Another hypothetical question.....

[Guest]

Re: Another hypothetical question.....

I'm rather surprised too that GM kept Buick, but ended Pontiac and Oldsmobile. Of the three, Buick had the fewest 'recognizable' models in the past 40 or so years. Think Firebird or GTO.

I don't think the Thunderbird is gone forever though. It's simply too valuable a nameplate for Ford to abandon altogether. There will be another one someday. Let's hope it doesn't resemble the Buick Cascada.

[AZTB]

Re: Another hypothetical question.....

If Ford would bring back the Bird, how many wanna bet it's on a FWD platform (for the 1st time in its life).

[11TH GEN]

Re: Another hypothetical question.....

If Ford would bring back the Bird, how many wanna bet it's on a FWD platform (for the 1st time in its life).

That would be my guess, along with an eco boost 4 cyl.

[seagull]

Re: Another hypothetical question.....

I think you guys need to do some homework on Buick, Buick was the cornerstone that GM was built on, Buick's sales volumes over the decades were solid and consistent over it's model range, and also Brand loyalty at GM favored Buick. Buick sales had faultered during the late 90's and early 2000's to a degree due to GM's starving Buick while trying to reinvent Olds and build Saturn but overseas & Canadian sales still kept Buick numbers up. As with many companies that had a lot of product overlap, GM took a hard look at what models were being cross shopped between internal brands and it was shown that Chevy & Pontiac had similar buyers and Chevy could and would retain many Pontiac buyers in that price range, same with Buick & Olds prior when Olds was axed, Buick by that point had a more solid base plus were very popular abroad and Olds was hemoraging badly after sinking millions into it's brand facelift so was decided it could go. Today Buick sales are outpacing all international brands in growth with an unmatched 20.1 percent growth over the last year. Buick has garnered a lot of attention over the last couple year as well with major awards at the last 2 international auto shows, KBB "best value luxury brand", JD Powers ranked Buick SSI top of mass market brands, and Consumer Reports rank Buick highest in US Brands. With a ton of new product that is relevant in every slot it competes in and more new product coming in the next couple years, Buick has regained the luster it had lost in the forgotten years. A little trivia - did you know in 1955 Buick was the 3rd largest selling brand right behind Chevy and Ford?

[Guest]

Re: Another hypothetical question.....

Today's younger car buyers don't remember Buick's halcyon days. GM could have just as easily decided to jettison Buick and retain the Pontiac name and resurrected the iconic Firebird and GTO. A lot more Baby Boomers remember those cars than they do the Buick Roadmaster.

Buick is what it is today largely because that's what Detroit decided to 'force feed' the car buying public. Which is one reason why U.S. carmakers continue to lose ground to more imaginative foreign imports from Toyota, Nissan, Hyundai and Mazda.

[Sierra977]

Re: Another hypothetical question.....

Never understood the Chinese fascination with Buick but it is what it is.

Cascada is another Chick Car just like Thunderbird. So was the forgettable Buick Reata.

In the midst of a factory horsepower war, a chick car fills a certain niche. It's just not my niche.

[carntz]

Re: Another hypothetical question.....

somebody please master how to upload pictures on the sight and up load a 2000 sebring convertible and the Buick cascada.. Sorry Buick, but Chrysler has done it already and the sebring convert could never be considered upscale.

for that matter another look alike was the Toyota version of the solara convertible.... A cookie cutter car is never upscale unless it is cut from a classic. We all know who has accomplished that at least twice in recent times.

[Gobird]

Re: Another hypothetical question.....

somebody please master how to upload pictures on the sight and up load a 2000 sebring convertible and the Buick cascada.. Sorry Buick, but Chrysler has done it already and the sebring convert could never be considered upscale.

for that matter another look alike was the Toyota version of the solara convertible.... A cookie cutter car is never upscale unless it is cut from a classic. We all know who has accomplished that at least twice in recent times.

Here's the link on how to upload pics to the site.
http://www.thunderbirdnest.com/forum...ad.php?t=28335

[11TH GEN]

Re: Another hypothetical question.....

A little trivia - did you know in 1955 Buick was the 3rd largest selling brand right behind Chevy and Ford?

In 57 it slid to 4th. 58 went to 5th. 59 to 7th. 60 to 9th. 61 to 8th. Interesting that it was again in 3rd. in 1983. I lived in the Tampa Bay area in the mid 80's and am convinced every other car I saw was a Buick with a driver that probably just kept renewing their license via mail and had not had a driving test since they were sixteen.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._A...uction_Figures

[BigSkyBlue]

Re: Another hypothetical question.....

In 57 it slid to 4th. 58 went to 5th. 59 to 7th. 60 to 9th. 61 to 8th. Interesting that it was again in 3rd. in 1983. I lived in the Tampa Bay area in the mid 80's and am convinced every other car I saw was a Buick with a driver that probably just kept renewing their license via mail and had not had a driving test since they were sixteen.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._A...uction_Figures

That was both a plus and a minus for Buick, it had a rock solid following but one that also started to die off.
Buick has managed to substantially lower it's average age rating over the past few years from mid 60's to mid 50's. They are on track to continue for this trend to continue, I would guess there target is mid to late 40's for the average. We bought a LaCrosse last year and love it, well, it's the wifes car. We do kind of wish we had waited until the new one came out now, but have no complaints on the one we purchased. My brother sells Buick's and we talk a lot of Buick in the house. He said the little SUV Encore has really been popular with a younger buyer. GMC is also spoken here since he also sells that brand, I am waiting another year to get a 2018 Terrain as they are a total new vehicle
.

[Rondor]

Re: Another hypothetical question.....

Anybody can buy a Buick people with money look to Benz, BMW, Bentley and so on.
Whats this car go for 35K not a lot of money. For that kind of money I'd be looking for
a used BMW.

Now you are talking " real" headache...............

[Rondor]

Re: Another hypothetical question.....

I only owned 1 GM car a 1970 Buick and it was a great car. I think it was the best of GM's cars and still is, but marketing has always been to the Grandparent crowd.

[wcoates]

Re: Another hypothetical question.....

2016 JD Power Vehicle Dependability Study

Last couple of post have to do with Buick, third in the above survey behind Lexus and Porsche.

[JerriLampon]

Re: Another hypothetical question.....

As a strictly experimental test, I test drove a Cascada, yesterday. Not necessarily to compare it with a Thunderbird, but to see what market would be attracted to this car.
The sales person said he had sold one to a university women's diving coach and the age group seems to be 40-50.
The car itself is not a "personal luxury car" as the Thunderbird is touted to be, more along the line of a Chrysler Sebring. It has a rag top, not hard top convertible. It has more head room than a Thunderbird, but trunk space is good for a couple of sandwiches and a shaving kit, owing to the space the convertible top takes when retracted.
The Cascada is peppy enough with the 1.6L turbo engine (made in Hungary), but no one will be chirping any tires. In fact, it lags a bit too much for comfort when shifting from 1st to 2nd, hard acceleration merge onto highway. The engine compartment is small, not enough room for anything but a trans 4 cylinder and transmission (made in Mexico -- truly a U.N. car).
The Cascada has no heritage as the Thunderbird has, so with no nostalgia-factor involved, it's a good test for the market for future Thunderbird models, in whatever incarnation it will appear. Most guesses is that it won't be a smaller version we so admire and enjoy, but something along a 2-seater version of the current Taurus, but with RWD. Ford won't give up the marque for anything, so patience will most likely pay off in the long run. We should live so long!!!

[wcoates]

Re: Another hypothetical question.....

sorry dup