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In 1983 NASCAR driver Bobby Allison won the NASCAR Winston Cup Championship. He won six races that year, five of them while driving a Buick. Is it time for Buick to make a return to stock car racing?
Now I know what you’re probably thinking. General Motors has announced that it’s cutting back on its financial commitment to the Sprint Cup teams. The company is in bankruptcy proceedings and it is so financially strapped that it has had to rely on bailout funds from the taxpayers. So now probably isn’t the best time to introduce another product to its racing lineup.
I disagree. Now is the perfect time to reintroduce Buick to Cup racing. What General Motors needs is as much positive press as it can get and the images of a Buick competing and possibly winning in the Sprint Cup series would greatly enhance the exposure and marketing benefits GM already receives from being involved in the sport.
GM is in the process of pairing down the number of brands in its stable to include Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac. At the same time, GM seems interested in revamping the Buick image from a car normally associated with gray-haired men to a product that’s appealing to younger drivers. I’ve noticed that Buick’s current TV ad campaign features Buicks surrounded by hip-looking women in their twenties and moppy-haired young men all sporting three days of growth on their faces. And since so much of NASCAR’s marketing is geared toward younger fans, the racetrack would be a perfect place to expose Buick’s products to a younger audience.
Buick’s presence wouldn’t have to be large, but it would have to include drivers that are competitive enough to have a good chance of putting a Buick into victory lane. Persuading a few of the Chevy teams to make the switch would be the way to go.
Of course, if I were a Sprint Cup team owner my first question would be what it would cost to change a Chevy team to a Buick team. Well, obviously I can’t speak to what all of the costs would be, but since the COT has homogenized the cars in the sport, it seems that an Impala could be changed into a Buick with a nose change and a new pair of decals for the taillights. The only other cosmetic area of concern is the shape of the left and right rear windows. But no change would be necessary because the Buick Lucerne and Chevy Impala, which share the same platform in their street versions, have body shapes that are very similar. Besides, those little windows don’t do much to make the race cars look anything like the street cars. And the Buick would use a Chevy engine since the models represent the same manufacturer.
I know you’re probably saying that racing a stock car that looks like a Buick Lucerne isn’t enough to change the image of a sedan normally associated with AARP members. But all of the cars in Sprint Cup are named after four-door production sedans. The manufacturers understand that they don’t necessarily have to race Mustangs or Camaros to reap the benefits that racing has to offer.
When Pontiac left Cup racing at the end of the 2003 season, GM said the decision was based on its reluctance to have two brands from the same manufacturer compete with one another. But the situation is different now. In this climate, remaking the manufacturer’s image to create a perception of strength and viability is crucial. What better way to accomplish that than to have two models from GM’s lineup compete in the most watched form of racing in this country.
Obviously, GM believes remaining in Sprint Cup is good for its image, otherwise it would have completely pulled its financial support from the Cup series. Now is the time for GM to make the decision that will boost its rehabilitation by bringing Buick back to the stage that is NASCAR.
This has to be the dumbest article I've ever read. First of all, all the cars are identical. One car could be called an in-heat Cougar, and as long as money was passed, it would qualify. But it's still the samo, samo. So it's really just a question of who soups the engine up enough to get by Nascar inspection. Right now, it's Hendrick and Gibbs. Tony? Yeah, you get lucky every now and then. So now you want Buick-BUICK?-to pee away millions to compete in a rapidly declining sport? Did you see the empty seats at Fontana, Dover, and Michigan? Nascar is headed back to the deep Southeast, where they were born, and belong....
Huh?
"...Buicks surrounded by hip-looking women in their twenties and moppy-haired young men all sporting three days of growth on their faces."
Sounds like Buick should sponsor the Jonas Brothers Tour, not Na$car. If Buick wants to reach out to the Na$car audience, hire Harry Gant to pitch the product. Oh wait, its a Lucerne (named after a tourist town in Switzerland) not a Regal GNX. Can't turn the clock back, but its nice to have memories.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/co...
Bring back the Buick? Well, let's just add the Edsel and Studebaker too...
Could we get real now?
Sorry but teenagers/young adults don't go to nascar races or, I assume, watch them on tv. I'd say the average age of the crowd at the last race I went to was 45. and that's being generous.
Sales increase prompts GM to recall some workers.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2009...
Good to see some folks going back to work, even if its to build more "luxury crossovers". GM isn't selling more of these because of its Na$car involvement. Instead of Buick getting back into Na$car, GM should concentrate on turning a profit; that will lead to us, the taxpayers, being able to sell off our shares of the corporation. After that, if they want to spend money on Na$car with the hope that it will help sell more Enclaves, they can knock themselves out. For now, things should be lean, mean and let's see some more green.
nednougat is right. Identical cars, different motors. So Jimmy Johnson leads every week. Gordon maybe fourth. Not sure why Jr. is an absolute loser on the same team, but it may have to do with faulty DNA. This sport has become like a carousel, with the same drivers leading over and over and over. And the last 10-13 cars fading out early. Start and Park. Hey, Robbie Gordon, how you 'doon?. Buick? Yugo? Vega?
Yes, that Buick Enclave will look great out on the track!
Give me a break!!!