The plug-in hybrid Buick SUV -- a retouched Saturn Vue based on the above teaser -- will never see the light of a showroom floor. That's the news this morning from General Motors Vice Chairman Tom Stephens, who wrote the following on the FastLane Blog after a new product showcase for media, dealers, and potential customers:
"The Buick crossover we showed received consistent feedback from large parts of all the audiences that it didn't fit the premium characteristics that customers have come to expect from Buick."
In other words, the styling was more fitting for the Saturn the PHEV was originally intended to be, and not an upmarket Buick. The vehicle's green technology will, no doubt, be used in another vehicle, but Stephens didn't elaborate on which one.
"We were all struck by the consistency of the criticism of the compact crossover," Stephens writes.
We can't say we're surprised, but we are looking forward to seeing what vehicle GM decides to make a PHEV.
"In the past," Stephens says, "this would have been a several-month process...and also many 'offline' follow-up discussions before a decision was reached and enacted."