This is a brand that appeals to the heartland of Middle America; it is as much as part life to Americans of a certain age as easy-access baths and slippers with zippers.

For this reason the range is deeply conservative: Buicks deliberately turn no heads, and make no waves. This is especially true of the sedans in the range, all of which are based around conventional two-box, four door body shells. Mindful of the brand’s following.

General Motors are careful to provide choices in the multi-purpose and sports-utility sectors, too. Buick is a brand quietly giving General Motors problems, in that its average buyer age is allegedly 96 years old (or something approaching that age) so something needs to be done if the brand is to have any appeal to younger drivers.

So expect a raft of radically different Buicks over the next decade. A roadster show car from Buick has been doing the rounds to gauge reaction, but when change eventually comes expect it to be so gradual that nobody notices it happening.