General Motors is about to spruce up Buick’s archaic lineup with the production of the Bengal concept car.
General Motors is planning to turn the Buick Bengal concept car into a production vehicle in order to fight slumping sales and an ageing car lineup.
The Bengal roadster was first shown in January at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit and received good reviews.
According to Automotive News, the company’s North American Strategy Board has approved production of the front-drive, four-passenger convertible for late in 2003 or 2004.
Buick’s sales are down 15 per cent for the January-June period this year, compared with a drop of 4,6 per cent for the US industry. The lineup is also very heavy with sedans, so the introduction of a convertible will make for a big change.
Buick mailed a video featuring Roger Adams, the division’s marketing general manager, to dealers last week to build support for the new brand.
The video showed images of the front-wheel, four-passenger Bengal and LaCrosse, which Adams says "are part of Buick’s future".
He did not say that the cars would go into production, but added:"You will see styling cues of LaCrosse and Bengal in all of our future products. We believe they take historic Buick cues and make them very contemporary."
It is believed that the Lacrosse, which was shown at the Detroit Motor Show in 2000, has not been approved for production yet, but this should happen soon.
The Bengal concept features a retractable tonneau cover that hides the rear seat and a third door on the driver’s side, allowing additional seating for two more passengers or storage. It is not clear how much of the styling cues on the concept will be incorporated into the production model.