When better cars are built, part 2

If the title above sounds familiar, it’s because I published a story with that title roughly six years ago. At that point in time, Buick sales in China exceeded sales in the United States, and had been doing so for at least three years. By the time of the publication of the article shown below, sales of Buicks in China were FOUR TIMES the sales of Buicks in the United States.

when better cars are built

Some time between 2009 and today, various proposals have been made to sell cars made in China in the United States. Until recently, though, none of those plans have come to fruition.

Until now.

At some point in 2016, a car made in China will be sold in America and it will bear a very familiar name.

Buick.

The vehicle will be a compact sport utility that will be called the Envision. Since Buick has seen sales fall for its “traditional “ vehicles, but sales have expanded in its SUV line, the introduction of a compact sport utility will help to increase Buick sales.

To be fair, this vehicle won’t be the first foreign made car that Buick has sold in America, since German-made Opels were introduced here in 1958, Today’s Buick Regal was assembled by Opel in Germany, starting in 2009, but production for the vehicle shifted to Oshawa, Canada in 2011.

Both Jaguar and Land Rover are owned by an Indian company, and Volvo has been owned by a Chinese company since its divesture from the Ford luxury division. SOME of those Chinese made Volvos have actually made it to our shores, but not in numbers large enough to make a dent in our domestic market.

As a group, Buick owners tend to be older and more conservative (precisely the situation that Cadillac finds itself in) which may have been one of the reasons that its sales have slipped in recent years.

Traditionally, Buicks have been large and heavy cars, and the picture below shows how “politically incorrect “ some of those older versions were:

This vehicle, incidentally, was 219 inches long, and weighed almost 5000 pounds. It’s 364 cubic inch engine got 12.2 miles per gallon.

take a test drive here

Wouldn’t you really rather have a Buick?

If you’re a young professional, looking for a compact SUV, you’ll probably say:

是的 (shi)