????2009年，美國財政部官員還舉棋不定：在通用汽車公司（General Motors）受到政府資助的破產計劃中，是否應關停別克（Buick）這個品牌部門。他們最后決定保留這個品牌。如今看來，這一決策日益顯得明智。

????由于全尺寸君越轎車（LaCrosse）和昂科雷酷越車（Enclave）的熱銷，別克汽車2010年在美國的銷量比2009年激增48%。而今年，由于成功推出尺寸較小的君威轎車（Regal），銷量又增長了24%。

????最新推出的一款車型名為維萊諾（Verano）。它很快就將運抵別克汽車的2,100家經銷商處。看起來，它也將是一個強有力的競爭者。維萊諾的目標是與各種較高端的緊湊型車型一決高下。其車身結構與雪佛蘭的科魯茲（Cruze）和歐寶的雅特（Astra）如出一轍，而大量細微改進、流暢的車身線條、時尚的配置和先進的工程調校讓它更有豪華車的感覺。

????別克的營銷總監羅杰?麥科馬克稱，憑借別克品牌系列，通用汽車公司以更富競爭力的價格為消費者提供了眾多品質更高的配置，從而扭轉頹勢，在與豐田汽車公司（Toyota）的雷克薩斯（Lexus）和寶馬汽車公司（BMW）的競爭中占據上風。比如，君威的售價為27,000美元，與尺寸相當、配置相似的雷克薩斯ES350和寶馬 3系相比，它動力更強勁，價格卻要低8,000到10,000美元。

????這種策略大獲成功。麥科馬克稱“40%的銷售來自非通用品牌用戶”，這表明很多別克品牌的潛在買家喜歡他們所看到的別克汽車。同樣很重要的一點是，通用汽車并沒有簡單地蠶食旗下的另外兩大品牌——雪佛蘭和凱迪拉克的銷量。

????汽車行業購買分析服務機構TrueCar.com稱，截至2008年，別克汽車的買主平均年齡為67歲，比業內任何一個品牌的買主年齡都要大。但此后，主要歸功于昂科雷的熱銷，買主開始出現年輕化趨勢，平均年齡已經降至目前的50歲。所有豪華車廠商都在努力贏得年輕買主的青睞，希望將這些人變成回頭客。

????形象也是推動銷售的一個重要因素。“幾年前，南加州還沒人想買別克車。但突然之間，人們就開始排隊購買昂科雷了，”TrueCar.com公司負責行業趨勢研究的副總裁杰西?托普拉克稱，這款車現在是“足球媽媽”（soccer moms，一般指家住郊區、已婚、并且家有學齡兒童的中產階級女性——譯注）們的最愛。他說，在南加州，別克目前還不是一個時髦的品牌，“但在品牌提升方面已經獲得了長足進步”。

????別克的營銷戰略一直是致力于吸引卓爾不群的豪華車買主，他們不顯山露水（正如這一品牌過去一貫的風格），不愿意暴露自己財富和社會階層。醫生一度不買凱迪拉克（Cadillac），因為這會向他們的病人和鄰居傳達自己是暴富階層的錯誤信息，與此一致，今天別克的潛在買主也鄙棄那種“世界領袖”或華爾街大亨的形象。

????別克的營銷團隊將“美國大學籃球聯賽”（NCAA）作為廣告陣地，并創作了一段大學籃球明星的“精彩鏡頭集錦”。片中，明星們傾情參與了各種旨在幫助貧困人群的慈善活動。在2011年的終極四強冠軍賽中，別克攜手前北達科他大學（University of North Dakota）球星，來自尼日利亞的曼尼?歐豪姆，為兒童捐獻了2,000雙鞋襪。但是，就推出讓人過目難忘、能體現品牌精髓的品牌口號而言，別克還有待努力。

????既然別克刻意回避追求用車彰顯身份的買主，其引擎就不必追求純粹大馬力、高扭矩了。實際上，它首次用在君越上的全新的eAssit系統設計宗旨就是提高燃油經濟性：當車因紅綠燈停車或堵車時，這套系統就會讓引擎熄火；而當車高速行駛時，它就會啟用電力輔助系統。

????別克還努力實現車內的靜音效果，這是別克數年來引以為榮的一大優點。工程師們努力鉆研如何消音或隔音，再運用高技術材料消除環境噪音。這么做的目標是在行車狀態下，讓前排與后排的乘客也能用平常說話的音量交談，對于愉快的駕駛體驗來說，這是一個細微卻又至關重要的因素。

????要想真正挑戰寶馬或奔馳（Mercedes）的王者地位，別克還有很長的路要走。但是數十年來，別克首次擁有了可以叫板的王牌。這也很好地證明了兩任美國總統確保通用汽車不至破產的決策是何等英明。

????譯者：清遠

????U.S. Treasury officials weren't sure in 2009 whether General Motors ought to shut down its Buick division as part of the government-sponsored bankruptcy. Their decision to hang on to the brand is looking better by the day.

????Buick (GM) sales in the U.S. soared 48% in 2010 from 2009 on the strength of the fullsize LaCrosse sedan and Enclave crossover and another 24% this year following the successful introduction of the smaller Regal sedan.

????The latest entry, dubbed Verano, will be arriving shortly to Buick's 2,100 dealers and it looks like a strong contender as well. The Verano intends to compete among higher-end compacts; it features the same architecture as the Chevrolet Cruze and Opel Astra, with lots of tweaks, rakish lines, high-fashion touches and advanced engineering to give it a more luxurious feel.

????GM, with its Buick brand, is turning the tables on more prestigious brands such as Toyota's (TM) Lexus and BMW by offering premium features at a more competitive price, according to Roger McCormack, Buick director of marketing. The Regal, for example, sells for about $27,000, or about $8,000 to $10,000 less than a similarly sized and equipped -- though much higher-powered -- Lexus ES350 and BMW 3 Series.

????That tactic is paying off. "About 40% of our sales are conquests from non-GM brands," McCormack says, indicating that lots of new prospects to Buick are liking what they see. Just as importantly, GM isn't simply cannibalizing sales from Chevrolet and Cadillac, two of its other remaining car brands.

????According to TrueCar.com, an automotive buying service, Buick buyers at an average age of 67, were older than any in the industry, as of 2008. But the average has been trending younger lately, mostly because of the Enclave, with an average buyer age of 50. All luxury car manufacturers struggle to win younger customers they hope to convert into repeat buyers.

????Image is also an important factor. "A few years ago no one in Southern California wanted to own a Buick. But suddenly there were waiting lists for the Enclave," a big favorite with soccer moms, said Jesse Toprak, TrueCar.com vice president for industry trends. Buick isn't yet a cool brand in Southern California "but the brand has made some headway," he says.

????Buick's marketing strategy has been geared to attract a different sort of luxury customer, one that (as in the old days of the brand) isn't trying to make a statement of wealth or class. Just as doctors once avoided Cadillac because it sent the wrong message to patients and neighbors, today's Buick prospects may very well disdain "Master of the Universe" or Wall St. status.

????The brand's marketing team chose NCAA sports as a venue for its advertising and created a "highlight reel" of collegiate stars involved in charities meant to help the needy. With former University of North Dakota basketball star Manny Ohonme, originally from Nigeria, Buick contributed more than 2,000 pairs of shoes and socks to children during the 2011 Final Four championship. But Buick still has headway to make in coming up with a sticky tagline that encompasses what the brand stands for.

????Because Buick is deliberately side-stepping status-seekers, its engines aren't necessarily chosen for raw horsepower or high amounts of torque. Indeed, its new eAssist system, offered first on the LaCrosse, is meant to improve fuel efficiency by stopping the engine when the car stops at a light or in traffic and using electric assist to help it at speed.

????Effort has been applied to cabin quietness, a virtue of Buicks for decades. Engineers studied how to remove or block sounds, and applied high-tech materials to subdue ambient noise. The goal is to allow passengers to converse in a normal speaking voice between front and rear rows while traveling, a small and important factor in a pleasant driving experience.

????Buick has miles to go before it is a real challenger to BMW or Mercedes. But for the first time in decades, it has a shot at relevancy. And that may very well vindicate the decision of two U.S. presidents to make sure that GM didn't go out of business.