Is Buick Backsliding In Its Quest For Younger Buyers?

Over a year now, the launch of Buick’s new LaCrosse gave us pause to consider the average age of Buick buyers, and the future of the brand’s demography. At the time, The Detroit New claimed the average age of Buick buyers was 63, a fact that gave the paper cause to celebrate Buick’s new lease on life. And considering that the brand once attracted buyers of an average age of 72, that wasn’t a bad trend at the time. Today’s DetN has a similar story, lauding Buick’s newfound youthful appeal with such quotes as this one from IHS Global Insight’s Aaron Bragman:

They are making definite improvements in the U.S. To kill Buick would have been crazy. It’s one of the most important brands in the Chinese market…. It’s still too soon to really come to a verdict on how Buick is doing in the U.S. But nobody can say those are old person’s cars anymore. Because they aren’t.

But this latest round of Buick-boosting is still based on the old reference point of a 72-year-old average buyer demographic. Compared to a year ago, Buick’s average buyer age appears to have crept back up again, as the Detroit News cites a current average demographic of 65.

The DetN’s Robert Snell claims “that figure is trending lower ahead of the launch of the Buick Regal midsize sport sedan this spring,” but it appears that the first year of Buick’s LaCrosse-led reinvention has kept the brand’s average buyer age stagnant at best. And Buick is still a long ways from making headway in the fat part of America’s population pyramid. Which means the new Opel Astra-based (Delta II), US-bound Buick compact sedan will either radically shift Buick’s image and demography, or it will be ignored by all but the most brand-dedicated of downsizing retirees. And you might as well hazard a guess in the comments section as to which scenario is most likely… after all, this gamble is being paid for with your tax dollars.