Almost makes no difference anymore. They all look alike. They all have the same basic shape and unless you can see a logo somewhere you can’t tell what make it is. When I was young and a diehard car guy (like I still am) you could tell exactly what just drove by out of the corner of your eye. There was no mistaking it. If you couldn’t see it, you could tell the make by how it started or how the exhaust sounded. There is no identity anymore. Some cars like Mustangs, Camaros and Challengers are identifiable because they went “retro” with the styling. Doesn’t matter anymore, it’s all about CAFE standards and safety features. That’s precisely why people crave cars with distinct identity, like a 1970 GS 455. It’s never confused with any other model car.
I will believe it when I see it, so many of these stories are hype, false or never materialize. You don't have stats like this http://www.autonews.com/article/201...862/buick-lexus-jdpower-vehicle-dependability, a huge drop in customer age demographics that is envied by many other brands , and very solid sales numbers in the states and massive sales numbers abroad and play games like that.
Don't worry, they all look the same. We service all brands at the dealership I work at, and unless it's a Jag or Porsche or some other "special" brand, I can't tell one crossover or SUV from the next. Literally can't tell. It's embarrassing, but only for the car companies (Or should be).
I never thought about it till this post, but at work, I've been glancing at the little wheel caps for the make of car. #1 Not very distinctive styling, a Nissan looks like a Toyota looks like a Hyundai, a Malibu look like an Impala. #2 I forgot what I was going to say
No, a GS has never been "confused" with a Chevelle, Olds, etc...lol. Just kidding. I get your point, but that kind of struck me funny given all threads about this over the years. Seriously, I hadn't realized either that manufacturers don't put their names on cars anymore.
My 67 has a very petite: "BY BUICK" nameplate below the riviera emblem on the trunk lid, and a similar one on the wood trim of the glove box. That's it. I guess it was done to provide a more European kind of styling.
Within a given generation cars have always looked the same. They carry basic styling cues that are similar across all the brands. And it's always been this way. We choose to think that cars from the 60s or the 70s are completely unique when really they are not. With a little effort one could easily learn The Styling cues of today's cars.
I still favor Buicks for a nice newer used car, but the spirit has definitely departed the corpse of what once was a great automaker. When I was in China, I saw Buicks everywhere, and although it made me happy to see that, I also realized little, if any, of that money made by selling those cars was headed back to the US.
Maybe they should be GC rather than GM. "I drive the New Globally Consistant- squeezed from GC's Suppository School Of Design" So catchy. Dad has a '16 Regal Turbo and it is nice but snoring.
I get the frustration of GM selling Buick in China and catering to that market. The problem is Buick carried GM to some extent when things were looking horrible for them as a whole. If it weren't for the huge sales of Buicks in China, I doubt the brand Buick would even exist. GM would of sold it off or shut it down. It's also not just GM. Even Lamborghini and others are catering to the Chinese market. The potential for profit is huge over there. Anyone in business would be making an error to not try and get a lot of sales and a foothold in that market. I don't like it but I look at it objectively and rationally. Business is about making money otherwise theybwill not do it.
