Thursday, January 15, 2009

Opel Vehicles Could Soon Be Heading To Buick Dealerships

Opel Insignia image

Big changes are obviously coming to the Big Three. Perhaps the biggest changes will soon affect a number of GM brands, especially Saturn and Buick, as the automaker struggles to streamline its marketing, production, and sales processes. What we may soon see is a shift of Saturn’s design language to that of Buick.

Saturn has recently stood out from the GM lineup as many of its vehicles have been based on GM’s German brand, Opel. Even the latest Saturn models, such as the Astra, are re-badged Opel models. While Opel has stellar Euro styling, which used cars Salt Lake City shoppers say is refreshing compared with many other vehicles under the GM umbrella, Saturn has been unable to generate a sales volume that it needs to ensure its survival.

GM already has plenty of changes on the horizon, which are eagerly awaited among New Orleans Chevrolet dealers. Saab and Hummer are likely to be sold off completely. Pontiac is expected to remain, but will be downsized into some sort of specialty car brand. Meanwhile, Saturn and its 400 dealers, including Saturn Boulder, are awaiting other solutions.

Recently, it seems that the “American Opel” will no longer be Saturn, and will instead become part of Buick’s design direction. As GM is pushing Opel’s brand more up market, it seems like an ideal fit for Buick which has also attempted to move up market with mixed results, says Used Cars Birmingham. It’s unlikely that Opel will be on par with the likes of Mercedes-Benz or BMW, but it will be able to be an entry-luxury brand.

Putting a Buick badge on Opel vehicles may seem unusual, but it’s nothing new for General Motors. In China, according to Pontiac Pittsburgh, where Buick is one of the best-selling brands available, the Buick lineup is already made up of Opel Corsas and Astras. Bringing re-badged Opel vehicles to the US as Buicks will further streamline operations, and as Opel strives to be an entry-level luxury brand in Europe, it makes more sense to have the voluptuous vehicles as Buicks rather than as Saturns. Regardless, Waterbury Pontiac and other dealers are expecting substantial changes in GM's lineup and in their overall design direction.

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