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<\/p>\n<\/div>Buick made the list of Top 10 brands in the Consumer Reports 2017 Annual Top Picks list. It\u2019s second only to Porsche in J.D. Power\u2019s Vehicle Dependability Study. And it was the only General Motors brand to gain sales last year, up 2.9 percent.<\/p>\n
To paraphrase the brand\u2019s popular TV ads: That\u2019s Buick?<\/p>\n
Saved in GM\u2019s 2009 bankruptcy largely for its strong presence in China, Buick has justified GM\u2019s decision by becoming America\u2019s comeback kid. With a consistent message, dependable products and crossovers perfectly timed to slake America\u2019s thirst for all things sport-utility, the 118-year-old brand is shedding its stodgy, sedan image.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know from research that when people find out we make SUVs, they think we are a modern, contemporary brand,\u201d says Buick Marketing and Advertising Director Molly Peck. She the brand\u2019s first female marketing chief and a key player in its resurgence.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a full SUV lineup. It started with Enclave in 2008,\u201d she says, referring to Buick\u2019s mid-size SUV. \u201cIt really wowed people. It filled the need for a beautiful vehicle that also had cargo capability \u2014 so it was a good alternative to the big SUVs on the road. Second, we introduced Encore, and got a lot of people to consider Buick. Now we love what the Envision brings to the brand.\u201d<\/p>\n
The cute Encore continues to roll out of showroom as not only the best-selling premium small SUV \u2014 but one of the best-selling subcompact crossovers, period. The Envision debuted late last year to strong sales in America\u2019s hot compact ute segment.<\/p>\n
All but forgotten are Buick cars like the LaCrosse and Regal, which have seen sales decline with the rest of the U.S. sedan market. The all-new Regal\u2019s introduction next month promises a catwalk stunner that will further elevate the brand\u2019s design turnaround.<\/p>\n
But Peck says its Buick\u2019s gamble on SUVs that has really paid off.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe got it right,\u201d she says of Buick\u2019s strong presence in a market where SUVs now make up over half of sales. By contrast GM stablemate Cadillac \u2014 despite a wave of critically acclaimed performance sedans \u2014 has struggled with only one crossover to offer. The giant Escalade is built on the Chevy Silverado pickup frame.<\/p>\n
Peck credits Buick\u2019s timing to \u201ca lot of open-mindedness. We needed a home run. We didn\u2019t think of ourselves as a car-only brand. We recognized the market is changing and evolving.\u201d<\/p>\n
Buick\u2019s new product focus was built on a strong foundation of vehicle reliability. That\u2019s why it consistently rubs shoulders with brands like Lexus and Porsche in Consumer Reports and J.D. Power studies. Buick has been in the Top 10 of J.D. Power\u2019s vehicle reliability study for more than 15 years.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s that consistency that is essential to brand marketing, says Peck. The stylish, married mother of two teenagers fits Buick\u2019s target demographic of a successful executive with family.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe keep pushing and pushing \u2014 it\u2019s a job that requires a lot of patience and consistency,\u201d says Peck, who has an MBA. \u201cI like the challenge of changing Buick\u2019s image. I think we are turning the corner, and as you turn the corner it gives us more momentum and you get more energized by it. We see it in the research. You can sense in the focus groups that people are becoming more open to the brand.\u201d<\/p>\n
She is patient with the prospects of Buick\u2019s sedans, which have taken a hit even as the LaCrosse, for example, has received raves for its style and an athletic all-wheel drive system found only in the Ford Focus RS hot hatchback.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe sedan segment is rebalancing with SUVs, but large lux is still 20 percent car sales,\u201d says Peck, who points hopefully to the Avenir and Avista car concepts that wowed Detroit Auto Show goers over the last two years. \u201cAvista has been a phenomenal success, the year before was Avenir. Elements of the vehicles do translate \u2014 the Avenir showed our new grille and tricolor badge. So there are elements that foreshadow things to come.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Buick made the list of Top 10 brands in the Consumer Reports 2017 Annual Top Picks list. It\u2019s second only to Porsche in J.D. Power\u2019s Vehicle Dependability Study. And it was the only General Motors brand to gain sales last year, up 2.9 percent. To paraphrase the brand\u2019s popular TV ads: That\u2019s Buick? Saved in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20251"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20251"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20251\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20252,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20251\/revisions\/20252"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20251"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20251"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20251"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}