2005 Buick Century Custom Sedan 4-door 3.1l on 2040-cars

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Looking back at how and why GM saved Buick

Still uncomfortably fresh in our collective minds is 2008, the year when the US economy tanked, auto sales collapsed, and both General Motors and Chrysler endured federally managed bankruptcies. Then 2009, when, among other draconian measures, the government task forces dictating what they were compelled to do to earn taxpayer financial support ordered thousands of dealers cut and GM to discontinue four of its eight US brands. Three of those chosen for GM's axe were fairly obvious: off-road icon Hummer had become politically incorrect, Swedish-born Saab was a perennial money loser, and product-starved Saturn had sadly sagged after its strong early start. On the other hand, high-volume value brand Chevrolet, luxury Cadillac, and high-profit GMC seemed clear keepers. That left Pontiac and Buick, both boasting strong brand heritage and histories but both languishing at the time with lackluster image and sales. Most believed that "old man's car" Buick would be killed and once-youthful Pontiac and its performance image would be revived. So few understood why when exactly the opposite happened: Buick lived, Pontiac died. One key factor was Buick's long, distinguished history in China. In the early 20th century, many of that country's most influential citizens owned, drove, or were driven in Buicks. By 1930, one out of every six cars on the roads in Shanghai was a Buick. So when GM launched vehicle production at a Shanghai joint-venture plant in 1999, the chosen brand was Buick. Today it remains GM's best-selling brand in that fast-growing market. Another was an appealing new design direction that began with a shapely 2006 three-row crossover concept called Enclave. Inspired by the Buick Velite concept convertible of 2004, its curvaceous "form vocabulary," GM Design vice president Ed Welburn said at the time, previewed coming Buick production car and CUV design. "The body shape flows, like there's wind blowing over it," he enthused, adding that the Enclave concept's richly trimmed cabin foretold "a renaissance in interior design for GM." And when the production Enclave arrived for 2008, followed by platform siblings from Saturn and GMC (and later Chevrolet), it indeed caught the public's eye and started selling well. And once past GM's painful and embarrassing bankruptcy, Buick has been on a major roll. Continuing to sell strongly in China while growing substantially in the US, it has enjoyed four straight years of global sales records.

The new Buick Regal looks like a Mazda, and we're totally cool with that

Yes, this undisguised Opel Insignia, which will be brought here as the next Buick Regal, looks a lot like a Mazda. You can see it in the grille and headlights, especially – in fact, if you look at one of the photos with tape blocking out the badge in the middle of the winged grille, you might think this is a new Mazda6. The thing is, Mazdas look pretty darn good, so no one's complaining. And when you look at the rest of the car, there's a fair amount of originality going on. Aside from the GM-generic taillights (they look like they could fit on a Chevy, right?) the lines and details are all pretty fresh, and there are some design elements pulled from Buick's gorgeous Avista concept. A sweeping roofline leads to some healthy shoulders at the back, creating a coupe-ish profile with a very abbreviated rear deck. This appears to be a hatchback model and not the four-door sedan, but the general look should carry over. This is definitely a big improvement over the somewhat bulbous current-generation Regal, which also started life out as an Insignia. The car shown here is the Insignia OPC model, with Brembo brakes, big wheels, side skirts, and a front end with big (likely fake) intakes. It will most likely translate to a Regal GS for our market, as is the case with the current OPC and GS. The new Regal/Insignia is expected to use the same platform as the new Buick LaCrosse, which is also shared by the Chevy Malibu and Impala. They should once again be available with front- or all-wheel drive and a choice of turbocharged four-cylinder engines. Rumor has the Opel versions debuting at the Geneva show March, and the Buick would likely follow, possibly in New York in April. View 13 Photos And then there's the wagon. All signs point to Buick finally bringing the most practical Insignia to our market as a Regal. We got wind of a focus group testing the idea, Buick has trademarked the name Regal Tour X. That version would likely go up against the Audi Allroad in the classy, slightly lifted all-wheel-drive wagon category, basically acting as an almost-crossover for people who want a wagon but won't admit it to themselves. The Insignia wagon caught here is also an OPC, and we think it looks even more handsome than the hatch-sedan shown above. The trim piece stretching from the base of the A-pillar all the way up and back down to the tail is a nice touch in profile view, although we're not so sure about how it terminates abruptly at the taillight.

GM Issues Four New Recalls For 90,000 Vehicles

One day after releasing an internal report that found a pattern of "incompetence and neglect" within the company, General Motors announced four more recalls that affect 89,126 vehicles. One of the recalls affects 31,520 vehicles that may contain a defect that could prevent airbags from deploying in a car accident. GM said it was aware of at least one crash in which a vehicle occupant sustained an injury because the airbags didn't deploy when they should have. The company said it was aware of other crashes that were similar in nature, but it is not yet known whether they're related to the condition, in which the shorting bar inside the driver's airbag may occasionally contact the airbag terminals. If the car and terminals are touching each other in a crash, the bags will not deploy. Vehicles from the 2012 model year are affected by the problem, and they include the Buick Verano, Chevrolet Camaro, Cruze and Sonic. GM has conducted two previous recalls for this condition involving 7,116 cars. GM is also recalling 57,512 models of the 2014 Chevrolet Silverado 1500, 2014 GMC Sierra 1500 and 2015 Silverado HD, Tahoe and Surburan, as well as the 2015 GMC Sierra HD, Yukon and Yukon XL models because their radio control modules may not work, and thus prevent certain audible safety warnings. Certain models of the 2013-2014 Chevrolet Spark and 2013 Buick Encore are being recalled for a different airbag problem, which could prevent airbags from deploying properly during a crash. And 33 2014 Chevrolet Corvettes are being recalled for yet another airbag problem, in which an internal short circuit could disable the airbags. So far in 2014, General Motors has issued 34 separate recalls that affect approximately 15.9 million vehicles – more than the company has sold in the past five years combined. GM Announces Four Recalls DETROIT – General Motors today announced three safety recalls and one non-compliance recall, all of which were reported to the NHTSA on Thursday, June 5, 2014. In all cases, customers will receive letters from GM letting them know when they can bring their vehicles into a dealership, where all repairs will be performed free of charge and courtesy transportation would be provided as needed.