Buick's new compact sedan spotted in China
by Sam Abuelsamid on Sep 4th 2009 at 4:00PM 
One of the two new sedans that Buick has promised to introduce in the next 12-18 months is a compact based on the new Opel Astra. We had a chance to see the new car a few weeks ago at the GM design studios in Warren, Michigan, but no photography was allowed.
That same car has now been spotted in the wild in China where it seems likely to be very popular. It won't look anything like the current almost unsellable Astra available from Saturn and will likely only be sold in North America as a four-door sedan. So far, the Astra itself has only been shown as a five-door hatch although that may change when it is publicly displayed at the Frankfurt Motor Show later this month.
At this time, there is no word on what powertrains will go into the North American Buick, but four cylinder engines displacing between 1.6 and 2.0 liters are likely. The 1.4-liter turbo that will go into the Cruze is also a possibility. GM has said that a C-segment car like this could be built at its Lake Orion, MI assembly plant alongside the new Aveo, though it could also be built in Detroit with the Volt or in Lordstown, Ohio with the Cruze.
[Source: China Car Times]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
RSVDon 4:07PM (9/04/2009)
Wow, I dunno about that side view, but the front looks great for a Buick! Almost seems like it has a hint of BMW M6 in the lower bumper. Nice.
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Danimal 4:12PM (9/04/2009)
I agree.
You can't really get a good sense of the proportions from that angle and obviously can't see the taillights.
But from this angle it looks pretty good.
zamafir 4:32PM (9/04/2009)
BMW? Nope. scratch the 'hint of BMW' and replace it with 'exactly like the opel astra' and you're spot on. I'm guessing it's the same platform too? if soo, it should be a decent bit of badge engineering because the astra's a good product.
http://www.carversation.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/06-2010-opel-astra.jpg
Sal Collaziano 5:13PM (9/04/2009)
Not bad at all. I'd love to see more so hopefully we'll get a better look soon. Interior as well - really curious. Everything coming out of GM China has been nice lately - so I'm not expecting anything less that excellent.
Sal Collaziano
http://www.buickforums.com
Rich 6:57PM (9/04/2009)
Danimal: it's an Astra. How can you *not* have a good idea of the proportions? It's a direct competitor to the Focus and Civic.
renshcp 11:20PM (9/04/2009)
Just Google 2010 Opel Astra and you'll see all sorts of nice pics. To me it looks like a baby Regal based on the sheet metal flow, which is a good thing... once the Regal finally drops in the US. I'm really looking forward to seeing the sedan version because that is actually what will sell in the US... and of course I'm interested to see how the interior is Buick-ized.
click.kas 5:23AM (9/05/2009)
its lookin good but don't know it its cos of the fact it was spotted in china , it kinda looks chinese ..
http://www.indianautotalk.com
chad.dawkins 4:10PM (9/04/2009)
Doesn't look bad. Looks somewhat "feminine" but looks better than the Cruze.
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AMcA 12:12AM (9/05/2009)
I'm disappointed. It looks like they haven't put much effort into giving the Buick Cruz distinctive sheet metal. I'm only seeing a new front end clip. Just different plastic.
TriShield 4:21PM (9/04/2009)
Unsellable Opel Astra in America Part Deux, except with a Buick grille on it this time.
Why is GM bringing Buick so far down market to clash with Chevrolet? How is GM going to work this out when they are in the midst of trying to offload Opel? Why is GM going to sell the Opel Insignia here with a Buick grille when it's the same type and class of car as the US-made LaCrosse? How is GM rationalizing this?
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Motor_Yakuza 4:32PM (9/04/2009)
This is clearly an Opel Astra with a Buick grille, but however in Europe Opel is higher ranked then Chevy, as for the Regal, I think that it's a bit smaller then the LaCrosse, so I guess that the details will make the difference if your gonna buy one or another.
Aprime 5:08PM (9/04/2009)
Buick competes with entry-level luxury marks that are basically run of the mill cars in Europe - we all know the flaws the previous Astra had, but the newer one is a different story (with Opel attempting to move upmarket and with the availability of a SEDAN... And most likely proper marketing, let's add to that the fact that it's not a 4 year old model) - by the way, there's another Cruze-based Buick in the works, so we can't say for sure we're getting this.
garlinski 4:30PM (9/04/2009)
Not understanding this car at all... If the Astra barely sold as a Saturn, the place where it made sense, why would anyone buy one dressed as a Buick?
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Bloke 4:48PM (9/04/2009)
The problem with the fifth-generation Astra badged as a Saturn was fivefold:
- the single engine option limited appeal and Opel's 1.6 turbo was a better unit its 1.8;
- the Astra's manual gearbox was far superior to its automatic. Trouble is, unlike Europeans, Americans tend to favour automatics;
- the car was imported from Europe and expensive to produce, making the car comparatively pricey for a cheap brand in the States - especially at a time when forex rates made all imports more expensive.
-whereas in Europe the Astra came in 3 and 5-door hatchback forms, a sedan, a wagon, a coupe-convertible and a commercial van, only the hatchbacks were sold in the States ... and Americans don't generally go for hatchbacks.
- GM never bothered to advertise the car.
the4thheat 5:51PM (9/04/2009)
Well the Chinese tend to re-do the interiors (and exteriors) for their Buick line. I don't think there was anything particularly terrible about the platform even when it was sold as a Saturn...just that there wasn't any particularly great reason to go buy it over it's competitors.
So if they seriously upgrade the interior and make the exterior attractive it could be a more viable car for people wanting a compact car with a more luxurious interior. Of course this is assuming that they don't eff it up and make it just a sloppy rebadge job for the US market.
Dan 11:18AM (9/05/2009)
Bloke, that's overanalyzing the case.
The problem with the Astra is it wasn't a good car. End of story.
As such it was a natural fit at either Pontiac or Saturn, continuing GM's heritage of other bad small cars like the Ion and Grand Am.
Pokey 4:31PM (9/04/2009)
It's an attractive looking car, but I see some rather large panel gaps.
I don't understand why Buick needs a small car either, but I'm sure the people making this decision know a little bit more about this than your average AutoBlog commenter, so I'm not going to say this is a bad idea, I just don't get it. I don't think it will steal any sales from Chevy either though. Most people shopping Buick don't shop Chevy.
As far as this being another "unsellable Astra in America", I think this will do well, or at least better than the Saturn. The main reason why the Saturn failed is that it was a small Saturn with a big price tag, and noone knew about it.
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Motor_Yakuza 4:39PM (9/04/2009)
"I don't understand why Buick needs a small car either,"
Simple, Buick needs younger costumers or else it's costumer base will be zombies. And a small, compact, cheap and good looking car it's the right thing to attract young buyers.
Taglane 4:39PM (9/04/2009)
Buick is going after Lexus. Lexus is getting a small compact car too (LF-*random letters* concept). They look about the same size- maybe the small buick could be planning to compete with it?
maybe.
Aprime 5:10PM (9/04/2009)
Simple response: I'm turning 21, and I'd consider this (depending on Canadian pricing and also whether it's competitive or not).
Bringing youth means reeling the boomers in - it helps brand image bucketloads.