General Motors will showcase a vehicle created in part by its Chinese designers at one of the world's top auto shows here next week, GM's top designer said.
The Buick Riviera, a concept car designed to showcase Buick's new global design direction, will make its North American debut next week at the North American International Auto Show, Ed Welburn, vice president, GM Global Design, said Thursday.
The display of the Riviera concept vehicle, first shown in Shanghai, also signals GM's intention to have US designers in Michigan, and Chinese designers in Shanghai, collaborate and compete on all future designs for the Buick brand, Welburn said.
“We're not going to combine the design studios. Customers in the United States and China are quite different,” Welburn said after a pre-show unveiling of the Riviera for a small group of reporters.
“There is a lot of competition between the two studios,” he added. “But we would not have been able to have done the Riviera without the two teams working together.”
He said the Riviera concept reflected PATAC's growing role within the GM design family, and China's significance as the world's largest Buick market.
The Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center (PATAC) is an automotive engineering and design joint venture of General Motors and Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. Group.
GM has no plans to turn the Riviera into a production car but pieces of the design will be incorporated into the future designs of other vehicles, Welburn said.
The Chinese influences are clearly visible around the headlights where Ivory Chinese antiques inspired the shapes.
In addition, the lights turn on automatically when the driver approaches the vehicle, which is actually quite practical in Shanghai, said Dave Lyons, the GM designer in charge of the collaboration.
Welburn also said the Chinese designers pushed GM executives to pay more attention to the interior of the Riviera. “It's very much part of the renaissance in interiors that's taking place at GM,” he said.
Buick is one of GM's foundation brands, having been part of the company ever since it was created a century ago.
However, in recent years, analysts have pushed GM management to dump the brand because it no longer resonates with American consumers.
GM chief Richard Wagoner, however, has said Buick also become a critical nameplate for GM in China, where GM is locked in a duel with Volkswagen for market leadership.
Just last year, GM and its affiliates sold more than one million vehicles in China for the first time.
Welburn said Buick's success in China — where it is viewed as an upscale brand used by government officials and business executives — has pushed designers in the United States to become more expressive on new Buick models.
“The new Buick Enclave is a lot more expressive than other vehicles in that category,” he said. The Enclave was introduced in May and is the first Buick ever considered for North American Car of The Year honors.
GM also plans to begin exporting the Enclave to China this year.
The 2008 North American International Auto Show opens to the public January 19. Some 700,000 people will pay for a glimpse of upcoming models and the concept cars of the future.
Five Chinese automakers will also be displaying vehicles at the show, although analysts think it will be at least a couple more years before Chinese-made vehicles are found on American roads.
