1963 Buick Electra 225 Convertible Wildcat V8 Restored Condition Southern Car on 2040-cars

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What's in a trademark? Sometimes, the next iconic car name

The United States Patent and Trademark Office is a treasure trove for auto enthusiasts, especially those who double as conspiracy theorists.
Why has Toyota applied to trademark "Supra," the name of one of its legendary sports cars, even though it hasn't sold one in the United States in 16 years? Why would General Motors continue to register "Chevelle" long after one of the most famous American muscle cars hit the end of the road? And what could Chrysler possibly do with the rights to "313," the area code for Detroit?

Junkyard Gem: 1982 Buick Riviera Diesel Coupe

After appending the Riviera name to various cars during the 1950s, Buick finally made the Riviera a model in its own right for the 1963 model year. Seven more generations of Buick's rakish personal luxury coupe followed over the next 36 years, but only one ever had an oil-burning engine available from the factory. Today's Junkyard Gem is one of those cars, a vividly purple '82 Riviera with 105 horses of Oldsmobile diesel power under its hood, found in a Denver-area self-service boneyard recently. Starting in the 1966 model year, the Riviera had been living on the same platform as the Cadillac Eldorado and Oldsmobile Toronado, both of which featured radical front-wheel-drive powertrains that used longitudinal V8s powering the front wheels via sturdy chains. However, despite the common platform, the Riviera alone kept the then-traditional front-engine/rear-drive setup, making it something of a corporate oddball for the next 12 years. Then General Motors decided to downsize the Eldorado/Toronado platform for the 1979 model year, and the Riviera got those cars' front-wheel-drive rig at the same time. Sales of the smaller Rivvy were strong, no doubt due in large part to certain geopolitical events that sent gas prices skyward and caused fuel rationing and gas lines. Back in the late 1970s and early 1980s, diesel fuel was much cheaper than gasoline in the United States. Mercedes-Benz and Peugeot had done reasonably well selling diesel-engined cars here during the 1970s, and so General Motors developed a diesel-burning version of the Oldsmobile 350-cubic-inch (5.7-liter) V8 engine. As was typical of naturally-aspirated automotive diesels of the time (every modern car's diesel engine is turbocharged), horsepower was miserable but torque was strong; the engine in this car was rated at 105 horses and 205 pound-feet. The 5.7 diesel first showed up in the Riviera for the 1981 model year. The base engine was a 4.1-liter version of the Buick V6, while the oil-burning Olds cost an extra $924 (about $3,206 in 2023 dollars). A comfortable and smooth-riding Riviera with the cheap fill-up price and long range of diesel sounded great, even if you had to line up with Freightliners and Peterbilts to get to a pump, but there were problems. Oh, so many problems! Oldsmobile's 350 V8 had been around since 1968 and it had proven to be both reliable and powerful.

Biden's tariffs likely won't impact Americans already driving Chinese-built cars

A 2024 Buick Envision Sport TouringGM-DESIGN Chinese car brands are missing from the US market, but Chinese-made cars are still sold in the US.  Americans bought more than 104,000 Chinese-made cars in 2023 and nearly 28,000 in Q1 2024. Buick, Lincoln, Polestar, and Volvo all sell cars in the US that are made in China.  Of the more than 15 million cars sold in the US last year, none wore the badge of a Chinese car brand. Chinese EV heavy hitters like BYD and SAIC are conspicuously missing from US showrooms. With the government's existing 27.5% tariffs on Chinese-made cars and Tuesday's new 100% tariffs on Chinese-made EVs imported to the US, the situation isn't likely to change anytime soon. What some people might not realize, however, is that tens of thousands of cars manufactured in China are sold in the US every year. Volvo's S60L sedan was one of the first Chinese-made cars to be sold in the US starting in 2016, followed by Buick's Envision SUV and Cadillac's CT6 Hybrid. According to Automotive News data, US consumers purchased more than 104,000 Chinese-made vehicles in 2023, up 45% from 2022. Americans bought another 28,000 Chinese-made cars during the first quarter of 2024. Currently, Buick, Lincoln, Polestar, and Volvo sell Chinese-made vehicles in the US. Of those, the only Chinese-made EVs come from Polestar, a brand co-owned by Volvo and its parent company, Geely Automotive. The EV brand imported just 2,217 cars in the first three months of 2024. It is unclear how the new tariffs will affect Polestar's future production plans. The company eventually plans to move some of its car production to South Carolina in 2024. In a statement to Business Insider, a Polestar spokesperson said the company is evaluating the Biden Administration's announcement. Here's a closer look at the Chinese-made cars on sale in the US. Buick Envision A 2024 Buick Envision AvenirGM When it launched in 2016, the Buick Envision compact SUV was one of the first Chinese-made vehicles sold in the US. The second generation Envision, which arrived in 2021, continues to be made in China at one of the plants GM operates in a joint venture with SAIC. The Envision was Buick's second-best-selling model in 2023, with more than 44,000 vehicles sold. Last year, Buick sold 167,000 vehicles across its entire lineup in the US, an impressive 61% increase over the previous year. However, this number pales in comparison to Buick's sales in China, which totaled 517,000 units last year.