Placed between Chevrolet and Cadillac, Buick is the middle child of General Motors (let’s consider GMC a truck cousin). And like some middle children, it wasn’t given enough attention until it was in trouble. In its early years, Buick was GM’s darling. On the success of the Buick Motor Co., William C. “Billy” Durant co-founded GM. And even after GM adopted other children, including older brother Cadillac, Buick remained strong.
DETROIT- Buick’s heritage is arguably richer than any other automotive brand in America.
Yet, in recent years, the 110-year-old brand has rightfully fallen from grace with many U.S. consumers due to lackluster vehicles and its reputation as an “old person’s car.”
Placed between Chevrolet and Cadillac, Buick is the middle child of General Motors (let’s consider GMC a truck cousin). And like some children, it wasn’t given enough attention until it was in trouble.
In its early years, Buick was GM’s darling. On the success of the Buick Motor Co., William C. “Billy” Durant co-founded GM. And even after GM adopted other children, including older brother Cadillac, Buick remained strong.
But as years went by, GM adopted a few too many children. Costs, including $134 billion in pension obligations, piled up and Buick was primarily forgotten. Then, in 2009, child services demanded GM shed its household budget by giving up some of its children. Many thought Buick, stuck in-between luxury Cadillac and mainstream Chevrolet, was bound to be given up as its sales and reputation dwindled.
Buick’s U.S. sales torpedoed down from 432,017 vehicles sold in 2002 to a recent-low of 102,306 in 2009. The brand’s market share also spiraled down from 2.6 percent to 1 percent during that same time period, according to Edmunds.com.
In the end, GM kept Buick which had, like some middle children, decided to try and make a life for its own where its siblings weren’t. That place was China. It was there Buick again made a name for itself and flourished as the “cool” brand for the elite and wealthy.
China spurred GM to sell 895,133 Buick vehicles worldwide in 2012, a 7 percent increase from 2011 and a 55 percent increase from 2002.
Led by Buick, Shanghai GM’s sales increased 10.9 percent last year to a record more than 1.3 million units in China. Buick sales in China increased 8.4 percent on an annual basis, finishing 2012 at a year-end high of 700,007 units, dwarfing the brand’s U.S. sales of about 180,400 vehicles.
But now, can Buick, which celebrated its 110th birthday on Sunday, regain its fame in the U.S. and last another 110 years?
In short, anything’s possible. The automotive industry is as cyclical as any business in the world. With new generations, perceptions change.
“Eventually, times change and people that are young today might not see it as an ‘old person’s car,’ ” Jessica Caldwell, Edmunds.com senior analyst, told me for MLive.com’s 110th anniversary series of Buick. “It could definitely be one of those reborn brands -- especially if it is competing on a global scale.”
Buick is gaining back its sales and reputation thanks to compelling products entering new segments. The most-recent examples are the Verano compact sedan and Encore small crossover, which are both attracting new customers to the brand.
According to Buick, the average customer age for the brand has dropped to 57, a seven-year decline from five years ago, and the brand’s overall conquest average has increased 43 percent over the last five years. Officials say more than 50 percent of Verano buyers are new to Buick.
In the U.S., Buick is in the midst of changing its image for the next-generation of U.S. consumers with stylish new entries, such as the Encore, and fuel-efficient technologies like the eAssist electrification system, which debuted on the 2012 Buick LaCrosse.
The brand is offering its best, most-complete lineup of vehicles in decades, and we should expect to see Buick’s sales continue to grow in years to come.
Editor’s note: This article in part of MLive.com’s series on Buick for its 110th anniversary on May 19. Click here for an outline of the full series, and continue to check back to mlive.com/auto for all of the articles.
Email Michael Wayland: MWayland@mlive.com and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/MikeWayland