New 2016 Buick Envision SUV Proves Disappointing
07-15-16, 05:55 AM
#61
Lexus Champion
The Envision could be construed as an experiment by GM's management. Already Canadian auto-workers and their union are getting signals that GM would like to shift their jobs to Mexico, or back to Opel in Germany and maybe couple of idle plants in the U.S.
If you have a markup on $25 -35/hour vehicles made in Canada and in the U.S. You can certainly imagine what GM executives are thinking when they can pay Mexican workers $5.26/hr and Chinese workers even less - like $3/hr.
The Regal will be discontinued after this production year. The Terrain/Equinox twins can be shifted south. The Impala, well that's a different question. But really if you are shifting global production around in the name of profits, you can shift parts manufacturing around to meet it.
Will the cost savings on retail cars be passed on to consumers? Not likely.
But... you have a made-in-China Buick and you can get made-in-China parts for it. How many folks on here buy and window-shop parts online? I bet they're made somewhere other than your postal code.
Not a Buick fan but will the consumer at the end of it all really care if they see quality and reliability? It's not a bad looking car, innocuous and inoffensive. Price it right and you will see the buyers come and look at it.
If you have a markup on $25 -35/hour vehicles made in Canada and in the U.S. You can certainly imagine what GM executives are thinking when they can pay Mexican workers $5.26/hr and Chinese workers even less - like $3/hr.
The Regal will be discontinued after this production year. The Terrain/Equinox twins can be shifted south. The Impala, well that's a different question. But really if you are shifting global production around in the name of profits, you can shift parts manufacturing around to meet it.
Will the cost savings on retail cars be passed on to consumers? Not likely.
But... you have a made-in-China Buick and you can get made-in-China parts for it. How many folks on here buy and window-shop parts online? I bet they're made somewhere other than your postal code.
Not a Buick fan but will the consumer at the end of it all really care if they see quality and reliability? It's not a bad looking car, innocuous and inoffensive. Price it right and you will see the buyers come and look at it.
But I don't doubt that this new Buick Envision will sell, regardless of where it is assembled. There are enough GM loyalists to keep it going.
I know someone here in Toronto, Ontario who is very loyal to GM, thinking that GM, being a "domestic" automaker is cheaper to maintain and service. She remains loyal to GM despite being burned by Saturn. She owned Saturns for the longest time, switching to the Saturn Astra before GM's bankruptcy; she was not worried about the demise of Saturn, thinking that GM would take care of her. She was not. Like my brother, who also owned an Astra, she could not get the Astra serviced. My brother said no more to GM. My friend stayed with GM, now driving a Cruze. She refuses to believe that Toyotas may be cheaper to service because they require less service. After all, Toyota is a Japanese brand, so all Toyotas must be expensive to maintain and service.
07-15-16, 06:31 AM
#62
Lexus Test Driver
07-15-16, 08:02 AM
#63
Lexus Fanatic
Thread Starter
I did not post it, but there is an article that mentions that the Verano will still be made at the current Orion plant but it will be exported. It will still be made in the USA but not sold in the USA.
07-15-16, 08:52 AM
#64
Lexus Fanatic
Thread Starter
This is the exact type of nonsense that I'm talking about that Buick Envision owners will encounter. Lets say that GM shipped 200 radiators over from China for this car, assuming some cars will be smashed in the front and need a new radiator. Well guess what, you're number 201 who needs a radiator, GM didn't keep a good supply(once again, keeping inventory costs $$$$), your radiator will be over in the next shipping container with 200 more radiators from China next month
What is with your hatred for GM?
07-15-16, 08:56 AM
#65
Lexus Test Driver
Looks like the Regal is not going anywhere:
http://gmauthority.com/blog/2015/07/...current-model/
07-15-16, 02:53 PM
#66
Lexus Champion
My bad, I misread the Financial Post article on the Oshawa production. IRC, Buick Regal production ends at the Oshawa plant in Canada next summer and GM hasn't signaled that they plan to have the plant build anything else there after that. So the Regal won't go away but the production at that plant will.
Regal gets built at other plants including China and Germany so possibly no need for the Oshawa Regal line.
GM had signed agreements with the Canadian government in 2009 to keep a certain amount of production in Canada after getting its bailout dollars and those agreements will expire at some point over the coming years.
Regal gets built at other plants including China and Germany so possibly no need for the Oshawa Regal line.
GM had signed agreements with the Canadian government in 2009 to keep a certain amount of production in Canada after getting its bailout dollars and those agreements will expire at some point over the coming years.
07-17-16, 11:09 AM
#67
An interesting question, though, is what The Chinese-market Envision offers in refinement and standard equipment in relation to the RAV-4 and CR-V. It may not have as many standard or optional features on it as the American-spec version. The American-spec version actually has (IMO) a fairly attractive starting price under 35K.
I never want to drive a vehicle in this class. So, I don't know the exact details of those low class things. But, RAV-4 and CR-V seem a little bit better than those in US.
Most vehicles can be sold at the right prices. I would say that if Envision runs thru 30-rish K, it could have potential to be a good seller for Buick. Now, it is just a POS in its price range.
07-17-16, 12:47 PM
#68
Lexus Fanatic
09-27-16, 03:49 PM
#71
Lexus Fanatic
Opel and Vauxhall versions of the Envision are planned for Europe, where they will replace the Opel/Vauxhall Antara.
This is the first time I can remember that a Buick version came out first, then was followed by Opel/Vauxhall. Usually it's the other way around. Indeed, most smaller Buicks today (Verano, Regal, Cascada, Encore) were first marketed as Opels, though the Envision and Regal, of course, are mid-sizers.
This is the first time I can remember that a Buick version came out first, then was followed by Opel/Vauxhall. Usually it's the other way around. Indeed, most smaller Buicks today (Verano, Regal, Cascada, Encore) were first marketed as Opels, though the Envision and Regal, of course, are mid-sizers.
Last edited by mmarshall; 09-27-16 at 03:54 PM.
09-28-16, 09:01 AM
#72
Lexus Fanatic
iTrader: (20)
buick's china market is super important to gm and envision sales might be bigger there than europe.
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