The website leftlane news.com is reporting that GM's application to use the name "Invicta" on a new Buick model is "dead" as of March 21, 2006. As they explained it, "Sometimes, automakers scrap applications entirely. Other times it cannot obtain the rights to the name . . . Just recently, there were rumors that the new Zeta-platform-based Buick sedan would be called the 'Invicta.' However, GM’s outspoken Bob Lutz said the car would be called the 'Statesman.' Looks like Mr. Lutz was right."

Statesman isn't bad, but I dont think it'd hurt to use a traditional Buick name for once.

So it is a straight dub of the Holden after all...

Statesman isn't bad, but I dont think it'd hurt to use a traditional Buick name for once.

Agreed! Just when you think GM "gets it" they go dumb again.

well statesmen does sound more ritzy i suppose. invicta sounds like it might jump out and stab you. maybe a little bit harsh for the image buick is going after.

i would still like to to see roadmaster make a comeback. even the skylark.

lucerne and invicta would seem to me polar opposites.

I think what's going to happen is the Buick Zeta is going to be the next Lucerne, thus Invicta is not needed.

I think what's going to happen is the Buick Zeta is going to be the next Lucerne, thus Invicta is not needed.

Yea, I agree. I have a hard time believing Statesman will even be used

I think what's going to happen is the Buick Zeta is going to be the next Lucerne, thus Invicta is not needed.

That is what Hudson hinted at once.

Of course, Lutz has always liked changing names around, so maybe the Lucerne replacement will have a different name.

I'm actually warming up to the name "Statesman," and would prefer it over Lucerne. But what is most important is that the car has Buick character and styling, and is not simply a Holden WM Statesman with a Buick grille.

I vote for Electra or Roadmaster

Statesman is a pretty lousy name. Too staid, too old school even for Buick. Plus, it reminds me of Diplomat.

I wouldn't mind if the Statesman came stateside, it's a great looking car, but it can leave its name in Australia. I like Park Avenue. Or Roadmaster.

Hey, at least it's getting a real name and not "B8"

"Statesman": blorf! Nice 1940s- sounding name with no connection to Buick at all. Awful.

I realize there is no correlation, but this does not bouy my hopes for this model.

BTW- I for one think Buick needs a nameplate that sounds like it may stab you.

"Statesman": blorf! Nice 1940s- sounding name with no connection to Buick at all. Awful.

I realize there is no correlation, but this does not bouy my hopes for this model.

BTW- I for one think Buick needs a nameplate that sounds like it may stab you.

Lets not complain about the name after all they DID come out with the LaCrosse and Lucerne names... Anyway, something that sounds agressive? Buick Python? lol Buick Warbird? hahaha Here's a simple one! Buick Evil.

Edited May 27, 200619 yr by -Camaro-

No; let's indeed complain. We had a very good-to-excellent name from history apparently dumped in favor of an existing 'down-under' nameplate that sounds more fitting on luggage than a modern car. Take your shoes & socks off to get ready to count the times "rebadged" is used in media pieces about the Holden-Buick Statesman.

...invicta sounds like it might jump out and stab you.  maybe a little bit harsh for the image buick is going after.

Yes, true. But I love that about the name... out of all the 1959 Buicks I've

seen they were all Electras & LeSabres, but I want the "sporty" Invicta

like Balthazar's. It's such a cool name.

i would still like to to see roadmaster make a comeback.  even the skylark. 

Yes & yes... esp. RoadMonster!

lucerne and invicta would seem to me polar opposites.

Makes perfect sense to me... the Lucerne is a car full

of compromises and half-assed B.S. mechanicals It's

motor is mounted sideways... it lacks a kick ass

pushrod V8, it's short and stubby looking and to top it

all off it's FWD.

And to showcase in their ads how exactly complex &

modern the new Lucerne is they talk about the

windshield washer fluid.

The Zeta Buick, whatever its name will be a TRUE

Buick, even more so than the Park Ave, more so

than the last gen. Regal. It will be the true successor

to the Roadmaster and hopefully a 2-door variant

will be called Riviera...

Just how many of Oldsmobile's mistakes does Buick

have to repeat? How much reinventing, new-age

marketing & re-Bull$hitting will GM do before it

learns that all the American people want is a true

& authentic rebirth of what American cars stood for

in the 1950s & 1960s?

Just how many of Oldsmobile's mistakes does Buick

have to repeat? How much reinventing, new-age

marketing & re-Bull$hitting will GM do before it

learns that all the American people want is a true

& authentic rebirth of what American cars stood for

in the 1950s & 1960s?

yyup, that seems to be the question.

Can we get GM to see this?

http://www.cheersandgears.com/forums/index...?showtopic=6879

Apparently everyone thinks Invicta is a better name.

The current Buick lineup has classy sounding names that do a good job standing out without being outrageous. "Statesman" just doesn't fit. It is boring and bland, and to me there is nothing luxurious sounding about it.

Can we get GM to see this?

http://www.cheersandgears.com/forums/index...?showtopic=6879

Apparently everyone thinks Invicta is a better name.

Not true. I, with several others, felt the Invicta name was a horrible idea. Too harsh sounding.

Not true.  I, with several others, felt the Invicta name was a horrible idea.  Too harsh sounding.

It needs to be harsh.

Bold, in your face, agressive, assertive is what Buick should have.

Names like:

Wildcat

Centurion

Invicta "unconquerable"

Roadmaster

Wouldn't that be a great lineup of sedans starting with a Sigma based Wildcat and Centurion at the bottom, and Zeta based Invicta and Roadmaster at the top. "Suddenly it's 1957!" with Buick having 4 cars based on two platforms.

Use the Super name for the higher trim on a specific model but use it in front of the model name

"I just bought an Invicta.", "Oh yeah? I just bought a Super Invicta"

Of course, the Electra trim name for all hybrid models

I like Invicta better than "Statesman", which only conjures up images of George Washington. Sure, he's a revered figure, but he's so "1776". I prefer the Invicta name, a reinforcement of Buick's identity.

It needs to be harsh.

Bold, in your face, agressive, assertive is what Buick should have.

Names like:

Wildcat

Centurion

Invicta "unconquerable"

Roadmaster

Wouldn't that be a great lineup of sedans starting with a Sigma based Wildcat and Centurion at the bottom, and Zeta based Invicta and Roadmaster at the top. "Suddenly it's 1957!" with Buick having 4 cars based on two platforms.

Use the Super name for the higher trim on a specific model but use it in front of the model name

"I just bought an Invicta.", "Oh yeah? I just bought a Super Invicta"

Of course, the Electra trim name for all hybrid models

Albeit you prefer it to be "harsh", however, it doesn't fit in with the "soft" names the entire lineup has. Want bold? Go to another name. Roadmaster, Statesman, etc., fine. Better yet, deliver AWESOME content, and whatever you name it will become "bold".

Statesman is just such a poor choice. It means nothing. It sounds so hollow and empty. Its not even a term we use in this country that much.

gross, statesman is a HORRIBLE name.

Invicta kinda had a nice ring in line with the others.

Lucerne, Enclave, Invicta..

Buick better not kill off the Lucerne name either, good name on a good car.

I agree with Balthazar, and others that the name Invicta is better than Statesman. I have absolutely no fear that an Invicta would jump out of the garage and stab me, or anyone else.

Has any one else ever noticed that most of the classic Buick model names have seven letters?

LeSabre

Invicta

Wildcat

Special

Century

Electra

Skylark

Riviera even

Skyhawk as forgetable as it was.

There are some classic exceptions, Roadmaster, Centurian, Park Avenue and Regal, althought the Regal came into being about the time that Buick was losing its true identity and just becoming the basic, uninspired GM product that had a gaudier interior. Now there were other exceptions, but most were sub-models, GS, GNX, Grand National

Even today most of the lineup has new seven letter names

Terraza

Rainier

Lucerne

LaCrosse and Rendezvous don't but they aren't exacly what Buick is promising for thier new Lexus competitor station in life anyway. (Then again, neither is Terraza and maybe not Rainier.) Back when Clark Gable drove Buicks and they were the Lexus of their day most of them had seven letters. That's one reason I was excited to hear them dusting off the name Invicta. Its a name they didn't wreck by putting it on the stuff that pretty much wrecked Buick's reputatioin in the industry like LeSabre, and Century.

Do you think old folks still buy Buicks because the like to drive substandard cars? No, its because when they were young and impressionable, a Buick was something to strive for.

In my opinion, bring back the Invicta name, which hasn't been wrecked by putting it on an X, A, W or other hum drum under performer. Put Statesman in the same group with Studebaker Commander, Packard Patrician and even Dodge Diplomat - government employees that didn't make lasting possitive impressions.

When Buick gets around to building outstanding cars again (Enclave looks promising, LaCrosse does not) they could bring back a sporty version named Wildcat and a smaller car named Skylark. But please get the product right first. There isn't and Audi, Lexus, Infinity or Mercedes-Benz buyer that shouldn't be thinking about shopping at a Buick dealer.

LaCrosse - good

Enclave - extremely good

Lucerne - mysterious and exotic, its all good

they should bring back the LeSabre

the Statesman should be some other name.....Bolero? Electra? Riviera?

Bolero would be a good name for something like a Kappa Buick, but it doesn't really fit a luxury car, imo.

i cant believe at this point statesman name is written in stone.

it is a boring name that projects no anima in any way shape or form. even the regal name accomplishes the same thing without sounding as pretentious, i think.

i wouldnt mind in the least having anything called an invicta. especially a kick as rwd buick with presumably a monster engine. statesman on the other hand...i better have some golf clubs and a sweater knotted about my neck.

or something to that effect. i cant imagine gm being gunshy about tossing around revered names from the past....malibu, impala...and a host of others.

especially if this car is all its cracked up to be, hell go for the throat. its walk or, yhou get the idea. just because theyre going after lexus doesnt mean they need to give their cars the most mundane and boring names they can come up with.

skylark, roadmaster, invicta...even the enclave projects the classic buick image.

and then theres the statesman.

.

Edited May 28, 200619 yr by Mr.Krinkle

LaCrosse - good

Enclave - extremely good

Lucerne - mysterious and exotic, its all good

they should bring back the LeSabre

the Statesman should be some other name.....Bolero? Electra? Riviera?

LaCrosse

Lucerne

Lausanne

From an older standpoint...

LaCrosse

Lucerne

Lausanne

From an older standpoint...

Lucerne and Lasaunne sound way too wimpy for me. I like Statesman better than Invicta, but would have much rather heard Roadmaster or Park Avenue used.

Hey, at least it's getting a real name and not "B8"

Amen!

Bolero would be a good name for something like a Kappa Buick, but it doesn't really fit a luxury car, imo.

Bolero actually sounds too much like Alero.

Bolero is a great name. Unlike Alero, it actually has meaning, too - a Spanish/Latin dance, great for conveying an image of a smaller car that's nimble yet elegant with a touch of class. Plus, it not only fits with Buick's frequent Romantic naming (Rendezvous, LeSabre, Lucerne, LaCrosse), but was also used on a 1990 concept sedan that was a precursor to the Skylark:

Personally I don't care for "Invicta" much, and it was used for five years during which most of you weren't even glints in your parents eyes, so I don't know about the deep corporate heritage there. But it's miles better than "Statesman", which sounds like it whould come with an Ensure dispenser in the glove box.

IMHO, I like leSabre best. Think of the "Then and Now" commercial they could do with that..

Edited May 29, 200619 yr by tmp

Don't like it. It's stodgy. It's NOT what Buick needs. Invicta was a little racier, at least. But then, GM is known to make dumb decisions.

I don't know, to me "Statesman" sounds like it's meant for cruising and traveling in comfort in... It sounds good. There are better names, but Statesman is MUCH better than the names Pontiac and Cadillac have..

Are there any marketing wiz members on here who know what if any pitfalls there would be to reviving the Electra name?

It needs to be harsh.

Bold, in your face, agressive, assertive is what Buick should have.

Names like:

Wildcat

Centurion

Invicta "unconquerable"

Roadmaster

Wouldn't that be a great lineup of sedans starting with a Sigma based Wildcat and Centurion at the bottom, and Zeta based Invicta and Roadmaster at the top. "Suddenly it's 1957!" with Buick having 4 cars based on two platforms.

Use the Super name for the higher trim on a specific model but use it in front of the model name

"I just bought an Invicta.", "Oh yeah? I just bought a Super Invicta"

Of course, the Electra trim name for all hybrid models

Love it!

I don't like the Statesman name either but you know what?

At this point even a car called a "Poopstick" will be better

than most of the lineup so long as it's got an available V8 &

RWD. Any zeta by any name will be a big

improvement over most of the current GM lineup.

Pontiac Poopstick

Buick Dingleberry

Chevy Craptastic 4000

Saab Buttplug

If they're good cars people will buy them, if they have funny names people will buy them for just that reason.

Buick 6000SUX.

They could even throw in a Blaupunkt!

Edited June 2, 200619 yr by eaton53

2 Zeta cars, no trucks, no crossovers (GMC has that covered):

Electra 4-door and Riviera 2-door.

Both come standard with V-8s, 4 year/50,000 mile warranties, 4 year free maintenance, penetration pricing under a Lexus ES350 and free loaner cars. The ES350 won't stand a chance.

Limited edition "Super Ultra" versions come with Corvette engines.

Maybe a Zeta Caballero sport wagon with a slightly higher roof and three rows of seats for Buick customers who want a traditional family vehicle that has presence.

2 or 3 Zetas all with powerful engines, powerful styling and superb service translates into 40,000 profitable Electra sales, 5,000 profitable Riviera sales and maybe 10,000 profitable Caballero sales.

How's that for polishing Buick's image?

If Buick is going to do battle with Lexus and Acura, then it needs a cross-over SUV. The RX sells, as does the MDX, so I think that the Enclave could have the potential to rake in some nice money for Buick.

But no matter what they name the Zeta, anything would sound better (yes, even Statesman) than some alphabet soup name.

They only sold Invictas for 3-4 years, and over 40 years ago. Only 'Buick geeks' remember the name, and it was not from their origins, either.

It sounds like some old medicine or even a disease.