GM raised a few eyebrows when it priced its new Cruze compact at or above the base price of its closest competitors, marking a shift upwards in its pricing strategy. But with loaded LTZ versions of the Cruze crossing the $24k mark, one obvious concern was cannibalization of the forthcoming Buick version of the Cruze, the Verano. GM has yet to officially announce pricing for the Verano, but an online survey of Buick dealers has leaked to GM Inside News, showing that GM is eying a price range of $21k-$26k for the new Verano, a price point that certainly overlaps with the higher-trim Cruze models. And with the 2.4 liter four-banger from the Regal tipped as the Verano’s base engine, the case for the similarly-engined (and not all that much larger) Regal is made a little less convincing by the addition of the new compact Buick. Hit the jump for GM’s proposed trim levels.
Greetings Buick Dealers,
We would like to invite you to participate in an online order study of a potential new addition to the Buick portfolio.
Please note that this potential new entry would be a compact car available in four models. As a result, it is important for us to gauge how you would order this vehicle and in what quantities. In addition, each model builds off of the previous model. Proposed models are as follows:
1.) 1SB Cloth Base
• 2.4L 4-cylinder engine
• 180 hp @ 6700 rpm
• 172 lb-ft of torque @ 4900 rpm
• 6-Speed automatic transmission
Estimated MSRP range: $20,900 – $21,500 *2.) 1SD Cloth Mid-Level
Adds to 1SB
• Remote Start
• Auto Dual HVAC
• Connected Color Radio with Bluetooth Connectivity
Estimated MSRP range: $22,100 – $22,700*3.) 1SG Cloth Mid-Level
Adds to 1SB & 1SD
• 6-way power driver
• Heated ORVMs
• Rear Park Assist
• EC ISRVM
Estimated MSRP range: $23,300 – 23,900*4.) 1SL Leather Up-Level
Adds to 1SB, 1SD & 1SG
• Heated Seats/Steering Wheel
• Passive Entry & Push Button Start
• Bose Premium Audio
• 18” Wheels
Estimated MSRP range: $25,600 – 26,200**Note: Total vehicle pricing will NOT be shown in the order study
Boy, I sure hope they don’t call it that.
And, are they putting the same base engine in it that the Regal has? Pardon?
Did you forget we’re dealing with General Motors here? That should explain all.
I’ll take base Cruze with the 2.4. What do ya mean I can’t have that? OK, give me the base Verano even though I don’t believe a Buick should come with a cloth interior. Why would I buy the Buick then? Cause that price is too dang good to pass up, especially once they start slapping cash on the hood.
Buickman, what say you?
I prefer cloth to leather, if the cloth is decent quality.
Or is GM going after the Koreans. The new Optima looks right into the cross hairs of the Buick and vise versa. It’s definitely not the Jap cars the TSX is going to be out powered and optioned.
Or is GM going after the Koreans. The new Optima looks right into the cross hairs of the Buick and vise versa. It’s definitely not the Jap cars the TSX is going to be out powered and optioned.
http://cars.about.com/od/kia/fr/2011-Kia-Optima-2-0t-Test-Drive.htm
The Cruze/Verano use the same Epsilon ll with the Buick having bigger portions.
Well, those poor ex-Pontiac dealers need something to sell to customers looking for a compact car. They also need something to sell to people looking for a subcompact. Oh, and a two-row crossover. And a hybrid. And a sport-utility truck like the Avalanche. And a sports car. And a…
You know, GM could avoid this nonsense by just letting these guys sell Chevrolets.
Yep.
I wish the sedan profile looked a bit less like a 2008 Focus. Give us a Verano hatchback to offer something the Regal doesn’t. And as a Buick, Verano should offer a single, up-level trim.
That is just a terrible name for what looks like a pretty nice car. I would have called it the Buick Calibra.
Cloth is fine as long as it’s a nice quality cloth.
The greenhouse is nicer than that of the Cruze (in my opinion).
The price isn’t that crazy considering how the price of the Cruze scales.
I like the look of this thing. If it’s blasphemy with regard to what a “true Buick” should be then so be it. At least it’s not a simple badge job and it’s got a distinct powertrain you can’t get in a Cruze.
Not clear if this is a jazzed-up Daewoo or a tweaked Opel Astra. Either way , it isn’t really fit for a Buick badge.
“Cimarron” comes to mind.
“CIMARRANO”
I don’t have a problem with Buick selling an upscale Cruze, if they do it right. I have to say it’s a nice looking car. I do have a problem with the name Verano. I would say stick a Le Sabre badge on it and call it good, if it weren’t smaller than the Regal.
“Le Paring Knife”?
Nothing wrong with the car but I hope GM has done its market research. I’m just not sure that the Buick demographic really wants a subcompact vehicle so it may be a great answer to a question nobody asked.
I would have thought that a 2.0T Cruze SS would have been the logical next step.
No one thought the Buick demographic would take to the xB either. I think they’re just taking a shotgun approach to crafting a lineup for Buick.
That said, the car as depicted looks pretty nice.
Plenty of old people buy compact cars. It’s a myth that old people only want Mercury Grand Marquis and Buicks.
Older folks flock to Cadillacs too, if they’ve got the money.
It’s a well recognized “step up” if you are the couple on the block at the retirement home with a brand new Caddy when the rest of them are driving Buicks and Mercurys.
Maybe they should just put this engine in the Cruze and forget having a Buick compact.
GM is just never going to learn their lesson are they?
They just keep making redundant vehicles that no one is going to buy. It would be fine if they did the logical thing. Regal with a V6. LaCrosse with a V8. Then they could sell the Dawoo Buick with a 4, and an optional turbo 4.
A V8? In a modern Buick? Or any GM car that isn’t the Camaro and Corvette? Surely you dream.
And, we all know that putting a V6 in the Regal would encroach on the premium reputation of Cadillac.
A V-8 in an Epsilon? It would twist the body structure into oblivion. A V-8 is too strong even for a W-body (old LaCrosse).
A V-8 in an Epsilon? It would twist the body structure into oblivion.
If the Insignia OPC can exist, I’m sure some V8 can work on that platform.
Of course that brings up the question of what the hell a Caddy is supposed to be. Since GM has no clue either…I won’t even start that conversation.
Today” two years later” the Verano holds almost half the segment sales. The Verano compares closely with the Acura ILX where you’d be hard pressed to find a review that the Buick didn’t win, regardless of engine choice.
Exterior, may look decent in person, in pictures, I really dislike it. Looks better then the Lacrosse though.
Love the interior.
I saw two in person in China. They are tremendously ugly in person and Buick in the US certainly didn’t need a rebadged Cruze in the lineup.
The car that would be more fitting with Buick’s style and image, the Excelle XT, which is a rebadged Opel Astra hatch, isn’t coming here. It looks fantastic in person.
This is a terrible model for Buick in countless ways:
-Why is a “premium” brand selling a rebadged Chevy for $21k? That smacks of GM’s previous Century/Regal/Grand Am/ Alero/ Malibu midsize family.
-The only people who will buy this are boomers who can’t afford a LaCrosse or Lucerne. Younger people will stick with the Cruze or go elsewhere.
-It makes the Regal look overweight, overpriced, and underpowered (which, it is).
-It’s ugly. Making it into a Euro-ish 5-door hatch would’ve gone a long way towards making it better-looking (and help differentiate it from the Regal).
It isn’t a rebadged Chevy. But it isn’t like any other companies share platforms.
Canadians buy a Acura Civic. Why wouldn’t they buy this vehicle?
The Regal is bigger. Opel sells an Astra and an Insignia. These 2 cars. What are you trying to say?
I don’t know if it is ugly. Seeing this in real life is much better than in pictures.
18″ Wheels on a compact car??? It’s a factory donk, practically!
Keep your eyes peeled for the “DUB” edition. Commercial staring Snoop Dawg or maybe Nicki Minaj. That will really give the retirement home buyers palpitations.
You can get them on the 2012 Focus. I am guessing other newer compacts will have the same thing available.
You can get 17″ on a Corolla today.
You can get 17″ on a Sentra today.
You can get 18″ on a Civic today.
Why is 18″ a big deal on a Compact car?
So, this competes with the Chevy Cruze and the Buick Regal and at the same price point? Some things never change.
I thought part of old GM’s downfall was the gradual cheapening of their premium brands so that they were ‘available to all’? Isn’t this just more of the same?
Stop with the “badge engineering” canard. These days, GM changes many bits and pieces in the suspension, interior, content, etc. to produce significant differences between similar models. As do Ford, Toyota, and all the other manufacturers. Besides, Buicks are usually more luxe than Chevys; if the prices overlap, that makes the tri-shield a bargain. What Buick really needs is an Equinox/SRX – a CUV for those who don’t want the van-sized Enclave. I’d be up for one of those.
Correct. This is a rebadged Opel, not a rebadged Chevy. And since GM doesn’t sell the Opel here, who cares? They do share the chassis, though.
” if the prices overlap, that makes the tri-shield a bargain.” Yeah, for guys like my uncle who bought a Buick Special in 1953, the only Buick coupe with a Chevy body and a straight 8 engine when all the other Buicks were V8’s.
Hey, who moved my deck chair?
It’s going to overlap with the Cruze, although very few will buy a loaded Cruze.
Maybe they think that people will pony up to buy a loaded small Buick.
I don’t know. Smells like old GM to me.
Unless it’s damn nice and gets much better mpg’s than the Regal, I don’t see the point, or a big seller.
I’ll take heated, high quality cloth over leather, thanks. And don’t bundle the sunroof with the good stereo, either. The Bose system should be a standalone option on every trim level.
Verano?!? Really?!? With all the good names the B’n’B came up with Buick is going with Verano?
https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2010/10/ask-the-best-and-brightest-rename-this-buick/
Did they have old nameplates leftover from the Suzuki Verona that needed to be used?
It costs 26 grand to get a GM vehicle with keyless ignition? Has anyone at GM looked at a Sentra or Cube lately?
I would rather have 10 air bags than keyless ignition. What about remote start? What does it take to get that from Nissan?
Seriously though, picking one feature like that can probably be done on any brand.
I think it would be stupid to buy this car over a cheaper Cruze. Or a roomier Regal; I’ll take a strippo midsize over a “premium” compact any day.
Also, here’s another vote for cloth over leather. If nothing else, good cloth is easier to come by than good leather. The “leather” in my $34,000 Mustang is a compete joke.
Oh lord, it’s the return of the J cars. When do we get a Caddy version?
Seeing this makes me shake my head. I was in a Chevy dealership over Thanksgiving break and there was a loaded Cruze LTZ for 26k and right next to it was a Malibu LTZ V6 for 30k, but with discounts was 24k. Granted some parts of the Cruze were nicer and it did have nav, but for less money you could have a Malibu, which overall I liked better.
fincar, just my point. Even in ’53, you got the Chevy body with the [dated, sure, – 1939, anyone?] straight 8 – not the ’33 “stovebolt” 6. I’ll bet the interior was nicer and the heater was built in – not hanging down from the dash like in the Chevy.Probably cost a lot more than the Chevy, though. Now, where IS that deck chair?
People – You can buy a Sonata SE – loaded – for the same price as a loaded Chevy Cruze or this Buick abortion. Until GM gets a grip on pricing, they’ll get their asses handed to them every time by Hyundai (or Kia). GM – isn’t this how you guys went down the crapper the last time? I’m hearing the water swirling already…
Then you could say the same thing about a Corolla, Civic, etc. They all top out at about the same prices.
No, thanks.
I could probably get a 2009 Lacrosse or 2010 Regal for the price of a loaded Verano.
GM, competing with themselves again -sheesh.
Make the Buick a rebadged Opel Astra hatch, with some upscale bits; at least they’ll be drawing a different buyer than the Cruze.
What does a Verano have that you can’t get in a 2011 Elantra? From what’s been published so far, I haven’t found “luxury” features in the Verano (other than the 18 inch wheels) that can’t be obtained in the Elantra. In fact, the Elantra offers heated electric rear seats which I haven’t seen listed for the Verano.
This ones going to look silly once the carriage roof and wire wheel option starts arriving. The Regal already does, that’s for sure.
Another CAFE special. Why else would this car exist on Buick dealer’s lots, if it weren’t for the new mileage restrictions? Why did any of those other cars (Cimarrons, et al,) ever become a reality, except for the need to meet the CAFE?
One thing GM could do is to have all of the brands sold at one location; much like Chrysler managed to streamline many of it’s dealerships. But, with dealer franchise laws being what they are in all 50 states, what a clusterf*ck that would be trying to get out of all of those agreements.
CAFE has done more to ruin the domestic automakers than any other governmental legislation that I can think remember.
CAFE regulations are applied by manufacturer, not brand. Chevrolets, Buicks and Cadillacs are already averaged together. No need to sell them on the same lots.
In profile, this looks like the departed Saturn L Series. Probably not a good thing.