2003 Buick Century Custom Sedan 4-door 3.1l on 2040-cars

Auto blog

2013 Buick Encore nets strong IIHS, NHTSA safety scores

After being crushed from every which way and rolled over like a labrador, the 2013 Buick Encore has been named a Top Safety Pick by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. To earn the accolade, a vehicle must achieve the highest rating of "Good" in each of the institute's four main crash tests: Front Moderate Overlap, Side, Rollover and Rear. The Encore aced those four tests with "Good" ratings, but missed out on the coveted Top Safety Pick+ designation by receiving a Poor rating in the institute's new Front Small Overlap test. To be named a Top Safety Pick+, the Encore would need to score at least an "Acceptable" rating in the new test, as well as "Good" in all four original crash tests.
Despite the miss, the Encore joins the Enclave, LaCrosse, Verano and Regal as Top Safety Picks all. If you count only the Encore with all-wheel drive, then all five Buicks have also earned five-star overall ratings from the National Highway Traffic Safety Adminstration, making Buick one of the few manufacturers to offer a full lineup with high scores from both safety rating organizations.
The front-wheel-drive Encore, despite performing equally as well as the all-wheel-drive version in NHTSA's crash tests, only earned four stars overall. As far as we can tell, the discrepancy between the two is because some safety equipment, like Forward Collision Warning and Lane Departure Assist, are optional features on the FWD Encore and standard on the AWD model.

GM delivers best Q3 sales since 1980, 2.4M vehicles sold

People are a weird sort. Even after registering over 70 recalls through the first three-quarters of 2014, General Motors saw its best Q3 results since Jimmy Carter was in the White House, registering over 2.4 million global sales between June and September on the back of strong results in the US and China.
US sales were marshaled by good results for GM's pickups, the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra, which bumped the manufacturer's truck market share to 35.6 percent, up nearly three points from Q1 2014. Buick has seen healthy growth as well, with the Encore dominating its segment for the sixth month running.
It was China, though, that really bolstered GM's sales, as the company's efforts to top last year's record-setting 3.16 million units continued apace. Small SUV sales saw massive growth, with Encore, Chevrolet Trax and Captiva figures jumping 90 percent in Q3. Brand-wise, Chevrolet, Cadillac and Buick all saw sales gains in the PRC, with each recording double-digit year-over-year jumps. Cadillac sales alone were up 63 percent compared to the first nine months of 2013.

2019 Volvo V60 vs. wagon competitors: How they compare on paper

The next-gen Volvo V60 was finally revealed this week. The outgoing model has been on sale since 2011, getting a few minor updates along the way. The new model is based off Volvo's Scalable Platform Architecture that underpins other models like the XC90 and XC60 crossovers and V90 wagon. The V60 will launch with two engines, with a powerful hybrid coming sometime down the line. Since the last V60 hit the market, Audi, Buick and BMW have all released their own flavor of wagon. Like Volvo, BMW sells a traditional sedan-based model. Audi and Buick's wagons are both high-riding models with some very slight off-road pretense, much like Volvo's Cross Country models. We don't have details on the upcoming V60 Cross Country, but, even when accounting for ground clearance, the V60, BMW 3 Series Sport Wagon, A4 Allroad and Buick Regal TourX have a lot of overlap. Check out the specs breakdown below. Discover and compare other wagons and crossovers with our Car Finder and Compare tools. Engines, transmissions and drivetrains Out of the four wagons, the new V60 is the only one that offers two-wheel drive and a hybrid variant. The base V60 T5 uses a 250-horsepower turbocharged 2.0-liter inline four and sends power to the front wheels. Stepping up to the V60 T6 nets buyers an additional 66 horsepower thanks to a twincharged — supercharged and turbocharged — 2.0-liter and all-wheel drive. A T8 model that uses a 390-horsepower plug-in hybrid powertrain will be available soon. All V60s use an eight-speed automatic. The Audi, BMW and Buick are all powered by 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-fours. Additionally, the 3 Series has a 2.0-liter turbo diesel. All three wagons have standard all-wheel drive. The BMW and Buick use an eight-speed automatic, while the Audi sends power through a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. As base engines go, there's a four-horsepower difference between the most and least powerful models, though the Buick wins out on torque. The V60 T6 matches the Regal TourX's torque figure and trounces every competitor's horsepower rating. The V60 T8 packs more power and torque than any of the competition. Cargo and interior space The outgoing V60 was on the small side for a wagon. This new model rectifies that a bit, though its 48.2 cubic-feet of cargo space with the second-row folded is still substantially smaller than the competition.