Buick has revealed multiple things about its future. Apart from its first new badge in 30 years, it will also launch only electric vehicles starting with 2024. The first electric production vehicle will bear the Electra name, reviving one of the most iconic nameplates the brand has ever presented. Sadly, that car should be named Wildcat and be exactly like the concept car with that name, which the company introduced on June 1.
The electric 2+2 coupe is one of the best-looking concepts we have seen in ages – from any brand. The Buick design team did a remarkable job presenting an elegant yet sporty vehicle, reminding us of what cars from the 1950s and 1960s were. Ironically, it is not nostalgic: it is just plain striking.
As you may imagine, Buick spoke solely about why the design looks so good. It did not give away its dimensions, performance figures, or anything that would make us want even more to see this vehicle in Buick dealerships. Well, that is not going to happen anyway: the coupe shape was chosen because it expresses the right proportions and the design direction that Buick will follow with its SUVs and crossovers.
In a way, Buick offered us a fantastic opportunity to question two things. The first is why people only go for these body styles these days when a coupe could eventually fit their lifestyles perfectly. The second is why automakers do not find ways to make low-volume vehicles feasible, especially if they have so many shared parts with cars with much higher sales numbers.
The Ultium platform will work for GM as the MEB does for the Volkswagen Group. Theoretically, we could see a wide variety of vehicles built with it, such as a production version of the Wildcat. Such a car would scream it is more than just a means of transportation, something automakers have to reinforce for people not to think they are selling a commodity.
While this is a pressing challenge for automakers in general and GM in particular, what Buick has set aside for us is a car series named Electra, much like a subbrand. Alphanumeric designations will individualize the specific models that Buick will start to unveil in 2024. By 2030, the brand expects all its cars to be electric, whether in North America or China.
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