Buick Electra EV: Wildcat Coupe Concept Will Inspire Striking New SUVs
By: Alisa Priddle. Writer, and Steven Pham, Photographer (MotorTrend)
Yep, tastes vary but IMO that is one butt-ugly Buick. These concept cars highlight why American automakers won't be competitive in the EV market.
American car designers are headed down the business-as-usual path of branding, logos, and marketing of questionable styling. Why is there a need for 340 hp EVs? The range and efficiency of the vehicles will suffer because of the need to drag around a lot of fluff and nonsense that has nothing to do with function. Why does an EV even need a grill on the front of the vehicle? That showy piece of unessential bling adds to the cost of both manufacturing a vehicle and repairing a vehicle.
It's not like people will be cruising in these things to turn heads. They don't have that kind of range. The old car culture just won't apply to EVs. The climate alarmists are taking daddy's T-bird away.
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
WHAT IT IS: The Buick Wildcat EV concept showcases the brand's new face, logo, and design language for a lineup of future electric vehicles. Each will be called Electra, followed by an alphanumeric designation. Although the Wildcat is a coupe, the upcoming Electra models will be all SUVs (at least initially), beginning with a compact offering in 2024. By 2030, Buick's entire lineup will be badged Electra. Two compact two-row models are planned. One is lower, sportier, more car-like, and geared toward couples; the other rides higher with more cargo room for families.
WHY IT MATTERS: GM saved the Buick brand because of its popularity in China, but cool electric SUVs could make it hip in North America and restore some former glory. Besides, the more EVs that share GM's Ultium system of batteries and platforms, the greater the company's ability to reduce costs and keep them more affordable.
PLATFORM AND POWERTRAIN: All these new electric vehicles use GM's BEV3 electric architecture and Ultium battery technology developed with partner LG Chem. The first Electra SUV's powertrain could mimic that of the 2023 Cadillac Lyriq, which launches with a single motor in the rear, good for 340 hp, 325 lb-ft of torque, and about 300 miles of range.
An all-wheel-drive performance variant should follow in 2023. Buick has shown previous concepts with dual electric motors and a 12-module 100-kWh battery, providing 583 hp, a 0-60-mph time of 4.3 seconds, and about 370 miles of range. When the first production Electra SUV arrives in 2024, it will also feature one-pedal driving, on-demand regenerative braking, and GM's Ultra Cruise hands-free driver assist technology. A giant screen will stretch across most of the cockpit.
ESTIMATED PRICE: $55,000
EXPECTED ON-SALE DATE: 2024
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Same old crap with a different drive train. What all the hype about EVs demonstrates is that American car manufacturers won't be competitive. No wonder these manufacturers need boatloads of Federal money to subsidize their bad business models.
Butt ugly? Really? Has the author even seen ANY Buick built in the last 10 years? I think it's gorgeous. Certainly nicer looking than any Tesla.
The seeder offered 'butt ugly'; the author was simply describing the vehicle factually. I agree, the design is certainly not ugly; I do not like the front (too bulky) but hardly 'butt ugly'.
What I think is important is lowering the price of the EVs. $55k is much better than $150k (and higher) and I hope the domestic manufacturers are driven to produce affordable, functional EVs that can serve as a real replacement for internal combustion vehicles.
That said, I hate the name 'Electra'; certainly GM can do better than such a corny unimaginative name.
And just as with all tech the price will tumble over time.
Buick first made an "Electra" in 1959 and made them at least through 1990.
Electra is not corny if used on an internal combustion engine.
This is an electric vehicle. Everything else is just fluff. American auto designers are trying to sell the fluff just as they have done with ICE vehicles. The Buick concept Electra is all about the fluff and not the function.
EV design is evolving to use pancake motors mounted on the wheels which IMO is a better design. IMO there is a need to incorporate solar cells into the designs to drive parasitic accessories.
Really? It’s a classic name, and it seems perfect for an electric car.
I thought at one time they were working on solar paint. Or maybe add it into window tinting...
I think “Electra” for an electric car is corny.
The Wildcat badge started in 1963 , and the concept cars under that name started in the mid 50s . was just looking at them on bing images .
likely playing off legacy names from the past for the brand
Yeah, the boattail Riviera was a classic. Even that 1970s design had cleaner lines than the concept Electra.
The concept car does a solid job of reflecting this older model.
Only in profile. Check out the images in the seed. There are oddly placed folds and creases everywhere. The concept Electra is not a clean design.
The Pontiac Aztec was a cleaner design.
Thanks for alerting me to the other pictures. I think it looks cool. It’s too bad we rarely get the full concept car for sale. I’d love an interior like that.
Yep, as I said, tastes vary. Nothing wrong with that either. I like the silhouette but, to me, the design has too much going on to be a clean design. To me, the Electra concept looks like it's been pre-dented.
The bigger concern for me is that this Buick concept Electra follows the tradition of road boats. That road boat design philosophy seems to be driving the design more than efficiency and functionality. The history of 'cool' cars is that they are the least efficient and least practical vehicles. Why would an EV need an engine compartment anyway? That seems rather superfluous. The designer isn't taking advantage of what an EV chassis allows.
I think it is cool looking. I like the looks of it.
Here's a Mercedes-Benz concept design for a golf cart. The styling doesn't change the function (or performance) of an electric vehicle.
Really? Where do you put your clubs?
Nice.
It’s good to see more and more manufacturers developing these electric cars. Greater production should drive down prices, and the competition should improve quality - two things that have made me delay getting one.
I just don't really care for the concept of sitting on a rack of lithium...
I saw a vid the other day of where one caught on fire sitting in a parking garage.
You’d rather be surrounded by several gallons of highly flammable gasoline fueling an engine that literally operates by creating thousands of tiny explosions every minute?
I do want to see some improvements in quality and safety before I get one.
Well, I did drive a Pinto at one time...
was going to say something , but remembered i usually have 3 gals of preimium gas in a container on top of a hot air cooled running engine and put it all between my legs everytime i ride my motorcycle .....
I wonder if motorcycles are included in the up coming California ban.
Nobody has mentioned anything about that.
interesting question , i would tend to think ANYTHING gas powered would end up on the ban .
they are already banning gas powered lawn equipment , generators and some other things .
saw H-D already has an electric bike , and already saw that one caught fire while parked .....
Yeah... i can just see some of those outlaw MC clubs cruising around on electric bikes ..... i wouldnt want to be the one to ask if they want tofu with their latte grande ......
Probably a Cali car -
be feeding cattle with some style there....ground clearance would suck though ....
Mid 60s Wildecats were basically an Impala SS with a nicer more expensive interior and a more angular less sporty body.
GM stock has recently gone up from $30 to $40, heading to $100. They got rid of unprofitable products and have a nationwide network of dealers. They are making money like crazy and everything they can build is presold into 2024. Electric Is The Future!
That’s not so much, especially the way electric cars function. They’re really more about the torque. They accelerate like mad, but the top end is not like it is in a gas vehicle.
How much range do you need? A lot of these cars get 300 miles or more on a charge. A lot of gas powered cars don’t go that far, and they have come stock with fluff and nonsense for decades.
Why do cars need non-functional anything? Hood scoops that do nothing. Fins. Pointless spoilers. Fake wood or carbon fiber. EVs didn’t invent those things.
You complain about business-as-usual with “branding, logos, and marketing of questionable styling” but then you complain they’re taking daddy’s T-bird away. T-birds we’re all of that. They had tail fins, for Pete’s sake. Wtf for? And some kind of porthole in the side. Talk about “questionable styling!”
Most families have two or more cars so one electric they charge at home to use mainly locally makes sense. The fuel savings for work vehicles is huge.
Interested in concept cars? Here are some from the 1950s..
saw the batmobile from the 60s show in there .
If I were to be able to choose one of them to drive today, thankfully they would probably not have to rely on microchips or warning bells and buzzers, it would be the 1953 CADILLAC GHIA COUPE. I love the looks of it, and it doesn't look too far out among today's models.