As Tim Cain eluded to earlier this month while speaking of Encore sales, Buick is in a bit of a rut. In a market that's growing with many brands seeing best-ever sales periods, Buick is being propped up by a single model, its cute-cute Encore. That's not enough to stave off the downward sales trend of its other offerings as the brand as a whole is down 5 percent year-to-date.
Armchair analysts and pool chair pundits – this is your time to shine. Let's fix Buick in 24 hours.
While the Encore continues to garner the attention of the buying public, other models – Verano, Regal and LaCrosse – aren't keeping up in this SUV and truck driven automotive market. Even the Enclave, once lauded as the savior of Buick when dealers couldn't keep them on the lots, has taken a hit versus newer competition and other models sharing the same platform, the Traverse and Acadia.
What about the Buicks actually finding homes? Even those seem to be problematic. The Regal wears its orphan status badge back to the dealer more so than any other vehicle on sale within the first year of ownership. Buick is continuing on with their "That's a Buick?" campaign, one they say is a success yet isn't backed up by its sales figures. Also, the brand exists in a no-man's land previously occupied by Oldsmobile, Mercury, Plymouth and Saab. All of those are gone now.
Is it the market? Does Buick cut too thin a niche between volume and luxury? Or is it the product, and not the marketing or positioning, responsible for the brand's lack of sales?
Personally, I think they should just call it Opel and get it over with.
What do you think, Best & Brightest? How would you fix Buick?
The post QOTD: What's Wrong With Buick? appeared first on The Truth About Cars.
from The Truth About Cars http://ift.tt/Jh8LjA
Put the internet to work for you.
No comments:
Post a Comment