Buick Skylark to land in China by 2009
Remember the Buick Skylark? While the car certainly had its day in the pre-Reagan era, the 1980s and 90s did a lot of damage to the nameplate with models that were uninspired in every way (see above). General Motors figures the name's still good in other markets where it never sold the car, and will reportedly be introducing a new Buick Skylark in China by 2009 as a 2010 model. The new Skylark will be based on GM's Delta II platform that will underpin such vehicles as the next-gen Chevy Cobalt, Saturn Astra and Pontiac G6. The baby Buick will replace the Excelle in China, which is a version of the Daewoo Lacetti, a.k.a. the Suzuki Forenza in the U.S.
The new Skylark will be built in China by Shanghai GM, which begs the question of whether or not it will be the first vehicle GM imports from China for sale in the U.S. Who knows how well a Chinese-built Buick would be received in the States? We think the real question is how many small cars does GM need to sell? With three models already planned to utilize the Delta II platform, will a fourth bring us back to those days of regrettable badge engineering? Hopefully not, but we'll have to wait until the Delta II cars begin to break cover before we can know for sure.
[Source: Inside Line]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
doug 8:02PM (5/24/2007)
I see GM China hasn't learned from mistakes in the US - taking an established name Excelle and replacing it with a new one.....
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Brian Dreggors 8:27PM (5/24/2007)
Before everyone attempts 'cute' one-liners about the Skylark, read the article in its entierty...
"It will share its underpinnings with the next-generation Chevrolet Cobalt, Opel Astra and Pontiac G6"
Pontiac G6?? They mean G5, right? If not, it adds more ambiguity to the future of Pontiac's lineup.
In any case, an intermediate premium Buick Skylark could do very well here against the TSX, S40, etc if well-executed.
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J.Crew 8:14PM (5/24/2007)
Does anyone remember the interior of the car pictured above... It was the worst interior I have ever seen in a production vehicle. The hard plastic would not eve fit in a pre-production model today.
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AirZurk 8:56PM (5/24/2007)
yeah, I thougth the next G6 was going on the new Alpha platform. I hope that's a typo.
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Larry Fine 9:07PM (5/24/2007)
I believe GM has been heading the right direction with interior materials and instrument panel of the likes of the Pontiac Solstice and G6. They are not dissing the manual transmission any more either. I am optimistic as well.
While I don't see a direct competitor to the TSX, S40, G35, A4, 3 series etc, I believe GM is the only American company that is valueing the true sports sedan market e.g. CTS, G6, and Saab
(Hemi + requisite Autostick not = sports sedan).
I hope they share some of that attention to instrument panel and interior with the Corvette. Hold the course GM...
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far jr 9:58PM (5/24/2007)
I noticed the G6 in there as well. That part caught my eye more than anything. Mr. Neff, can you confirm this?
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Petey 10:28PM (5/24/2007)
My dad had an '84 Skylark... ran good for close to 15 years, then the tranny blew. And, Buicks are considered luxury cars in China... although that is changing quickly.
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iQuack 11:37PM (5/24/2007)
Skylarks started with a slick (and rare at the time) 1953 convertible:
http://www.americansportscars.com/images/buick-1.jpg
Skylark later became a mid-sized Buick that was highly regarded in the 1960s to early '70s.
Then the Skylark name was slapped on some horrible GM cars--especially the FWD 1979 Buick variant of the Chevy Citation--a consummately bad car.
Too bad the Skylark name was ruined by bad GM management. Those mistakes helped wreck the Buick brand in the U.S.
In China, Buicks are popular and considered prestige cars there. The Skylark name carries no bad baggage in China.
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JGN 1:58AM (5/25/2007)
That's the best we have to offer?
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Tagg 5:00AM (5/25/2007)
I am in China right now and toured the GM-Shanghai plant yesterday and they told us the Chinese like the Buicks because many important leaders like Sun Yat Sen had a Buick.
I still cannot get over the LaCrosse and the new Park Avenue that they have over here. They are beautiful cars with interiors equal of any Lexus or Cadillac.
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BGJ 7:53AM (5/25/2007)
Yeah G6 is definitely a typo. Should read G5, and hopefully the next one will not be just a rebadged Cobalt.
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fosterdad 8:29AM (5/25/2007)
My dad had a '76 Buick Skylark sedan. The most boring car ever made. It was tan, had vinyl seats and an AM radio. I hated that car.
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Mike 11:26AM (5/25/2007)
No thanks. Chow Mein, yes! Chow Buick, I'll pass.
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DanMan 12:34PM (5/25/2007)
iQuack, I know the Skylarks history, and yes it was a case of GM riding a name into the ground. My grandmother had one of those models like the picture. Not a bad car, and some even praised Buick for being "daring" in its styling at the time. I actually thought grany's V6 coupe was pretty cool, rode like a Caddy, could squeel the tires at will. But hell I was 16, what did I know.
She replaced it with... a Pontiac Aztec!
Dan
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