On A Clear Day, Can You Envision Buick?
Billed as a concept that
introduces the development direction for Buick’s future SUV products for the market,
the Chinese-designed Envision is the first look at future Buick design since the Buick Business from two years ago. But whereas the Business Concept pointed the way towards a funkily distinctive Buick aesthetic and product sensibility (if anyone should reinvent the minivan, shouldn’t it be Buick?), the Envision concept is an anonymously internationalist crossover. GM’s presser claims the Envision “merges Buick’s global design language with Chinese aesthetics,” but next to Buick’s previous Chinese-designed masterpieces of contemporary “American-style” design like the Business, Invicta and Riviera concepts, it offers little to identify it as a Buick. In fact, it seems more like a tribute to the Hyundai Tucson, which itself is something of an homage to Ford’s Kinetic Design. Perhaps Buick’s designers are trying to signal the fact that, in the future, all crossovers will look exactly the same.
More by Edward Niedermeyer
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There is a lot going on in the side view. What is the little panel behind the front wheel? I think that some of the lines on the side are supposed to be reflections of light from the floor as opposed to character lines. Weird picture. The scissor doors are ridiculous. I do not know why they put things like that in these pictures. They will never produce that vehicle with doors like that.
GM must want to lower the average age of Buick purchasers, and it's turning to Chinese designers to do it?