With room for five through seven passengers,
Buick Rendezvous is the meeting point of luxury sedan sumptuousness; minivan capacity, and available SUV all-wheel-drive ability.
The crossover seems common now as competitors rush in - but
Rendezvous has been a pioneer, crossing over the conventional since the early Spring of 2001. Buick wanted to discover what might happen if the styling and capabilities of an
SUV; the ride and comfort of a
luxury sedan, and the seating capacity of a
minivan were fused together. At its launch,
it stood - as former GM NA president Gary L. Cowger reflected recently -
as "a major statement of how we intend to keep the
Buick brand contemporary"
(Buick: A Complete History, Terry B. Dunham & Lawrence R. Gustin, Automobile Quarterly, 2002).
Designed under Mark Reuss, whose father Lloyd was once Buick's chief engineer and later its general manager,
Rendezvous blended three distinct strands of automotive DNA to combine room; comfort; capability, and style in a way new to both Buick and to the market.
"Compromises aren't appropriate for Buick customers," Reuss explained proudly
at Rendezvous' launch
(Automotive Industries, December 2000).
Yet for all its three attitudes, Rendezvous was - and is -
a new breed of vehicle from a company known and trusted for a century: Buick.
Discover the roominess of Buick Rendezvous
Space - the room to stretch out - is among the first components of ergonomics; and
ergonomics is a vital concept at Buick.
Five-passenger seating is standard on
Rendezvous CX and CX Plus, each being equipped with a second-row bench seat that can seat three across.
Rendezvous is substantively longer in wheelbase than either the Acura MDX or the Lexus RX330, permitting the
option of a third-row seat. This seat, which comfortably seats two adults, is available on both models and standard on
CXL and CXL Plus, expanding seating capacity to seven.
Remove the second-row seats - a light task - and fold the third row, and
108.9 cubic feet of cargo space is available, beating Acura and Lexus by nearly 33%. Indeed, Rendezvous'
cargo capacity is class-leading. What else could you expect from a manufacturer which gave you a full 97.8 cubic feet of space in one of
Rendezvous' forerunners, the
Buick Sportwagon of 1965?
Up front, Rendezvous' center-console box has a deep well wide enough for a laptop, and a
pass-through space for miscellany.
Pure space is nothing without the intelligent utilization of it. Buick packaging has regularly been second to none, and it was critical that
Rendezvous shone in the science - the
intelligence - of the Buick presentation.
Therein lies the true definition of comfort.
Discover the comfort of Buick Rendezvous
Rendezvous' seven-inch DVD screen flips down for second- and third-row seat viewing, playing audio and video in CD-audio; MP3, and DVD formats, with inputs for video games and camcorders, through
two pairs of dual-channel headphones and controlled by wireless remote.
XM Satellite radio beams over 150 channels of clear, digital-quality sound across 800 terrestrial repeaters to the
Rendezvous, sixty-seven of these channels being commercial-free music and news; sports; talk; comedy, and instant traffic and weather updates. Consumers can subscribe to the basic service for $12.99 a month. In addition, Buick customers with GMAC financing can choose to include the XM subscription in their car payments. Select XM with Rendezvous, and receive
three trial months of service.
Up Front, Heads-Up Display (HUD) instrumentation projects vehicle speed; signaling; high-beams; low-fuel warning, and sound system status onto the windshield.
Around you is silence.
"To raise the noise and vibration bar... we engineered an isolated rear suspension cradle for the Rendezvous, and added floor damping; special acoustic treatments, and an SMC rear liftgate," recalls Reuss.
These are but a few aspects of Buick's
comprehensive QuietTuning engineering program. Acoustics play a critical role in defining the character of an automobile.
"Apart from the look of a vehicle, its acoustic behavior is the aspect most directly observable to the user," notes BMW Director of Acoustics and Vibration Dr. Peter Zeller.
For Buick, quiet is an important ergonomic quality. Buick's
QuietTuning process is designed to reduce or tune out unwanted noise and harshness throughout every area of the vehicle. Attention to areas such as exterior aerodynamics; component isolation, and fine-tuning of all related elements achieve the quietest ride and most desirable frequency ranges for every Buick. Gearbox noise; load reversal; auxiliaries; road noise; resonance effects; mechanical squeaks and rattles; idle noise, and pass-by noise must be minimized, while actuation (windows and other devices, for instance) and engines are to be tuned.
QuietTuning gives Rendezvous laminated front side-glass; revised or additional foam seals for the outside rear-view mirrors and door handles, and the application of denser sound-absorbing material in the engine compartment; on the inside of the hood, and even within the instrument panel.
Crossovers combine many aspects of other vehicles. Yet versatility is no substitute for sheer ability. The Buick tradition of power - and of smooth, tractable power delivery - is a must, even as
Rendezvous ventures into new territory.
Discover the ability of Buick Rendezvous
Buick has progressively refined Rendezvous - its first all-wheel-drive vehicle - since its innovative debut, making it two years ago the first front-wheel-drive vehicle to use the
Cadillac-bred, all-aluminum 3.6-liter V6, among the most advanced six-cylinder motors in the world.
The engine, standard on Rendezvous CXL Plus and optional on
Rendezvous CXL, musters
242 horsepower and 232 foot-pounds of torque. Most impressively, 90% of peak torque is available between 1,500 and 6,000 rpm, courtesy a
Variable Valve Timing (VVT) system with variable-length intake manifold, which adjusts the timing of intake and exhaust valves, enhancing the existing balance of power; efficiency, and low emissions. Depress the throttle, and your instruction is transmitted without wires; rather, Electronic Throttle Control uses a sensor at the pedal to measure its angle, and seamlessly opens the throttle to the precise desired rate.
Rendezvous CX and
CXL's oversquare 3.5-liter OHV V6 produces 195 horsepower and 215 foot-pounds of torque. Roller hydraulic lifters and rocker arms minimize running friction. Durable forged-steel connecting rods ride on a cast nodular crankshaft supported by four main bearings. Lightweight aluminum heads cap it off up top; underneath, a cast aluminum oil pan contains noise; vibration, and harshness by stiffening lower portions of the engine assembly.
Either Rendezvous engine rides atop a precision-built cradle created by hydroforming, a process that uses the power of pressurized fluid sealed in a hollow, round cradle rail to help precisely form its shape for consistent steel wall thickness and dimensional control. The strength imparted helps
Rendezvous
tow up to 3,500lbs.
Towing requires control, and Rendezvous' available towing package adds an
automatic rear-level control system, placing an air bladder around each rear shock absorber which is inflated by an on-board air compressor; one that offers an
auxiliary hose and pressure gauge. This level control system works with
Rendezvous'
aluminum, independent multi-link rear suspension, a short/ long arm design with unequal-length control arms and toe-control link. Aluminum here maximizes strength while minimizing mass,
"to provide the best possible mobility; ride isolation, and handling refinement" (Reuss explains). It does not compromise
Rendezvous'
48-inch-wide, flat load floor, nor its
class-leading space.
Up front sit MacPherson struts with four-stage damper valving.
The promise of maneuverability is borne out in the numbers:
Rendezvous turns in a 37.4ft radius.
Buick engineers then considered the poorest of road conditions, and decided that existing solutions were inadequate.
"We wanted to take the next step beyond viscous couplings and open rear differentials," Reuss explains.
"Steyr had ample experience with gerotor pumps and the expertise to package them in this new application." This optional, lightweight, Austrian co-developed
VersaTrak all-wheel-drive remains dormant, for optimal economy, until the front wheels begin to lose traction. Twin pumps react to the difference in rotational speed of the front and rear wheels, driving rear-mounted gerotor units; pressurizing fluid, and engaging clutches to redirect torque to one or both rear wheels.
Even if extreme terrain slips both Rendezvous' front, and one rear, wheel,
the remaining rear wheel powers you through.
That's a fineness of traction disbursement not available in most other four-wheel-drive systems.
Almost as challenging as the ground-up engineering of room; comfort, and ability into
Buick Rendezvous was its style. Just as traditional Buick virtues were a key part of
Rendezvous' development, traditional Buick styling cues had to be reinterpreted for a new type of vehicle.
"We've taken Buick's heritage of elegance; power; grace, and beauty, and added characteristics such as simplicity and practicality," expressed
Rendezvous Chief Designer Liz Wetzel at launch.
"The result is refined ruggedness."
Discover the style of Buick Rendezvous
Rendezvous' fastback rear slope signals Buick's new design approach to the crossover market; a genuine effort to create a new vehicle while other crossovers passively emulate the tired SUV idiom. Meanwhile, more aggressive wheels - with gear-teeth detail touches on the inside of their rims - indicated that Buick had ventured into a new product realm, even as the wheel itself was of Buick's traditional 8-spoke type.
Other manufacturers force you to pay extra to remove ungainly plastic cladding; with
Rendezvous,
a clean, monochromatic exterior appearance is standard on all models.
Two-tone paint is optional.
Rendezvous comes with dual-stage frontal airbags and remote keyless entry, with optional
side-impact airbags. Buick parent company General Motors was
the first to offer child-friendly side-impact airbags.
Should those airbags deploy, Rendezvous (like all 2006 Buicks) comes with
OnStar as standard equipment. Buick provides a
complimentary Safe & Sound subscription for one year.
In the case of airbag deployment or theft, the OnStar advisor works with police to assist in recovery.
That's
Buick reassurance - the same philosophy that lends
Rendezvous' platinum-tipped spark plugs a 100,000-mile service life, and its coolant, up to 150,000 miles.
Locked-out? Out of gas? Need a tow? Curious about a Check Engine alert? A live advisor can help.
Add Hands-Free Calling, and stay better connected on the road with a powerful three-watt digital/ analog system and external antenna for superior reception.
Approximately twenty square inches connect you and your car to the road. Your car's tires are among the most important aspects of your safety and its performance. That's why
Rendezvous, like every 2006 Buick, features standard tire-pressure monitoring.
Additionally - 'tis a small thing, but
Rendezvous features standard Daytime Running Lamps (DRLs). Buick parent company General Motors cites studies proving that DRLs have helped reduce daytime multi-vehicle crashes by 12.5%, and pedestrian-car accidents by 15%. At time of writing, GM figures that up to 85,000 crashes may have been prevented by DRLs, since 1995.
Rendezvous is available in ten exterior and three interior finishes, with a choice of four aluminum wheel designs.
What does the color of your Buick say about you?
General Motors color trend manager Christopher Webb spends up to two years studying and testing every Buick color, for durability in both senses of the word.
It is important work. Webb estimates that 34% of customers would walk out of the dealership if they could not get the color they wanted, up from 27% ten years ago.
In a recent copy of Buick's The Style Review in-house magazine, Webb cites studies that color influences mood and behavior.
Blue, for example, is known to be calming, while fiery oranges and yellows stimulate. White suggests purity; green is associated with nature and money, and purple is thought to represent royalty.
While such cultural associations tend to endure, trends in taste and preference change over time, reflecting the fluctuating moods and priorities of a society. Metallic car colors, for instance, soared in popularity during the recent tech revolution.
Today, Webb notes that "brown is an ascending luxury color and is making a big comeback... especially in interiors."
Yet Webb admits that color trends are currently in a state of flux.
"It's a generation change," he told The Style Review.
"Formerly, the more mature, luxury market wanted conservative colors - silvers; grays; blacks - while the youth market wanted high impact. That's been reversed somewhat."
"We set our sights on a more intelligent next-generation product for the truck market that would be appropriate for Buick," Chief Engineer Mark Reuss emphasized at
Rendezvous' launch
(Automotive Industries,
December 2000).
The result is an intelligent and versatile crossover vehicle; a vehicle so innovative that
two-thirds of those who have chosen Rendezvous have been new to Buick.
