Autoblog

A new, small sub-Lacrosse Buick luxury sedan could fit the bill to meet future federal regulations requiring an average fuel economy of 35 mpg by 2020. If given the go-ahead, General Motors would build the new car based on the upcoming Buick Excelle, itself set to debut in China by early 2009 and thought to look like the car you see above. The Excelle is a small, Toyota Corolla-sized sedan that will be manufactured on GM's new global rear-wheel drive Alpha architecture developed out of Germany. If General Motors decides to proceed with the plan, executives will have to determine what North American plant gets to build it, but its proclivity to be driven by its rear wheels should set the small car apart in a sea of FWD compact sedans.

[Source: AutoWeek, Photo courtesy of Sina.autonet.com]

Judging by the positive reception the Chinese-marketed Buicks have been receiving here in the States, GM would be ill-advised to continue offering the same warmed-over products that it's been selling over the past decade. According to Automotive News, the General sees the writing on the wall and intends to go global with the new look of Buick, originally shown at the Shanghai Motor Show in the shape of the Riviera concept.

The idea is to make Buick an affordable luxury brand here in the States, and it has plans on offering a number of new vehicles to the U.S. market that will take on the high-end competitors from Japan.

To begin with, the Excelle, a small sedan, is set to be released sometime in 2008, based off the Alpha platform currently under development in Germany, while the next iteration of the LaCrosse will come in 2009 and will be based off of GM's Epsilon 2 underpinnings. The Lucerne will get a full makeover in 2011 and will be built around the RWD Zeta platform, and the Rainier, Rendezvous and Terraza will die off after the current production run, and replaced with the new Enclave.

Buick's move to become more things to more people is the only way the marque will survive, and judging by what's in the pipeline, the automaker actually has a chance at success.

[Source: Automotive News – Sub. Req.]

The Daewoo Lacetti has given General Motors a true World Car that is selling well all around the world. The car is currently known as the Chevrolet Lacetti in Europe, the Holden Viva in Australia, the Suzuki Forenza in the U.S. and the Buick Excelle in China.

The Chinese have a thing for Buicks, and the LaCrosse sedan is a big seller there. The Excelle subcompact is being readied for its first redesign and Autoblog Spanish found some pics of the new sedan. From a dead-on angle it's quite an attractive vehicle, the front end featuring an elegant grille flanked by large, expensive-looking headlights. A quick trip around the rest of the vehicle, however, reveals some roots shared with our own Forenza, but we still think it will be the best looking Lacetti of the bunch.

Autoblog Spanish reports that the new Excelle will be available with two engine choices upon its release, a 1.6- and 1.8-liter four-cylinder. It will likely also be available in a five-door hatch version, like most Lachetti models are, called the Excelle FRV.

[Source: Autoblog Spanish]