2006 Buick Lucerne on 2040-cars

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Why Buick's future lies in China

Back in the last half of 2008 and into 2009, when General Motors was looking at too much capacity for too few customers, when it was running out of money and needing to go to the governments of the US and Canada and to the UAW for financial support, its management team was pretty much instructed by the feds to focus resources on what would create the best likelihood for a return on the investments and guarantees that it was getting. Things needed to be cut, and not just the corporate air fleet. This led to the elimination of Saturn, Hummer and Pontiac and the sale of Saab to Spyker. What remained of GM's North American brand portfolio was Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac, and GMC. (Oldsmobile had been shuttered in 2004.) There were a variety of opinions regarding which brands GM should keep/lose during the midst of the Great Recession. Some thought GMC should be axed, but then it was pointed out that GMC essentially produced high-content Chevys, which resulted in fantastic transaction costs. Lots of money in the back of those pickups. Others thought Buick should be eliminated. The rationale was: Chevy was the mass-market brand, Cadillac was the luxury brand, and GMC helped leverage the company's investment in trucks. (Yes, even back then the F-Series was winning the pickup sales race, so it was always a matter of adding Silverado and Sierra sales to show that GM was solidly in the game.) So what was Buick? Better than Chevy but not as good as a Cadillac? Somehow that doesn't seem to be a particularly aspirational position to hold. But Buick's identity didn't need to be worked out in 2008-09 because there was a single compelling reason to keep it: China. According to official GM history, Pu Yi, the last emperor of China, Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the first provisional president of China, and Zhou Enlai, a Chinese premier, "Either owned, drove or were driven in Buick automobiles." What's more: "According to statistics from the Shanghai government, in 1930 one out of every six cars on the city's roads was a Buick." Which is to say that Buick got to China early and has a major presence in that market. When the Regal Sportback and Regal TourX were being unveiled at the GM Design Dome the first week of April, Duncan Aldred, vice president of Global Buick, gave a briefing of Buick's place on the automotive landscape.

GM laying off more than 4,000 workers Monday morning

According to reports from Automotive News, The Detroit News, and CNN, General Motors plans to begin laying off more than 4,000 salaried workers starting Monday morning. In a statement to AN, a spokesperson for the automaker said, "We are not confirming timing. Our employees are our priority. We will communicate with them first." We've been expecting layoffs at General Motors since November, 2018. At the time, the Detroit-based automaker announced it would seek to shed 8,100 salaried employees, shut down five assembly plants in North America, and kill off several slow-selling models. One month earlier, GM offered buyout packages to 18,000 workers and said it would seek to cut its global workforce by 25 percent. A spokesperson said at the time the moves were "proactive steps to get ahead of the curve by accelerating our efforts to address overall business performance." The cost-cutting moves are expected to save GM up to $2.5 billion in 2019 and as much as $6 billion by 2020. David Kudla, CEO and chief investment strategist of Mainstay Capital Management, referred to the impending culling as "Black Monday" and told The Detroit News that the layoffs would begin around 7:30 a.m. and continue in waves throughout the coming days and weeks. GM plans to deliver on its fourth-quarter and full-year 2018 earnings report on Wednesday. President Donald Trump plans to deliver the annual State of the Union address a day earlier on Tuesday. We expect to hear plenty more from both sides over the next several days.

This 1988 Buick LeSabre Estate Wagon looks like a boxy, wood-sided bargain

The growing interest in 1980s cars has meant that General Motors' full-size B-body station wagons of the era are now attracting the interest of collectors as well as iconoclasts seeking an SUV alternative. This 1988 Buick LeSabre Estate Wagon for sale right now on eBay Motors, looks to be a tempting example of the genre. It has covered just 72,000 miles and is described as a "rust-free southern car." The A/C is said to be cold, and it's equipped with power windows, a split-bench front seat and a rear-facing third seat. Whereas the Electra was the wagon for the finest estates, the LeSabre presumably was for those that were one rung down, so it has a slightly more downmarket maroon cloth interior where the Electra would have velour. Yet this LeSabre Estate Wagon is still slathered in a full complement of woodgrain siding, and this car sports a factory set of wire wheel covers. We're told the 5.0-liter V8 sound great, while the paint is said to be "a little tired" and one headlight looks like it needs to be replaced. The "Buy It Now" price is $8,500, and the seller is also inviting offers. Plus, 1% of the sales price benefits St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, so there's a feel-good factor. For comparison, this wagon's Oldsmobile twin currently being auctioned on Bring a Trailer already has been bid past $8,900 for four days still to go in the auction. This '83 Custom Cruiser has 74,000 miles and looks maybe a little spiffier, but not a lot more so. The seller of this Oldsmobile includes a video in his listing, and in it he appears to be not wearing pants. Sometimes it's all about presentation. Related Video: