Current lineup consists of mediocre/dated cars regardless of the subjective categories.
View Poll Results: Is Buick a luxury brand?
Yes, 100% a legitimate luxury brand
5
8.93%
Its not true luxury, its entry level luxury like Acura, Saab. etc...
33
58.93%
No, its not a luxury brand at all
18
32.14%
Voters: 56. You may not vote on this poll
Do you consider Buick a luxury brand? (POLL now added)
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 94,629
Likes: 280
From: Virginia/D.C. suburbs
Nice flashback to 1969-70 though.
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 7,864
Likes: 0
From: Massachusetts
Sometimes identifying a brand as "luxury" can be tricky as opposed to identifying an individual model as luxury or not.
Is BMW luxury? Of course. Is the BMW 128i? No.
Also, the standard of luxury keeps changing. Today's Honda Accord, for example, is more luxurious than a 20 year old Mercedes in most respects (partly because new inventions keep popping up in cars as well as much improved build quality).
But anyway, Buick is now becoming entry level luxury but in a different way than import entry level luxury. It has been for decades though.
Is BMW luxury? Of course. Is the BMW 128i? No.
Also, the standard of luxury keeps changing. Today's Honda Accord, for example, is more luxurious than a 20 year old Mercedes in most respects (partly because new inventions keep popping up in cars as well as much improved build quality).
But anyway, Buick is now becoming entry level luxury but in a different way than import entry level luxury. It has been for decades though.
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 7,468
Likes: 0
From: Vancouver, BC
I see Buick on par w. Infiniti (though I confess to not having looked at one for a while), they make nice cars though not necessarilly luxury cars.
Also, for the record I consider more entry level luxury cars (IS, C, 3) to be only near luxury.
Also, for the record I consider more entry level luxury cars (IS, C, 3) to be only near luxury.
CL Community Team
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 4,335
Likes: 61
From: California
It's a tweener really. Ford goes Ford -> Mercury -> Lincoln and GM goes Chevy -> Buick -> Caddy. It's a step above the mainstream brands, but it's not quite the company's luxury brand. Now with Caddy going the sportier route and Buick going to comfy luxury route they may both be luxury brands but I haven't had any seat time in a new Buick to really know if it's a full fledged luxury car just yet.
Lead Lap
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 403
Likes: 0
From: NY
not at all.
i thought they were just another pontiac/chevy alternative until i've read about them recently targetting lexus.
that's not a good indicator for buick.
i thought they were just another pontiac/chevy alternative until i've read about them recently targetting lexus.
that's not a good indicator for buick.
Last edited by shyguy16; Sep 24, 2009 at 08:12 PM.
Lead Lap
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 4,189
Likes: 16
From: NY/NJ
I voted yes, but not Tier 1. It's hard... how many "levels" of anything are we going to have now? Sub base (Tata), base (Kia, Dodge, Suzuki), entry one (Honda,Toyota, Hyundai), luxury Tier 3 (Buick, Chrysler), Tier 2 (Acura, Lincoln, Cadillac), Tier 1 (Lexus, MB, BMW) and Super Tier (Maybach, Rolls, Bentley) or what?
Buick I think is hardest... not basic like Honda/Toyota, but not top tier luxury like MB/BMW/Lexus for sure.
Buick I think is hardest... not basic like Honda/Toyota, but not top tier luxury like MB/BMW/Lexus for sure.
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Lexus Fanatic
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 6,806
Likes: 7
From: californication
buick is still a big step below infiniti.
they're all crap fwd-based, gussied up GM cars which still offer cloth seats & stripped base models.
and they only have 3 models. 1 suv and 2 sedans. and one sedan is old *** tech.... with a huge 3.9L engine putting out a measly 227hp, and a 50 year old 4 speed transmission. only a blind old man would be dumb enough to buy that.
so not luxury. not even close. I would rank them somewhere between Ford and Mercury.
Targeting lexus is good for marketing........ Just as Kia commercials say they outsell Lexus. But that's where the comparisons end.
they're all crap fwd-based, gussied up GM cars which still offer cloth seats & stripped base models.
and they only have 3 models. 1 suv and 2 sedans. and one sedan is old *** tech.... with a huge 3.9L engine putting out a measly 227hp, and a 50 year old 4 speed transmission. only a blind old man would be dumb enough to buy that.
so not luxury. not even close. I would rank them somewhere between Ford and Mercury.
Targeting lexus is good for marketing........ Just as Kia commercials say they outsell Lexus. But that's where the comparisons end.
Last edited by dunnojack; Sep 24, 2009 at 08:26 PM.
Lexus Test Driver
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 8,764
Likes: 1
From: Treasury
It is a Lexus board so I know there will not be much American love, but….
My issue is and it becomes more and more clear every day that people are only focused on a brand name, I know, not surprising.
It’s no different with cars then it is jeans, watches or stereo equipment.
When it comes down to it if you took someone that didn’t know much about cars, placed all these cars in a showroom with no badges what would they say?
My issue is and it becomes more and more clear every day that people are only focused on a brand name, I know, not surprising.
It’s no different with cars then it is jeans, watches or stereo equipment.
When it comes down to it if you took someone that didn’t know much about cars, placed all these cars in a showroom with no badges what would they say?
CL Community Team
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 4,335
Likes: 61
From: California
Lexus Champion
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 8,695
Likes: 2
From: CA
It really depends on how luxury brand is defined.
Here in SoCal, most Buicks are sold at combo Chevy/Buick sites...they have about as much 'luxury' feel as a Hyundai or Toyota dealership. So Buick could be seen as offering the same network as Hyundai, by that comparison.
OTOH, the new products are much more impressive and competitive, either Genesis or Lacrosse.
Here in SoCal, most Buicks are sold at combo Chevy/Buick sites...they have about as much 'luxury' feel as a Hyundai or Toyota dealership. So Buick could be seen as offering the same network as Hyundai, by that comparison.
OTOH, the new products are much more impressive and competitive, either Genesis or Lacrosse.