mikeyb
02-09-2005, 07:47 AM
Buick goes upmarket with LeSabre replacement
By Jason Stein (JStein@crain.com)
Automotive News / February 09, 2005
Buick has some ambitious and aggressive plans for its LeSabre replacement.
How ambitious? Try Toyota Avalon or Lexus ES 330 territory.
How aggressive? Try a price point north of the $26,725 LeSabre and a move into the entry-luxury segment.
As the third vehicle in Buick's self-described product transformation, the Lucerne is a re-engineered and restyled sedan that Buick hopes can attract a new buyer.
"We expect the Lucerne, along with the LaCrosse and Terraza, to appeal to many new customers and account for approximately 75 percent of Buick sales," says Buick general manager John Larson. "We're in the process of rolling out one of the most aggressive product programs in Buick history."
Buick, and the LeSabre, could use a shot in the arm. LeSabre sales have dropped 21.4 percent during the last three years, from 145,304 in 2001.
With an infusion of ride and performance technology, and the addition of a V-8 engine, Buick says the front-wheel-drive Lucerne offers a better mix of technology and sophistication.
Buick will push the Lucerne's exterior design, premium interior and overall quietness when it brings the vehicle to market in the fourth quarter this year.
<TABLE cellSpacing=2 cellPadding=2 width=430 align=center><TBODY><TR><TD class=leftnav>http://www.autonews.com/images/random/020705/blooth/art/lucernefront430.jpg
http://www.autonews.com/images/random/020705/blooth/art/lucerneback430.jpg</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
Among the changes this year:
<LI type=square>Lucerne will be the first Buick to offer Magnetic Ride Control, a handling system that uses magnetically charged particles suspended in fluid to continuously adjust the fluid's thickness to varying road surfaces and driving characteristics. The result: less body roll during cornering.
<LI type=square>Lucerne is the first Buick car to offer V-8 power in a decade. The V-8 features a 4.6-liter, 32-valve dual overhead cam engine estimated at 275 horsepower. A 3.8-liter V-6 is also available.
<LI type=square>Buick will provide six standard airbags on the Lucerne, including a dual-stage driver air bag, side-impact and side curtain air bags. Also included is a dual depth front passenger airbag that deploys to either a reduced depth or increased depth depending on the position of the seat and severity of impact.
http://www.autonews.com/news.cms?newsId=11492
http://www.autoweek.com/files/specials/2005_chicago/lucerne/images/X06BU_LU002.jpg
http://www.autoweek.com/files/specials/2005_chicago/lucerne/images/zX06BU_LU010.jpg
DTS joins Cadillac's alphabet strategy
By Jason Stein (JStein@crain.com)
Automotive News / February 09, 2005
A renaissance needs some continuity, Cadillac says.
That's the reason the restyled, re-engineered replacement for Cadillac's lone remaining front-wheel-drive sedan, the DeVille, also gets a new name this year: DTS.
Sound familiar?
Beginning with the CTS, Cadillac has been gradually adopting its single-mode strategy - one exterior, one interior with multiple option packages - and alpha naming policy to its lineup. Now, one of Cadillac's historically best-selling vehicles gets both.
Is it dangerous to change vehicle names on a product that annually outsells everything in its division?
"We saw the DeVille associated with the antiquated, old Cadillac," says Mark LaNeve, GM's vice president of marketing and advertising for GM North America and Cadillac's former general manager.
"This is a renaissance at Cadillac and we wanted to line up the DeVille with our other products. And our customers knew the DTS was the uplevel DeVille," LaNeve says.
Cadillac's design theme has been applied to the front and rear of the DTS, bringing it better in line with the rest of the portfolio. The vehicle also gets a Northstar 4.6-liter V-8 engine available in two configurations - a 290- and 275-horsepower engine.
<TABLE cellSpacing=2 cellPadding=2 width=430 align=center><TBODY><TR><TD class=leftnav>http://www.autonews.com/images/random/020705/blooth/art/dts430.jpg</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
Chassis tuning, and a new front cradle design, has made the ride more quiet and refined.
"This will be a global product for us," LaNeve says. "And, as a result, we have to deliver some world-class traits."
The DTS will be manufactured at Detroit's Hamtramck assembly center and is expected to arrive in showrooms this fall. In addition to the U.S. and Canada, the DTS will be exported to Mexico, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
http://www.autoweek.com/files/specials/2005_chicago/dts/images/X06CA_DT007.jpg
http://www.autoweek.com/files/specials/2005_chicago/dts/images/X06CA_DT008.jpg
http://www.autoweek.com/files/specials/2005_chicago/dts/images/X06CA_DT022.jpg
http://www.autonews.com/news.cms?newsId=11491
By Jason Stein (JStein@crain.com)
Automotive News / February 09, 2005
Buick has some ambitious and aggressive plans for its LeSabre replacement.
How ambitious? Try Toyota Avalon or Lexus ES 330 territory.
How aggressive? Try a price point north of the $26,725 LeSabre and a move into the entry-luxury segment.
As the third vehicle in Buick's self-described product transformation, the Lucerne is a re-engineered and restyled sedan that Buick hopes can attract a new buyer.
"We expect the Lucerne, along with the LaCrosse and Terraza, to appeal to many new customers and account for approximately 75 percent of Buick sales," says Buick general manager John Larson. "We're in the process of rolling out one of the most aggressive product programs in Buick history."
Buick, and the LeSabre, could use a shot in the arm. LeSabre sales have dropped 21.4 percent during the last three years, from 145,304 in 2001.
With an infusion of ride and performance technology, and the addition of a V-8 engine, Buick says the front-wheel-drive Lucerne offers a better mix of technology and sophistication.
Buick will push the Lucerne's exterior design, premium interior and overall quietness when it brings the vehicle to market in the fourth quarter this year.
<TABLE cellSpacing=2 cellPadding=2 width=430 align=center><TBODY><TR><TD class=leftnav>http://www.autonews.com/images/random/020705/blooth/art/lucernefront430.jpg
http://www.autonews.com/images/random/020705/blooth/art/lucerneback430.jpg</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
Among the changes this year:
<LI type=square>Lucerne will be the first Buick to offer Magnetic Ride Control, a handling system that uses magnetically charged particles suspended in fluid to continuously adjust the fluid's thickness to varying road surfaces and driving characteristics. The result: less body roll during cornering.
<LI type=square>Lucerne is the first Buick car to offer V-8 power in a decade. The V-8 features a 4.6-liter, 32-valve dual overhead cam engine estimated at 275 horsepower. A 3.8-liter V-6 is also available.
<LI type=square>Buick will provide six standard airbags on the Lucerne, including a dual-stage driver air bag, side-impact and side curtain air bags. Also included is a dual depth front passenger airbag that deploys to either a reduced depth or increased depth depending on the position of the seat and severity of impact.
http://www.autonews.com/news.cms?newsId=11492
http://www.autoweek.com/files/specials/2005_chicago/lucerne/images/X06BU_LU002.jpg
http://www.autoweek.com/files/specials/2005_chicago/lucerne/images/zX06BU_LU010.jpg
DTS joins Cadillac's alphabet strategy
By Jason Stein (JStein@crain.com)
Automotive News / February 09, 2005
A renaissance needs some continuity, Cadillac says.
That's the reason the restyled, re-engineered replacement for Cadillac's lone remaining front-wheel-drive sedan, the DeVille, also gets a new name this year: DTS.
Sound familiar?
Beginning with the CTS, Cadillac has been gradually adopting its single-mode strategy - one exterior, one interior with multiple option packages - and alpha naming policy to its lineup. Now, one of Cadillac's historically best-selling vehicles gets both.
Is it dangerous to change vehicle names on a product that annually outsells everything in its division?
"We saw the DeVille associated with the antiquated, old Cadillac," says Mark LaNeve, GM's vice president of marketing and advertising for GM North America and Cadillac's former general manager.
"This is a renaissance at Cadillac and we wanted to line up the DeVille with our other products. And our customers knew the DTS was the uplevel DeVille," LaNeve says.
Cadillac's design theme has been applied to the front and rear of the DTS, bringing it better in line with the rest of the portfolio. The vehicle also gets a Northstar 4.6-liter V-8 engine available in two configurations - a 290- and 275-horsepower engine.
<TABLE cellSpacing=2 cellPadding=2 width=430 align=center><TBODY><TR><TD class=leftnav>http://www.autonews.com/images/random/020705/blooth/art/dts430.jpg</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
Chassis tuning, and a new front cradle design, has made the ride more quiet and refined.
"This will be a global product for us," LaNeve says. "And, as a result, we have to deliver some world-class traits."
The DTS will be manufactured at Detroit's Hamtramck assembly center and is expected to arrive in showrooms this fall. In addition to the U.S. and Canada, the DTS will be exported to Mexico, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
http://www.autoweek.com/files/specials/2005_chicago/dts/images/X06CA_DT007.jpg
http://www.autoweek.com/files/specials/2005_chicago/dts/images/X06CA_DT008.jpg
http://www.autoweek.com/files/specials/2005_chicago/dts/images/X06CA_DT022.jpg
http://www.autonews.com/news.cms?newsId=11491