Texas Buick Review

Houston, Texas, June 2007

"I was eight years old and running with a dime in my hand
To the bus stop to pick up a paper for my old man
I'd sit on his lap in that big old Buick and steer as we drove through town
He'd tousle my hair and say: Son, take a good look around
This is your hometown..."

Bruce Springsteen, My Home Town, 1985

I remember Buick's glory days: plenty of power and chrome, plush interior, softly bobbing down the highway with little feel for the road. That softness became the brand's signature.

When I was 14, I spent the summer on the city's swimming team. When meets were out of town, kids rode the bus. But that year 2 blond sisters, aged 16 and 17, got a 1957 Roadmaster ragtop.They drafted me and another kid as dates, and we blasted off, leaving the bus behind for the first time in my short, formerly unhappy life.

We roared through the summer night, with the top always down and 7-year old "little" Stevie Wonder hollering his lungs out on the AM radio.

Yeah, that Stevie Wonder.

I definitely would "really rather have a Buick" than a school bus.

Funny How Time Slips Away

Over 17,000,000 cars have worn the Buick badge.

But many sharp competitors have entered the near luxury segment.

Ironically, the 100 year old brand that evolved into General Motors has outlived it's usefulness as a stepping stone in the old GM marketing plan.

US carmakers have too many brands to support, especially with Chrysler assets on the auction block. Many of these brands overlap, some appear dated.

What buyers should understand is there is no easy way to ditch the dealer network which the manufacturers need for distribution. In business-speak: the auto business imposes substantial barriers to exit.

Texas Buick sales have declined in recent years. But hey, the big sedans are a hit in China, where nouveau riche entrepreneurs like to be chauffeur driven in them.

Buick sold more cars in China, (300k) than stateside in 2006. The brand has 8 models available in China.

The division now sells about 240,000 vehicles a year in the US, fewer than Oldsmobile sold when it was given the axe.

A Touch Of Grey

GM's entry-level luxury brand has a perception issue. Are Buicks a boring, old people's cars?.

Buick buyers median age is 65, yet the marque's golf-centered advertising still reaches out to the over-50 set.

As the middle division for GM, Buick must occupy the niche below Cadillac, which has seen a large investment, a big makeover. This is a real problem for the proposed expansion of the lesser marque's target demographic.

GM has upscaled Saturn, infringing on the sales of Buicks.

Chevy and Pontiac attract the under thirty group, but no longer channel buyers upstream as in the old GM sales pyramid mode. Buick can't use a loss-leader, limited availability, flashy “halo” model to bring the youth market to showrooms. What profit generating product would they be steered to?

How does the brand's traditional signature softness translate into SUV's, roadsters, minivans, and driving-machine sports sedans?

Maxwell's Silver Hammer

Insufficient investment over the years is overshadowed by the management vacuum.

Buick General Manager Steve Shannon has the unenviable job of working in the shadow of Robert Lutz, GM's vice chairman in charge of global product development. While Mr. Lutz is widely regarded as a genuine genius, GM product decisions tend to flow down from him.

Since 2005, the division has killed the Park Avenue, Regal, LeSabre, and Century sedans. Century and Regal became LaCrosse.

Park Avenue and LeSabre became Lucerne. Enclave SUV will replace Rendezvous and Rainier Terraza minivan got the hammer, scheduled to vanish after 2008. The rear-drive Zeta project Buick needed to compete in its niche was killed.

By 2009, just 3 models, 2 sedans and a platform sharing SUV, will remain.

Waltz Across Texas

Buicks have developed a reputation as well-built automobiles. Buick is one of the highest-rated for reliability among domestics.

JD Power ratings for initial and long term dependability rival Toyota and Honda.

In the J.D. Power and Associates 2006 Customer Retention Study, Buicks ranked 22 out of 37 makes. Only 39.9% of those surveyed returned to purchase another vehicle.

In my opinion, repeat buyers are the strongest indicator of overall quality.

Consumer Reports has "recommended" ratings on LaCrosse and Lucerne.

About 1,500 Buick and Pontiac dealerships have been condensed into the truck-focused GMC, with maybe 100 independent Buick dealers left.

To provide the new Buicks needed for the brand to prosper, and maintain the unionized plants to assemble them would be costly. New rear drive/all-wheel-drive platforms, with updated engines and transmissions, are needed to match competitor's offerings. This means big cash from profit squeezed GM: just replacing the dated 3800 V-6 could cost half a billion bucks.

Toyota conquered the U.S. market with just three brands; Toyota Scion, and Lexus.

The final irony: the remaining Buicks are pretty good cars. I'd look for an already consolidated and reliable Texas dealership.

"Now Main Street's whitewashed windows and vacant stores
Seems like there ain't nobody wants to come down here no more
They're closing down the textile mill across the railroad tracks
Foreman says these jobs are going, boys, and they ain't coming back"

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