For the first time in more than 12 years, Buick tied Lexus in J.D. Power's Vehicle Dependability Study, which looks at three-year-old cars (2004 Buick Regal pictured here). While this would ordinarily be good news, GM has been busy overhauling
Buick's image, dumping old-line models that don't connect to drivers under the age of, oh, 75. You can no longer buy a Regal or a Century. We saw this same business with Cadillac. Generations of public mind-share for De Villes, Fleetwoods and Eldorados were swept away because these models had atrophied for 20 years. You have to assume the decision to kill a model isn't made lightly. But it's death from neglect that seems particularly insulting to owners who had come to know and cherish these cars. Clearly, Buick got build quality where it needed to be on these deceased models. A little investment in styling and performance would probably have saved the company a fortune in getting the world to know what an Enclave is.
Source: Wall Street Journal, Forbes, BusinessWeek
