China's Buick Infatuation
SHANGHAI -- Wang Shuaiwu pokes through a multibrand auto showroom here with his eight-year-old grandson, shopping for a new family car. Mr. Wang wants something snappy-looking and spacious inside with good after-sales service.
He shuts the door of a blue Volkswagen Polo hatchback and walks up to a sales table. "We've basically decided," the 60-year old apartment-building manager announces, drawing in the dealership's staff. "We'll buy a Buick Sail."
Chalk up another small victory for General Motors Corp. Its success with families such as the Wangs explains why GM is outmaneuvering Volkswagen AG and other foreign car makers for the global auto industry's biggest prize: China's booming middle class.
As cars become a prized symbol of upward mobility, auto makers are scrambling to divine the tastes of the emerging middle-class consumer, a swath of the country that now counts more than 100 million people. Japan's Honda Motor Co., Toyota Motor Corp. and Nissan Motor Corp. and South Korea's Hyundai Motor Co. are all making inroads into the mass market. And several smaller Chinese auto makers are scrambling to catch up with the global giants in product design and brand reputation.
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But GM has a built-in advantage: China's enduring, decades-old affinity for the venerable Buick.
In the U.S., the GM brand has stumbled through a less-than-glamorous evolution that included an unsightly 1971 slope-top Skylark. It's still difficult for Buick to break away from its current image as a car for middle-American senior citizens. C.J. Fraleigh, the new 40-year-old head of the Buick brand, concedes that "for quite a number of years, Buick's product offerings have trailed product trends. Buick suffered a lack of relevance."
In China, however, the Buick is a revered icon of old prerevolutionary days, when the classic black sedan with white-wall tires was known as the car of the elite. In 1912, Chinese statesman Sun Yat-sen took his first ride in an automobile -- a Buick. The last emperor of China bought two of them in 1924, the first cars to enter Peking's Forbidden City. In the 1930's, GM's flagship brand in China was fashionable among Shanghai's rich factory bosses, and the Buick became a symbol for an era of great wealth amid great poverty.
Shanghai General Motors factory
When the communists took power in 1949, China shut its doors to the outside world, including foreign auto makers. It wasn't until the mid-1980s that Western auto makers were allowed to produce cars in China again. GM re-entered the Chinese sedan market in the 1990s, and in 1995, its bid to build the Buick Century in Shanghai was chosen over Ford Motor Co.'s proposal to sell the Taurus.
Somehow, the elite image of the Buick remained frozen in time, and it's still a symbol of status and affluence for modern-day upwardly mobile Chinese.
"Customers feel the Buick has a royal bloodline," says salesman Wu Xianjia of the Shanghai Celebrities Auto Sales Co., a dealership that sells GM cars. "It stands for luxury and safety and an earlier era of America."
In fact, Buick sales in China could soon exceed sales of the brand in the U.S. This year through June, Buick's U.S. sales were down 3.4% to 162,456 vehicles, continuing a steady decline. During the same period, Shanghai GM sold 141,319 Buicks, about 54% of its total sales -- up from 52% in 2003.
Last month, for the first time, GM sold more cars than any other foreign venture in China, including two Volkswagen joint ventures, which still combine for more than 20% share of the market, compared to 14% for GM.
"In this young and fickle market it is not uncommon to see fluctuations," says Bernd Leissner, president of Volkswagen Asia Pacific in Beijing. "Long-term figures will be more indicative of trends, and (Shanghai VW) is expected to remain market leader with year-end sales."
Buicks on exhibit in Nanjing, China
VW has by far the widest selection of vehicles in China, and is introducing new models, such as the Touran. But critics say VW has too many cars like the Santana that are tired-looking and out of step with Chinese consumers who know what is sleek and chic thanks to the Internet, overseas travel and other media.
In Shanghai, boxy Santanas are considered unchic because of their ubiquity after two decades in China. They fill out the city's taxi fleets and are a favorite first car among the nouveaux riches outside big cities who are scorned by urbanites. "It's like what a farmer-turned-entrepreneur drives," scoffs Mr. Wang, the 60-year-old Shanghai building manager who's opting for the Buick Sail. "Too old-style."
Chinese consumers see Buicks, by contrast, as more contemporary. The Buick Regal caters to the modern Chinese capitalist, and salespeople say typical buyers are small and midsize company bosses. With the average price for a model now around $33,000, they either pay for it themselves or don't want to put a more expensive Mercedes on the company bill.
The Buick Sail, which retails on the low end for about $10,000, targets young couples as well as older Chinese who long dreamed of owning a car but didn't have spending power until now. Polishing its image as a car for weekend outings, GM advertises a sporty hatchback on the beach with a beefy male surfer on top of the car.
Several GM models have undergone facelifts at a Shanghai technical design center in an effort to cater to local taste. That's where designers gave the Regal a big washtub-shaped chrome grille and slanted headlights that are modeled, they say, on a smiling Buddha.
China statesman Sun Yat-sen in a Buick in 1912.
Over the next two years, GM plans to introduce 20 new models in China as part of a $3 billion expansion. One new model will be the Cadillac, but GM executives decline to comment on the rest. (Back in the U.S., GM is coming out later this year with a new midsize Buick sedan called the Lacrosse. GM has pushed its designers to give the new car a more sophisticated, better-tailored interior and smoother-looking exterior lines).
GM says it doesn't simply want to cater to still-undefined Chinese car tastes. It wants to shape them. "Make the customer feel affluent," says James Shyr, director of design for GM China. That means lots of chrome on the outside; leather seats with fancy French stitching inside; and plenty of room for the important passengers who, in China, often sit in back.
The car maker stuffs its sedans full of extras, such as DVD players built into the back seats of the Buick Regal. Even the more economical Excelle, aimed at China's white-collar commuters, has a six-CD changer in a panel with wood-style finishing and a small cooler that holds soda cans in the glove compartment. For women wearing heels, there's a small drawer to store a pair of comfortable driving shoes.
Versions of the more upmarket VW Passat, by contrast, offer only a cassette tape deck. "If you earn 50 grand a year, don't you think you want to look as if you earn 80 grand?" asks Mr. Shyr, the GM designer. "That's why we want to pamper that psychological need. It's perceived value that's important."
Ordinary families like Mr. Wang's show why sales are tilting toward GM. The family of five spans three generations, living in the same apartment. Mr. Wang and his schoolteacher daughter plan to purchase the car together. Combined, their paychecks amount to a little less than $1,000 a month, not much by Western standards, but it places them solidly in China's middle class.
In the air-conditioned cool of the Shanghai auto showroom, Mr. Wang acknowledges the Sail isn't fancy. But the $10,000 price tag is a bargain because "Buick is a brand of luxury," says Mr. Wang, his grandson tugging on a mobile phone attached to his belt. "Even if we buy a smaller Buick, it still brings social status."
别克轿车吸引中国中产阶级有高招
王帅吾（音）带著8岁的孙子在一家车商的展厅里浏览，想买一辆新车以供家用。这里展示著好几种品牌的汽车，祖父想选一款外型亮丽内部宽敞，售后服务又好的车。
他关上了蓝色的两厢大众(Volkswagen)Polo的车门，径直走向销售柜台。这位60岁的建筑公司经理大声说，“基本上定了，我们买别克赛欧(Buick Sail)。”
通用汽车(General Motors Corp.)又小胜一回。通用生产的家用车在中国颇受欢迎，超过了大众和其他外国汽车生产商，取胜之道就在于迎合了中产阶级的趣味。中国中产阶级的规模日益扩大，在全球各汽车生产商眼中都是一块最诱人的蛋糕。
汽车已经成为财富和地位增长的标志，汽车生产商们各显身手，预测新兴中产阶级消费者的兴趣。中国中产阶级的人数已经超过了1亿。日本的本田汽车(Honda Motor Co.)、丰田汽车(Toyota Motor Corp.)和日产汽车(Nissan Motor Corp.)，还有韩国的现代汽车(Hyundai Motor Co.)都在这个庞大市场上各有斩获。中国一些小型汽车生产商也尽力在产品设计和品牌知名度上与国际知名厂商一争高下。
但通用汽车得天独厚：象征尊贵的别克品牌已经在中国深入人心数十年之久。
在美国，别克品牌汽车由于魅力渐失而市场锐减，包括1971年那款难看的斜顶Skylark。直到今天，别克也难以摆脱其美国高龄中产阶级用车的形象。别克新任主管，40岁的弗雷利(C.J. Fraleigh)也承认，多年来别克推出的产品都落后于市场发展趋势，别克的适用性欠佳。
但在中国，1949年以前别克却是尊贵身份的象征，经典的黑色车身白色轮胎使其备受精英阶层人士的青睐。1912年，中国政治家孙中山(Sun Yat-sen)乘坐的第一辆汽车就是别克牌。清朝末代皇帝1924年购置，有史以来第一次驶入紫禁城(Forbidden City)的两辆轿车也是别克车。上世纪30年代，通用的这款旗舰品牌在上海富有的工厂老板当中非常流行，别克成为当时极度贫困的中国大地上富豪们流金生活的象征。
1949年中华人民共和国成立，中国关闭了通往外部世界的大门，外国的汽车生产商们也被拒之门外。直到八十年代中期他们才获准在中国再度生产汽车。通用汽车于上世纪九十年代进入中国轿车市场，并于1995年击败福特汽车(Ford Motor Co.)，获准在上海生产别克世纪(Century)牌轿车。
尽管世事变迁，但别克的尊贵形象还是在中国保留了下来，如今仍然是身份和财富的象征。
通用经销商Shanghai Celebrities Auto Sales Co.的销售代表吴宪佳（音）说，客户认为别克独具皇家血脉，它代表了豪华和安全，以及美国的早期时代特征。
实际上，别克在中国的销量有望很快超过美国。别克在美国的销售持续下滑，今年上半年下降了3.4%，降至162,456辆。但在中国，上海通用上半年销售的别克车已经达到141,319辆，占总销量的比例从上年同期的52%升至54%。
上个月，通用汽车在中国的汽车销售量首次超过其他中外合资汽车生产厂，包括大众汽车公司(Volkswagen)的两家合资厂。不过大众的在华合资企业仍然占据超过20%的中国汽车市场，而通用只有14%。
大众驻北京的亚太区总裁莱斯纳(Bernd Leissner)表示，中国的汽车市场还很年轻，发展很不稳定，出现一些波动很正常。他说，著眼点于长期发展的生产商要能够更准确地预测市场发展趋势，上海大众有望在年底旺销势头的推动下继续保持市场领先者的地位。
大众汽车是目前中国市场上拥有车型最广泛的厂家，仍在不断推出Touran等新车型。但批评人士认为大众出产了太多桑塔纳(Santana)这样外观陈旧的汽车。在互联网，出境游和其他媒体的帮助下，中国消费者对什么是圆润、别致的车型早就心知肚明了。
方墩墩的桑塔纳在人们眼中已经毫无别致可言。桑塔纳进入中国已经长达20年之久，在上海大街上随处可见，出租车几乎全都是桑塔纳，中小城市刚刚富裕起来的人首选的也是桑塔纳，但大城市居民往往看不起这些人。前面提到的那位60岁的建筑公司经理，看中别克赛欧的王先生就说，“桑塔纳好像是农民企业家爱用的车。太过时了。”
相反，中国消费者认为别克更具时代气息。别克君威(Regal)瞄准的就是当代中国资本家，销售人员也说买主往往是中小型企业的老板。别克君威目前平均售价约为33,000美元，买主要么不愿从自己的钱包，要么不愿意从公司钱包掏钱购置一辆更昂贵的梅塞德斯(Mercedes)。
别克赛欧的零售价约为10,000美元，以年轻夫妻，或者年龄更大一些的客户为主要市场，他们早就梦想能有一辆车，但囊中一直略微羞涩。通用汽车给赛欧赋予了周末郊游用车的形象，广告上动感十足的两厢赛欧悠闲地停在海滩上，车顶上站著一位身材健壮的男人。
通用汽车在上海成立了设计中心，按照中国消费者的口味修饰改进一些车型的外观。正是上海的设计师为别克君威设计了宽大的镀铬前罩和略微倾斜的前灯，他们说灵感来自微微含笑的佛像。
接下来两年，通用汽车计划耗资30亿美元拓展中国业务，推出20个新车型。其中之一会是凯迪拉克新款，但公司管理人士拒绝透露更多详情。（通用汽车计划下半年在美国推出一款新型别克轿车Lacrosse，公司要求设计人员设计出更精致的车型，更讲究的内饰和更加流畅的外观线条。）
通用汽车表示，不仅要迎合尚未定型的中国消费者的兴趣，更要推动塑造消费者的口味。通用汽车中国公司(GM China)的设计总监James Shyr说，要让客户感觉自己很富有。这意味著外壳使用更多镀铬材料，内置真皮坐椅加法式剪裁，后座要有足够宽敞的空间，因为在中国重要人物通常坐在后面。
通用汽车为各款轿车添加了各种各样的配饰，例如别克君威的后座配置了DVD播放机。即使是瞄准白领一族，较为经济型的别克凯越(Excelle)也有一套木纹的6碟CD播放机，附带冷藏功能的手套箱，还有专为女士设计的脱换高跟鞋和轻便鞋的小抽屉。
但与之相比，定位更高端的大众帕萨特(Passat)只有一个磁带播放机。通用汽车的设计总监Shyr说，“如果你一年赚5万美元，难道不想看上去像年薪8万的人？这就是我们想满足的客户心理，别人眼中看到的价值更重要。”
刚才提到的王先生的例子就解释了普通中国家庭为什么更看好通用汽车的原因。这是一个三代同堂的五口之家，王先生的女儿是一位学校教师，他们想出钱共买一辆车。家庭成员的月收入总额略低于1,000美元，用西方标准来衡量并不高，但在中国他们已经是不折不扣的中产阶级了。
王先生也承认他选中的赛欧并不时髦，但10,000美元的售价很诱人，因为“别克是一个豪华品牌”。看著孙子站在一边玩著挂在腰上的手机，王先生说，“即使我们买的是一辆小号别克，但仍然能显示我们的社会地位。”
