I was a bit disappointed, as I scanned back over this thread. I was almost back at the beginning, and I thought I could be the first to say,"Wait, they still make Buicks?". But there it was, in all it's troll-ey glory. Me sad. Me like trolling.
I was a bit disappointed, as I scanned back over this thread. I was almost back at the beginning, and I thought I could be the first to say,"Wait, they still make Buicks?". But there it was, in all it's troll-ey glory. Me sad. Me like trolling.
irish44j said:Except the only reason I bought a vw was because of the huge warranty lol.....and all those tunes nix it!
Same here!
The JB4 is piggyback that runs in parallel and is supposedly untraceable if you believe the internet. Install/uninstall takes about 15 minutes. Not that I would know anything about that.
Really I don't mind paying to play but I don't like the idea of valid warranty issues being denied due to a tune. I won't be doing any real upgrades like a turbo swap until the warranty is up anyhow.
Streetwiseguy said:I was a bit disappointed, as I scanned back over this thread. I was almost back at the beginning, and I thought I could be the first to say,"Wait, they still make Buicks?". But there it was, in all it's troll-ey glory. Me sad. Me like trolling.
I have to say that my mother's 2016 encore is a very nice car that is quite "un-buick"
What’s always been weird to me is that GM killed Pontiac and Oldsmobile but left Buick. I get that the growing upper middle class in Asia like Buicks, but With GM global models couldn’t they just exported a Cadillac with different badging? Or simply merged the Buick and Cadillac lines? Then again, I know nothing about branding, marketing, or vertical integration. And I’ve pretty much been driving exclusively early ‘oughts Hondas for the past 15 years so my opinion or understanding of the matter is likely irrelevant
In reply to penultimeta :
I think part of the cachet of Buick in China is that it is a foreign premium brand. If it only sold in China, that’d be gone.
BlueInGreen - Jon said:I’m just sad because the Tour X was a really good looking car and could have been great with some more power and a nicely put together interior. Instead it had a nice exterior and unremarkable everything else.
Make it a potent but less flashy alternative to Euro stuff and it might have been a winner.
They could even have marketed it as a crossover.
They did, and yet, here we are. Actually I don't think they ever really marketed it at all. See Buick commercials but they only had SUVs (Encore, Enclave) or the also deceased Cascada
I like the TourX, but never truly considered as a future vehicle for me (want something more engaging and sporting). Maybe if they made a wagon version of the GS with a manual (I know I know, but a guy can dream, right?) Tried to talk the wife into it, but she is apparently like most of consumer America and wants a taller, more SUV-like vehicle. She used to like smaller cars, but after 4 years of driving our Suburban daily she likes that feeling (though not quite as big, she wants an Ascent).
The Buick cache in China does seem like a weak or risky premise.
I think the Chinese are attracted to Buicks because it somehow aligns them with successful, capitalist Americans, but...so few successful capitalist Americans actually buy Buicks.
I suppose we have similar anomalies. Chinese Food in America has little to do with what you will find on a table in China.
The cache of Buick in China isn't just that it's seen as a successful American brand, it's also as when China started opening up Buicks were favored by party members, so the brand has it's local cache. As the Chinese market is larger than the US market in vehicle sales I'd say it appears to be a great move by GM.
Interesting. I did not know about the party member cache.
That Buick Envision, which doesn't seem to be a strong seller here is the US is 100% assembled in China and then imported back to the US. It is the only China assembled car sold in the US.
The Encore is assembled in Korea. That convertible was assembled in Poland. The Regal is also an import if i'm not mistaken. That just leaves the Traverse twin.
Yes, further blurring the lines of American Car Company.
I seem to recall the Regal and TourX are some of the (only?) remaining variants from the Opel division.
Also, don't forget that China gets some exclusive Buicks. Like the GL8, which is this absurd luxury minivan that's honestly pretty swank
A big part of the SUV craze has been newly-empowered women wanting something that will let them see over traffic.
This arms race has reached its absurd conclusion. I look forward to the Ferrari-like rides of tomorrow, which will let soccer moms comfortably see under traffic.
b13990 said:A big part of the SUV craze has been newly-empowered women wanting something that will let them see over traffic.
This is absolutely high on the list of reasons I hear people give for wanting an SUV.
And has been the case for 25 years since the original Explorer. Hey guys, there are kids on your lawn!
We bought a Tour X several months ago, and it is a fine vehicle. It replaced our aging P2 V70, and this is really the only wagon option available new under 30k other than a VW or Subaru. The VW is slightly smaller, and to be honest we just both dislike Subarus.
We bought it as a grunt DD to haul kids, kegs, and kelloggs uphill both ways 80 miles a day, everyday. I think this is what the Tour X engineers had in mind for its indented use, and it works well. Sure I would love more power, the interior is "modest" at best, it drives like your dads Buick (not Grandpa's fourtenantly) but I have an E90 and C5 for all stuff it lacks.
I am sad to see another wagon off the table, as we all should be...
My mom just got a Sportwagen because she specifically wanted a wagon. SUVs are too hard to get in and out of for someone of her height, and the load bay shape is better in a wagon. In order to get a decent load floor in an SUV - which, again is too tall for Mom - the vehicle has to be huge. She and Dad owned wagons for nearly three decades before they bought a sedan, and they went back to a wagon almost immediately.
I’m surprised we didn’t look at the Buick. I really don’t know why we didn’t, maybe it’s not available in Canada. Volvo’s have always been just that much too expensive for them. Anyhow, Mom is very happy in her compact little German five door. I’m glad she had the option.
I thought the TourX was a good car, it's just expensive enough to not be even an option for me to buy new. It's pretty much a bigger and more powerful Golf Alltrack which seemed fine to me.
Keith Tanner said:My mom just got a Sportwagen because she specifically wanted a wagon. SUVs are too hard to get in and out of for someone of her height, and the load bay shape is better in a wagon. In order to get a decent load floor in an SUV - which, again is too tall for Mom - the vehicle has
I’m surprised we didn’t look at the Buick. I really don’t know why we didn’t, maybe it’s not available in CanaCanada.
It wasn't available in Canada. The plastic flares killed it for me. The euro version had no flares and looked pretty good.
This was the last iteration of the Saab sportcombi/Opel Insignia.
RIP.
In reply to Aspen :
Yeah, sort of the same with the Volvo V90XC and the "special order" V90 that doesn't have the "XC" body trim. The former is the standard version dealers can order/stock. The latter is available in the US, but only via the overseas delivery option. I don't see many V90's during my travels, but so far most of the ones I have seen are the non-XC versions.
Keith Tanner said:My mom just got a Sportwagen because she specifically wanted a wagon. SUVs are too hard to get in and out of for someone of her height, and the load bay shape is better in a wagon. In order to get a decent load floor in an SUV - which, again is too tall for Mom - the vehicle has to be huge. She and Dad owned wagons for nearly three decades before they bought a sedan, and they went back to a wagon almost immediately.
I’m surprised we didn’t look at the Buick. I really don’t know why we didn’t, maybe it’s not available in Canada. Volvo’s have always been just that much too expensive for them. Anyhow, Mom is very happy in her compact little German five door. I’m glad she had the option.
Are there figures for wagon sales in Canada Vs the S? I've noticed several times that VW and Volvo wagons seem massively popular over there still. When we drove through Ontario to pick up my V60 wagon we stopped over night in Niagara and we parked my wife's Mini Clubman (Mini Wagon) between two VW Wagons with an Audi wagon next to them. When was the last time you saw 4 wagons in a row in the US?
I think one of the things that killed the Tour-X was the engine. A 2 liter turbo 4 in a psuedo- luxury car?
I just spend a week with a rental base-spec Camaro convertible. It had a naturally aspirated V6, and no AESS. And the 10 speed transmission. The thing was an absolute hoot. If they'd stuck that motivation into the Tour-X, it might have had a chance.
Also, the whole mandatory AWD thing was a deal breaker. Extra weight, extra complexity and the attendant extra cost and unreliability. Honestly, when I was new-car shopping last year, I looked at the Tour-X. Just like I looked at the Subaru Forester. The mandatory AWD killed both of them for me. For the 2/3 of the country that doesn't have to deal with winter in any sort of meaningful way, it's frivolous.
volvoclearinghouse said:I think one of the things that killed the Tour-X was the engine. A 2 liter turbo 4 in a psuedo- luxury car?
Just like the BMW X1 is FWD because 80% of smaller BMW buyers don't give an actual berk, I really don't see the engine as an issue. Most Buick buyers aren't going to care as long as it moves well enough.
It certainly never crossed our minds when we bought our Volvos, both of which are powered by 2 litre turbo 4s. They make enough grunt to be solid drivers and give decent fuel economy, and that's all that matters.
We test drove an Ecoboost 6 in the Fusion Sport and the NA 6 in the Acura TLX. Neither engine made enough extra whateveritis to make those cars a better drive.
At this point I feel it's actually more likely for trans tuning to 'kill the delivery' of your 300hp then the actual engine (boosted 4 vs NA 6 etc) is. For me it seems like jumping into any modern car is a crapshoot as far as whether I'll be ok with how the trans acts or absolutely flippin HATE it.
Plenty of good reviews of the volvo 4cyl drivetrain here on GRM. Meanwhile I can't think of anyone here that's actually found the Fusion Sport compelling enough to buy one, for example. I guess that's only one less than people here who bought a TourX...
volvoclearinghouse said:I think one of the things that killed the Tour-X was the engine. A 2 liter turbo 4 in a psuedo- luxury car?
I just spend a week with a rental base-spec Camaro convertible. It had a naturally aspirated V6, and no AESS. And the 10 speed transmission. The thing was an absolute hoot. If they'd stuck that motivation into the Tour-X, it might have had a chance.
Also, the whole mandatory AWD thing was a deal breaker. Extra weight, extra complexity and the attendant extra cost and unreliability. Honestly, when I was new-car shopping last year, I looked at the Tour-X. Just like I looked at the Subaru Forester. The mandatory AWD killed both of them for me. For the 2/3 of the country that doesn't have to deal with winter in any sort of meaningful way, it's frivolous.
Everybody offers something in the ballpark of a 2.0T engine now. Cadillac, Mercedes, BMW, Lincoln, Audi, Jaguar, etc. AMG tunes theirs up over 400hp, and they all tend to have 300-ish ft-lbs so in general they don't lack power. I guess you could perhaps criticize smoothness/NVH of a 4 cyl in a luxury vehicle but I have no direct experience to know if it's an issue or not.
Buyers want AWD and are willing to pay for it. I hear a lot of people use it for justification when choosing a CUV. Most people don't buy a new vehicle thinking "what can I get rid of or do without", and the weight/fuel economy penalty is usually negligible for a daily driver application.
Adrian_Thompson said:Are there figures for wagon sales in Canada Vs the S? I've noticed several times that VW and Volvo wagons seem massively popular over there still. When we drove through Ontario to pick up my V60 wagon we stopped over night in Niagara and we parked my wife's Mini Clubman (Mini Wagon) between two VW Wagons with an Audi wagon next to them. When was the last time you saw 4 wagons in a row in the US?
I haven't seen specific sales figures - but yes, Canadians buy more wagons and more manual transmissions than Americans. I know the 1991 Passat wagon came with a stick in Canada and not in the US. When the Sportwagen was discontinued earlier this year, VW Canada basically said "we know you're going to keep building them until the end of the years, send us all of them!"
Best selling car in Canada is the Honda Civic. Best selling car in the US is a RAV4, with the Honda 6th (I am ignoring pickup trucks in both cases). Surprisingly different markets.
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