Mediocre Motorcar: Buick's attempt at great convertible falls short

 Starting around $33,000, Buick's Cascada convertible is a fine little cabriolet, but it doesn't have the wow factor seen in other models.
Starting around $33,000, Buick's Cascada convertible is a fine little cabriolet, but it doesn't have the wow factor seen in other models.

Buick almost built a great convertible.

Except it didn't. Instead it rummaged through its European portfolio and came up with a pretty good one.

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vivian trickey smith biz people

Sleek and sexy, the Cascada, new for 2016, is a well-mannered version of Opel's competent, if sedate, Astra hatch, tweaked by Vauxhall to compete with Audi's A5 convertible, which it doesn't really do. Both Opel and Vauxhall are wholly owned European subsidiaries of General Motors.

It's a fine little cabriolet-that's a fancy way of saying convertible-flows like a wooden sailboat traversing a lake under a strawberry moon.

So far, sales of the Casacada with left-hand drive and a Buick grill have out-stripped supply. Dealers can't keep 'em in stock and Buick is hailing the car as a conquest champ, prying buyers out of Audis, Hondas and Toyotas and dragging them into Buick showrooms, which this year will see four new models, Cascada included.

A halo car, a perception shifter, is exactly what Buick needs at this moment in time. Positioned as attainable luxury, Buick is building some great cars these days, and landing in the top tiers of independent quality rating services. J.D. Powers' most recent auto dependability survey, for example, ranked the Encore, Verano and LaCrosse as the best in their classes.

Yeah, surprised, me too.

So Buick is on a role. The bases are juiced, the clean-up hitter is the winning run at the plate, it's a 3-1 count. Time for a home run. Instead, corporate delivers a clean single to right, a nice-enough car that still manages to reinforce GM's reputation as a car company willing to make too many compromises.

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Oklahoma Melody by Charles Banks Wilson. (1943)

Look, this car is going to win many a fan. As drop-tops go, it's a joy, with one-button roof control, a well-managed wind bubble-even with optional wind deflectors still in the cute little trunk. Soft ride, acceptable handling. During the week we had it, if the sun was out, the top was down and we were out having high adventures.

Interesting note on utility: On a Saturday morning shopping trip to Home Depot, Beautiful Bride decided a shiny, six-burner grill was the perfect Father's Day gift. It went home in the back seat of that convertible.

 

OK Engine

While European versions come with three engine options, two gas, one diesel, the Americanized version comes with one, the larger gasser, a 1.6L turbocharged engine rated at 200 horsepower. It delivers an estimated at 207 lb-ft of torque and an estimated 221 lb-ft with the overboost feature.

Converting a sedan to convertible means adding a lot of weight underneath to stiffen the chassis. The Cascada is strong, rigid, and could use a little more power to motivate the roughly 700 extra lbs. it took to get that way.

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