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Ian F
Ian F MegaDork
12/4/19 2:36 p.m.

In reply to eastsideTim :

The top trim Essence starts at $35K.  Picking nearly every option available puts it under $45K. These days, that is not expensive compared to other wagons of similar size.  Whether or not that is expensive to a particular buyer is a different debate.

eastsideTim
eastsideTim UberDork
12/4/19 2:52 p.m.

In reply to Ian F :

I wonder if they dropped the MSRP in the newer model years.  I could have sworn it was 37K (well, 36995) back in 2018.  Valid point about it being expensive or not to a particular buyer.  It's just weird to me that options that are available much more cheaply on lower end brands cost so much to "unlock" on a premium brand.  I know it is because the higher trim line tends to generate higher profits.  Of course, that's not just Buick - try finding cruise control on any American-made base model compact or subcompact, even though e-throttles have made that even cheaper to include than ever.

Sorry for taking this a little off topic into one of my automotive pet peeves.

T.J.
T.J. MegaDork
12/4/19 3:46 p.m.

The only Buick I’ve been even remotely interested in decades and now it is getting the axe. My Volvo wagon only has 40k miles, so it’s nowhere near being ready to be replaced. RIP cool Buick wagon.

STM317
STM317 UltraDork
12/4/19 4:11 p.m.

For those lamenting the move away from cars, and towards CUVs, it's not all bad:

The Lambo Urus posted a faster Lightning Lap time than any Audi R8 that they've ever tested.

 

These things can be made to do work around a track too.

 

BoostedBrandon
BoostedBrandon SuperDork
12/4/19 7:36 p.m.
STM317 said:

For those lamenting the move away from cars, and towards CUVs, it's not all bad:

The Lambo Urus posted a faster Lightning Lap time than any Audi R8 that they've ever tested.

 

These things can be made to do work around a track too.

 

Yeah, but, look at it.

Would ya just look at it.

irish44j
irish44j MegaDork
12/4/19 9:20 p.m.
Tom_Spangler said:

I suppose I'm as guilty as anyone, since I bought a new car in that price range earlier this year. I like the TourX a lot, but that 4-banger just wasn't enough for me. I'd rather have had a wagon than my sedan (Fusion), but I wasn't going to give up that much performance to get it.

Plus, and I freely admit that this is my own personal, stupid bias, but I still think of Buicks as "Old man cars".

 

the only people who really want wagons are the people who like "sportier" things (like many of us). But then they give us the wagons with the base motors and/or automatics and we don't buy them like that. Then they kill them.

I'd have paid more for a VW alltrack if I could get it with the 2.0T and a manual. But I can't, so I bought a new GTI instead. 

 

Greg Voth
Greg Voth Dork
12/4/19 9:39 p.m.

In reply to irish44j :

I would have bought that too. Instead I've got the six speed Alltrack purchased new.   The JB4 tunes put them in GTI territory and you can bolt on the is20 and is38 turbos. I would have likely opted for the wagon version of the R in all reality if offered here. 

 

The TourX didn't make the list because of no manual option.  Same reason Subaru didn't make the cut. Only the super pedestrian wagons offer a manual.  

mad_machine
mad_machine GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
12/4/19 10:54 p.m.

the US makers are abandoning cars.. yet the Asians and Europeans are still bringing home the bucks making them.

Appleseed
Appleseed MegaDork
12/5/19 4:25 a.m.

In reply to mad_machine :

Wouldn'tbe the first time US auto manufacturers shot themselves in the foot.

No Time
No Time Dork
12/5/19 4:56 a.m.
Keith Tanner said:

And the NC Miata had older buyers than any other vehicle in Mazda's fleet.

My numbers were from a CarMax article. Scion wasn't even on the list. These are secondary buyers, not the primary ones.

It would be interesting to see that data graphed against price, and possibly demographic data on children. 

I'm thinking cost may be driving the buyer age in that chart,  as much as styling/brand.

Knurled.
Knurled. GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
12/5/19 5:55 a.m.
STM317 said:

For those lamenting the move away from cars, and towards CUVs, it's not all bad:

The Lambo Urus posted a faster Lightning Lap time than any Audi R8 that they've ever tested.

 

These things can be made to do work around a track too.

 

Can they be made with low headlights so that they don't blind people when they are following someone in a car?

captdownshift
captdownshift GRM+ Memberand UltimaDork
12/5/19 6:13 a.m.

So Buick is now GMC, both of which were developed to provide vehicles to middle management across America who wanted leather in their Chevys. Well now Chevys have leather, dual some climate control, heated seats and infotainment.

 

Kill GMC and Buick. Their time has past. 

90BuickCentury
90BuickCentury New Reader
12/5/19 6:35 a.m.

Disappointed but not surprised. Buick used to be only cars and wagons but now they will be only SUVs. Like captdownshift said, basically they are becoming GMC and both brands are now basically high-end Chevy.

Feedyurhed
Feedyurhed UltraDork
12/5/19 6:43 a.m.

It's a changing world.  Life as we knew it is over. Somewhere a GNX is crying. 

Appleseed
Appleseed MegaDork
12/5/19 7:41 a.m.

In reply to captdownshift :

Too many Chinese with too much money. Buick exists solely to kiss China's ass.

ddavidv
ddavidv PowerDork
12/5/19 8:03 a.m.

We tried a SUV for awhile. Didn't like it.

I'm a wagon buyer. I don't like the high lift height of the SUVs nor the tippy handling. We currently have a Jetta wagon. I tolerate it's VW-ness because it's about the only wagon out there now (I just can't like Volvos. I've tried.)

Modern cars just don't hold my interest. Too much emphasis on 'connected devices' and nanny aids I can't turn off. The cost to fix them is as excessive as the sticker price. Call me a Luddite I guess. Not that I want to go back to crank windows and column shifters but vehicle technology has marched past me and my wants/needs/interests.

The Buick wagon-thing was on my radar as a used car purchase but looks like they will be harder to find than an Acura TSX wagon the last time we shopped for a 'new' car.

Even when they do make a car that is sort-of interesting the styling is so featureless it instills as much passion as shopping for a new washer/dryer combo.

Performance may be up but passion is nearly non-existent.

NickD
NickD PowerDork
12/5/19 8:49 a.m.

Harley Earl is turning 4000rpm in his grave.

Adrian_Thompson
Adrian_Thompson MegaDork
12/5/19 9:20 a.m.

I don't get the hate.  Car companies make what people want to buy and people buy what they want.  What's wrong with that?  It's always been the same.  I swear if upright cars had been popular 50 years ago and sedans were the rage now enthusiasts would be bitching that manufacturers had stopped making practical cars and were obsessed with these useless low cars.

dculberson
dculberson MegaDork
12/5/19 9:52 a.m.
BoostedBrandon said:
STM317 said:

For those lamenting the move away from cars, and towards CUVs, it's not all bad:

The Lambo Urus posted a faster Lightning Lap time than any Audi R8 that they've ever tested.

 

These things can be made to do work around a track too.

 

Yeah, but, look at it.

Would ya just look at it.

It's funny, I looked at photos of one and thought, it looks like a dressed up Cayenne/Toureg, forgetting the VW/Porsche/Lamborghini relationship, and looked it up and lo and behold it is a dressed up Cayenne/Toureg! They get a ton of mileage out of that platform. Well, not literal mileage - they're all gas guzzlers.

Snrub
Snrub HalfDork
12/5/19 10:10 a.m.
Adrian_Thompson said:

I don't get the hate.  Car companies make what people want to buy and people buy what they want.  What's wrong with that?  It's always been the same.  I swear if upright cars had been popular 50 years ago and sedans were the rage now enthusiasts would be bitching that manufacturers had stopped making practical cars and were obsessed with these useless low cars.

I'm actually surprised by the number of people on here who drive cuvs/trucks. People on places like here tend to enjoy driving sensations. Taller, bigger, heavier vehicles have less of that.

I think in the case of these Buicks, few people like us are buying them, but we like the idea of them being available.

Vigo
Vigo MegaDork
12/5/19 10:21 a.m.

I feel like the odd one out most of the time because I have owned or do own cars in basically every single category and the only thing I can't relate to is the concept of spending 20k+ on something mundane as most 'normal' people do. 

As a mechanic, I can say with certainty that they all go to to E36 M3 and in the short term humans are more of a factor than the make/model is. The main utility of new cars for me is to maintain the depreciation of used cars. .

I can't think of a category of normal non-commercial vehicle that I haven't owned one of. FF FR MR RR FWD RWD AWD 4WD subcompact compact midsize fullsize, 1 through 7 liters, coupe sedan wagon suv minivan full size van convertible, compact through 1 ton pickups, blah blah blah blah. 

I have owned all of it. I just didn't think the TourX was a particularly compelling car on its own merits, whether it was a wagon or not!!

BlueInGreen - Jon
BlueInGreen - Jon SuperDork
12/5/19 10:45 a.m.

I’m just sad because the Tour X was a really good looking car and could have been great with some more power and a nicely put together interior. Instead it had a nice exterior and unremarkable everything else.

Make it a potent but less flashy alternative to Euro stuff and it might have been a winner.

They could even have marketed it as a crossover.

BlueInGreen - Jon
BlueInGreen - Jon SuperDork
12/5/19 10:47 a.m.
Snrub said:
Adrian_Thompson said:

I don't get the hate.  Car companies make what people want to buy and people buy what they want.  What's wrong with that?  It's always been the same.  I swear if upright cars had been popular 50 years ago and sedans were the rage now enthusiasts would be bitching that manufacturers had stopped making practical cars and were obsessed with these useless low cars.

I'm actually surprised by the number of people on here who drive cuvs/trucks. People on places like here tend to enjoy driving sensations. Taller, bigger, heavier vehicles have less of that.

I think in the case of these Buicks, few people like us are buying them, but we like the idea of them being available.

Well, a lot of people on here also have a Miata or something (or multiple somethings) in the garage to fulfill their desire for driving sensations.

Keith Tanner
Keith Tanner GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
12/5/19 10:49 a.m.
No Time said:
Keith Tanner said:

And the NC Miata had older buyers than any other vehicle in Mazda's fleet.

My numbers were from a CarMax article. Scion wasn't even on the list. These are secondary buyers, not the primary ones.

It would be interesting to see that data graphed against price, and possibly demographic data on children. 

I'm thinking cost may be driving the buyer age in that chart,  as much as styling/brand.

Toyota above BMW, Ford above Audi, Kia above Jeep - not completely. I agree that price would be interesting, but that’s also a factor of where the automakers position themselves. Buick’s don’t compete with Kias on price, and part of that results in their average owner is older. The data is the same regardless of the reason. 

irish44j
irish44j MegaDork
12/5/19 3:14 p.m.
Greg Voth said:

In reply to irish44j :

I would have bought that too. Instead I've got the six speed Alltrack purchased new.   The JB4 tunes put them in GTI territory and you can bolt on the is20 and is38 turbos. I would have likely opted for the wagon version of the R in all reality if offered here. 

 

The TourX didn't make the list because of no manual option.  Same reason Subaru didn't make the cut. Only the super pedestrian wagons offer a manual.  

Except the only reason I bought a vw was because of the huge warranty lol.....and all those tunes nix it!

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