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Buick gets the Vue

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Not a big surprise, really.
Buick will get its version of the Saturn Vue next year, with a new front and new interior.

The base engine will be, just like in the Vue, the 2.4 Liter 4 cylinder. I just hope they use the 6 speed auto instead of the old 4 speed in the Vue.
Optional will be the new 3.0 Liter V6.

And a year later, there will be an all new 2 mode plug in hybrid available. Although the 2 mode system as the potential of achieving great fuel economy, it will only be able to run on electricity alone for about 10 miles.
That version will use the larger 3.6 Liter engine.

And I don’t get why. A hybrid is about MPG, not power. Why not use the 2.4 Liter in the Hybrid?

Conversation 16 comments

  1. If they were to rebadge, why couldn't they at least attempt to redesign the headlights. I don't see this as a success and am sure it will be more expensive than Saturn version.

  6. Yeah, the Honda Accord Hybrid focussed on horsepower instead of MPG, and that didn't exactly work for them either.

  7. Oh boy… So, New-GM has decided to rebadge ANOTHER Saturn and give it to Buick. I guess that's Buick's new lot in life, Saturn 2.0… As long as they want to make the Sky the Velite, I say do it! But wait, they chose the Vue instead? Bummer… Who the heck wants that? Just buy a new Equinox! Shame…

  8. Will they call it the RendezVUE?
    I assume that's the DI 2.4.
    I'm guessing they get a bigger percentage mpg impact (and smaller $ impact) using the two mode with the thirstier engine. It does seem silly to add more power to it which the 2.4 could use with that heavy car.

  9. Since when did a new grille count as a new "front"? The the picture with the red Buick "Vue" it just uses a slightly modifed version of the Vue redline's front end. At least this is still overall different from the GMC Terrain and Chevy Equinox to justify (as in trick) to people that this is a "different" vehicle.

  11. I've driven the VUE and I found that most haven't. What I found to my surprise is how awesome a vehicle it is. It doesn't make business sense to toss away a product that first didn't have the exposure GM should have given it, and second the Two Mode Hybrid system is brilliant. GM did themselves a favor by not dumping the VUE.

  12. Re-badging everything Buick allows GM to sell the same old Saturn/Pontiac product but at a higher markup more in line with the higher markups at Honda & Toyota. And ya know what? It'll work. Just like the overpricing strategy has worked for Japanese brands (in the US) for the past 20 years. The higher-priced Toyota Matrix has always outsold the identical Pontiac Vibe (having HALF the markup) because people ASSUME higher price means higher QUALITY. The same reason Buick & Cadillac have grown the last 10 years while Oldsmobile & Pontiac kept losing market share to slightly more expensive competitors. Consumers are funny that way–but very predictable.

  13. "Anonymous said…
    Yeah, the Honda Accord Hybrid focussed on horsepower instead of MPG, and that didn't exactly work for them either.

    August 6, 2009 12:59 PM"

    Did you ever drive on though? It honestly is the best driving, most fun hybrid that I have ever been in.

    "mobiustech1 said…
    I've driven the VUE and I found that most haven't. What I found to my surprise is how awesome a vehicle it is. It doesn't make business sense to toss away a product that first didn't have the exposure GM should have given it, and second the Two Mode Hybrid system is brilliant. GM did themselves a favor by not dumping the VUE.

    August 6, 2009 7:25 PM"

    The Vue was overweight and overpriced. It got awful gas mileage and its weight led to a lackluster driving experience.

    GM has done themselves a disservice by not offering the G8 as another vehicle.

    Badge engineering at its finest. This is exactly why I will never, ever purchase a GM vehicle. If I decide to purchase from an American manufacturer, my money is going to Ford.

  14. Couldn't they have changed it up a little bit more than a revised grill insert? Even the headlight/parking light bezels are the same. At least they removed that stupid Front fender "gill" that festooned the VUE.

  16. 4:41AM said: "The higher-priced Toyota Matrix has always outsold the identical Pontiac Vibe (having HALF the markup) because people ASSUME higher price means higher QUALITY."

    Nonsense. If people assumed that higher price means higher quality, then JD Power's quality survey would rate Mercedes higher than Hyundai, and not the other way round. The Toyota Matrix doesn't outsell the Pontiac Vibe because people assume that higher price means quality, it outsells it because it's a Toyota and the alternative is a Pontiac, which in most people's eyes is not worth saving money over.

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