Why China Loves Buick 

Why is this old fashioned brand a favored car of China's young, stylish, and wealthy?

I'm ethnically Chinese though raised in Canada. I find Buicks to be older buyers, but my parents & grandparents (whom are from China) love Buicks. The fact the company doesn't try to be "sporty" and just focus on being luxurious is a huge selling point to them and family back in Zhuhai & Shenzhen.

Is that a Buick? Is exactly what I said when I said when I saw them in Shanghai. They looked so good that I almost thought it was a new Acura or Lexus. Insane that they don't sell them here

Thank God someone is buying Buick.

Buick's image fits the Chinese traditional philosophy very well: round not edged, bit of conservative yet has good quality, big yet not very expensive.

I’ve been to China and I can tell you everyone loves Buick

One more wonderful video from CNBC! Love these "Why X Country Loves Y" videos. Looking forward to more such brand related videos!

Lets not forget that most of the cars from Buick are rebranded Opels - which since 2017 is no longer part of GM..

My first new car was a '67 Buick LeSabre four door. Many over the years. My favorite was a 1984 Buick Regal two door limited. (Top of the line in that model) , and first car I ever paid over $ 12K to own. Lot of money in 1984. Moving forward, I owned my last Buick a 2005 Buick LeSabre till 2018. Today I drive a 2018, Chevrolet Spark LS. A small automobile for a person of 97. In Los Angeles it's used for short trips around my Community.

Buick cars have a classy design and a very affordable price. I think that’s the main reason for their success in China and reason why my family and relatives are very loyal customers to their cars. (I’m chinese)

Three seconds into this video, you mistake a Chrysler for a Buick. Nice job.

2ND Car in the video is a 1965 Chrysler 300 convertible, not a Buick.

Glad to see a whole country enjoying my favorite car brand! I’m one of the few young people who love them! My first car was a 2004 LeSabre, and I’d still have it if the motor didn’t blow! with roughly 200,000 miles stuff like that is bound to happen!

I'm from China and my dad's first car was a Buick. 😂😂😂

Buick should bring back the Park Avenue.

A delightful piece from CNBC which shows automotive "quality" is still hard to define, but a sound product history and good workmanship speak for themselves.

If Buick wants to come back in the US market they should remake the grand national

Buicks that I love the most: any model from 1955, Rivieras from 1963 to 1970, Regal and Electra from 1979, 1965 to 1970 Wildcats and Electras.

If buick wants to be seen as a car for the youth they need to build a muscle car

So far I'm happy with my 2016 Buick Verano. Nice quiet ride on long stretches and a very capable city commuter.

Half of the old cars shown here aren’t even Buick’s

Buick was a great and beautiful ride early on in the US. The 1948 Roadmaster convertible was stunning. In Asia Buick meant luxury and power. It still looks good in China. I have seen them everywhere and often. I hope they get back with better design and execution in the US. I still yearn for that ‘48 in yellow. A jewel of a car!

I've always loved Buicks. I've owned three and my 94 LeSabre was my favorite car ever

It's a shame they're dropping the Regal, it's such a good looking car - especially the wagon.

I was following until JD Power was mentioned, JD is not to be trusted!

At 0:03 I see a ‘65 Chrysler 300 convertible

I own a 2015 Buick Lacrosse. Best car I have ever owned.

The other historic American nameplate to be absolutely revered in China was Packard. Yes, the makers of the Caribbean and licensed copies of the R-R Merlin aircraft engine were truly the lords and masters of the automotive scene at one point.

I leased a regal gs in 2014. I miss it so much! It was perfect.

I have a 2005 Buick Rendezvous. I love it because I have not had any big problems since when I bought it new. It is having almost 200,000 miles now.:-)

I drove my father in law's 1995 Buick which was a base model and I loved it. It was smooth, quiet and had good power. Great car. I hope the Modern generation Buick will keep the same characteristics considering the "aging" population.

My Wife is Chinese her first car is a Buick! My first car was a 1977 Buick Elecktra sweet car~ Love Buicks!

Its hard to make a young demographic targeted car when the young people cant afford them.

I own 2 Buicks. A 97 century, which is an unstoppable tank that just keeps going, and a clean '02 LeSabre with that beast 3.8LV6. (one of the best motors to date)

Buick is KFC of the automobile. Familiar, affordable yet prestigious, feels like american middle-class for chinese people.

I have a 1993 Roadmaster and now i love Buicks

Nobody: China: we LOVE Buick

Buick needs a car like the 1987 Grand National with 550 hp from a Twin turbo Dohc v6 plus e-power.

Buick’s are cheap to insure especially when new, nobody steals them.

Whoever made the video and put the SW20 in 7:05 is a car enthusiast. Thank you.

it also, depends on the region, Buick's sell pretty good in the midwest, they struggle in the east/west coast markets

They need to bring back the Grand National.

The scene on 4:33 of the video is Taipei, Taiwan, and I almost never seen a Buick car in Taiwan!

That JD power score doesn’t mean a thing. Com’on CNBC. Haha

My first car was a Buick and I loved it!

When I go to China and my wife sets up a limo service to pick me up. 3/3 it has been a decked out Buick that was being driven. My mother had always driven a Buick Park Avenue Ultra from 91 to 2013. She had 3 models in that time and they were always the nicest cars in our family. Even my 2001 Lexus ES300 wasn't as nice as her 2006 Park Avenue. I have many friends and coworkers who had that generic white Buick Century. They were lackluster and meh. But they were reliable cars despite looking older than their age and having less high end feature. I think many Americans remember Buick as that car and not their high end luxury class vehicles. China still has these vehicles and they are as terribly over priced as the SUV lines Buick tries to push in the US. The SUV lineup I don't find attractive and I don't believe trucks and SUV are luxury vehicles and they don't deserve a $50k+ price tag so Buick is pricing themselves right out of the market. Buick needs to bring back Park Avenues and bring them back sub $40k and compete in sedans and not trucks and SUV lines. There are 2 Encores in my Families' line up and while decent they don't feel as nice as the Buicks we've had before and they are small and have a shorter range than the larger Park Avenues had. So I feel they could do much better to compete and they just aren't competing in the market where they'd make the highest number of sales. They have gone for the slow dime over the fast nickel in economics speak.

I've always liked Buicks and still do.

I miss my 1993 Buick Century, my first and favorite car :)

Wow only 200k units in the US? Oldsmobile was almost at 300k units a year when GM cut them in 2004.

My family bought buick regal😂

Videos like this make me wish for a better time like the early 60s to mid 70s where Buick had unique cars for most buyers and was still exclusive, like most of GM at that time. I bought a well used 1963 Buick Riviera for less than $700 dollars as my first car, and it was a challenge to get me to school and back. In the end it paid off and taught me some automotive knowledge.

Your video change my perception about brand..Thanks

Buick’s and Lincoln’s make me think of old ladies 😂

Buick is losing customers because they wouldn't make a new GNX

Yea, buicks are so popular there, ive even drived in one, and it was delightful.

the GL8 minivan was a huge success as company cars

all i saw in china was buick, ford, chevy, cadillac and chinese brands and some german here and there

4:38 The average "young" American buyer is 70 then? Wtf CNBC.

Fell in love with a late 90's Riviera at age 22. Now I own one and am still mesmerized by it and love to drive it. I can't wait to own a brand new sporty Buick some day and love that it's so underrated here in the USA. Let me do burnouts in a Roadmaster all day while people overlook how cool Buick is. If I can get a more exclusive model from China that we don't have here in the states, I will do it.

I absolutely love Buicks. Can't wait to get one.

Buick was the most popular car after mercedes in Saudi Arabia between early 70's to mid 80's. The popularity significantly dropped when they started to make downsized fwd.

Buick needs a new sports car. A new grand national.

Wow that would explain a lot

28 years old living in NYC and I drive a Buick envision I love Buick My first car was at 20 and it was a Buick verano I’m sticking to Buick I love it

Buick Fireball Straight eight, Nailhead V8s, Wildcat, Buick McCain, Grand National, Regal, Riv.

The Regal GS is super cool and the Regal TourX is definitely something I want to buy!

It’s the logo. Looks majestic.

This is actually a very interesting analogy....gonna start concidering buick a little more

The difference is that in the US -- Buick is a brand your broke grandpa drives. In China, Buick is the the car that founding fathers of modern China drove. It's what everyone aspire to have when they made it in a way. The good news is that Buick will import their Chinese success to the US eventually. Gotta get rid of that stigma that only old people buy Buick.

I miss when Buick and olds had performance and identity. They both made a pot of iconic cars. So did Pontiac. I wish GM would stop killing brands.

I have a 1988 Oldsmobile 98 with the Buick ln3 3.8 efi and I love it it's easy to drive comfortable and pretty easy to work on, and I can use parts from cars made all the way up to 2012 with some of the transmission and engines, tho I'd like a Toyota for better milage but a full sized car 90k miles and one of the most reliable v6's in it is good enough, my other car is 74 datsun

Excellent analysis.

The days of Wildcat, Electra 225, Riviera, Regal/Gn, Skylark GS were the days when Buick meant something. Now they're just cookie cutter versions of Holdens and Chevrolet

.004: But thats a Chrysler.

GL8 minivan from 1997-2005. a real work of art

I want to buy an old Buick as my grocery drive. I am looking into 2011 or 2010 allure or Lucerne. The interior devorations are fancy doe,especially the wood design. But, how is the mechanical work? Give me some advice please...

Seemed like Chinese REALLY Loved Audi based on my observations while there.

JD Power award is meaningless

The Minivan thing is not only a Chinese thing. The Japanese market and the South East Asian market mainly Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand & Indonesia LOVES Executive MPV. The Toyota Alphard are like "the thing" to get as a status symbol, and I tend to agree, these luxury MPVs are so spacious but they aren't really so big that it gets annoying.

Had a Buick Riviera. Loved that car.

buick has "high marks" in "JD power" lollll

Chinese young men don't like it.many people bought Buick just because it's not very expensive.

我是北京人。I am Chinese and live in Beijing. Automobile sales in April 2019: 1 FAW Volkswagen 2 SAIC Volkswagen 3 Dongfeng Nissan 4 Geely Automobile 5 SAIC GM......In April 2018 GM sold 150713 units, and in April 2019, sales 90295. A decrease of 40.1%. Thanks Trump.

Wow cool shots! I can't wait to go back to Europe again with my drone and DSLR and shoot some more videos! 😀

Irony: I got a Toyota ad before this Buick video.

7:06 i drive that thing, it's bacically a Toyota Corolla underneath and it's called Geely Emgrand ec7.

Buick was at the Toronto auto show, and I would not mind at all having a Buick in this day and age.

U know what, the first successful product placement marketing in mainland China were Buick. It was a 2001 20ep TV-series about a housewife find work at a Buick dealer when her husband lost his job, and the challenges career women faces. It was super popular and Buick rode that rocket up, even my family brought a Regal in 2002!

I'm 32 years old, and my wife is 29...we both don't own Buicks but we both plan to buy them after we pay off my wife's car. I don't know why people don't like them much here. My wife plans to buy the Envision and I want to get my hands on the Regal GS...

Buick is everywhere in China.

love my 89 Buick Regal

Wow, now I know why my college asian roommate loved Buick. Pretty cool, it makes sense now.

In Korea, Jose Cuervo is considered the top premium tequila. Go figure.

Bring back Pontiac !

As a detailer for a Buick GMC dealership, we tend to sell more GMCs than anything. Which astonishes me when you can pick up a 2019 Buick Encore for 17,000 at my dealership. They struggle to sell and the quality of the cars are higher than the GMC cars which we sell more of. And don’t even share the same infotainment system. The Envison I never heard of until I started my job back in the summer of 2018. And I thought it was a marvelous car. It’s luxurious and the quality is pristine, but the issue is the price you can get an ok featured model for about 33,000. And a premium 2 package with all the bells and whistles is going to set you back in the lower forties. Buick needs to adjust their prices if they want to sell more, but maintain the quality.

Well Buick in China is manufactured under the parent company Shanghai GM, a joint venture between GM and SAIC. So the joint venture also manufactures Chevrolet and Cadillac. Shanghai GM really like to redesign and improve on existing models. Examples includes the classic Buick GL8 minivan which is viewed in china as a luxury minivan. It's still in active production with facelifts and improvements. The Buick Regal 4th Gen, was also manufactured and was a mid tier sedan in china. There was a face lifted version that only exists in china as well, up and until the Buick Regal fifth gen came along which was a rebadged Opel Insignia. An interesting fact was recently when I went to China and sat in a friend's Buick regal(Opel Insignia), it had ABS and engine warning lights on but the guy said that the car drove smoothly and he bought it brand new when it was just released so it has been 10 years. This shows the quality of the Buick cars manufactured in china. Lastly, the Buick Park Avenue was also produced by shanghai GM, after ended of production in America. Although it was just a rebadged Holden caprice, it was viewed as a high end luxury car in china and it was a rare sight. People who talked about them say that that is a car for the CEOs and stuff. So it's interesting to see such response to Buicks in China.

At 4:33, that's a street in Taipei, Taiwan. Taiwan doesn't sell Buick cars. smh.

Short Answer: Matthew McConaughey

Buick was one of the best automobiles made by GM even when it was made in Flint.

I love buicks, they are tough and reliable. But the reason people don't buy as many now is because GM's build quality has went down, they all wanna make as much money as they can instead of worrying about the quality of the product. If all manufacturers would get back to quality we would be better off. Its very cool to see another country love an American brand as much as we do, I will always have a buick sitting in my driveway.