@@jasonchang2793 nah mate. Don't know where you got that from but I have bought three cars in China so far. Import duties are included in the price, not added on after the purchase, and the license plate might take a while in some cities but it doesn't cost much.
Same goes for VW , Mercedes ,Audi ,BMW are selling so many in China , these brands can be considered Chinese local brands too. These cars come with longer wheelbase and some models not available outside china market . So next time when you either buy a Mercedes or BMW, you maybe driving a Chinese local brand too .
Usually the further back you go, the more basic the seating becomes. This Buick appears to treat every passenger with respect. No steerage compartment in this one.
The other presenters on this channel are fine, but this guy is fantastic. Love all your vids, love the channel. I don’t even like MPVs and any other big chunky cars in general! But vids of odd, curious cars? Yes please!
Even though we have Nissan Elgrand , Mercedes Viano and Kia Carnival as a competitor here in Indonesia.. The alphard still the king on this segment, there's a ton of toyota dealerships here, and the shared engine with camry, still the best recepie. The symbol status of "Rich" ride, the Alphard...
Alphard is going to dominate the segment with her big brother Lexus to fetch 80K+USD segment. Simply put it is that Alphard and Lexus carries distinct badge and a long and distinct reputation for comfort. Buick, Nissan and Kia: I can't even recall any car they sell in China that people buy which is beyond 50K USD. Merc will be fine bc Merc is always a Merc.
I think you should mention this class of vehicle in China, the Luxury MPV class, was basically created by GM with the 1st generation of Buick GL8, it's literally the benchmark of Luxury MPV here in China.
ICE? A no-no, especially in the Chinese market. Chinese EV makers are already introducing high quality n luxurious electric MPVs which are selling very well here. Wonder when GM will come around to the fact that ICE is turning into history real fast for Chinese consumers. Even Alphard is losing the Chinese market shares real fast.
The GL8 is my favorite Buick as well as the only Buick i have ever been in since i live in Australia where buick does not exist. I rode it in Shanghai. The most classic airport transfer vehicle that drivers like to use.
Why would you say it’s worthless ? If all you care about is stock prices you’re not a real car guy just go buy EV shares if that’s what you care about it
not worthless there. buick is a 120 yrs old brand with alot of rich history but gm has not been a marketing genius,and many americans want to put their dollars elsewhere than the usa.
Ill remember that GM when looking for a car. Giving such a nice looking interior to the chinese while we get the black cheap looking interiors in the US…😒🤦🏼♂️📉
@@user-bm1sm5fo1p I started doing business in China in 1983. When GM opened their factory, government officials were all riding around in dark blue Buick Regals. This was long before Audi's were being made in China.
Purchased the LaCrosse Avenir 2018 model year as my second car in China. As you said it indeed is more bang for your buck. Now that I am a dad, the GL8 Avenir (six seater version) looks like a very compelling package.
I bet the GM engineers in the 1980's who were designing the U Body Platform for a 1990 launch would never have guessed that in the year 2021 it would still be in use in the CDM. Long live the DustBuster minivan!
Yeah it’s still using the U-body. It’s major flaw, the absolute worst 40% overlap crash test. A literal death trap. They reverse engineered the 2nd Gen Chryslers for the Venture/Montana etc. and failed to copy the safety.
This reminds me of how some of those JDM Toyota models are imported into Singapore too! Mainly the Noah, Voxy, and Sienta, though. Edit: I've also seen the Honda Vezel imported here, which was probably what prompted Kah Motor (the authorised Honda dealer here) to officially sell the HR-V here.
Buick China has definitely come a long ways since their early MPV days. I remember seeing early gens Buick minivans in China, thinking they look a lot like those cheap around town US vans. Now they look like proper luxury cars
Yeah it looks great but the safty test result was terrible, people in China call it a "moving coffin" (I am NOT joking). It still sells pretty well though, you might even need to pay more than the MSRP to buy it, mainly becuase it doesn't have too many rivals in the price range.
Surprisingly this still uses the U-Body platform from the DustBuster vans from the 90s. But if GM were to import these to the US it would add a bit more diversity to the segment especially the nameplate of Terraza and Venture coming back to market
That in the states should sell really well.. a lot of older rich people would buy it to carry their grandkids around. The interior is really really good looking.
Yeah, but unfortunately, it's only in China, just like how the Toyota Sienna & the Honda Odyssey's we get here in America aren't actually Japanese, they're just made by Japanese brands.
@@vangcruz4442 this is the most expensive GL8, whose interior looks as luxury as Mercedes Benz S-Class, believe me. If you just wanna buy a normal version without some inpractical features, it only cost you about 40K to 45K USD
@@vangcruz4442 "Impractical" does not mean it is entirely useless. For example, would you pay 3K USD for refrigerator which can hold 2 bottle of champagne? How about 2K USD for tray table for two seats on the row 2? In my opinion, I seldom drink something or use my laptop in the car, I am not willing to pay for these features.
@@xfsfkahrs Dearest Jack, it may not be practical for you but the buyer that is willing to pay for it think it is very practical. Don't sell yourself short. Any young beautiful woman will love you 10x with refrigerated Champagne in your back sit. Now is it still impractical?
Nice family van, it’s shame GM didn’t push this car for sale in Australia much cheaper I reckon then mid to big family SUV but GM gave up in Australia.
It’s a pity that Australian government dumped the whole industry, can you imagine just decades ago Holden was exporting VE commodore / Caprice to China?
@@lumpython5351 That’s not true the GM was ripping off the Australian government for decades tax payers been paying hundreds of millions for years to GM holden to keep it afloat, GM didn’t do anything to boost the sales of Holden overseas including in American markets. So please get your facts right.
@@anthonyrussell5158 But you can't deny that every country has car industry has support from their local government. To compare short time losses and lost industry completely, it's still a pity. Like Australia has lots of resources of Non-ferrous metals, it could benefits more from booming electric car. But the reality is, Australia sells the most expensive Tesla Model 3 in the world, Australia only benefits from selling raw materials.
Buick is only alive thanks to the Chinese market. If it was not for the success in China of the brand, then it would have defuncted just like the many other brands from GM like Saturn, Pontiac, Hummer, Saab and Oldsmobile.
chinese market saved GM after 2008. GM is doing great in china, even the most popular wuling mini ev is partly owned by GM. it's more like chinese local brand now.
The Toyota Alphard looks pretty different compared to the Toyota Sienna. Buick now sells only crossover SUVs here in the US and the Buick Enclave is the brand's only midsize 3 row affordable premium/luxury SUV. The Buick Enclave's most likely competitor would be the Jeep Grand Cherokee L.
The Sienna and the Alphard run in 2 different platforms that are NOT RELATED YET. Alphard is a stretched New MC (last gen Rav4 ran on a shorter version), while the Sienna ran on a stretched K (US Camry) and now on the TNGA-K. You're right about the Buick Enclave having the new 3-row JGC-L as crossover competitor in NoAm.
I'm afraid it isn't. I own a toyota alphard myself and i can tell you it is a completely different vehicle to toyota sienna since i driven one in Houston. Toyota alphard is a luxury boxy MPV meanwhile the sienna is a minivan directly compares to the honda odyssey. Alphard begins as an upgrade by then a small boxy jdm van that then added luxury to it to cope with the japanese people taste of luxury boxy MPV. But then it exported to some asian market including my country, Indonesia. So comparing it with toyota sienna is like comparing the rav4 to a toyota fortuner. It's completely different in any given aspect. If you want to compare it to other vehicle, toyota alphard is comparable with other japanese luxury boxy MPV such as the Nissan elgrand, Honda elysion and hyundai staria in which all of three cars mentioned are not yet sold in N.A.
@@mattardyantoriyadi - thanks for the comparison from someone who've drive both the Alphard and the Sienna. Of those you mention only the Elgrand (a +150mm widened version of it assembled in Japan) was sold in North America as the 4th gen Nissan Quest minivan (I'd say midsize, as it seemed that big).
@@syxepop you're welcome. And again i forgot to mention actually there's one car that sold in N.A. that directly compares (sort of) to the alphard. It is the Mercedes benz V-Class. But not the US market V class because the truth is the v class sold in US were downgraded. The V Class sold in Indonesia (bcs i live in Indonesia) is actually the more full opted v class with second row VVIP type seats and LCD screens and etc. But we can get the idea on what it should be if sold in N.A. the reason why here it's more luxurious than the US version is that we don't use large engines. You see, SE. Asian nations tends to give larger tax on larger engine, usually greater than 2.5 litre. So to compromise with the lack of powers manufacturer tend to give quirks and features more to appeal more to people. Especially in the MPV sectors in which Indonesians love very much. In shorter way, we don't want big V6 or V8 because we don't like paying taxes but we want more luxury as cheap as possible. And also gas prices here are horrible.
@@mattardyantoriyadi - actually the V-Class they sell in North America (the passenger variant of the Metris midsize van) it is way below Mercedes' car standards, just ask Doug DeMuro (quirks and features, you know). Hopefully the next gen Metris passenger van will get to V-Class standards (and get at least a higher output version of the gas T-2.0L I4, which now is "A220 level", maybe optioning it with the gas T-3.0L V6).
Great review as it covered the specific needs of the Chinese market. I can see this as a popular choice for upper management executives in China. It’s quite a handsome luxury MPV and good to see GM is adapting well in China
They sell great in China because they're cheaper than Toyota alternatives that upper management executives usually buy. They're more for small business owners or for company fleets.
ICE? A no-no, especially in the Chinese market. Chinese EV makers are already introducing high quality n luxurious electric MPVs which are selling very well here. Wonder when GM will come around to the fact that ICE is turning into history real fast for Chinese consumers. Even Alphard is losing the Chinese market shares real fast
Whats funny about this car is the fact that its sitting on a 30 year old platform. Same as the chevy uplander van from the 90s. Would be interesting to see how it handles crashes. Thats the reason its not being sold in the states.
The rear end reminds me of the Sienna. For such a huge vehicle, the engine spec and the tire /rim size are underwhelming. However, the interior is beautiful. Heated and ventilated 3rd row seats are amazing. Exterior design doesn't equate to the asking price.
Well, one reason why this isn't sold in Buick's home market is because they attempted to sell one that they made in the 2000's, but it flopped. It was very unreliable.
In this segment Toyota Alphard and Vellfire is best. One thing about Buick vehicles is there suspension is good. Among other competitors I think merc viano is a failure model at least in Asia for private buyers. Anyways nice review.
I don’t understand why more MPVs are sold in North America…the Kia Carnival seems to be the best one but the Alphard or Lexus LM could come to North America because we have no luxury MPVs here. There may be American customers who want an upmarket sienna.
Problem is NOBODY COOL wants to GET CAUGHT driving a minivan (name for MPV's in NoAm) unless you're married with at least 2 children. It's a matter of PERCEPTION (most want to drive higher like in a 4x4). Minivans in US tend to be shorter but wider than these larger MPV's and seat 7-8 US-SIZED ADULTS if needed. For luxury you get a premium BODY-ON-FRAME SUV.
In the US people would rather have a three row SUV myself included. They are much nicer and practical. Plus the Pacifica pretty much has the minivan market IMO
@@ThatColtGuy - even at that sales for the Pacifica / Voyager (the latter are the lower-spec levels of the former) have dropped in the last few years along with other minivans. Actually minivans have MORE ROOM than 3-row crossovers (even more than BOF SUV's) and are far more flexible. But as in the '80s and '90s WAS UNCOOL to drive a station wagon (lower, more room and better fuel consumption than crossovers of the same size) today is UNCOOL to drive a minivan. One of the requisites for making a minivan that sells in any number is that they should seat 7-8 AMERICAN-sized adults, even if you don't really need it. AFAIK, only the GM large crossovers (Traverse, Enclave, Acadia XL and XT6) are capable of seating AMERICAN-size adults in the 3rd row with "decent" legroom.
@@syxepop yea but even that the traverse is actually considered mid size in the US. Full size is the Tahoe/suburban, GMC Yukon, Cadillac Escalade, Ford Expedition, Lincoln Navigator, and now the new jeep wagoneer
Toyota alphard is a huge deal in Indonesia market. Since almost every family who has an upper middle income own one or maybe two. If this car sold in here it will definitely shaken up the market, since a lot of chinese made cars that sold in here shocked the people with its cheapness but full on tech. This i think will be a major hit if sold here.
If the middle seats rotated 180 deg you could actually do a business like that. Those "zero-gravity" middle seats have massage, heat and firm sides though = hard to do, mostly use for comfort, work and sleeping while someone else drives you.
@@syxepop You know, I wasn't sure if you were correct or not, but I looked it up and it turns out you were exactly right... The platform, in age, dates back to 1990.
@@PKMNFan4664 - GM hasn't done a minivan platform for 30 years. Opel / Vauxhall stuff was either the smaller crossover platforms or from other European manufacturers, like Renault.
@@syxepop There was an Opel/Vauxhall minivan sold in Europe that was on that same minivan platform, since it was just another variant of that same aforementioned minivan (basically, the Buick GL8, Chevy Venture, Oldsmobile Silhouette, and Pontiac Trans Sport/Montana): the Opel/Vauxhall Sintra. The Sintra was even made at the same plant in the United States-in Doraville, Georgia (a suburb of Atlanta)-as the Venture, Silhouette, Trans Sport and Montana. The difference with the GL8 and the Philippine market Chevy Venture is that both were made in China, in Shanghai (where Shanghai GM is obviously based). Shanghai GM had before made products for Philippine market, such as rebadging the Chinese-market Buick Regal as the Chevrolet Lumina. The Philippine-market Venture, though, had more similarities to the Buick GL8 sold in the Chinese domestic market than the Chevy Venture sold in the West.
@@PKMNFan4664 - but that first GL8* had quite less modifications from the American version than today's model. That's why I state HIGHLY MODIFIED. * wonder in what other SE Asian countries that Chinese-sourced Venture sold...
I just don’t get American 🇺🇸 car manufacturers, when they make the perfect car, they limit its sales to certain countries, customers or production, why ?
How many Chinese can afford these? And a Toyota 'Alfart'? No wonder Toyota doesn't sell that in the USA. But then the US gets the quality made Buick Enclave....from China 🤮
