GM Testing a Bolt-based Buick Crossover With Focus Groups: Report

by Steph Willems

Published: July 31st, 2017

gm testing a bolt based buick crossover with focus groups report

When you think about it, it all adds up. There was no way the powertrain of the Chevrolet Bolt, America’s first reasonably priced long-range electric vehicle, was ever going to remain solely the domain of one vehicle. General Motor’s CEO, Mary Barra, alluded to as much following the Bolt’s introduction.

While the 238-mile Bolt is already sold in Europe as the Opel Ampera-e, and in China as the Buick Velite 5, those vehicles don’t amount to much more than simple badge swaps. However, a new report claims U.S. buyers could see a Buick crossover based on the Bolt, and soon.

After attending a California focus group, a “trusted” source told InsideEVs that the group was presented with a Buick-badged electric crossover based on the Bolt. Participants were given a list of specifications, then asked to compare the unnamed vehicle with electrified offerings from other brands, including the Hyundai Ioniq and Kia Niro plug-in hybrid. The organizers threw the Bolt in the mix, too.

According to the source, participants were asked if the vehicle changed their perception of the Buick brand.

The mystery vehicle, which reportedly boasts styling akin to a future Buick Encore, was more than just a rebadged Bolt, albeit dimensionally similar. The front-drive vehicle carries an unchanged Bolt drivetrain, driving the front wheels only, but offers three inches more rear legroom. Inside and out, premium flourishes abound, and the vehicle’s price tag is pegged at $3,000 more than a Bolt. This would push the vehicle’s MSRP just above the $40,000 marker (before a federal tax credit).

Other notable additions to the crossover include a push-button gearshift, tall console, and large touchscreen. While range wasn’t discussed, it’s assumed the extra weight and/or drag (which lengthens the vehicle’s 0-60 time by 0.4 seconds, the source claimed) also reduces driving distance per charge.

Barra claimed the Bolt’s unique platform would go on to spawn numerous vehicles, and it’s silly to think GM would try a second in the U.S. market. Still, there’s no confirmation of a new Bolt-based Buick. Not that there won’t be ample room to built the vehicle should it receive a thumbs up.

The Bolt’s Orion, Michigan assembly plant, which previously jettisoned the declining Buick Verano sedan, now appears ready to spit out the Chevrolet Sonic, if dwindling sales numbers, ballooning inventories, and rumors of three soon-to-be-killed Chevys tell us anything. The addition of an electric Buick crossover would make Orion an EV-only plant.

Will GM pull the trigger on the greenest Buick in history? Stay tuned.

[Image: General Motors]

#Buick #ChevroletBolt #ElectricVehicles #EVs #FutureModels #GeneralMotors #GM #Platforms #ProductPlanning

Steph Willems

More by Steph Willems

Comments

Join the conversation

2 of 14 comments

Stingray65 on Aug 01, 2017

A very expensive high technology small car does not fit with the Chevrolet image, and the Bolt and the Volt are therefore not good fits for Chevy's cheap/value portfolio. Both models should have been introduced as a Buick and/or Cadillac models with $500 worth of interior upgrades and a $3-5,000 higher price to fit an "upscale" image and come a bit closer to profitability. Let Chevy keep the cheap and cheerful Cruze and Sonic, etc and leave the image cars to the higher price brands, and only release a Chevy version when the battery costs have come down enough to support an economy price. GM just hasn't practiced good brand portfolio management since at least the 1960s, which is kind of strange since Sloan practically invented the concept.

Like Reply
Bd2 on Aug 03, 2017

Well, it's about time. Been saying from the start that the first Voltec model should have been a crossover and sold as a Buick (bring back the "Electra" nameplate). Even if this is only in EV form, has to be large enough to be suitable for families of a certain size.

Like Reply

Recent Comments

Rick T. "If your driving conditions include near-freezing temps for a few months of the year, seek out a set of all-seasons. But if sunshine is frequent and the spectre of 60F weather strikes fear into the hearts of your neighbourhood, all-seasons could be a great choice." So all-seasons it is, apparently!
1995 SC Should anyone here get a wild hair and buy this I have the 500 dollar tool you need to bleed the rear brakes if you have to crack open the ABS. Given the state you will. I love these cars (obviously) but trust me, as an owner you will be miles ahead to shell out for one that was maintained. But properly sorted these things will devour highway miles and that 4.6 will run forever and should be way less of a diva than my blown 3.8 equipped one. (and forget the NA 3.8...140HP was no match for this car).As an aside, if you drive this you will instantly realize how ergonomically bad modern cars are.These wheels look like the 17's you could get on a Fox Body Cobra R. I've always had it in the back of my mind to get a set in the right bolt pattern so I could upgrade the brakes but I just don't want to mess up the ride. If that was too much to read, from someone intamately familiar with MN-12's, skip this one. The ground effects alone make it worth a pass. They are not esecially easy to work on either.
Macca This one definitely brings back memories - my dad was a Ford-guy through the '80s and into the '90s, and my family had two MN12 vehicles, a '93 Thunderbird LX (maroon over gray) purchased for my mom around 1995 and an '89 Cougar LS (white over red velour, digital dash) for my brother's second car acquired a year or so later. The Essex V6's 140 hp was wholly inadequate for the ~3,600 lb car, but the look of the T-Bird seemed fairly exotic at the time in a small Midwest town. This was of course pre-modern internet days and we had no idea of the Essex head gasket woes held in store for both cars.The first to grenade was my bro's Cougar, circa 1997. My dad found a crate 3.8L and a local mechanic replaced it - though the new engine never felt quite right (rough idle). I remember expecting something miraculous from the new engine and then realizing that it was substandard even when new. Shortly thereafter my dad replaced the Thunderbird for my mom and took the Cougar for a new highway commute, giving my brother the Thunderbird. Not long after, the T-Bird's 3.8L V6 also suffered from head gasket failure which spelled its demise again under my brother's ownership. The stately Cougar was sold to a family member and it suffered the same head gasket fate with about 60,000 miles on the new engine.Combine this with multiple first-gen Taurus transmission issues and a lemon '86 Aerostar and my dad's brand loyalty came to an end in the late '90s with his purchase of a fourth-gen Maxima. I saw a mid-90s Thunderbird the other day for the first time in ages and it's still a fairly handsome design. Shame the mechanicals were such a letdown.
FreedMike It's a little rough...😄
Rochester Always loved that wrap-around cockpit interior. The rest of this car, not so much. Between the two, it was always the mid-90's Cougar that caught my attention.