Come February 7, the NFL’s annual championship game, the Super Bowl, will be played for the 50th time. Due to the departure of the Reatta droptop after the 1991 model year, Buick has not had a convertible offering during half of those performances.
The Cascada will change that. Just watch and you’ll see. Buick is going to showcase the Cascada in a 30-second commercial during the big game.
As you can imagine, the spot is a major investment for General Motors – to the tune of an estimated $5 million. The Cascada itself is the first new or redesigned Buick since the Encore crossover, which came out in early 2013.
The people behind the Cascada have to be feeling the pressure of not only convincing customers to “Experience the New Buick,” but of launching a halo vehicle for the brand that will contribute to a turnaround of Buick’s U.S. sales, which were down 2.6 percent last year. Luckily, the Cascada team will receive help in its attempts when the new Envision and redesigned LaCrosse arrive in dealerships this summer.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
