Himafagy

Buick's
marketers are caught between a rock and a hard place, or more accurately between the aging baby boomers of its core market and the younger Gen-Y buyers it needs to grow the brand. With the average Buick owner nearing retirement age, brand managers are trying to play both sides of the fence, making the OnStar Directions and Connections service (a favorite of older buyers that don't like complex nav systems) standard for all 2007 models, while readyinga fleet of tricked-out Lucerne sedans for the upcoming youth-oriented Specialty Equipment Marketers Association trade show in Las Vegas.



The trick for Buick is to keep its core market happy while attracting new, younger buyers - avoiding the fate of the Oldsmobile brand, whose "Not your father's Oldsmobile" campaign alienated the AARP segment while bland models failed to attract new customers. Falling market share eventually led to the demise of the famous brand.



So how's Buick doing? Well, the average age of a Buick owner is 63 (compared to 58 for Cadillac), and sales are down 17 percent so far this year while General Motors as a whole is down only 11 percent. We'll see if the SEMA initiative lights a fire under the tuner crowd, but the upcoming Enclave certainly looks well-positioned to grab a significant share of the luxury crossover segment.

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Like a dad descending the basement steps and asking in on a round of Halo 2 with his son and his buddies, Buick will be showing up at SEMA this year with no less than 11 customized Lucernes. It will be the first time in the event's 43-year history that General Motors' elder-brand will appear on the show floor. Just to give this some perspective, the median age of a Buick buyer is 65, which happens to be a decade shy of the life expectancy for males in this country.


If you're expecting to see 11 Lucernes that look like part of an Xzibit rental fleet with woofers, LCDs and automatic Red Bull dispensers, you'll likely be disappointed. The Lucerne's will reportedly be customized in the "VIP style" that's popular in Japan right now in which vehicles forego the bling for modifications that enhance their luxury and status. We say good luck to Buick in its efforts to be hip and immerse itself in youth culture, because we know how serious those kids take their Halo 2.


[Source: BrandWeek]

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GM's Chairman/CEO Rick Wagoner will join PGA superstar Tiger Woods to unveil the new-for-'08 Buick Enclave at this year's second L.A. Auto Show. Apparently moving the show to a new time slot in December to avoid the January competition with Detroit is already paying off for the L.A. organizers. Bringing Tiger out for this event shows how eager Buick is to get maximum exposure for this all-important new model. We're sure Tiger's going to be happy they didn't wait for the North American International Auto Show to debut it. L.A. in December or Detroit in January? Tough choice.


The Enclave should look a lot like the concept shown in Detroit last January, but will mark the debut of GM's new Lambda platform. The Lambdas will eventually replace the U-Body minivans with their front- or all-wheel-drive platform and 2+2+2 seating. Initially a 270-hp V-6 mated to a 6-speed automatic will be offered, but a V-8 should arrive somewhere down the road as well. That V-8 will undoubtedly be identified by the four (or is that fore?) ventiport styling touch Buick is becoming known for.


The Enclave should also feature a more upscale interior befitting Buick's position in the GM lineup. The first Lambda full-size CUV to be unveiled was the Saturn Outlook at the 2006 New York Auto Show, and it will beat the Enclave into showrooms when it goes on sale next Spring, followed by the Enclave and GMC's Acadia. The Enclave will replace the awkward looking and slow-moving Rendezvous.


[Source: GM]

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China has lots of fun regulations that are expressly designed to benefit Chinese domestic suppliers, automakers and the country's economy as a whole. The most well known Chinese rule of law when it comes to its auto industry is that every foreign manufacturer must be paired with a local one in a joint venture in order to sell cars to the Chinese market. A lesser-known law is the 10-percent tax automakers must pay if they choose to import a car in pieces and have it assembled on Chinese soil. Many automakers have taken advantage of this tax that is far less than the 25-percent tax charged for importing an already assembled vehicle.

China, however, has just raised the tax for importing an unassembled vehicle kit to match the 25-percent tax charged for importing an assembled vehicle. The country is hoping that foreign automakers will now see the fiscal benefits of using local suppliers for parts, though most manufacturers are not willing to lower their quality standards to those of Chinese domestic suppliers, though those suppliers have been improving and will eventually meet the quality standards most automakers demand.

On account of China closing this tax loophole, GM has stopped the assembly of its Royaum sedan, which is based on the Holden Statesman and was imported as an unassembled kit from Australia. Automotive News reports that since 2004 only 4,700 Royaum kits have been shipped to China, so it's not like the vehicle was a big seller anyway. GM will now be importing the vehicle into China since the costs are now similar and redistributing GM Shangai's capacity to a more profitable model.


[Source: Automotive News]

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1927 Bugatti Type 37A Grand Prix Car – Lot 271 Sold at $445,000


As if being a Bugatti weren't cool enough, this is one of their legendary GP cars from the heyday of Bugatti track domination. It also happens to hold the distinction of once being a UK Speed Record-Setter. This ex-Chris Staniland car has an apparently-more-than-adequate 80hp, supercharged 1498cc single overhead camshaft inline four-cylinder engine. The Type 37 emulated the GP-winning Type 35, but was designed to be a more attainable and manageable car that could serve as a successor to Bugatti's early "Brescia" that had made their reputation with some 2,000 units sold over its 16-year lifespan.


Although successful, the Type 37 was a bit short on performance. So in 1927 Bugatti added a version of the Roots supercharger from the Type 35. The resulting car was dubbed the Type 37A. The Type 37A was first and foremost a competition car with its magneto ignition and Bugatti's signature aluminum wheels replacing the standard 37 wire wheels. Bugatti ended up cranking out 77 Type 37As between 1927 and 1930.


One of those is the car featured here. Bought and raced by Fairey Aviation test pilot, Chris Staniland, chassis number 37290 saw duty over four seasons, recording four outright wins and two seconds along the way. At the end of 1928, Staniland also used it to set the British Class-F 1-1/2-liter speed record for distances and times up to one hour. He managed to eclipse all but one of the records that were on the books, and which had ironically been set by a supercharged, two-liter, eight-cylinder Type 39A Grand Prix Bugatti in 1927. It even lapped Brooklands at 122.07 mph in 1929. Not bad for an 80hp four. It ended up selling at "only" $445,000 at RM.


[Source: RM Auctions]

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