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Posted

Harry, I always wondered why they didn't keep Olds, I think that was the oldest.

Olds was dying like Plymouth before and Mercury after, Buick was going that way  to and should have been on the chopping block instead of Pontiac or Saturn, I also felt either Chevy or GMC Truck should have died too, with the other, and maybe Cadillac taking it's place.

Posted

 

 

I like it.

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A lovely car. The more I see it, the more I like it. The name means nothing to me. Bring it out as Riviera. It looks like a modern interpretation of what a Riviera should be.

Posted

It would definitely be priced between the Camaro and Caddy. The engine already exists in the Caddy ATS-V, the chassis obviously already exists (it's not a one-off chassis), it's basically what Chevy did with the ATS, put a Camaro body on it. I doubt Buick would have to spend too much to do the same thing that Chevy did. And yes, Buick is HUGE in China. That there is a huge factor toward production. That fact that it uses so much off the shelf parts, is drop dead gorgeous, and by show goers and internet response, is hugely popular, I think production would be likely.

Posted

Olds was dying like Plymouth before and Mercury after, Buick was going that way  to and should have been on the chopping block instead of Pontiac or Saturn, I also felt either Chevy or GMC Truck should have died too, with the other, and maybe Cadillac taking it's place.

Back in the day, Olds was seen as an entry-level Cadillac, somewhere between Buick and Caddy. Maybe GM, as it sought to rebrand Cadillac, didn't want to cannibalize sales.

Posted

Back in the day, Olds was seen as an entry-level Cadillac, somewhere between Buick and Caddy. Maybe GM, as it sought to rebrand Cadillac, didn't want to cannibalize sales.

???? Pecking order in GM was Chevrolet at the bottom. Division number 1. Pontiac is next, with its division number as 2. Followed by Oldsmobile at #3. Buick's division number is 4. Cadillac's is 6.

Number 5? LaSalle. These division numbers go back to 1936. Alfred P. Sloan believed in a car priced for every purse. He laid this order out in the 1920's. Before that, several GM lines over lapped. Competing with each other in some cases. Sloan is the one who straighted this out. There was still some overlapping. But, in general you moved up in price from Chevrolet to Pontiac (and Oakland). Your next step us was Oldsmobile. Then to Buick. The next step was LaSalle. And finialy Cadillac. There were a few missteps along the way. With the success of Oakland's companion make Pontiac. And Cadillac's LaSalle. They gave Buick the Marquette. And Oldsmobile the Viking. Both makes were designed to fill a perceived gap between Oldsmobile and Buick. They both failed. Pontiac stole Oakland's market away. And in 1941 the LaSalle was made into the lower priced Cadillac Series 61.

So Olds was never seen as an "entry-level Cadillac, somewhere between Buick and Caddy." Things again got a little blurry between the lines starting in the 1960's. Olds and Buick aiming at the same basic market with similar cars. But, from the 1920's through the 1950's at least. Buick always stood between Cadillac and Oldsmobile. 

Posted

It would have made more sense to keep Olds, then they would have Cadillac as the luxury brand, Olds as the mid-range brand, and Chevy as the entry level brand as was always traditional. Buick in the upper-middle range and Pontiac in the lower middle range would have been easier to let go as there was always overlap from above and below for them. It seems like people always had trouble identifying Saturn as a GM product anyways.

Posted

I still miss Plymouth. I'd love to see a new Plymouth 'cuda to mix it up with today's Camaros, Mustangs, and Challengers.

Harry, I've heard from some major Mopar aficionados that there may be a new Cuda with a Chrysler name plate. While most of us would think that would just be WRONG, I'm not sure how Chrysler went about cancelling the Plymouth brand. If they actually declared Plymouth bankrupt they may not be able to bring it back, but if they just discontinued, or retired it, maybe they could.  

Posted

My very first car was a Plymouth... and my dad was a Plymouth man... so I have sort of a personal connection with the brand. I think it was a huge mistake to kill off the Plymouth name. :(

Posted

Killing Pontiac really was a mistake as GM had some great plans for the Poncho brand . I ran across this story here that has Bob Lutz speaking in an interview as to what really happened at Pontiac and why it was killed off. 

Sad...........

Posted

BTW... am I the only one who wonders why GM killed off Pontiac but kept Buick?

Shouldn't it have been the other way around? :blink:

World wide, Buick outsold Pontiac. For the past decade, maybe more, Buick was the highest selling import in China. 

Posted

My very first car was a Plymouth... and my dad was a Plymouth man... so I have sort of a personal connection with the brand. I think it was a huge mistake to kill off the Plymouth name. :(

Harry I think they really only killed off the Plymouth nameplate. Not the Plymouth line/type of cars. It was always been my understanding that the "P" in Chrysler's PT Cruise originally stood for Plymouth. But, as vehicle neared production, they decided to killed off the Plymouth badge. After all the Chrysler name meant something in Europe. Plymouth did not. And Chrysler was looking at selling the PT Cruiser and other vehicles in Europe. Notice, about that time the Plymouth Prowler became the Chrysler Prowler.

I feel they moved the Chrysler name more downmarket to fill in for Plymouth. So is Plymouth really dead? Or they now just called Chrysler? And are the true Chrysler type of vehicle dead, within Chrysler?

Posted

Buick? Where? I don't see any Buicks in those photos. :)

That car looks very nice, but the name has to go!  It sounds like some blood-pressure or diabetes drug.:unsure: 

Posted

Back in the 80's it would've been a hatchback. Forget about hauling anything but arm candy because that trunk lid is only big enough to insert a memory card.

Posted

I'd buy one- probably used, but I'd buy one.

One of the better-looking designs to come from GM in recent memory.

Joe, where did you see the new Caravan/T&C?

Charlie Larkin

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