Avenir, Avista Inspire Buick Design
Buick’s top designer says response to the concept cars has been enthusiastic, and that certain design elements are informing future production vehicles.
August 3, 2016
STERLING HEIGHTS, MI – Heralded concept cars from Buick’s past, such as the groundbreaking 1938 Y-Job, 1951 LeSabre and 1954 Wildcat II, serve as guideposts as the brand charts its future, Buick’s top designer says.
Two sleek and luscious concept studies, the Avenir 4-door at the 2015 North American International Auto Show and the Avista coupe at the 2016 Detroit show, have yet to get the green light for production.
But Bryan Nesbitt, executive director-Global Buick Design, says enthusiastic response to the concepts is extremely encouraging.
“One of the things we like about Avista is that it maybe talks to a customer we’re not talking to right now,” Nesbitt tells journalists at the General Motors Heritage Center here ahead of the Buick Club of America’s 50th anniversary celebration in Allentown, PA, last weekend.
“Ideally, you want to create products that still can contribute to the bottom line and meet those brand needs,” he says. “I think that’s why this is a pretty interesting study.”
1954 Buick Wildcat II concept.
The front end on each car carries over an important aeronautical design element: grilles punctuated by horizontal slats separated by the brand logo, resembling the head-on view of a World War II fighter airplane. The Wildcat II and 1955 Century were among many Buick production and concept cars celebrating the theme.
Nesbitt says the design team working on the Avista grille was not trying to emulate the Century, but that it happened coincidentally. “We thought (Avista) was a sort of sporty persona, and then they rolled out the Century and I thought, ‘Wow, pretty similar.’”
Buick sold 781,296 Centuries in 1955.
He hints that wings punctuating the Avista’s grille are among “things you will see more of” as the automaker integrates the design element more completely with the rest of the front end, particularly the headlamps. The all-new LaCrosse sedan launching in September and Cascada convertible integrate the wings within the respective grilles.
Nesbitt calls out the design “harmony” of the 2-door Avista. “It’s not too overt. It’s not hyper-aggressive for the segment that is getting more and more overt,” he says. “The coupes are getting so aggressive. Even the front ends of sedans are getting quite aggressive.”
Buick’s latest vehicles, notably the Encore compact CUV, is fulfilling its mission, and he is counting on the slightly larger Envision CUV now launching to do the same.
All-new LaCrosse, with winged grille, goes on sale in September.
“We want to talk to new people, and Encore is talking to new people,” he says. “And I think the Envision will be talking to some new people. We know we’ve gotten some very good feedback with Cascada as well.”
Through June, Buick in the U.S. has sold 36,421 Encores, 1,526 Envisions and 4,071 Cascada convertibles, according to WardsAuto data. Overall, Buick has sold 104,207 vehicles through the first half, down 2% from like-2015.
Asked if the U.S. rollout of the Envision has been purposely subdued because the vehicle is assembled in China, where Buick is extremely popular, Nesbitt praises the CUV for filling an important slot in the lineup.
“We’re very excited about the car,” he says. “It’s got a lot of that same sculptural beauty and kind of an idealized expression. I think our transition to the production of those design elements is working quite well.”
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