If you listen to Buick lately they have been singing a new song.
No longer considering themselves as a middle man between main stream Chevrolet and upper crust Cadillac, Buick has decided to focus on the value minded luxury shopper. We can read the as Lexus to the not so informed.
In fact over the last few months, press release after press release from the automaker has been salted with parallels between the the two with Buick always listed favorably but at a price advantage as well. The strategy is very familiar to that of Lexus when it first entered the market against the Germans. Basically 90% of the car at 70% of the price. Was price more important than a name plate?
We all know by history just how that worked out.
Droves of disenchanted German luxury car owners fled from the Germanic pedigree to the lower cost and lower to maintain luxury car brand in hopes of a prestigious nameplate with out the implied cost of ownership.
Why can't Buick do the same?
First of all, we have to admit a few things, like Lexus has a much broader lineup than Buick. But the same was true when Lexus first entered the market with a handful of models. Buick is a lot less expensive as well, but that didn't stop Lexus from gaining ground on the Germans. Buick doesn't have pedigree roots, well neither did Lexus. Some may argue it still doesn't.
The point is you can make any argument you want, however when you compare the LaCrosse to the ES, or the RX to the Enclave you can see advantages on both sides of the equation. So much so, that a recent press release by Lexus, they chose to point out that the next gen ES would leave the LaCrosse in the dust!, Obviously Lexus is feeling some sort or heat or they never would have acknowledge the LaCrosse compares to the ES in the first place.
So my question of the day is...
Should Buick even be considered a player and uttered in the sentence as Lexus? How about Acura instead? Are they on the verge of taking on Lexus with models that finally can compete? Should Lexus be more worried about Buick, the Germans or perhaps Hyundai?
Have fun with that one!