A Follow Up to the 9 Detroit Auto Brands We’d Miss the Least

On December 3rd of 2008, we published an article entitled “9 Detroit Auto Brands We’d Miss the Least” encouraging the Detroit automakers to slim down and get rid of some of their brands. The argument was, that just like Aron Ralston cutting off his own arm to survive, the major US car manufacturers needed to take drastic action and cut off some major portions of their business in order to keep the business alive as a whole.

Almost 7 months later, we’re back with a follow-up to see which of our original 9 brands survived and which ones went the way of Oldsmobile and Geo. Check it:

Catering to luxury customers who rarely push the speedometer above 25 mph, Buick has announced the 2010 LaCrosse will come equipped with GM’s new direct-inject Ecotec 2.4L 4-cylinder. “Buick LaCrosse customers will have the fuel-efficient option of the Ecotec 2.4L direct injection engine, a four-cylinder that is not available by key competitors, such as the Lincoln MKZ and Acura TL,” said Susan Docherty, Buick-Pontiac-GMC vice president. “Features such as a rear-seat entertainment system and remote starting are other technologies that are segment exclusives, contributing to LaCrosse’s balanced package of design, performance and intelligent technology.”

Mated to what Buick has ambiguously dubbed a “new, fuel-efficient” 6-speed automatic gearbox, the new Ecotec is expected to allow the 2010 LaCrosse to achieve segment-leading fuel economy with an average of 30 mpg highway, 20 mpg city. Since green is the new redline, the 2.4L Ecotec’s performance numbers are predictably lackluster, boasting a mere 182 horsepower (136 kW) and 172 lb-ft. of torque (233 Nm). For Buick customers who want to be at the Bingo Hall yesterday, the 2010 Buick LaCrosse also comes with an optional 255-horsepower 3.0L V6 is offered as well as a faster, beefier 280-hp 3.6L V6.

Texas grown Edward E. Whitacre Jr. knows plenty about telephones. He spent 43 of his 67 years building AT&T into a multi-national telephone giant. That takes some quality wrangling, my friends. But what about cars?

Even though our esteemed editor and famed Volvo aficionado Suzanne joked once that “there’s probably a total of 7 people in the Continental U.S. that would salivate over a Volvo,” this sweet 122 begs to differ. Bring-a-Trailer brought the eBay ad to our attention, so take the jump and get some paper towels to catch the saliva.

Ordinarily this is the part where we’d draw some sort of humorous parallels between your excruciatingly mind-numbing job in middle management and the excruciatingly boring legacy of the modern Buick, but the Buick Business MPV is actually pretty cool. Granted, as freelancers we tend to hold a rather romanticized view of the “steady” job, but we could still see ourselves discussing Q4 reports en route to a business brunch, comfortably ensconced within the Buick Business MPV’s surprisingly luxurious rear seats.

Unveiled this week at the 2009 Shanghai Motor Show in concept form, the Buick Business MPV boasts a plethora of impressive features, including center-row captain’s chairs capable of swiveling 225 degrees and an extremely hi-tech 3D instrument panel display. Covered from stem to stern in rich leather and suede designed to mimic earth and wood themes, the Buick Business MPV offers an impressively first-class experience for busy Chinese professionals. Explained Cao Min, PATAC (Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center Co.) Concept Car Chief Designer, “Through deep burgundy suede carpet, high-quality leather interior decoration with liuli and soft, ice blue ambient lighting, we wanted to create a mobile VIP lounge for passengers.”

Cars and music go together like peanut butter and chocolate, or, for our peanut-intolerant readers, peas and carrots. The automobile has been romanticized in song for nearly a century. In the early days of the automobile, audiophiles adapted home equipment to work on the road. In 1930 the Motorola 5T71 was introduced giving car buyers a factory-installed radio. Over time the capabilities of automotive audio systems grew to include record players from Chrysler in 1956 to cassette decks in the ’60s to CD players in the ’80s and finally arriving at the MP3 player capability offered in most new cars today. Throughout all of this one thing has remained: the alluring combination of cars and music.

Sometimes we get too caught up in the new cars that are out on the market. Everything’s shiny, everything’s new. Well, sometimes it’s good to remember how beautiful the old stuff is.

Buick has been getting a rough rap lately for producing a bunch of bland, boring cars. But I think we need to remember where they came from. So, without further ado, let’s look at some amazing old Buicks from years past.

In the wake of their amicable split with former spokesman, Tiger Woods, the burden of remaining a trendy and relevant brand has doubled for Buick, but with the 2010 Buick LaCrosse, they appear to be handling the pressure with the utmost grace. Scheduled to officially unveil this weekend at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show, the 2010 LaCrosse is a bold new step for Buick and immediately sets itself apart as a new generation of luxury from The General.

Buick LaCrosse Super

One of the most important GM brands in China, Buick, is largely an also ran here in America with the exception of the gray haired citizens among us.  This is especially true for those that previously would have, or could have, bought a Cadillac in better economic times or before Cadillac started making high-powered sport sedans.  There does seem to be an infusion of life on the horizon with the Invicta Concept (see below), but in the interim the most exciting car for Buick is the LaCrosse.

Don’t you miss Oldsmobile? Yeah, me neither.

One of the main problems GM has is its large number of brands, and the fact that they’ve spread themselves so thin across those brands. They argue that there’s value in those nameplates, since customers want a wide selection. The thing is, they’re half the size they were in their prime, and they have more brands. Here’s a run down of the brands GM owns: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Daewoo, GMC, Holden, Hummer, Opel, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn, and Vauxhall. They need to lighten up their load if they want to survive.

Remember the story of Aron Ralston? He was the climber who was out in the wilderness when a boulder fell on his arm and pinned him there. He was stuck, couldn’t get loose, so he did what needed to be done, he cut off his own arm. That kind of action takes giant brass balls, but it saved his life in a case where, otherwise, he most likely would have died. It’s tough to knowingly cut off a part of yourself, but in life or death situations, it needs to be done. That’s why we’ve put together this list of the 9 Detroit Automotive Brands We’d Miss The Least, to help the execs in Detroit make the tough choices. Yes, these are drastic moves, but the fact is, this is crunch time, life or death time. Now Detroit just needs to grow a set the size of Aron Ralston. Check it out: