American marque Buick has fallen on tough times recently, with its half-dozen cars faring pretty poorly in their home market. Reinvention has been called for at the worst possible time, with the automotive industry moving towards new-mobility (read: electric) and high-riding family wagons (read: SUVs), but it seems they have a trick up their sleeve that might just give them the momentum to carry on.
It’s a coupe-SUV that’s been sighted on the floor of GM’s design studio in Michigan, by the people behind CarDesignNews. They claim that the car has already been green-lit for production, and it’s being dubbed as the car that’ll change the brand. There’s a new concept car called the “Orange Car” that’ll preview the new model too, which will sort of pave the way for the production model to arrive sometime afterwards.
This ties up with the fact that GM’s thrown no less than US$36-million into its Lansing assembly plant where, at the announcement of the investment, GM boss Mary Barra said that the future of the Lansing plant included the assembly of a new crossover (in addition to the Buick Enclave and Chevrolet Traverse that they already build there).
A coupe-SUV would be just the right thing for Buick at this time, not only to defibrillate the marque’s sales in the US, but to maintain the enormous momentum that Buick’s enjoying in China. But the brand certainly needs a reinvention as, despite the success that their SUVs enjoy in the Middle Kingdom, they’re not gaining as much traction as some of their competitors. Either way, GM needs a big win, and this might just be the car to do it.
Locally, this could be big news. If GM puts out a stylish new crossover… Holden could put their hand(s) up and say that they want in on it. Holden may still command a sizeable chunk of the market here but without progressive new models in the lineup, that lead could dwindle to the point of oblivion. Like with Buick, this coupe-SUV could be the face of change for Holden in our market, and entice buyers back into the brand.
It could.
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