NAIAS: The Little Limousine Deserves An Encore

Jack Baruth
by Jack Baruth

TTAC readers asked us, “How small is the Encore?” This six-foot-two talking head should offer some scale. It’s a very small vehicle. For more on-floor photos, and a few tidbits from the press conference, click the jump.

Mary Barra’s opening speech for the Encore — let’s call it a Prelude To The Encore — was heavy on the China. Good news in China! The Chinese people love Buick! China! China! It was like reading TTAC on a day when I’m too hung over to post and Bertel is doing all the stories.

The Encore has 49 cubic feet of space with everything folded except the front passenger seat. That folds flat so you can put your laptop on it. Nifty. The Encore will feature basically the same shit SYNC did four years ago an amazing new suite of features that lets you listen to Pandora through Bluetooth. The interior was promised to be positively Electra-ic but in the plastic it’s more LaCrosse-esque.

The overwhelming impression? The car is simply too small, and too oddly proportioned, to make any headway in this market. If the Verano was a platform share too far, the Encore is worse. In China, it will no doubt be a hit; here in the States, it doesn’t make much sense. The idea of a sensibly sized luxury car always appeals, but in this case the execution is a lot less MINI and a lot more SAIC.




Jack Baruth
Jack Baruth

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  • Trucky McTruckface Trucky McTruckface on Jan 11, 2012

    How many GM homers on this site would be scoffing at the Encore if it were a Lexus? This vehicle would have made sense as a Chevy, but as a Buick its unfathomably stupid. GM wants Buick to be more premium and more youthful, but this just looks cheap and stodgy.

  • GalaxieSun GalaxieSun on Jan 12, 2012

    Further proof that GM hasn't learned its lesson. Badge-engineering aside, there's so much wrong with this that I don't know where to start. Yes, the interior "looks nice," but it's just so much lipstick on this too-short, too-tall, bulbous monstrosity. What are you guys smoking in the RenCen anyway? Get the guys who green-lighted this pig into rehab as soon as possible before they sin again!

  • Lorenzo Are they calling it a K4? That's a mountain in the Himalayas! Stick with names!
  • MaintenanceCosts It's going to have to go downmarket a bit not to step on the Land Cruiser's toes.
  • Lorenzo Since EVs don't come in for oil changes, their owners don't have their tires rotated regularly, something the dealers would have done. That's the biggest reason they need to buy a new set of tires sooner, not that EVs wear out tires appreciably faster.
  • THX1136 Always liked the Mustang though I've never owned one. I remember my 13 yo self grabbing some Ford literature that Oct which included the brochure for the Mustang. Using my youthful imagination I traced the 'centerfold' photo of the car AND extending the roof line back to turn it into a small wagon version. At the time I thought it would be a cool variant to offer. What was I thinking?!
  • GregLocock That's a bodge, not a solution. Your diff now has bits of broken off metal floating around in it.
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