mmarshall

That gets back to what I said earlier about Regal sales getting squeezed from both sizes.....the Verano from below and the Lacrosse from above. Plus, IMO, AWD Regals are overpriced to begin with...one of them at my Chevy/GMC/Buick dealership was stickered at 45K. Plus, much of the Eastern Shore is not a high-income area like here in the D.C. suburbs. They don't have the kind of money to spend on cars that we do, and a lot of vehicles have to be marked down to sell.

You'll probably notice a quicker run and fewer traffic lights now than years ago on the D.C.-Ocean City run, since Route 50's "Reach the Beach" program widened and re-routed the highway around several towns and older bridges. The old, low, two-lane drawbridges for the Choptank, Nanticoke, and Wicomico Rivers used to be potential bottlenecks......they are now high, wide, high-speed structures, and 50 now avoids Salisbury altogether.

Aron9000

^Its a good time of the year to buy, especially if you aren't that concerned with having a 2016 model. I can understand people wanting the 2016 model if the car is all new or has some sort of major change, but if the only thing they are changing is stuff like paint colors, well buy the identical 2015 and save a bunch of $$$.

mmarshall

Agreed. Thats EXACTLY what my brother did with his new 2015 Kia Sportage, which is only three weeks old.

The only potential problem, though, is that buying an end-of-model-year vehicle sometimes means getting something that has been sitting on the dealer lot for months, not being run, with flat spots on the tires, bird/insect droppings splotching the paint, the engine/drivetrain not getting lubed from running, the battery draining, and UV/sunlight effect on interior and exterior parts. That's why it's important to check the date of manufacture (usually on the driver's door jamb) and inspect/test it even more thoroughly than you normally would a new car before purchase or lease. My brother's Kia, fortunately, had been built relatively recently (it was only a few months old), but I still gave it a long thorough inspection and test-drive before recommending its purchase.

Toys4RJill

Yes it is nice to get the deal, but on the other side, the dealers and GM get hosed as $10k discounts are never good for a brand. From what I understand, Buick is given higher incentives for cars the longer a car has been sitting on the lot.

Buick really has no true natural competitors, the Acura ILX/Verano is really the only true competitor they have. The Lacrosse and Avalon compare VERY well as the Avalon has always been referred to as a Japanese Buick. The other cars that are in the line up compare more to mainstream brands such as Chevrolet, Toyota, and Chrysler.

mmarshall

Incorrect. Many reviewers consider the Lexus ES and Lacrosse to be competitors. The Enclave also compares with the RX, although it is somewhat larger in size.

The Verano's closest current competitor, BTW, is probably the Audi A3 sedan, not the ILX. Acura doesn't sell enough ILX models in the U.S. to make it a major player.

LexBob2

This is such a gray area, there will never be agreement on who competes with who.

As they se it, C&D ranks the entries in the segment: 1. A3 2. 2 Series, 3. ILX, 4. CLA, 5. Verano, 6. VW EOS.

Toys4RJill

Nope, as far as I'm concerned, the Avalon is a Japanese BUICK as Buick as a brand does not compete with higher players and the Avalon does not either.

As for ILX, it is an exact, direct competitor with the Verano.

Toys4RJill

I could see some minor overlap with the A3 and 2 series, but based on brand name and brand prestige, Buick does not really belong in that class.

Acura and Buick and the Lacrosse/ Avalon are all comparable.

mmarshall

http://www.nydailynews.com/autos/lat...icle-1.1569988

tex2670

Just because you don't like Buicks doesn't mean it has "no true natural competitors". It's not a niche car--it's a semi-luxurious upscale car. Just because you can't match up another brand model by model to Buick doesn't mean each model doesn't have sufficient other cars to compare it to.

Toys4RJill

So if I link the MT article that compares the Verano to the ILX would you then agree that the Verano is a competitor to the ILX?

mmarshall

+1

First, article or no article (and, yes, I have read many articles comparing the Verano/ILX), I have owned a Verano for three years, and done a full-review on the ILX, so I have a pretty good idea of what both cars are like. Second, the ILX is a (nominal) competitor to the Verano on paper, but lacks enough U.S. sales numbers to be a significant competitor in the actual market. Third, the ILX, though well-built in the Honda/Acura tradition, lacks the refinement that Buick put into the Verano with its Quiet Tuning...there is simply too much road and wind noise. Refinement-wise, the Verano is closer to the A3 than the ILX.

Of course, that's not to pan the ILX in any way...it is a well-built car with a number of good features, like quality materials inside and out, the traditionally easy-to-use Honda control layout, an excellent paint job, Swiss-Watch precision in its assembly, the traditional Honda/Acura reliability, a sophisticated 8-speed dual-clutch automatic, and (now) an A-Spec option. It is a compact sedan that, like the Verano, deserves respect...but in a different way.

chrisexv6

Heh Buick even has an "Ultra Luxury Package" for the LaCrosse? Talk about copying Lexus

And regardless of what models it really competes with, Buick wasnt even an afterthought on our list....it just wasnt on any list period. After buying my first Japanese vehicle (2000 Accord coupe), Ive been buying them ever since. I cant see spending even close to the same amount of $$$ on an American vehicle vs getting a Honda/Acura, Nissan/Infiniti or Toyota/Lexus. Build quality, reliability, durability have all been stellar with any of the Japanese brands Ive bought (and Ive had/do have at least one of each of the above)

Ive had a few American vehicles as well and they were great in the beginning but went sour pretty quickly after (vibrations, rattles, etc)

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

Buick and Acura definitely go hand in hand. A few years back, Mercury would also be grouped together.

For a vehicle like the Lacrosse, the above mentioned ES, TLX, MKZ would be some direct competitors as well as high spec Avalons, Impalas (Lacrosse based), Azeras and Maximas could be crossed shopped for someone looking for a large upscale sedan. The extremely old Volvo S80 is another option.

mmarshall

What's interesting is that some consider the Avalon and ES to be competitors, though the ES vastly outsells the Avalon in the American market. The ES used to be more plush inside, but the latest versions of both seem to be (at least IMO) about the same level of plushness aside. The ES does currently ride smoother.....the Avalon has been stiffened up too much, though 2016 supposedly is going to cure that for non-Touring versions.