Bravo on the rollover protection bars! Most American convertibles lack this incredibly important safety feature..and this alone would make me choose the Cascada over a Corvette, Mustang or Camaro convertible. =)
Most people are missing the point with Buick's marketing plan. They don't want the most flashy cars, they don't want to compete with top premium cars. - I personally would prefer more sporting styling myself with more HP in a Buick convertible. -- But Buick is looking to fit their entire line in somewhere between premium and the mass daily drivers (think Chevrolet, with the exception of Corvette). Buick is successfully accomplishing that (regardless what we think) as indicated by their recent year-over-year sales. Overall I think Buick is still moving the line a better direction that decades past. Good job at that.
This car isn't old: it has been on sales in Europe for slightly over one year, is built on a solid Delta platform, and is a lot more than an Astra (Astra, btw, beats Focus in every review) I love the design!
Its may have been a long time since Buick released a convertible,but Pontiac had the G6 convertible just a few years ago.Saab also had a convertible a few years ago.
That Buick guy is speaking absolute marketing rubbish about a rebranded, non-premium vehicle, branded as a premium vehicle. Mind you the Cascada is based upon the Opel/Vauxhall Astra hatchback which isn't even as good as a Ford Focus.
For those of you who don't, this "halo car" is based on the same car Top Gear use for their "Star in a reasonably priced car", the Vauxhall/Opel Astra. So its essentially like Ford calling the Focus or Dodge calling the Dart the halo car of those brands.
While the Skylark name would've suited better IMO, I think the timing for a touring-oriented convertible like this is spot-on. Chrysler's 200 is gone, as is Toyota's Solara. With the VW Eos and Audi A3 Cabrio both coming in at around 35K USD, there's a real opportunity for this car... provided the price is right. At 30K USD or thereabouts, with the right marketing... it could work.
I NEVER like'd Buick and this is such a nice car!! I really like it (keep up the design). So weird saying that about the Buick brand, but wow, I would like to have that 2016 Buick Cascada!
Fast forward 6 years, I’ve owned my 2017 for a little over a year, I will tell you that my top is down 12 months out of the year, and I live in Massachusetts. There are always days in the colder months where we get a nice 55-60 degree day, and the summers are high 80’s low 90’s. It truly is the best year-round convertible. Heated seats, heated steering wheel, front wheel drive… great in the heat but also great in the cold and snow. And heavy!! It weighs 4,000 pounds so it’s great in the snow. To top it all off, it’s sexy!! Mine is white and my windows are tinted black. It’s SHARP! Everywhere I go I still get asked “what is that?” “That’s a Buick??” “That’s not a Buick!!” It truly is an amazing car and I am obsessed with it, I won’t ever get rid of it!!
Most of the Buicks are Opels, or vise versa if you choose to look at it that way. They are Buick in the US and China and Opel or Vauxhall elsewhere depending on the market. Doing that gives them the volume to do some things that are different than Chevrolet.
Alan Schulte Well in Europe we say that it's an Opel or a Vauxhall (as the British say) Astra. Basically I forgot that Opel belongs to GM and that Buick is also owned by GM so it like scion which in Europe is Toyota and Acura which is Honda...
Whoa... It'll be here in another year?! Its already outdated. Just looking at the Interior, the car doesn't feature push button ignition. That's going to be a very outmoded "halo car" before it even goes on sale.
a coupe style would go nice against the Forte Koup SX with the turbo. Now i understand one is a luxury type and the other is an economy car but they are both really nice.
I don't give a shit what car it is underneath or how bad Buick's or the US marketing is, or how much it looks like an Opel/Astra, that is the best looking Buick to date.
Rebadged, yeah you ain't kidding. They didn't even bother to slap a waterfall grill on it to make it look like a Buick. Probably handed the detailer a bag of Buick badges 20 minutes before the show with instructions to turn it into a Buick. Did we not learn anything from the Cimarron/Cavalier debacle???
I've never thought the proportions of a FWD car worked well for a convertible (and this is no different). There's only so much you can do with surface detailing. A short hood and long rear-deck simply don't conspire to create an elegant look. It just looks cheap.
Mustang, GT-R, Corvette, Viper, LFA. These are Halo cars. I don't think a 4 seater convertable with a 1.6 can be defined as a halo. If they wanted to build a new halo car and bring people in they should have built something off the Camaro platform.
it's a decent car, could've done alot better. the front looks good, the back could use some touch ups, but why not just re badge and modernize the Saturn sky? it would sell really nicley to the younger market, because Buick is having trouble selling to younger ppl. very good attempt tho
I would actually rather like this car, except for that head unit. For a new model coming out in 2016, I don't understand why it's head unit looks worse than the 2010 Lacrosse did
Sales. They have run the numbers and have come up losing money on the program. Not enough buyers at the price they would have to sell them at. Not to mention it would bring down their average corporate fuel economy as well.
No wonder Buick imports its cars now: they import their executives. He says "hood" when he means "top". I guess that's because when he means "hood" he's going to say "bonnet". So what happens to this car now that GM has sold Opel?
Unfortunately for Buick, everyone in America seems to only think that convertibles that have been based off of awesome performance vehicles are cool , every other convertible will just make you look gay. I don't know why this is. I don't think this car will sell very well and will go the way of the Toyota Solara.
Spot the difference- Buick supposed to be a luxury brand? This is a normal family car in Europe, and worse yet it would be a further year behind here. www.vauxhall.co.uk/vehicles/vauxhall-range/cars/cascada/overview.html
I can understand a multinational company sharing the same car, but under different names in different markets. What I can't understand is them using a bloody Vauxhall Astra. I mean, for God's sake, it's terrible.
Todd Wilson Actually Pontiac sold better in the US by a good margin, but Buick is very strong in China (long history there), which happens to be the worlds largest car market. They couldn't kill off Buick so Pontiac got the ax.
The Buick-GMC sales channel, which in most cases is separate from Chevy, has made some nice gains in the market the last two years. Both Buick and GMC are seen as more premium product and have a different customer base than Chevy. That amount of high profit sales would be hard for GM to walk away from.
This bad policy of rebadging current European vehicles and calling them new in the US didn't work before the Bailout and it won't work after. Hey GM, take the philosophy of the Corvette and give us vehicles that out perform Europe and Japan at a better price.
Spoiler alert! A lot of GM sheep would be duped into buying this dud but all it is is a old outdated Vauxhall Astra, the thing was spanked in the sales chart by the Focus. Saying it is an Opel is used to hide the Vauxhall(UK )connection, while Opel ( German ) is used to give some sort of German prestige? It is also worth noting that GM Europe has suffered some massive losses with these average vehicles, so why bring them to America? Keep buying your new old cars GM sheep...
coololds85 I'm not a big fan of Opel-Buick Badge engineering, it's attracting younger customers but at same time they're flushing the good part of Buick brand as well, their 112 years of history and traditions. To me I wanted Buick to restudy their history and make something out of it rather than calling their Europe divisions for help.
Oh come on! It is literally a rebadged Opel Astra convertible. And it is 2-3 years too late. And they showed it in gray, but they say it is for image purposes mostly... in grey... really... No mention how it looks way better in red, for example. US marketing, lowest of the lows...
If you had been following this car you knew that. Opel and Buick are effectively the same brand with exception to large SUVs at Buick and micro cars at Opel.
Randy Sullivan Seck Except that 'brand' is only a name, this car has nothing to do with Buick. And here we have to listen to such a pile of BS about how Buick it is, foundations block, yadda, yadda. It is just about changing the badge. That Buick SUV is also an Opel. Same as the Chevy BS from past Car shows. The same crap as how the Focus and Fiesta are american Ford cars, and how they paid a lot of attention, blah, blah... they were all made by german engineers years ago for Europe. And that is not the problem, the problem is misinformation of their customers, and laughable at that since telling people it is a car from europe would get them more sales. This way they only get more 'hate' from people in the know and no special sales boost. Looking at the Buick site, all the cars are rebadged Opels, every last one. The same on the Chevy site for cars.
***** Again, Buick and Opel are effectively the same product portfolio under different brands to save GM money. We know this. The only exceptions are the large SUVs at Buick, and the micro cars at Opel. You are just mad for the sake of being mad about something.
Buick or any other car manufacturer for that fact can't make different cars anymore. Their designers lack of know how to make a car look different than one another. I mean yeah what can you do. Cars are more safer these days because of all the technology and BS sensors they put in them. But I got my smartphone and my iPad. I don't need a touch screen in my car. I just want a car that looks good with all the basics and to drive me where I gotta go.
I just bought one and this car is awesome. I don't care what any of these folks below say , Its an incredible car . PERIOD
Bravo on the rollover protection bars! Most American convertibles lack this incredibly important safety feature..and this alone would make me choose the Cascada over a Corvette, Mustang or Camaro convertible. =)
Thank you for showing footage of it with the top up. The initial images show it down and I figured the top must be fabric. Looks like I was right.
Most people are missing the point with Buick's marketing plan. They don't want the most flashy cars, they don't want to compete with top premium cars. - I personally would prefer more sporting styling myself with more HP in a Buick convertible. -- But Buick is looking to fit their entire line in somewhere between premium and the mass daily drivers (think Chevrolet, with the exception of Corvette). Buick is successfully accomplishing that (regardless what we think) as indicated by their recent year-over-year sales. Overall I think Buick is still moving the line a better direction that decades past. Good job at that.
This car isn't old: it has been on sales in Europe for slightly over one year, is built on a solid Delta platform, and is a lot more than an Astra (Astra, btw, beats Focus in every review)
I love the design!
Its may have been a long time since Buick released a convertible,but Pontiac had the G6 convertible just a few years ago.Saab also had a convertible a few years ago.
Very true.
Does it come with fur top for colder climats?
That Buick guy is speaking absolute marketing rubbish about a rebranded, non-premium vehicle, branded as a premium vehicle. Mind you the Cascada is based upon the Opel/Vauxhall Astra hatchback which isn't even as good as a Ford Focus.
Sergio Marron
Well it is decent, the current gen Astra is the best to date, but it is not a premium car, it is a run of the mill normal vehicle.
For those of you who don't, this "halo car" is based on the same car Top Gear use for their "Star in a reasonably priced car", the Vauxhall/Opel Astra. So its essentially like Ford calling the Focus or Dodge calling the Dart the halo car of those brands.
Well that car drives.... well... So we ought to expect the same out of this, right?
Would have been nice to see the darn top go up and down and see the truck space as well.
A bit late in the US. the opel cascada is already since 2013 here
Europe has had this car for years, just under the Opel name.
Skylark would be a great name in the states for this car!
LOVE-IT! Shades of the very best looking Rivieras . . . only BETTER! WOW! Hope Buick makes it . . . just as it is!
While the Skylark name would've suited better IMO, I think the timing for a touring-oriented convertible like this is spot-on.
Chrysler's 200 is gone, as is Toyota's Solara. With the VW Eos and Audi A3 Cabrio both coming in at around 35K USD, there's a real opportunity for this car... provided the price is right. At 30K USD or thereabouts, with the right marketing... it could work.
I NEVER like'd Buick and this is such a nice car!! I really like it (keep up the design). So weird saying that about the Buick brand, but wow, I would like to have that 2016 Buick Cascada!
The Fast Lane Car What can you tell us about the 1.6T? Sounds like the JCW tuned MINI N18??
Pretty nice
the Pontiac G6 convert is back!
I'm liking Buick more and more, but it's a rebranded Opel? I hope that makes it affordable especially considering it's no more powerful than my Honda.
I think a Cascada coupe would make more sense in the States
Fast forward 6 years, I’ve owned my 2017 for a little over a year, I will tell you that my top is down 12 months out of the year, and I live in Massachusetts. There are always days in the colder months where we get a nice 55-60 degree day, and the summers are high 80’s low 90’s. It truly is the best year-round convertible. Heated seats, heated steering wheel, front wheel drive… great in the heat but also great in the cold and snow. And heavy!! It weighs 4,000 pounds so it’s great in the snow. To top it all off, it’s sexy!! Mine is white and my windows are tinted black. It’s SHARP! Everywhere I go I still get asked “what is that?” “That’s a Buick??” “That’s not a Buick!!” It truly is an amazing car and I am obsessed with it, I won’t ever get rid of it!!
Well,isn't this just an Opel Astra cabrio with Buick badges? What happened here is what happens with Vauxhall in UK....
Most of the Buicks are Opels, or vise versa if you choose to look at it that way. They are Buick in the US and China and Opel or Vauxhall elsewhere depending on the market. Doing that gives them the volume to do some things that are different than Chevrolet.
It's not a rebranded Astra. It's an Opel Cascada being sold under the Buick badge.
Alan Schulte Well in Europe we say that it's an Opel or a Vauxhall (as the British say) Astra. Basically I forgot that Opel belongs to GM and that Buick is also owned by GM so it like scion which in Europe is Toyota and Acura which is Honda...
Is this the Astra?
If so, please bring the VRX/OPC to the US, GM.
Last week I saw a camouflaged Buick Envision driving down Michigan road. Do you think they are going to reveal it tomorrow?
I hope so
They need to make a Cascada GS.
Those alloys look like a corolla minus 2 spokes?
FWD or AWD?
Whoa... It'll be here in another year?! Its already outdated. Just looking at the Interior, the car doesn't feature push button ignition. That's going to be a very outmoded "halo car" before it even goes on sale.
Well by the time you guys in the States get it, it will have been on sale in Europe for 6 years! (late 2009 early 2010)
DeaKen002 very true iv seen this car a lot in Germany
Oh no! A car without a push button start! How ever will I start the car? :O
a coupe style would go nice against the Forte Koup SX with the turbo. Now i understand one is a luxury type and the other is an economy car but they are both really nice.
respect to Roman for not buying into this "new" Buick which really is a GM car for europe that is being renamed for the NA market.
Well atleast rental car companies are getting a new convertible.
now we need a buick astra
Roman -- the 1.6L turbo Inline-4; I hearing an engine like this one could be coming to the Verano. Any truth?
What does halo car mean?
utubeballbag
Thank you. I suppose this "term" is just another pretentious, annoying business jargon.
How the hell is this their halo car instead of something like the Avista?
It's a mix between Buick Regal and verano
Its an Opel Cascada with a Buick logo!
No potholes? Good direction of change.
Buick cars seem to have underpowered engines.
Buick use to be better. That's my opinion.
Anybody know the song name at 0:35 ?
I don't give a shit what car it is underneath or how bad Buick's or the US marketing is, or how much it looks like an Opel/Astra, that is the best looking Buick to date.
Looks like the old Sebring convertible.
Its a vauxhall insignia soft top!
Rebadged, yeah you ain't kidding. They didn't even bother to slap a waterfall grill on it to make it look like a Buick. Probably handed the detailer a bag of Buick badges 20 minutes before the show with instructions to turn it into a Buick. Did we not learn anything from the Cimarron/Cavalier debacle???
I've never thought the proportions of a FWD car worked well for a convertible (and this is no different). There's only so much you can do with surface detailing. A short hood and long rear-deck simply don't conspire to create an elegant look. It just looks cheap.
Seeing a bit of the Chrysler 200 at the front...
Anyone else?
There are too many buttons on the center console for my taste
Mustang, GT-R, Corvette, Viper, LFA. These are Halo cars. I don't think a 4 seater convertable with a 1.6 can be defined as a halo. If they wanted to build a new halo car and bring people in they should have built something off the Camaro platform.
it's a decent car, could've done alot better. the front looks good, the back could use some touch ups, but why not just re badge and modernize the Saturn sky? it would sell really nicley to the younger market, because Buick is having trouble selling to younger ppl. very good attempt tho
It looks like an opel (vauxhall)!
I would actually rather like this car, except for that head unit. For a new model coming out in 2016, I don't understand why it's head unit looks worse than the 2010 Lacrosse did
Who’s the dude from the Simpson that sounds like BUICK VP
yet we had these in europe for years lol
So much hate. How is it outdated?
Oh dear it's a one gen old Astra. Which is no means a bad car but not premium at all.
If GM can rebadge this from an Opel, what's stopping them from rebadging a Holden Ute and bringing it over as a new Chevrolet El Camino?
Sales. They have run the numbers and have come up losing money on the program. Not enough buyers at the price they would have to sell them at. Not to mention it would bring down their average corporate fuel economy as well.
No wonder Buick imports its cars now: they import their executives. He says "hood" when he means "top". I guess that's because when he means "hood" he's going to say "bonnet". So what happens to this car now that GM has sold Opel?
Unfortunately for Buick, everyone in America seems to only think that convertibles that have been based off of awesome performance vehicles are cool , every other convertible will just make you look gay. I don't know why this is. I don't think this car will sell very well and will go the way of the Toyota Solara.
I agree and can't Stand car bias!
Oh look.... a fancy Astra with another badge...
Did he say 200 hp? that is really under powered think about the extra weight.
Spot the difference- Buick supposed to be a luxury brand? This is a normal family car in Europe, and worse yet it would be a further year behind here.
www.vauxhall.co.uk/vehicles/vauxhall-range/cars/cascada/overview.html
That isn't from Buick !! It's an Opel Cascada !
I can understand a multinational company sharing the same car, but under different names in different markets. What I can't understand is them using a bloody Vauxhall Astra. I mean, for God's sake, it's terrible.
your on our side of the pond call it a top.
I'm still curious as to why they killed off Pontiac and saved Buick. Why?
Because Buick sells better here and it's especially popular in China.
Todd Wilson Actually Pontiac sold better in the US by a good margin, but Buick is very strong in China (long history there), which happens to be the worlds largest car market. They couldn't kill off Buick so Pontiac got the ax.
The Buick-GMC sales channel, which in most cases is separate from Chevy, has made some nice gains in the market the last two years. Both Buick and GMC are seen as more premium product and have a different customer base than Chevy. That amount of high profit sales would be hard for GM to walk away from.
This bad policy of rebadging current European vehicles and calling them new in the US didn't work before the Bailout and it won't work after. Hey GM, take the philosophy of the Corvette and give us vehicles that out perform Europe and Japan at a better price.
This is a rebranded vehicle much like Roman rebranded his interview with the Buick guy. We only need to hear things once buddy.
Where the hell is the new Grand National???
Its an Astra! I own a Saturn Astra and I love it. I would buy this "Buick" if it came in a 3 door hatch.
They managed to make the Opel Astra boring. So sad. The Saturn Sky is becoming more of a collectible because of duds like this.
Looks a bit like a G6 convertible dressed up.
It's an opel astra convertible!!!
Oh poor reatta , good concept poor exicution and parts bin engineering . This new one look just like the just retired Sebring cov.
Spoiler alert! A lot of GM sheep would be duped into buying this dud but all it is is a old outdated Vauxhall Astra, the thing was spanked in the sales chart by the Focus. Saying it is an Opel is used to hide the Vauxhall(UK )connection, while Opel ( German ) is used to give some sort of German prestige? It is also worth noting that GM Europe has suffered some massive losses with these average vehicles, so why bring them to America? Keep buying your new old cars GM sheep...
Only good thing about this car is that they didn't name it "Reatta"
Why you say that?
coololds85 I'm not a big fan of Opel-Buick Badge engineering, it's attracting younger customers but at same time they're flushing the good part of Buick brand as well, their 112 years of history and traditions. To me I wanted Buick to restudy their history and make something out of it rather than calling their Europe divisions for help.
It's a Vauxhall insignia...
Pretty expensive for only 200 hp
Front screams Volkswagen eos
Looks like Vauxhall...
That steering wheel is ugly. It looks like it melted.
Oh come on! It is literally a rebadged Opel Astra convertible. And it is 2-3 years too late. And they showed it in gray, but they say it is for image purposes mostly... in grey... really... No mention how it looks way better in red, for example. US marketing, lowest of the lows...
If you had been following this car you knew that. Opel and Buick are effectively the same brand with exception to large SUVs at Buick and micro cars at Opel.
Randy Sullivan Seck Except that 'brand' is only a name, this car has nothing to do with Buick. And here we have to listen to such a pile of BS about how Buick it is, foundations block, yadda, yadda. It is just about changing the badge. That Buick SUV is also an Opel. Same as the Chevy BS from past Car shows. The same crap as how the Focus and Fiesta are american Ford cars, and how they paid a lot of attention, blah, blah... they were all made by german engineers years ago for Europe. And that is not the problem, the problem is misinformation of their customers, and laughable at that since telling people it is a car from europe would get them more sales. This way they only get more 'hate' from people in the know and no special sales boost.
Looking at the Buick site, all the cars are rebadged Opels, every last one. The same on the Chevy site for cars.
Randy Sullivan Seck
***** Again, Buick and Opel are effectively the same product portfolio under different brands to save GM money. We know this. The only exceptions are the large SUVs at Buick, and the micro cars at Opel. You are just mad for the sake of being mad about something.
Fail. Why would they sale a convertible when it's cold. Noobs =_=
Nice german car
It's just a copy of a Opel wtf
My gosh I hate all soft top convertabled.
Made in Poland :)
It's going to flop
and how interesting is this car? hmmm about as interesting as the guy in the suit trying to sell it in my opinion
but it doesnt look all that great, kind of like a chrysler 200 and eclipse cross
The name is stupid. Damn GM start making your own cars like you used to instead of rebranding everything lately.
Buick or any other car manufacturer for that fact can't make different cars anymore. Their designers lack of know how to make a car look different than one another. I mean yeah what can you do. Cars are more safer these days because of all the technology and BS sensors they put in them. But I got my smartphone and my iPad. I don't need a touch screen in my car. I just want a car that looks good with all the basics and to drive me where I gotta go.
I HATE Buick so much!! why don't GM sell The Opel cars under Opel name in America??
Looks like Hyundai and Acura's child.
Not a Grand National, not interested.
meh.
Lame
This company does not get it, ugly designs. Young people do not like these outdated and round designs.
Soft top? Ugly
broads car....