Buick confirm three new vehicles by 2012

Now that GM is done with its bankruptcy and restructuring woes and its sales are on the rebound, the Detroit automaker is aiming high again with the Buick brand.

Buick has announced it will be adding three new models to its vehicle lineup by 2012 including a compact (spied as the Excelle) and a small crossover due by 2012. GM's near-premium brand will also be delivering its new Buick Regal later this year despite a previous anouncement of Q2 2010.

The brand has seen a resurgence in sales, like the industry as a whole, with a 36.4 percent increase last month (April). Buick sales of its full-sized sedan, the LaCrosse, are up 214 percent this year. More importantly for GM's bottom line, the current model is selling for $8,000 (€6,200) or $9,000 (€7,000) more than its predecessor.

Also part of the brand's re-invention will be the targeting of a new set of consumers - focusing on grass-roots marketing campaigns and looking for new Buick buyers at places such as Starbucks, Whole Foods and Ikea. The brand will lose its trim-level designations too - CX, CXL and CXS. Instead, Buick will simply be offering options packages like other premium brands.

"(Trim levels) imply there is a hierarchy of the premium vehicle," said Craig Bierley, director of advertising and sales promotion at Buick GMC.