Furlock Bones said:
AggieChemist said:
Hell, we lost Oldsmobile and Pontiac and they both made some badass cars in the day. Nobody is getting nostalgic over an '85 Buick Regal.
Their commercials make me want to puke, and I silently judge everyone I see driving one.
they sell like crazy in China.
The problem is, its not so much mainstream models like we have here like a Regal or LaCrosse, its small, 1980s/1990s Korean based garbage that wears the shield, also Rebadged Chevy Ventures that sell for 40-80K, and seen as the Suburban/Escalade over there. Can do duty as hotel shuttle, executive transport, etc. Buick in China has a brand recognition like Lexus or BMW here. Any young successful young person will go out and drop $50K US on that Red Buick Regal sitting on the dealer showroom floor. Families end up getting the 1.3L Subcompact deathtrap for $14,000 bucks.
Buicks here sell because the over 50ish crowd buys them. Buick has tried to market to young professionals, and show millenials driving around in a Buick Encore (again, based off the Opel Mokka, which is built in Korea, China and russia) which is Gamma II based so, Chevy Spark/Aveo/Sonic, and maybe they get some business there, but if its not older folks getting them, its rental fleets, and once they come off, they go to places like TDA, Carmax, Vroom, Carvana etc. Where most of the people that shop there have $43.88 to their name and "need a SUV" or "need a big car" and "need to keep their payment around 300/mo". And typically are open to anything other than the Timberlands they walked in off the street on. So they end up often times with something like a Regal, Impala, Charger, 200, Avenger, G6, Trax, Encore, Journey, Captiva, etc.