HALIBURTON, ONT. -- Judy Brennan, vehicle line director for the 2005 Buick Allure, isn't ashamed to say the replacement for the outgoing Regal and Century is simply a better Toyota Camry.
"The challenge is to convince customers," says Brennan, whose subdued manner hides the competitive spirit of the champion rower she was when she studied engineering at Michigan State.
The Allure is the first of a fleet of new models planned for Buick in the next three to five years. General Motors plans to replace Buick's entire lineup by 2007 or 2008.
"Allure [sold in the United States as the LaCrosse] is a big transition vehicle for us," says Brennan, noting parent General Motors is investing $3.2-billion (U.S.) to revamp the whole lineup in an effort to pit Buick against not Toyota, but the Japanese company's luxury division, Lexus, and Ford's Lincoln division.
For instance, there will be a replacement for the current LeSabre, contrary to reports that Buick will phase out the large sedan. The LeSabre gets its extensive makeover for model year 2006, according to Merrill Lynch analyst John Casesa.
When it hits showrooms in early 2005, the next-generation LeSabre should be more refined and upscale than the current car. Perhaps even with an optional V-8 engine.
There is also the possibility of Buick adding a Sigma-based sedan in early 2006. The Sigma platform forms the foundation of the Cadillac CTS and SRX.
Not only that, this fall, Buick is launching a minivan or, as officials call it "a seven-passenger sport van," called the Terraza.
Bob Lutz, GM's vice-chairman for product development, is taking a personal interest in reviving Buick. He has the clout to guarantee funding for future Buick products and is using it.
Clout or not, the most important thing for Buick right now is to settle on a signature brand look, an identifiable design theme strong enough to run through all future models.
Anne Asensio, the French-born head of advanced concept design at GM, has been working at that particular job. Earlier this year at the New York Auto Show, the public got a look at what Asensio envisions. It took the form of the Velite (pronounced vuh-LEET), concept vehicle, a four-seat, rear-wheel-drive convertible.
Brennan won't confirm the Velite's role as a signal of Buick's styling direction, but she doesn't dismiss it either. Perhaps that is because the Velite is a promising effort.
True to Buick's heritage of making big American cars with smooth power and silky automatic transmissions, the Velite is equipped with an experimental 400-horsepower, twin-turbocharged V-6 under its forward-opening hood.
The Velite name goes back to Napoleon, who in 1804, swelled the ranks of his army with an elite class of soldiers called the Velites.
"The Velite is the advance guard, dashing ahead, with the rest of the Buick offensive to follow," Asensio said in New York.
The car itself takes recognizable Buick design cues in new directions. The grille, for instance, brings complex and visually engaging changes to the Buick waterfall. The portholes are linked in a subtle echo of the shapes of the stacked headlights.
At the rear, the deck narrows to a central V, recalling boat-tail designs of the 1930s. The taillights are flush like those of the Y-Job, a 1938 Buick concept from legendary designer Harley Earl.
As a package it might just be work as an iconic representation of what will be Buick by 2007 or 2008.
But in the meantime, Buick must cope with its existing lineup. There are some strengths on which to build, including very good quality and reliability ratings from Consumer Reports magazine and J.D. Power & Associates.
Unfortunately, good quality hasn't translated into strong sales, and mediocre ride, handling and braking have kept the outgoing Regal off Consumer Reports' recommended list despite best-in-class quality scores.
So the current annual sales volume of about 340,000 is less than half the 900,000 cars Buick sold at its peak in 1984. Worse, the average age of Buick buyers is 67, though the recent addition of truck-based models such as the Rainier SUV has begun attracting younger buyers.
The Allure won't likely attract buyers under 40, and Buick officials concede most will be well over 50. These are people looking for a premium but traditional mid-size sedan with good pricing. On that the Allure delivers.
The base CX, which Buick officials say will be purchased by 60 per cent of customers, starts at $25,200 (Canadian), while the CXL is $27,865 and a top-of-the-line CXS lists for $33,265.
The most basic car comes with seating for five (the back seat is huge), chrome door handles, OnStar, power windows, door locks and mirrors, anti-lock braking, traction control, a six-disc compact disc changer and remote start. The engine is GM's 3.8-litre pushrod V-6 rated at 200 horsepower.
Moving up to the CXL, also powered by the 3.8-litre engine, adds a telescoping steering wheel, 16-inch aluminum wheels, a folding rear seat, automatic dual zone climate control and a few other goodies.
The CXS has a 240-hp 3.6-litre overhead cam V-6 from the Cadillac CTS, along with Grand Touring suspension, 17-inch aluminum wheels, heated leather seats, speed sensitive steering, dual exhaust, fog lamps and several other items.
All the cars seem extremely well built, as scored on this reporter's one-day examination of initial build quality of early production vehicles. For instance, the inside door handles fit tightly into the doors, with virtually no gaps between them and the door panels. Very Lexus-like. Brennan says small, consistent gaps on exterior and interior panels, along with clean uncluttered design, upscale trim materials and an extremely quiet cabin environment are all part of the new mantra at Buick.
Also, the instrument panel surfaces are low gloss, with attractive graining and soft-touch feel in most areas. The centre stack climate and audio controls and switches are modern, cleanly laid out and nearly flush with the panel.
Brennan and others at Buick say production cars will match Lexus in build quality and quietness.
She's confident because the engineering types went overboard to mute sources of noise and dampen sound reaching the interior. For instance, they have used a Helmholzt resonator, a specially designed chamber, to control exhaust noise, even though it was not inexpensive and posed packaging challenges in a tight engine bay.
They also applied all manner of sound-dampening measures such as laminated glass on front side windows and sound absorbing carpet backing. Those efforts were also expensive and challenging.
"We have to do this; it is what the brand stands for," Brennan says.
A proper road test in a future issue will reveal how far Brennan and her colleagues have come.
