Cascada and Avenir Imply Buick’s Comfort in ‘White Space’
2015 Buick Avenir Concept
To gain an edge in the competitive luxury market, brands often need to carve out a niche for themselves. Buick, it seems, has found its luck in capitalizing upon what is known as “white space”—that is to say, creating vehicles that fit into sizing, pricing, and style categories that their competitors do not.
There are no clearer examples of this than the 2016 Cascada and the Avenir Concept, both of which debuted at the Detroit Auto Show. By releasing a convertible model that will likely price somewhere in the $35,000 range, Buick is being advantageous and capitalizing on a dearth of similar models from competitors Acura and Infiniti.
2016 Buick Cascada
The 2016 Cascada and Avenir Concept both feel distinctly like risky ventures, which is particularly refreshing from a brand that tends to carry around the misconception of being unexciting.
Automotive News asked U.S. Vice President of Buick and GMC if the Avenir will lead to yet another bold step: a full-fledged flagship sedan. His response: maybe.
“It was more about wanting to make a big splash on the stand and to test some of the future design language that will come on the next generation of Buicks,” Aldred said, adding that the brand’s current focus lies elsewhere but that a flagship “could play a role someday.”
Supporting this particular assertion was none other than GM’s Executive VP of Global Product Development, Mark Reuss, who said that he feels that Buick “is absolutely ready for it.”
If history is any indicator, it isn’t beyond the reach of auto’s most sneaky-exciting brand to pull an ace from out of its sleeve every now and then.
News Source: Automotive News (subscription required)
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