse in the U.S.) at the recent Chicago auto show that the sedan due this fall would quickly be followed by a new LeSabre, a mid-sized sport wagon, and a rear-drive flagship sedan.
That's on top of the successful Rendezvous crossover van that's been on the market for a couple of years, the recently launched Rainier SUV, and the Terraza crossover-sport-van that will be available this fall.
And for a little surprise excitement, GM's second ranking premium division (behind Cadillac) may showcase a four-seat ragtop at the New York auto show in early April.
This is all part of US$3 billion redevelopment plan to move Buick away from its stodgy, graybeard image toward a younger, hipper demographic.
Critical to this realignment of Buick is a move to higher quality that can be seen and not heard.
On that latter point, a lack of noise is widely understood by consumers to be an excellent indicator of a vehicle's quality, so GM's product boss, Bob Lutz, has committed Buick to leading the league in this area, using a technique the division calls QuietTuning.
As for the visible signs of quality, Lutz says he wants Buicks to have excellent fit-and-finish and exceptionally rich interiors. These qualities are already on display in Allure, he says, as well as the Terraza and, to a slightly lesser extent, the Rainier.
A big jump in such quality standards is only possible when a vehicle is completely made over, Lutz says, and that would certainly include Allure, while Terraza and Rainier are more retro-fits.
Following the arrival of the Allure this year from the Oshawa assembly plant and the subsequent departure of the Century and Regal, look for Buick to launch the new LeSabre next year as a 2006 model, followed by the mid-sized sport wagon and the new flagship sedan in 2006 as 2007 models.
Whatever the precise future of Buick will be, GM insiders say it will be clear from what the division does at the New York auto show.
