Sorry but while agree that 3 brands may more I've yet to see a compelling argument that Buick should be one of them.
Buick has the lowest sales of all GM other than Saab by a condiserable margin. yes lower than Cadiallac. Their market demographic is old (even the Enclave hasn't lowered it that much)
Lets accept that Chev and Cadlillac stay. Lets hear an argument that Buick should be the third? If you are going to pick a 3rd brand why bick one that has the lowest sales and who's brand image appeals to the narrowest and smallest market segment?
Glad to offer an argument, not sure if you'll find it compelling or not.
We agree that Chevy and Cadillac are two anchors. Chevy is for mass-market and trucks, Cadillac is specialized RWD platforms meant to compete with Merc and BMW.
Thing is, I see a gap between the two brands. Particularly with hard times, a lot of people who used to be shopping for a full-on luxury car are now looking for premium-but-not-luxury. And the CTS and the like may be too expensive (it's hard to find a typically-equipped CTS for under $40k), while a fully-loaded Malibu just doesn't cut it. So I see a valid possibility for a middle brand.
If you agree that there's room for a brand between Chevy and Caddy, I think Buick is the most logical choice. Pontiac is pointless IMO. It's neither cheaper nor more premium than Chevy--a direct competitor. Allegedly it's the driving enthusiast brand of GM, but I find that pure marketing BS. The Corvette's a Chevy, as is the Cobalt SS Turbo, as is the Camaro. Make the Solstice and G8 Chevies (the Impala needed replacing anyway, no?) and Pontiac will disappear without anyone missing it. GMC is the worst example of rebadging ever, so kill it too. Sell Hummer to Mahindra or Tata. Deep-six Saab, because as cool as I think they are, their two greatest legacies are torque steer and breakdowns. So that leaves you with Buick and Saturn as the two possibilities for the middle-ground. Buick had a century-long history of good cars tainted by the past decade or so of bland old-people cars. Saturn sold cheap plastic cars for most of its life, and only tried to become more upscale last year, and I don't think the image-change has taken hold. So I think Buick wins.
Plus, think of it this way. Don't tell me what sort of person drives a Buick (old golfer etc etc). Tell me what a Buick is. It's mechanically-similar to a Chevy, but with more refinement, more sound deadening, and a better interior. Shoot--isn't that PRECISELY what this third brand is supposed to be? I think if their cars are more competitive (which the Enclave is and this Allure certainly appears to be), they can keep on with their already-ongoing Tiger Woods marketing campaign and the average age of buyers will drop from elderly to middle-age. Throw in an upscale version of the Cruze--call it the Excelle perhaps to take a lead from Buick China--and I think they've got a really solid set of offerings.
Now, you can disagree with the three-brand approach entirely, and try to instead improve Chevy's top end and Cadillac's bottom end. Problem is, a car like this one undoes all the work GM has done in the past five years to rejuvenate Cadillac's image. Cadillac finally has some credibility as a BMW and Merc competitor, and I think if this LaCrosse became their top seller, that would evaporate, killing the prestige (and thus hurting the sales) of the CTS, CTS-V, next-gen STS, upcoming ATS, etc. And I don't think this would sell very well next to the Malibu in a Chevy dealership. When you've put this much work into dressing up a car, I think a different badge really helps complete the package.
So that's why I think there's room for Buick inside a trimmed-down GM. Chevy does mass-market, performance cars, and trucks. Buick does upscale cars on Chevy platforms to take on Acura and Volvo and the like. Cadillac has unique platforms and competes with the Germans and Lexus in the full-on luxury market. That's what I'd do with GM if I was running the company.
