GM Boss Says Buick "Probably" Needs a New Flagship Model

With U.S. sales on the rise and other important markets like China also doing well, GM has every reason to be optimistic about the future, and this is something that will have a positive effect on all of its brands’ portfolios.

We already know about plans for a top-of-the line Cadillac luxury saloon (see our vision of the car here), and now, GM CEO Dan Akerson has admitted that Buick could “probably” use a flagship model.

According to Autonews that broke the story, Mark Reuss, GM’s North America president, told Forbes magazine earlier this month that he would like to enhance Buick’s range with a flagship that is “a much more beautiful Panamera.”

However, GM says it needs to tread carefully on these luxury waters so as Buick’s flagship doesn’t “encroach” on the Cadillac brand.

“We haven’t made a firm yes-or-no decision, so I want to keep the door open that we might have a [Buick] flagship,” Akerson said. “It all depends what we do with Cadillac over time.”

If you ask me, that’s a wrong way of thinking when it comes to building up a brand, and there’s no better counter–argument than what the Germans have achieved over the past few decades. Just think about it; if that were the case, then there would be no Audi A3 today since it “encroaches” on the group’s bestseller, the VW Golf.

The key here is to offer all brands the best that you have and concentrate on giving them a distinct character and qualities. And if anything, a brand like Buick does need a flagship model, a halo car, or call it whatever you want, if not for sales, certainly for marketing and brand equity purposes.

PHOTO GALLERY