Back in 2008 when General Motors announced that it would be killing off some of its brands Buick survived. Now, more than a decade later, it’s languishing with uninspiring sales, very few models, and no big bright flagship on the horizon. If you were made CEO of Buick tomorrow how would you save it from potential failure?
To be clear, GM hasn’t dropped any bombs (publicly or privately) about Buick folding but things aren’t rosy either. Sales are down significantly – over 40% in 2022. GM has offered to buy out Buick dealers that don’t share its vision of an all-electric lineup by 2030. We know that it’s bringing something similar to the Chinese-market Electra E5 (lead image) to American shores in the future. Is that enough though?
Perhaps the right move is to stay the course and focus heavily on all-electric SUVs and crossovers. That would certainly be seen as the safe move in a market completely dominated by those segments. At the same time, we see a lot of room for growth both in terms of sales and brand presence.
Read: 2024 Buick Electra E4 EV Looks An Awful Lot Like The Electra-X Concept
One thing that Buick hasn’t really had for decades is a hardcore flagship car that draws customers to dealers in droves. Go take a look at any one of the listicles focused on the best Buick models of all time and you’ll note that most were produced before 1990. Maybe it’s time that Buick looks back at its past to help determine its future.
Who wouldn’t love to see it return a modernized electric GNX or a Buick Special, or even a Riviera to the market? They wouldn’t even need to be two-door cars either. Sporty SUVs are all the rage and a fast, sleek, Electra GNX that happens to be a competitor for the Tesla Model Y could go over great. It’s also something that the Cadillac Lyriq isn’t necessarily trying to be.
Perhaps the right move for you as the new CEO is to do the thing that no other Buick CEO has had the guts to do during its 124-year history; build the Wildcat. Granted, for most of those years the Wildcat didn’t even exist. At the same time, if the CEO doesn’t make the right moves, Buick might not exist for much longer. So what would you do? Let us know in the comments below!
