New Buick GL8 pictures
Last Updated:
These new pictures do show quite a nice looking minivan.
One that seems more than a match for the Town and Country, but also pretty much all the new competition from Honda, Toyota and Nissan.
Maybe it’s time fro GM to grab a slice of that minivan market.
For now, this is still a China only model.
Though sharing a similar 'kink' in the belt-line as the new Honda Odyssey, somehow this Buick looks so much sleeker, refined, and elegant than that bulky/cartoonish effort.
it might be worth the effort to bring this to the US.
This is certainly designed better than the Oddity astigmatizzm or slopy sienna. But up close I think you'ld find it too narrow, too tall, and too clumsy to corner — expecially compared to Routan, Oddity, Caravan, Sienna,& Town&Country. (New Nissan is narrower and taller than the rest; but probabally not as much as akward as this Buick.)
The kink is horrible – just as horrible as it is on the Honda. How many martini lunches did the designers have when they came up with this?
Offering this in the U.S. would set Buick back to where they were when all the trouble started for them. Note: Stop trying to be all things to all people.
It's a good minivan, tasteful and with some new-generation Honda Odyssey influence in parts. The only thing is that is doesn't have much engine in it for a vehicle of it's size, a 2.4L four is anemic for this, and the 3.0L V6, which is good, but lacks the torque for this. I could see a 3.6L V6 with D.I. offered, at least as an upgrade, then it would fare better, especially in the USA.
I think there is room for this in the American market. You see so many Odysseys on the road, and the Chrysler and Dodge are the only US alternatives. If Buick doesn't think it can sell them, stick the Chevy bowtie on it. The reason GM didn't sell their previous minivans is because they were crap.
Dump the Traverse, especially when you can get an Enclave for the SAME (note: expensive) PRICE, it's dead in the water anyway. With the FWD Escalade coming to market, Enclave won't be needed either, but it still needs to stick around because the Caddy version will have to needlessly be $20,000 more than the Enclave for the badge to make a lick of sense.
The GL8 would do just fine over here. Much better than the Routan. That in itself would be worth it.
There is no reason for GM to need FOUR versions of the Lambda clones. Leave the Base (Traverse), Sport (Acadia), and Lux (Caddy) would be just fine. But at the same time, it's the Enclave and Acadia that currently have the numbers.
I really don't know who should be cut, especially since GMC MUST be on the table (for some unknown reason).
Hell, as much trouble as they've been in, sell the GL8 and Enclave side by side. Either way it'll be one of a kind until GM spreads this platform thin as well.
GM, you make my head hurt.
Since 1978 cars have been getting smaller & smaller. Good design is hard to do the smaller a car gets. That's why all the tiniest Toyota, Kias, fiats, Fords, Hondas, Opels, VW,s BMW's, Audi's all look similar and all are pretty bland crap–stylistically. You need a lot of real estate to execute the grand class of Dusenburg, Imperial, Cadillac, New Yorker, 98, Electra, the T-Bird 4-Dr sedans, the current XJ or 9-5 or Phantom. But ALL minivans have that big of a canvas to paint on. So why don't Designers make better use of it? A melted brick ('10 Sienna) rear-ended box (Oddessy) or predictably perfect box (Caravan, T&C) are ALL DULL. And this Buick, with it's short whispy character lines is no better. I think these minivan styliests should be looking more at 20' luxo-barges of the past instead of just wrapping a box with repetitive mini-car "styling" cues. These are big machines. Lets see some fender bulges, a "coke-bottle" shape, a Charger tail lamp, fender skirts, some loooong elegant character lines. Where's the creativity of an "Olds Vista Cruiser". How about a Jeep Commander/HUMMER with a short hood? Just photoshop a BMW 7 or Cad CTS or E-class or 300c or XJ into a short-hood/2-box shape: THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKN BOUT!
G E N U I N E S T Y L E.
(And Toyota's latest stretch Sienna show car is about as far from good Design as you can get–what an embarassing joke!)
Why does Buick even exist? The concept of "Near Luxury" is just crap pulled out of marketing twit's butt. They should have kept Pontiac and made a true sport minivan and Lambda.