Autoblog

Click above for high-res gallery of the Buick Invicta Concept

GM Vice Chairman Bob "Maximum" Lutz published a new post today on the corporate GM Fastlane Blog that addresses the automaker's newest concept that debuted recently at Auto China 2008 in Beijing: the Invicta. The concept heavily hints at what the next-generation Buick LaCrosse will look like, but Bob points out that the global architecture underpinning the vehicle will be the basis of new cars for Chevy, Saab, Opel/Vauxhall and more. In the past, we would've expected those accompanying models to be rebadged versions with different grilles, headlights and taillights, but Bob explains how GM's new global platform sharing process is different than the rebadging of old. In a nutshell, he says that the money saved from sharing common platforms see will be put into making everything that customer's will see - exterior and interior design, specifically - completely different. While it's great to hear Bob talk about how GM finally "gets it" when it comes to producing common products across an empire of brands, it's something that other automakers like VW/Audi have been doing for years while the General kept feeding us "triplets" of every model it made. So kudos to GM for finally getting it, but it took 'em long enough.


[Source: GM FastLane blog]

On the eve of the Beijing Motor Show ,General Motors Chairman Rick Wagoner and Design VP Ed Welburn along with their Chinese colleagues unveiled the Buick Invicta concept. Your regular Autoblog team didn't make the trek to China for this show, but our cohorts at Autoblog Chinese showed up for GM's Premier Night party to check out what will be the replacement for the current LaCrosse. The car was revealed sitting on a pool of water, perhaps implying that it is Buick's messiah, standing by to breathe new life into the brand Stateside. Buick is of course thriving in China, and some of the same team that created last year's Riviera concept participated in the styling of this new model. This design riding on the Epsilon II platform is expected to make the transition to production pretty much unscathed although the roofline might be slightly higher.


[Source: Autoblog Chinese]

All Photos Copyright © 2008 Bin Chen / Weblogs, Inc.

General Motors has just put a video featuring the designers of the new Buick Invicta concept discussing their new creation. The video is part of a series of "Studio Stories" episodes that GM has been producing over the past year. Exterior design lead Justin Thompson and other members of the team talk about the approach they took to create the concept that debuted at the Beijing Motor Show today. Although the Invicta is labeled as a concept this sleek four door is thought to be very close to the LaCrosse replacement that will probably debut sometime next year. The Invicta carries over a lot design elements from last years Riviera concept that also debuted in China and was a joint effort between members of GM's North American and Chinese design teams. If the next new Buick actually stays true to this concept, there may be hope for the brand yet. Check out the video after the jump.


[Source: GMnext]

Click above for high-res gallery of the Buick Invicta Concept

Buick has dusted off the Invicta name, which hasn't been used by the brand since 1959, for its newest concept that debuted today at the Beijing Motor Show. The mid-size sedan previews the look of what U.S. customers will get with the next redesign of the LaCrosse sedan, and draws much of its design inspiration from Buick's most recent concepts like the Riviera and Velite. The Invicta features traditional Buick design cues like its waterfall grille and portholes, relocated on this car to the hood rather than the front fenders, but the rest of its styling is modern and fresh in a decidedly un-Buick way. The high beltline is a common element in many auto designs today, and is used well on the Invicta to give the concept a big presence for a mid-size car. We particular the shape of the lower air intake up front and the "sweepspear" character line along the side of the car. The sweepspear looks a bit like the sheetmetal kink on the Dodge Avenger, but so much better. The interior, meanwhile, appears surprisingly production ready with a wraparound dash and self-contained location for all controls above the sweeping center console.

Power for the concept comes from a turbocharged, direct-inject four-cylinder engine producing 250 horsepower and 220 pound-feet of torque, which is hooked up to a six-speed automatic transmission. Since it's a concept, however, the Invicta's powertrain is pretty immaterial. We're interested in its styling since it's likely what we'll see on the next-gen LaCrosse, which is scheduled to switch over to the Epsilon II platform that's shared with the Chevy Malibu when it debuts as a 2010 model. According to spy shots, things are coming along quite nicely.


[Source: Buick]

While GM throws heritage names in the dustbin of history here in the U.S., some of the old names are alive and well in China. The Park Avenue soldiers on as a completely desirable Zeta-platform Holden import, and the still-available Regal looks like it may be primed to get a long-overdue refresh. China Car Times has posted a photo what appears to be a new Buick -- possibly the next Regal -- with its nose camo removed. Note the waterfall grille with the empty spot where the tri-shield would go. According to CCT, the Chinese motoring press says that the mule's basic shape is in keeping with that of the newly-unveiled Opel Insignia. This car would appear to have unique sheetmetal, however, as its front end is similar but not exactly the same -- it's more than just a grille swap a la the Park Avenue. Note also the absence of the Opel's hockey-stick body line on the mule. If it is the Regal, and if it is Insignia-derived, it looks like it's going to get a good amount of differentiation. In any case, signs point to another good-looking Chinese Buick in the works, and we're curious.

[Source: China Car Times]

We don't normally cover every little change an automaker makes to its lineup as the model year clicks over, but General Motors has some significant features it's adding for 2009 that shouldn't fall through the cracks. For one, Bluetooth will finally become available on nearly all of GM's cars and trucks. For the longest time, only the Cadillac STS was available with Bluetooth phone integration, which ends with MY2009. Second, the six-speed automatic transmission that before was not widely available in the General's half-ton trucks and SUVs has spread like wildfire across the GMT900 lineup and will now be standard or optional in such vehicles as the Avalanche, Silverado and Sierra 1500, Suburban, Yukon and Yukon XL. Curiously, though, it's still not available on the Tahoe.

Other items of note include a new 6-speed automatic for the Pontiac G6 to replace its underwhelming 4-speed, the replacement of GM's 3.6L V6 in the GMC Acadia and Saturn Outlook with the direct-inject version that will bump power up to 290 hp, and finally a new four-cylinder base model for the uplevel Malibu LTZ that features the the 2.4L four-cylinder ECOTEC engine paired with a six-speed automatic. Thanks for the tip, Cameron!

[Source: GM]

The Buick LaCrosse may not be a real player in the midsize car market, but GM is looking to make big-time improvements for the 2010 model year. The next-gen LaCrosse shares its Epsilon II (the Malibu is an extended Epsilon, not Epsilon II) underpinnings with the critically acclaimed Chevy Malibu, and judging from spy shots from Brenda Priddy & So., the interior will be very similar as well. Close inspection of the pics shows some similar dash characteristics between the two models, though the 'Bu is all about the curves while the Buick is more strait-laced. The two models also appear to share gauge clusters and housing. Seats in the preproduction LaCrosse are two-toned much like that of the up-level Malibu, but the two appear to have a different basic shape.

If GM manages to take the well-received Malibu and injects it with a healthy dose of up-level materials and cool technology, Buick could very well have a nice compliment to the hot-selling Enclave. Click on the link below to view a larger pic of the LaCrosse interior.


[Source: The Car Connection]

Golf can be a very expensive and exhaustingly difficult sport to play, but watching the pros makes hitting the dimpled little ball seem like child's play. Pro golfers can have the same effect on the car buying process, as a recent study by Compete.com shows that web traffic for three sponsors of The Masters are getting a huge spike in site traffic in advance of the event. Mercedes, Cadillac, and Buick are pouring money into golf, and at least online the strategy is paying off. This is especially true for Buick, which has the one and only Tiger Woods as its pitchman.

Golf lovers are five times more likely to visit a Buick website than the average consumer and two to three times more likely to visit a Mercedes or Cadillac site. We're no marketing experts, but if those numbers hold up, that's an impressive return for the automakers marketing dollar. It'll be interesting to see if the up-tick in online interest will spur sales for Buick, Mercedes, and Cadillac in the month of April. The chart above shows web traffic in the months before The Masters, which begins April 10. Thanks for the tip, Eric!

[Source: Compete]

General Motors has been enjoying some serious success in China with its range of Buick models, and it hopes to continue that trend with the unveiling of the Invicta concept at the Auto China show in Beijing. We've already seen one teaser shot of the Invicta in profile and this newest image (on the right) gives a faint hint of the front end. We messed with the image in Photoshop to draw out some of the fascia's details, but the only thing that's really obvious is the swooping, Saab-esque headlamps and the kinked beltline originally seen in the profile shot above.

The Auto China show is right around the corner, so look for a full report in just over a week's time. Hit the jump to view the unmolested teaser.

[Source: GM via Carscoop]

Click above for high-res gallery of the Lucerne CXL Special Edition

Who knows what took so long, but the Buick Lucerne Super that was first shown over a year ago at the 2007 New York Auto Show is arriving in dealerships this month, and it's brought a friend in the form of a the new Lucerne CXL Special Edition. To refresh your memory, the Lucerne Super is the super duper counterpart to the LaCrosse Super, which we've already tested in the Autoblog Garage. The Super features the venerable 4.6L Northstar V8 tuned to produce 292 horsepower and 288 pound-feet of torque. It's also equipped with higher-grade steering components, high-rate front and rear coil springs, a larger front stabilizer bar, 18-inch aluminum wheels and Magnetic Ride Control. The Lucerne Super also features a base price of $39,395 sans destination charges, so go easy on those options if you want to keep the price as low as possible.

Arriving with the Lucerne Super will be the just announced CXL Special Edition. What makes it special is that it's the only Lucerne model that offers the option of either the large but woefully weak 197-hp 3.8L V6 (or ye' ole 3800 Series) or the 4.6L Northstar V8 tuned to make 275 hp and 295 pound-feet of torque. The CXL Special Edition also gets some exterior and interior enhancements, though nothing we haven't seen before.

Though Buick has the hot-selling Enclave CUV, its sedans are being ignored by buyers for a number of reasons, not the least of which is poor powertrain choices. The Northstar V8 was a good motor in its day, but its tech is now aged and the same power output with better fuel efficiency can be had with GM's newer 3.6L V6, both in direct-inject and non-DI versions. We're sure GM doesn't want to cannibalize Cadillac CTS sales by offering the same engines in less expensive Buicks, but something has to be done to salvage these sedans.



[Source: Buick]