Buick Truck Sales to Reach 50%

Two years from now, trucks will account for 50% of Buick's volume, says General Marketing Manager Roger Adams, up from 30% this year.

“Trucks make us contemporary and attract new buyers to Buick,” Adams says.

Buick's car business, down in volume and featuring the same kind of incentives the rest of GM offers, still is profitable, he insists.

“We're selling $34,000 LeSabres,” Adams says, referring to the celebration edition that commemorates Buick's centennial. Previously, LeSabre's average transaction price was about $27,500.

Buick also is putting high-content vehicles into daily rental fleets. This helps residuals and gives users a better impression of the brand.

Overall, however, Buick will take its volume down about 10% this year because of lower fleet sales, Adams says. But he forecasts that within the next five years Buick's volume will reach 500,000 units annually.

By then Buick will discard supercharging. Adams says the Park Avenue Ultra, which will be around a few more years, will be the last of the brand to use supercharging.

Meanwhile, Buick will employ newer engines, such as a high-feature V-6 that generates 250 hp compared with the 240 hp of today's supercharged pushrod engine.