Buick Riviera Concept "May Someday See the Light of Day"

The sexy Buick Riviera concept that was unveiled at Auto Shanghai 2007 "may someday see the light of day," according to GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz. Speaking on the GM FastLane blog, Lutz also hinted that a variant of China's Buick Park Avenue "is possible for Buick in the future," presumably for other global markets, including North America.

The posting began in what appeared to be a tongue-in-cheek way, with the silver-haired and tanned Lutz reporting that he had been on the road recently in Brazil and other locations and pointing out that he's "still alive and still working for the company. [I'm] still vertical and taking solid nourishment," he said. Lutz said there were a couple of themes he wanted to address, including gripes that Buick in China was getting "better-looking luxury cars than the U.S.

"I don't think they are," he said. "They simply are the first market to get the Buick Park Avenue. That vehicle or a variant of it is always a possibility for Buick in the future."

He said the "Shanghai concept," the Buick Riviera concept, "may someday see the light of day. We thought it was a very nice design execution," he added. The gull-winged Riviera concept coupe unveiled this spring in Shanghai is designed to accommodate a new hybrid system that will go into production at Shanghai GM.

Addressing a frequent theme about Buick's place in the GM lineup, Lutz emphasized that Cadillac's role is to be the "most expensive" brand and that "the role of Buick is to be positioned below Cadillac." But he vowed that "we don't ever want any more cheap Buicks.

"It will be priced up," he said. "Think of an American Lexus at a lower price point." He cited the new Buick Enclave as an example of that strategy, saying the Enclave "is symbolic of where we want to take Buick. We will follow that theme in China and North America."