Two Buick's LUTZ'ST

CHICAGO, Feb 6 Reuters reported that General Motors Corp. Vice Chairman Bob Lutz said on Wednesday he has scrapped the designs for the new Buick LeSabre and Regal sedans and ordered a redesign for the forthcoming sedans, resulting in a 10 to 12 month delay for the cars.

``Those were, I think, by far the most disappointing vehicles I have encountered (in GM's product pipeline),'' Lutz, the former Chrysler executive hired by GM last year to revive its design process, told reporters during an interview at the Chicago Auto Show. ``There was nothing favorable you could say about them except they were on time.''

Lutz, regarded as the ultimate ``car guy'' in the industry, has taken a hard look at GM's forthcoming cars and trucks since arriving last August and ordered redesigns to several products which failed to meet his standards.

Buick sales have fallen from the sales levels the near-luxury brand enjoyed in the 1970s and 1980s, and the division has generally lost favor among younger buyers.

Except for the new 7-passenger Buick Rendezvous sport utility vehicle, Buick's four sedans and its discontinued Riviera coupe all suffered weaker U.S. sales last year.

Despite the weaker sales and the delay in the two sedans, Lutz said Buick was healthy and in particular the new Rendezvous is growing in popularity.

Lutz said he expects Rendezvous annual sales to rise to an annual rate of about 90,000 units, above previous expectations of 55,000 to 60,000 annually.

Buick will also get another truck-like vehicle similar to the Rendezvous in the future.

``We will keep them alive by getting them progressively more into the truck business, which will draw younger buyers and drive profitability just as it did for Cadillac,'' he said.