This Is Not Your Father"s Buick Anymore and That"s Not Good
As I was sharing a lunch the other day at a sandwich shop with a dear friend of mine our eyes fell on a beautiful sleek-looking new car that pulled in and parked right in front of us.
I first thought it was an Acura.
Or perhaps even a Hundai? No.
It was a Buick! A 2006 Buick LaCrosse.
It was a great looking car that I'd love to drive around, for sure.
No problem with that.
But there was something that was clearly bothering us with the way this beauty looked.
After a moment's silence, we both looked at one another and expressed the same thought: "Is that a BUICK??!" It really looked a lot more like a Japanese car, perhaps an Acura or a new Camry, than a Buick.
It was a sad testimony to the way American car designers have lost their way in the woods and now take it to imitating the others in order to survive.
But I'm not sure if sheer imitation would be enough to save General Motors.
Remember those Oldsmobile commercials a few years back which boasted that the new models were not "your father's Oldsmobile anymore," in an attempt to attract a new generation of young professionals? And then what happened? They eliminated the Oldsmobile line altogether last year.
I wish I still had my old 88.
How I loved that comfortable and powerful car until it was trashed by a high school senior, late to his morning class, who rammed me from the side.
The minute I saw that strange looking Buick LaCross in "self-denial," I couldn't help but thinking that Buick is also on its way to its grave, following the Oldsmobile as yet another "Magnificent American Model That Could Not Keep Up With The Times.
" I hope I'm wrong.
But with Buicks that look like Acuras, I don't see how GM can make it in the long run for a very simple reason -- consumers who would like to buy Acuras will go and buy Acuras, NOT Buicks that look like Acuras.
I first thought it was an Acura.
Or perhaps even a Hundai? No.
It was a Buick! A 2006 Buick LaCrosse.
It was a great looking car that I'd love to drive around, for sure.
No problem with that.
But there was something that was clearly bothering us with the way this beauty looked.
After a moment's silence, we both looked at one another and expressed the same thought: "Is that a BUICK??!" It really looked a lot more like a Japanese car, perhaps an Acura or a new Camry, than a Buick.
It was a sad testimony to the way American car designers have lost their way in the woods and now take it to imitating the others in order to survive.
But I'm not sure if sheer imitation would be enough to save General Motors.
Remember those Oldsmobile commercials a few years back which boasted that the new models were not "your father's Oldsmobile anymore," in an attempt to attract a new generation of young professionals? And then what happened? They eliminated the Oldsmobile line altogether last year.
I wish I still had my old 88.
How I loved that comfortable and powerful car until it was trashed by a high school senior, late to his morning class, who rammed me from the side.
The minute I saw that strange looking Buick LaCross in "self-denial," I couldn't help but thinking that Buick is also on its way to its grave, following the Oldsmobile as yet another "Magnificent American Model That Could Not Keep Up With The Times.
" I hope I'm wrong.
But with Buicks that look like Acuras, I don't see how GM can make it in the long run for a very simple reason -- consumers who would like to buy Acuras will go and buy Acuras, NOT Buicks that look like Acuras.
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