Buick will add a new small crossover to its rapidly expanding line-up.
What can Buick do for an Encore?
The once-terminal General Motors brand has been given a new lease on life with products like the Enclave, LaCrosse and, most recently, the Verano. But in today’s crowded market you’re only as good as your latest product.
Which means Buick will be coming to the North American International Auto Show, in Detroit, next month with what company officials acknowledge will be a new small crossover vehicle. While details are scarce, expect it to be dubbed the Buick Encore and go on sale in the 2013 model-year.
The new CUV will be one of a number of new General Motors products scheduled to make their debut at the 2012 Detroit Auto Show. As TheDetroitBureau.com reported Monday, that will include the new Cadillac ATS, a compact sedan taking aim at the fastest-growing niche in the luxury car market. The maker also plans to show the production version of the sporty Chevrolet Sonic RS and two Chevy concept vehicles.
(For more on GM’s plans for Detroit, Click Here.)
With the launch of the Encore Buick will have doubled the size of its line-up in barely two years, underscoring the brand’s unexpected rival. Going into its bankruptcy in 2009, many observers expected GM to abandon the brand after watching its sales steadily wither over the past several decades. Instead, the maker decided to put more resources behind Buick – in part because of the marque’s striking success in China, now the world’s largest national automotive market.
Indeed, GM’s design and engineering operations in Shanghai, known as PATEC, have had a significant role in the development of all recent Buick products. The Encore is being billed as a “world car,” which underscores the fact that it will be sold in China – and possibly other markets – as well as the U.S.
The Buick news conference at Detroit’s Cobo Hall is scheduled for January 10, 2012.