Digital rendering of the small car that will be coming to the Buick line-up.
Look quick.
You won’t see much of Buick’s planned “Premium Compact Sedan” for several years, at least not in the sheet metal. So, for now, we’ll all have to settle for this digital rendering provided by the struggling General Motors brand during its news conference at the Los Angeles Auto Show.
Specifics are vague, though it will obviously slot into the Buick line-up beneath the newly-relaunched Regal sedan. Expect I-4 power driving the front wheels and, considering GM’s sudden focus on fuel economy, highway mileage likely to nudge into the 30 mpg range.
Unlike past Buick compacts, senior division officials promise the sedan will be lavishly outfitted, with little of the K Mart-grade plastics that so badly damaged the brand’s reputation in recent decades.
“We know we must improve Buick’s image,” conceded marketing manager Craig Byerly, during the L.A. media event, adding that the automaker will be taking “an aggressive stance people aren’t used to.”
Like the rest of Buick’s offerings, the Premium Compact Sedan will be sold in China, where Buick is one of the largest brands and, in fact, has scored a 48% sales increase so far this year.
Indeed, China has become the driving force for the brand, the recently-launched LaCrosse largely developed in the Asian nation. Chinese consumers are surprisingly picky, unlike those in other emerging markets, and senior officials say they’ve actually had to upgrade products to compete there, adding features like rear audio and climate control systems.
The Premium Compact Sedan is expected to reach the States by 2011.