Buick Verano 2

Choosing how to meet the demand is one of the dilemmas that come across any company when developing a new product. Sure, taking all of it is the universal desire, but not only would it be impossible, for several reasons, as it certainly would not be profitable at all. As counter-intuitive as this may sound, decades of experience realized that these goals just go against one another. Since being completely inflexible turns out to be just as terrible, what companies actually do is searching the intermediate point that suits each one better. This article’s sedan is the latest example of how GM is dealing with this.

Decades ago, cars were considered a luxury item. Their consumer market was small, so offering too many different models would never bring a satisfactory return. Given that people still had diverse needs, most companies invested in versions, each one with equipments in particular so as to get a purpose of its own. Later, when cars became truly popular, companies started to boost sales by changing their price: the versions now differed mostly in the quanity of equipments, and in some cases were divided among several brands. In nowadays, strategies like modular platforms and the use of global projects have provided another tool for performing the task of pleasing different buyers. Now, it’s possible to save in the non-visible parts and spend on the visible ones.

This article’s car, for instance, is underpinned by D2XX. This modular platform is also responsible for the Chinese new Cruze and the new Volt, which means components like chassis, powertrain, suspension and electronic systems are roughly the same between them. Since this reduced the cost of developing each of these models, and without any loss of quality, GM was freed to spend more in visual differentiation. After being a rebadged Opel Astra J, Verano became a quite classier sedan. Buick expressed its quasi-upscale nature using classic silhouette, delicate creases, and discreet contours for lights and grille, instead of too many chrome inserts. It looks fancier than those others, but not to the point of looking like a whole different car. It’s a fancier version, just like GM intended.

However, if you want to know more about this car you’ll have to wait. Buick hasn’t even disclosed its interior yet, which follows a strange trend among Chinese releases. As far as the equipment list is concerned, there will be HID headlights, LED tail lights, and 17” wheels with fuel-efficient tires. Opening the hood, the only engine known so far is the turbocharged, 1.5-liter Ecotec, which uses start/stop system and dual-clutch transmission – it delivers 169 hp of power and 25.5 kgfm of torque, and makes an average of 16.4 kpl. This vehicle will go on sale in the end of this year, starting with China and then going to the United States. In the first country, the sedan’s previous generation is called Excelle GT, and facelifted some weeks earlier so as to be a cheaper option to this one.