Autoblog

click above image for more spy shots of the 2010 Buick LaCrosse

Despite a heavy rotation of security guards protecting the identity of this test car, Priddy photographer Chris Doane managed to snap it during one of one its brief public outings in an undisclosed location. It's the 2010 Buick LaCrosse, a car that's extremely important for Buick, which is down to a lineup of just three vehicles (LaCrosse, Lucerne and Enclave). It's also an important car for GM, as the 2010 LaCrosse will be the first vehicle sold in the U.S. on the new Epsilon II platform, a chassis that will eventually underpin the next generation Saturn Aura and Chevy Malibu. But Buick's getting the new platform first, and will no doubt make a splash with this all-new vehicle when it arrives in 2009 and a 2010 model.

Though heavily covered, we can see through the mesh obscuring the front end to see a grille not unlike the one worn by the Enclave CUV. With the Enclave enjoying critical acclaim and sales success, it's no surprise that Buick will be trying to repeat the formula in its mid-size sedan. Also note the roof, which is dominated by an oversized sunroof with two sections.

We're unsure what engine was powering this test vehicle, but dual exhaust pipes hint at something hot. While it could be a V8, we're betting it's the 3.6L V6, most likely with direct injection. In the new Cadillac CTS, this engine puts out over 300 HP. Doane reported the test car was plenty quick, so this scenario seems likely, but expect the 3.6L DI V6 to be detuned a bit for duty in the LaCrosse. Can't have a FWD Buick encroaching on the territory of Cadillac's RWD sport sedan, now can we?

[Source: Chris Doane for Brenda Priddy & Company]

click above image to view high-res gallery of the Buick Enclave

Amidst all the fury surrounding the UAW strike today, General Motors released a statement announcing an $800 million deal with its Chinese joint-venture company to supply the Chinese market with U.S.-built vehicles and components. It's the second such agreement GM has signed, the first being an agreement worth $700 million to supply Cadillacs and components to China signed back in May. The new agreement focuses mainly on the Buick Enclave CUV, which is built at GM's Lansing Delta Township assembly plant. One can't help but question the timing of this announcement as GM and UAW negotiators are back at the table this afternoon to discuss job security for the union's 73,000 members. There's little doubt now that UAW employees at the Lansing plant will be busy in the months ahead not only trying to meet demand for the Enclave in the U.S., but also producing the vehicle for export to China. We'll see as the day goes on if this agreement has any effect on negotiations, but there are a total of 59 plants operated by GM that use UAW workers. Securing work for just one of them probably isn't going to be enough.

[Source: GM]

The Woodward dream cruise is right in the domestic automakers back yard, and since most of the cars and trucks on display are Ford, Chevy, or Dodge, the Detroit Three throw huge parties full of metal from the past and present. GM found it necessary to have two separate displays, one with a GM theme, with the Transformer cars, an engine museum, and some great Cadillacs, Pontiacs, and Buicks. The other display was all about the General's bread and butter Chevrolet division, and that display had dozens of Corvettes from every generation dating back to the original 1953 model. To catch a video summary of everything GM at the dream cruise, check out the video after the jump.

Here's another example of liking the individual hardware pieces, but being repulsed by the idea of the ultimate combination. RX7s are cool. Grand Nationals are cool. But a vehicular mash-up of a 1993 RX-7 powered by a Buick GN's V6 seems a little weird. Weird to think that it even gets past regulatory agencies, as it's an older, totally alien engine in a newer car, which might make it interesting to register in a state with California emissions. The swap is well done, though, even if we'd question the handling a heavier and much more powerful engine in the snout brings with it. It's fast, but does it understeer like a pig and snap the tail out? The seller seems to have focused on posting low elapsed times in the quarter mile, so think about that when you conjure what the dynamics may be. Follow the jump for more.

[Source: eBay via Carscoop]

We've managed to get some sense of a normal schedule back for the podcasts, and here's number 74. Within, we discuss Ford Sync's newly announced price tag, whether it's worth it and what type of "Easter egg" features may be lurking. In other news, JD Power recently announced that Buick had tied Lexus for the top spot in the 2007 dependability ratings. It looks like a 3 year old Buick is a better investment than ever - also filling out the top 5 were Cadillac and Mercury.

Setting aside our pride over the domestic US manufacturers seeing actual results, we turn our attention to a beleaguered Brit - Jaguar. The XF was snagged without camo, and the rear view the shots afforded was encouraging, and answered some questions. It also raised a few more, and our most nagging question is what's underneath. Moving on, and staying foreign, we touch on VW's tasteful product placement in the Bourne Ultimatum, and the rumors surrounding a Toyota/Fuji lash-up for a revival of an AE-86 style car. Coming home again, if in brand alone, we wrap up with the Chevy Aveo 5 and its extra-full plate of hideous. The 'cast will only take up 40 minutes of your time, so come back next week for seconds!

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Click image above for high resolution gallery

When the Buick Enclave concept hit the Detroit Auto Show in 2006, the roomy CUV was very well received, but past experiences left both the media and public skeptical. Many felt that the stunning looks and luxury amenities of the Enclave would never make it to the dealer lot, and in the end there would be a lot of compromises made to keep costs down. As it turns out, the General pulled a fast one, and the exterior and much of the interior of the classy concept hit production intact. Vice Chairman Bob Lutz kept saying that Buick could compete with Lexus in terms of quality and refinement, and the Enclave shows that blogger Bob isn't just blowing smoke. We've been eagerly awaiting a crack at the Enclave in the Autoblog garage, and now we've finally got our chance. Read on for our impressions from our week-long test.

You would expect Lexus to be No. 1 in vehicle dependability, just like it has been in J.D. Power's Vehicle Dependability Study for the past 11 years. It is No. 1 again for 2007, but for the first time, Lexus has tied with another automaker for the top spot, and you'll never guess who it is – Buick.

Three-year old (2004) Lexus and Buick vehicles each scored 145 problems per 100 vehicles, the lowest scores of all automakers in the study. The results kind of make you wonder when we're going to cut our own domestic automakers some slack and begin admitting they're turning things around, building better, longer-lasting vehicles. Also consider that Cadillac (162) took the third spot, and Mercury (168) the fourth. Honda (169), meanwhile, earned the fifth spot.

Though Buick ranked highest among nameplates, none of its vehicles managed to earn the highest ranking in their respective segments. (Whoops, one did. The Buick Century was highest ranked Midsize Car.) Lexus vehicles, however, led five categories, the most for any nameplate. Its parent company, Toyota, also added an additional four vehicles that led their segment, while Ford, Honda and... what?... Oldsmobile each had two vehicles that led their segments. Remember, this study focuses on 2004 model year vehicles, which means Oldsmobile was still operating when these cars were built. The Bravada and Silhouette each led their segments in dependability, which likely means those workers building Oldsmobiles near the end took pride in their work.

Feel free to check out all the rankings as posted by J.D. Power in our gallery below.

[Source: J.D. Power]

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.]

Valeo Raytheon Systems and General Motors have gotten together to develop a new blind spot detections system that's set to debut on certain Buick and Cadillac models for the 2008 model year.

The system, which is similar to those used by Volvo, takes in data about vehicles in the lanes next to the vehicle, calculates the distance, speed and position, and then triggers a light to illuminate on the vehicle's side mirror.

The press release after the jump doesn't indicate which vehicles will benefit from the system, but considering the average age of both brand's buyers, we're all for it.

The GM FastLane Blog revealed that its first video interview with Bob Lutz that addressed GM concept cars was actually supposed to be the second one released. This new video just released today was to be the first, but technical issues pushed it back. Here we have Lutz in front of the lens addressing the most commonly asked question about Buick, specifically its relation to the raging Chinese division and its position in General Motors as a whole.

When answering why Buick's Chinese division is getting better looking luxury cars than the U.S., Lutz simply fires back, "I don't think they are." The consumate diplomat, he says the door is always open for the rear-wheel-drive Zeta-based Park Avenue that will be sold in the Chinese market to make its way to the States, but we'd have to disagree that the U.S. market LaCrosse and Lucerne hold a candle to what's coming down the pipeline for the Chinese.

When asked about Buick's role in GM, Lutz takes up most of his time explaining Cadillac's role as a world leader and then places Buick just below it. It's interesting that he says, "The days of taking some Buicks and pricing them with Chevrolets... will never be repeated." The $32,790 price tag of the new Enclave CUV compared to its other Lambda-based offerings from GMC and Saturn is proof positive that Buick will be positioned near the top of GM's portfolio.

So there you have it, a little Lutz on Lutz action for your Thursday evening.

[Source: GM FastLane]

Looking like a talk show host running through his mailbag, Bob Lutz answers one question that readers have repeatedly asked: "what's up with all the concept cars that never go into production?" His answer touches on the Buick Velite and Centieme, Chevy Bel-Air, Volt, Cadillac Sixteen, public image, alternative energy, and he boasts that GM is possibly the best carmaker in the world at putting concept cars into production. It's 3:09 of no-nonsense Lutz. Click the "Read" link to watch.

[Source: FastLane]

GM's ad agency swap-out continues, and for Leo Burnett, out went Cadillac, in comes Buick and GMC. Burnett had been doing Cadillac's ad work since 1935, but was let go last year when the brand wanted to "move in a different direction." Now, GM has given Burnett the accounts for Buick and GMC, having taken them away from McCann-Erikson and Lowe Lintas & Partners Worldwide, respectively. The move was prompted by consolidation, not because anything was wrong with the former agencies' work. With the move, Burnett Detroit now handles Pontiac, Buick, and GMC, which dovetails with the consolidation of dealerships among the same three brands.

(David E. Davis Jr. over at Winding Road gave us his take and it's worth a read -Ed.)

[Source: Automotive News, sub req'd]

In an effort to boost sales towards the end of the month, General Motors will be offering new incentives to work in conjunction with its heavy presence in the upcoming live-action Transformers movie. The deal involves buyers of select Buick, Chevy, GMC and Pontiac models getting zero-percent financing for three years, along with $1,000 cash back.

The upcoming marketing blitz should be hitting the airwaves by the time you read this, and the sale ends on July 9th.

[Source: Reuters]

Man, we really feel for Tiger Woods. Just three days after the birth of his first child, Sam Alexis Woods, the guy basically gets canned by Buick as their numero uno spokesperson. Seriously, how's a guy that swings a club for a living going to support a family without endorsements like Buick's? Sure, he's still got the Nike account, but all babies do are eat, sleep and poop, the latter of which requires diapers, which are hella expensive.

Buick says it wants to focus attention back on its product (really?), so while Woods will still appear in some advertisements, he won't be used solely to divert one's attention from the product anymore. General Motors has a heart though, so they've thrown the kid a bone and offered young Woods a stint endorsing OnStar. We'll likely see him appear in more of those celebrity-laden commercials with Jeff Gordon, Jimmy Kimmel, Kelly Rippa and the gang. We wish Tiger all the luck in the world without the deep pockets of Buick behind him anymore.

[Source: The Detroit News]

The NHTSA has commenced an "engineering analysis" of GM's supercharged 3800 Series II V6 engine. Fitted to certain 1999-2002 models, such as the Pontiac Grand Prix GTP, Buick Park Avenue, and Oldsmobile LSS, they are apparently catching fire at a rate thirteen times greater than the naturally aspirated engine. Specifically, the agency has 180 complaints of "non-crash-related fires originating in the engine compartment while driving or after the vehicle is parked and the ignition switched off." An engineering analysis isn't a recall, it is a possible precursor to a recall. If you have that particular engine in your ride, you can find out more about the NHTSA's investigation here.

[Source: Inside Line]