It's no secret China has become the most compelling reason to keep a candle burning for the Buick brand. The superpower-in-training is now Buick's top market, evidenced by the Rivera concept that debuted at the Shanghai auto show earlier this year. Now, Automotive News reports China's influence may feed back into the US market by decade's end. The first Chinese-designed Buick to debut in the states could hit in 2009. That is, the next Excelle, a small, entry-luxury sedan to ride on GM's new rear-wheel-drive Alpha architecture (similar to the Pontiac Solstice's Kappa platform) that'll reportedly host the next Cadillac BLS for Europe. [Note: AN says it's a front-drive platform; not sure what they're smoking]. The next-gen LaCrosse sedan will follow on the Epsilon 2 platform in front- and all-wheel-drive versions, and the next Lucerne in 2011, which will be built on Holden's Zeta platform like the Pontiac G8. That car will be similar to the Park Avenue, recently introduced in China. Does the Chinese market know American cars better than we do? Watch this space.