Next Buick built in China

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yea lets bail them out again so they can import cars from China!

Makes me wonder how many unfixable lemon/duds will get here.
 
Since they sell more cars in China that the US, shouldn't they be allowed to build cars there? They sell cars in world markets and built cars in different markets. They export USA made cars to China, so should that be a one way street?
 
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Originally Posted By: Rand
Makes me wonder how many unfixable lemon/duds will get here.


You're right. It will absolutely be interesting to see how many unfixable lemon/duds that we'll get from China, and then compare those numbers to the number of unfixable lemon/duds that come out of the UAW controlled plants in North America.

Quite honestly, I think this is exciting.
 
Originally Posted By: Bluestream
Since they sell more cars in China that the US, shouldn't they be allowed to build cars there? They sell cars in world markets and built cars in different markets. They export USA made cars to China, so should that be a one way street?


No. They were bailed out by the US taxpayer. We are stilled owned money from that fiasco.
 
No thanks. Of course some will likely celebrate it because they can get something cheap. Bread and circuses = EBT and shiny chinesium Buicks
 
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
No thanks. Of course some will likely celebrate it because they can get something cheap. Bread and circuses = EBT and shiny chinesium Buicks


They will be cheap for GM to make, but I doubt the consumer will see any cost savings.
 
looking under a 2012 impala at the extremely rough subframe i look forward to our chinese superiors to make a better product.
 
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"When better (Chinese) cars (and CUVs) are built,Buick(namely GM corporate) will build them." LOL
Actually Buick never built "Better" cars...their 50s power brake system was a disaster that they distanced themselves from,making a lot of less than one year old cars lawn ornaments.
Their V6 engine (3.8) was one bright spot though.
 
Originally Posted By: cptbarkey
looking under a 2012 impala at the extremely rough subframe i look forward to our chinese superiors to make a better product.

You mean rust or poorly welded/assembled?
Honda's no better.In another post here,someone has a 2012 Honda in Florida with rocker panel rust.Frankly,they are all made poorly today,and yet $30,000 seems about the normal asking price.Idiotic!
 
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My HHR was built somewhere cheap (Mexico) and was also built cheaply. Stuff like the control arm bolt captive nuts inside the frame stuck to the bolts from rust at year eight, requiring sawzalling. They could have used better metallurgy, anti sieze, better engineering so I could get in there easier but they did none of that. Even the fake plastic/ chrome bow tie emblem is flaking internally, yellowing, scratched, and waterlogged.

These Chinese Buicks will undboubtably be value engineered, except in the TV screen dept of course.
 
I thought I heard about this quite a while back, specifically I remember the bit about Buick sales being very good in China and the emerging middle class in China has a thing for Buicks (for some odd reason). So I can see the move towards an assembly plant there. China is eventually going to be facing a wage adjustment phase and labor costs there will rise as more and more Chinese are economically lifted out of the what I guess could be termed the peasant class. There have already been some minor ripples in the peasant/cheap labor pool.... I think.... thought I also saw somewhere a while back that higher wages were being demanded here and there.

I too had a [2007] Mexican made HHR LT. I found the build quality to be pretty decent actually, but the 4T45E auto trans developed a bizarre problem that would bog the engine and take the snap out of acceleration. Intermittent and likely to do with the torque conv but the dealer never could duplicate it and 1-800-Chevy or whatever treated me like a red headed step child after I escalated beyond the service mgr level. Traded it on my Forester and never looked back. The following year a TSB came out for the 4T45E that mirrored the exact symptoms mine had been having. If memory serves it was something about a torque converter solenoid...

Forester was and still is made in Japan. Build quality seems good.
 
In China having a large, foreign car is a status symbol. The car brand is the choice of business people and government officials.

The Chinese people place more importance on image. Since the majority is skinny, they also buy fashionable clothing as well.
 
The 4T45e transmission is not built in mexico. The fact that your HHR was built in Mexico had nothing to do with your transmission problem. BTW the 4T45e is a durable transmission minus the occassional valve body or solenoid issue.

And the post about a 2012 Honda Accord with rust issues. If you would read that thread it is an isolated incident. There is likely a history about the car which caused the rusting and the owner is taking it to the dealer because it was a newly acquired veh to him and is looking for manufacturer assistance. Please read the thread again before coming to conclusions.

In my experience cars are built better now than they were decades and decades ago. Cars from the past would wear out. Suspensions parts, engines, transmissions, interiors, window cranks, door hinges, anything mechanical. Todays cars are much different. They dont wear out like their predecessors, you are much more likely to experience something to break, not wear out in a newer built car. Im around old cars all the time. Sure, everything still works on the cars but everything is worn out. The steering, the door lock plungers, the turn signal level, gear shifter, windshield wiper linkages all wear out on old cars and are usually never replaced. Thats why an old car from decades ago feels worn out and the term "clunker" comes. But many people say that they were built better back then because they havent "broke" yet... Those parts on newer cars are more likely to break which requires immediate attention, and in general the car doesnt feel worn out. Engineering has come a long way.

The 2006-2013 Impala has a design problem that GM needs to take care of. I am upset about Buick importing cars from China but hopefully its not a trend.
 
Originally Posted By: NHGUY
Originally Posted By: cptbarkey
looking under a 2012 impala at the extremely rough subframe i look forward to our chinese superiors to make a better product.

You mean rust or poorly welded/assembled?
Honda's no better.In another post here,someone has a 2012 Honda in Florida with rocker panel rust.Frankly,they are all made poorly today,and yet $30,000 seems about the normal asking price.Idiotic!


the welds mainly, and the crude design, i'm sure it works fine but it must have been high school freshmen day for the car i was under.
 
Originally Posted By: cptbarkey
Originally Posted By: NHGUY
Originally Posted By: cptbarkey
looking under a 2012 impala at the extremely rough subframe i look forward to our chinese superiors to make a better product.

You mean rust or poorly welded/assembled?
Honda's no better.In another post here,someone has a 2012 Honda in Florida with rocker panel rust.Frankly,they are all made poorly today,and yet $30,000 seems about the normal asking price.Idiotic!


the welds mainly, and the crude design, i'm sure it works fine but it must have been high school freshmen day for the car i was under.


The last dealership that I saw with dozens of replacement frames stacked behind the building, happened to be a Toyota dealer.
 
Originally Posted By: eljefino
Even the fake plastic/ chrome bow tie emblem is flaking internally, yellowing, scratched, and waterlogged.


The 2005 Ford F-150 where I used to work had its blue oval fade completely over in about a year after it was new, and the F-150 emblems had their black flake off in the same amount of time. It was a very common problem with a few model years back then.
 
My Silverado along with a myriad of other vehicles are built in Mexico.

IS THAT OK?

Or, are we just against China?
 
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Isn't this the mid-size Buick SUV that they're not expecting to sell in significant numbers to justify building here? And the whole exercise is to enhance the credibility of Buick in China?

I sort of hope it's a hit so they re-shore production. Then the Chinese Buick enthusiasts can spend lots of yuan on USDM accessories for that authentic US Buick experience.

Next thing you know, they'll start importing old LeSabres and Park Aves for some 3800 awesomeness....
 
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