Buick has today announced that their next mid-size sedan will be none other than the Regal. You may be familiar with the name Regal in relation to Buick as Autoblog reports around 6 years ago they had a model with the same name.

The 2010 Buick Regal for the North American market will be based on the Chinese sedan of the same name but other than that we have no information regarding what will be under the hood or what cosmetic changes, if any, will apply.

We’ll keep you posted.

Continue reading...

GM has a new car for us, the Buick Avant, a concept of what the premium market should look like in the future. So what does the Avant bring to the table? We’re looking at swinging/sliding doors (yes, you get to choose how to open them), a driver’s seat capable of moving sideways too, a luggage shelf ready to bring luggage to you, opaque/transparent roof (yes, you get to choose what kind of roof you want at a certain time), six exterior themes, four interior themes and probably a price you won’t be able to afford anytime soon. What do you think?

via gmlab

Continue reading...

If you are looking forward to the coming of the Crossover Buick, we are sad to inform you that it has been officially cancelled by General Motors. The supposed vehicle garnered a lot of negative feedback from the media, employees and dealerships, considering the direction that the company is planning to take. And in the end, GM just shelved the program and decided to transfer the Vue’s plug-in hybrid powertrain to another vehicle by 2011.

There is no word on which vehicle the plug-in hybrid powertrain would be transferred to. But in all, it seems that this development coincides with the new outlook that GM is envisioning. And from the look of it, it is back to the drawing boards for GM, a move that may be one of the wisest they may be making to date.

(Source) Autoblog

Continue reading...

GM has today detailed their intentions to produce a plug-in hybrid version of their Buick Crossover which will make its debut sometime in 2011. Included above is a teaser image of said car.

Under the hood, the hybrid Crossover will feature a 4 cylinder 2.4-liter Ecotec engine with direct injection but that’s about the extent of details we have regarding the car’s motor. In terms of fuel efficiency GM says that the car will have double the fuel economy of similarly sized SUVs.

Continue reading...

Among the new bumper crop of vehicles out in the market, there are certain features that people would love to change among them. But if there are two cars which have the least number of attributes that potential car buyers would change, two familiar brands popped out above the rest. The two car brands are Porsche and Ford which topped the 2009 Ideal Vehicle Awards (IVA). The IVAs are based on owners’ ratings of their new 2009 model year cars and trucks across 15 key vehicle attributes.

“In today’s economy, car buyers take many factors into consideration – styling, safety features, fuel economy and more,” says George Peterson, president of AutoPacific. “IVA winners deliver the most of what consumers are really looking for in their vehicles.”

The selection doesn’t seem that easy. Most cars offer great features while others leave it up to the buyers to modify. The Porsche and Ford Motor vehicles are equipped with one of the common and yet unique features which some would leave if the survey is any indication.

But basing it on tradition, these two car models have lived up to their name and such a selection should not really be surprising. For 2009, the top-rated premium brand is Porsche, outscoring Buick and Jaguar for the most ideal premium vehicle brand honors. The top-rated mainstream brand is Ford, outscoring Mercury for top mainstream brand results. Porsche and Ford were also the highest scoring premium and mainstream brands in the 2008 IVA rankings.

(Source) Press

Continue reading...

Controversial General Motors is sitting on pins and needles lately. Bankrupt seems to be their middle name these days although they are pinning their hopes on one car to help bring them some light in the midst of the darkest hour of their legacy. And the car tasked to bring in some glory to the embattled GM brand is the 2010 Buick LaCrosse.

The 2010 Buick LaCrosse is GM’s entry to compete with the likes of Acura, Lexus and Toyota models as far as midsized luxury sedans are concerned. Though it has become a familiar car for gated Florida retirement communities, GM is hoping for one last push for the sagging American car brand.

The car comes with a choice of two V-6 engines or a four-cylinder one that gets up to 30 mpg on the highway. The larger 3.6-liter engine puts out 280 horsepower and should go from zero to 60 mph in less than 7 seconds, according to Buick.

“Buick definitely has a significant challenge,” she said. “It is a brand that for over 100 million Americans, a combination of Generation X and Generation Y, it’s a tainted brand.”

GM, though, isn’t going for the next generation just yet. Its target market for the LaCrosse, according to Bierley, is people in their mid-40s and 50s. Those are people likely to have the money to buy it, with a base price of US$27,835.

(Source) Stuff

Continue reading...

General Motors has sold two million Buicks in China and its quite a performance considering it took about eleven years to complete. The first million was sold in about eight years while the second million Buicks was sold in about three years. While the Buick isn’t selling as good in the USA it looks like Chinese customers really enjoy it. GM is currently selling various models, the Regal, LaCrosse and Park Avenue and it might just be on its way to three million. When’s the last time you drove a Buick?

via autoblog

Continue reading...

The ruckus today seems on who is in and who is out as far as dealerships for Chrysler and General Motors is concerned. And as far as the Asbury Automotive Group is concerned, 1 Chrysler and 2 GM dealerships are out.

The company today announced that its Nalley Chrysler/Jeep dealership in Roswell, Georgia is on Chrysler LLC’s list of stores that it intends to reject as part of its dealer consolidation plan. In addition, General Motors has notified the Company that it will not renew the franchise agreements for two Asbury dealerships in Kissimmee, Florida – a Chevrolet franchise and a combined Pontiac/Buick/GMC store – when they expire in November 2010.

The three dealerships generated revenues of approximately $105 million in 2008, or about 2% of Asbury’s total revenues of $4.6 billion.

(Source) Press

Continue reading...

null

The release of the Buick Business concept “MVP” has been engineered completely by GM’s Pan Asian Technical Automotive Center (PATAC). Once inside the concept, viewers will see rotating seats that can face one another, tables and various other features to help the concept live up to its ‘Business’ nickname. It is capable of holding up to six passengers and features some showy electric sliding doors, 20in wheels and a glass roof.

Powered by a 2.4L four-cylinder engine, the Business concept also has an electric motor, to show Buick’s commitment to electric power and saving the environment. Along these lines, the concept also features a stop-start system and regenerative braking. It is unlikely that this vehicle will ever make it to the U.S. but Buick is big business for GM in China.

Continue reading...

It is practically the call for most automobile manufacturers today to employ a sense of eco-friendliness in their daily operations. As far as General Motors is concerned, it is all about re-engineering and use of materials within their premise before releasing the final product.

QuietShield is an eco-friendly material developed by Federal-Mogul, to absorb noise in a vehicle. It starts as cardboard packing material, at a General Motor’s stamping plant, and is then baled and taken to a facility were it is shredded. From there, it is loaded into the processing line, combined with other recyclable materials and molded into the Buick LaCrosse’s headliner.

According to GM, they have not only reduced their environmental footprint but will be the first to use QuietShield. In the future, the padding could potentially be used in doors, headrests, shelf panels and trunk liners.

(Source) Press

Continue reading...

Alpine Electronics, known for providing quality car entertainment and media solutions, has announced its tie-up with General Motors, BMW and Mercedes by providing them with quality in-car media entertainment and solutions.

Alpine Electronics revealed that they will be providing the newly released 2010 Buick LaCrosse, 2010 Chevrolet Equinox and the 2010 Cadillac SRX with a 2-GB flash memory infotainment unit allowing drivers to store music directly on the head unit.

They will also provide the new 2010 BMW Z4 with a 1280×480 resolution 8.8-inch double VGA display that is capable of delivering HD-level graphics for the navigation maps and the back-up camera.

(Source) Jalopnik

Continue reading...

While all major automobile retailers saw big losses in December of 2008 when compared to 2007, GM saw the smallest loss of any of the Big Three American due largely to the success of the Chevrolet Malibu and the Buick Enclave. The Chevy Malibu is a moderately-priced mid-sized sedan with clean lines and a decent EPA fuel efficiency rating of 22 MPG in city and 30 MPG on the highway. The Buick Enclave is a larger, more upscale crossover vehicle that is bigger than a station wagon but smaller than an SUV and comes in with a mileage rating of 16 MPG in the city and 20 MPG on the highway.

The Chevy Malibu retails for between $19,000 and $22,500 depending on the trim package, while the Enclave goes for between $32,800 and $37,000. Even with the Big Three suffering under the weight of a worldwide credit crunch, some American buyers are remaining loyal to their favorite American brands.

Continue reading...

When GM woke up this morning the financial crisis wasn’t over. That’s how it decided to cancel the appearance of the Cadillac CTS Coupe and the Buick LaCrosse at the next LA Auto Show in November. That’s how GM figured out it will decrease production costs for the time being.

The two cars will be delayed. The Buick is arriving in January in Detroit while the Cadillac doesn’t have a specific date. Too bad we aren’t going to see either one of the new versions soon. Hopefully things are going to change sooner than later, or we’ll end up all buying scooters and bikes!

via Autoblog

Continue reading...