GM News, New Models and Market Share

dieselone

Personally, I never gas up without filling up.

I generally fill up most of the time but not always. Depends on how much driving I'll be doing as mine fluctuates a bunch. I figure there is not much sense in carrying around 28 gallons of fuel if I don't have too. Also, I've had the occasional pump shut off before full (even with with a few extra clicks of the pump) and I though it was filled up, yet the gauge shows a hair under full. I hate it when that happens.

bpizzuti

The Encore is Sonic-based, it should really be CHEAPER than the Verano.

Buick is turning into Pontiac before our very eyes. The Caddy/Buick/GMC dealers are complaining that they don't have any Chevy class vehicles to sell in order to compete with...those Chevy dealers. You're not going to maintain the "premium luxury" identity with stuff like this.

Maybe we SHOULD sell the GM stock now, before it shrinks any further...

ateixeira

It really depends upon the content.

$25k, though? Yikes.

ateixeira

They've had these green parking spots, 2 of them, downstairs, and today for the first time a Volt was parked there and charging.

I'm curious to see if there are any perks besides the VIP parking spot. Gotta ask around.

I also wonder if the user is getting free electricity. The building has to have a certain number of spots to get certifications.

ateixeira

OK, autoblog has more info:

http://www.autoblog.com/2012/09/20/2013-buick-encore-to-carve-out-a-small-premiu- m-niche-from-24-95/

including features like a full-color, seven-inch screen, a rearview camera, active noise cancellation and 18-inch wheels

AWD is an extra $1500 though.

tjc78

I know this is small SUV, but how small? Hyundai Tucson size or smaller?

bpizzuti

You need to look at it compared to a loaded Elantra GT, which retails for less than that. Then it doesn't sound like a very good deal...

ateixeira

It's raised up and comes from a more premium brand.

Don't get me wrong, I'd pick the GT (or a Focus or Mazda3 or even Golf TDI), but consumers are buying up these small utes in droves.

The Juke is ugly yet they sell tons. Plus it hasn't hurt Rogue sales.

ateixeira

Good:

http://www.autoblog.com/2012/09/21/general-motors-and-volkswagen-many-benefit-fr- om-anti-japan-prote/

Anti-Japanese sentiment should boost GM market share in China.

Bad:

http://www.autoblog.com/2012/09/21/gm-recalling-426-000-sedans-over-faulty-trans- mission-shift-cable/

4EAT recall for some sedans.

bpizzuti

It's raised up and comes from a more premium brand.

People don't pay more for a premium brand, they pay for a premium car. Big mistake on GM's part, Buick doesn't have the cachet to charge more for the Buick nameplate.

ateixeira

Well, none of us has seen an Encore up close and in person, so let's reserve judgement until we do.

I'm sure it's a lot nicer than the car it's based on.

The strategy of including lots of content standard may work well for them, and take attention away from the underpowered engine.

andre1969

Well, none of us has seen an Encore up close and in person, so let's reserve judgement until we do.

Didn't Justin Bieber buy an Encore for his grandparents?

fintail

I wonder how long the anti-Japanese fervor will be used as a ruse to cover the simmering issues in China. If they were real protests against injustice, the protesters would be slaughtered.

lemko

The Japanese are probably used as a scapegoat and distraction from the real issues in China as are Middle East terrorists, gay marriage, etc. are distractions from the real issues here.

fintail

That's exactly it. The Chinese growth miracle isn't all some want to make it, and a lot will be done to hide that, both from the locals and from foreign concerns. GM shouldn't rejoice just yet - especially with the treacherous trade policies made by the feds at home.

bpizzuti

We know the content it has, the Elantra GT provides more for less money.

uplanderguy

That is bad news on the recall. In 2010 the only 4-speed automatics, I'm about 91% certain of, were the LS which most often seemed to be seen in fleets. At least it's not a real safety issue...I do think most people are aware of the 'click, click, click' sound going from 'Park' to 'Drive' and vice-versa.

ateixeira

I mean material feel and build quality.

Not all leather is made the same, some dashes are soft to the touch, you can't measure quietness on paper, etc.

ateixeira

Watch the opportunists blame this for their car crashes. :mad:

uplanderguy

Speaking of that, I haven't heard any news on the cause of that woman's 2011 Kia Sorrento 59-mile joy ride, have you? I know the factory mats are secured by hooks, but don't know about any additional mats she might have had. Seems if that were it, we'd have heard about it by now.

ateixeira

The media is terrible at following up on stories like that. They'll jump on a headline but never make corrections once the full investigation is done.

berri

At first, the idea of Buick as near lux made some sense to me, letting Cadillac move its focus up to premium. But with all of this increased product it seems to me that Buick is quickly morphing into Mercury and Lincoln.

uplanderguy

Styling question: what does everyone think of the bright 'grilles' that have showed up high on front fenders the past few years? I think they look 'add on' and almost 'ghetto'. If a car is to have brightwork, I like it along the rockers.

andre1969

what does everyone think of the bright 'grilles' that have showed up high on front fenders the past few years?

I'm not sure what you're talking about. Could you give me an example? Are you talking about the little vents, (fake or otherwise) that they've been sticking on the cars of late?

The trend I'm thinking of is sort of a resurrection of stuff like the fake vents on my '79 5th Ave, my buddy's '78 Mark V, or a late '70's T-bird or '80-83 Mirada. Just like anything else, it can be tasteful or tacky, depending on how it's done.

andres3

Plus the A4 is fairly compact.

The A4 has gotten larger and bigger with each re-design. I haven't taken a tape measure to a recent model A4 avant, but before purchasing my A3 it had to pass the two bulky tower speakers in cardboard boxes test. The boxes with padding inside measured 20"x20" x 55" deep each for the tower speakers I wanted to purchase. I needed the cargo area with the seats down to pass the 20"x40"x55" box test, and the A3 did with flying colors. They are suprisingly roomy on the inside (and compact on the outside).

uplanderguy

Andre, I mean the chrome decoration that I first saw on Escalades several years back, then on the Taurus that descended from the Five Hundred, and now on any number of new vehicles.

When cars used to have a lot of definition/feature lines down the sides ('70's), I used to prefer the looks of cars without a bodyside molding smack down the middle, but liked chrome around the wheel openings and along the rockers. With today's slab-sided cars, I think bodyside moldings serve styling and utilitarian purposes, but I'm not a fan of the 'vents' on the front fenders. I guess I'm used to them on Buicks, as they've been there for over 60 years, but now I'm even seeing aftermarket chrome 'grilles' on cars up there on the front fenders.

imidazol97

uplanderguy

IMHO, I'd just as soon that 'grille' trim on the front fender was removed and that nice wide rocker be chromed. But I like weird stuff sometimes.

A little car that I couldn't stand the trim on, was (I think) the 2007 Focus--the reskin. It had a fake chrome vent on the front fender (saw later ones without that), and the decklid looked like it was dropped in from a different car. The taillights were small and didn't go towards the decklid at all...but then the decklid was cut straight down. I did see a lot of them so somebody thought they were appealing.

berri

I think too much of the current design school is large mouthed bass and orthodontia.

fintail

The automotive design community is in many ways a group of sycophants.

I loathe fake fender vents, the aforementioned Focus being a big offender. Didn't last long, people were laughing.

dieselone

I don't like fake port holes and vents etc on hoods or fenders.

bpizzuti

I would say they're turning into Pontiac rather than Mercury. With Mercury, they were the same basic models as Ford, just with different badging and different detailing. Also, Mercury was largely sold at Ford dealers, who weren't all that enthusiastic about wanting them around cannibalizing Ford sales.

Pontiac, on the other hand, generally was the same basic models as Chevy (sans most of Chevy Truck) with styling and detailing differences. But their reason for existing was to give non-Chevy GM dealers "Chevys" to sell to the same market. Essentially, they wanted to compete with local Chevy dealers, and GM, in its infinite stupidity, allowed them to do so.

Now Pontiac is gone...but some of those dealers remain. And while they have GMC to compete with Chevy Truck, Pontiac is gone, and Cadillac is too upmarket. I would not be surprised if those dealers are pushing for these cheaper Buicks so they have "Chevys" to sell again. I also won't be surprised to see a Malibu variant show up.

fezo

Great. They can call it the Skylark.....

bpizzuti

I actually LIKED my old Skylark way back when, but they can't do this AND try and build a "premium" brand identity. They would honestly just be better off giving those dealers Chevy franchises, stop with all the bullets in the foot, and just shoot themselves in the head instead. :shades:

uplanderguy

Also, Mercury was largely sold at Ford dealers, who weren't all that enthusiastic about wanting them around cannibalizing Ford sales.

That was not my experience at all. I believe Mercury and Lincoln were usually dualled, and Ford sold at another dealer.

lemko

There were separate Lincoln-Mercury dealers. Remember" the sign of the cat?"

bpizzuti

In my entire life (probably not as long as yours but long enough) I've never once seen a single Lincoln-Mercury dealer that was also not a Ford dealer.

dieselone

In my entire life (probably not as long as yours but long enough) I've never once seen a single Lincoln-Mercury dealer that was also not a Ford dealer.


Interesting, I've seen several. Maybe it's something that wasn't universal around the country.

roho1

In my entire life I always saw Ford and Mercury/Lincoln as separate dealerships.

Also, is it true the Buick Encore is built in Korea?

dieselone

Also, is it true the Buick Encore is built in Korea?

According to Wikipedia it is indeed built in Korea.

A Korean built Buick...Blasphemy;)

uplanderguy

A Korean built Buick...Blasphemy;)

We agree on that. I absolutely detest that it's built there.

dieselone

Well I can't imagine it will be a big seller, but who knows. The Verano is selling better than I thought it would.

But the Encore is small at 168" in length. It's dimensions are smaller than the Ford C-max.

bpizzuti

We had at peak somewhere around 12 Ford/Lincoln/Mercury dealers in this county. We had zero Lincoln/Mercury dealers, ever.

This is the northeast US just for a geographical reference.

fezo

I can think of one Lincoln Mercury dealer we had in the state. There was one Lincoln-Mercury-Mazda dealer. All the others were also Ford dealers.

bpizzuti

Oh, so the Lincoln/Mercury/Mazda dealer also sold premium cars in addition to Lincoln/Mercury? :shades:

fezo

Yes. Exactly....

BTW - count me out on Korean Buicks as well. Very bad move.

bpizzuti

It really should have been a GMC if anything. I thought GMC was supposed to be "premium" trucks and SUVs?

I spent so long trying to understand GM's branding strategy, but I finally think they just don't have one. Buick is being Pontiaced, and now things are will on their way to being just as they were pre-bailout. Which should make uplanderguy and lemko very happy.

stever

Hm, you don't want a Buick that's as reliable as a Hyundai?

Parts is parts. :P

fezo

Yeah, but the Hyundai is built in Alabama....

uplanderguy

But the company is managed by people in Korea, and I do wonder about the parts content, although I have no idea what it is. It may be greatly North-American.