All Original Time Warp 1970 Buick Electra 225 Custom 4-door Hardtop 17,808 Miles on 2040-cars

Auto blog

GM announces net 220 job increase as Trump visits Michigan

GM announced today that about 900 jobs would be added (or, importantly, retained) ahead of President Trump's arrival in Michigan, where he is expected to discuss his plan to roll back fuel economy standards. The timing of the announcement is almost certainly not coincidental, as appending it to a Trump visit gives it a higher profile and dovetails with the President's jobs agenda. It's less likely the decision itself was made for those reasons, but the free PR boost is a nice bonus. As for those 900 jobs themselves, they aren't all new jobs. The only net gain is approximately 220 jobs at the Romulus Powertrain Plant, which produces the 10-speed automatic transmission that's proliferating through the company's lineup. The 180 jobs at Flint Assembly and 500 jobs at Lansing Delta Township are retained jobs – that is to say, spots the company found for workers who would otherwise have been laid off. By the way, the Flint jobs will help with production of heavy-duty pickups, and the Lansing jobs are to produce the Chevrolet Traverse and Buick Enclave. Finding jobs for manufacturing workers in the auto sector, whether new or retained, is admirable. No matter how GM couches it, the company has created or retained a total of 7,000 jobs this year, and its total reinvestment in US production is around $1 billion. But these decisions are business ones, not political ones – timing the announcements to make them seem inspired by economic policy, or the political situation, is simply smart PR. Related Video: Image Credit: Bill Pugliano/Getty Images Celebrities Government/Legal Buick Cadillac Chevrolet GMC

Buick prepares Super Bowl ad blitz to introduce Cascada

Super Bowl 50 will kick off on February 7, and Buick will use the big game's massive audience to get the word out about the new Cascada convertible. The the broadcast spot will be paired with a humorous digital campaign to advertise the convertible online. Buick hasn't released the 30-second Super Bowl commercial yet, but a teaser image shows that it stars New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham, Jr. and actress Emily Ratajkowski, known for roles in the films Gone Girl and Entourage. The ad is part of the "Experience the New Buick" campaign, which aims to position the brand to appeal to a younger demographic. The brand also has Ellie Kemper, the star of Netflix's hilarious Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and Erin on The Office, to sell the Cascada, Regal, Encore, and Enclave in a new online campaign. She plays an exaggerated version of herself and flirts with a guy who thinks Kemper owns Buick's new convertible. The spot tries to capitalize on the quirky charm of the actor's Kimmy Schmidt character. Buick will cut the longer clip (below) into vignettes for ads on sites like YouTube. Buick spokesperson Crystal Wilson told Autoblog that viewers' reactions to Kemper's commercial have been "totally positive" so far. First-Ever Buick Super Bowl Ad Features Odell Beckham Jr. and Emily Ratajkowski Latest "Experience the New Buick" ad spotlights new Cascada convertible 2016-01-26 DETROIT – Buick's first-ever Super Bowl ad will bring the brand's award-winning "Experience the New Buick" campaign to the biggest night in TV advertising. The campaign launched in 2014 and challenges consumers' false perceptions of the brand. The 30-second spot, scheduled to air during Super Bowl 50, features Buick's all-new Cascada luxury convertible and stars New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. and actress/model Emily Ratajkowski. The spot will be the first new Buick commercial to air in 2016, a year where the brand will launch three new products. The Cascada, Buick's first convertible in 25 years, arrives in dealerships in the coming weeks. It features an athletic and sculptural beauty that delivers a distinctive profile, whether the top is up or down. Along with the perception-shifting Cascada, Buick showrooms will soon feature a redesigned LaCrosse sedan and the new Envision, a compact crossover. Both go on sale this summer.

2016 Buick Cascada marks the return of casual convertibles

Buick is reentering the convertible game after a 25-year absence with this, the long-awaited 2016 Cascada. Fans of General Motors' European operations will recognize this svelte, four-place droptop as a rebadged version of the critically well-received Vauxhall/Opel Cascada, a model that has been on sale to audiences across The Pond since 2013. The Cascada will once again give American car buyers the chance to buy a relaxed, affordable two-row convertible without sporting pretensions, an option that arguably hasn't been available since the demise of the Chrysler 200 droptop. For US duty, the softtop Cascada will arrive with a 1.6-liter, direct-injected, turbocharged four-cylinder that churns out 200 horsepower. That figure is paired up with 206 pound-feet of torque, which can be bumped to 221 lb-ft via an overboost function. A six-speed automatic will dispatch that power to the front wheels, which are managed courtesy of a HiPer strut front-suspension system. While the Cascada might share its front suspension with the setup found on the Regal, its torsion-beam rear suspension has more in common with the Vauxhall/Opel Astra (and Buick Verano) on which it's based. 20-inch wheels and an electric power-assisted steering system round out the convertible's handling hardware. Of course, we doubt most Cascada customers will care about such oily and unseen things. Instead, they'll be more focused on the droptop's sheetmetal, which, considering it's basically a convertible version of the extremely handsome Astra, should win the car at least a few fans. While we only have so much detail to work with in the images that have been released so far – we'll be seeing the Cascada firsthand this evening (Sunday), so check back tonight for additional live images later today. Naturally, the Vauxhall/Opel grille will be replaced by Buick's trademark waterfall grille, although the company's other big styling calling card, portholes, are absent from our current pair of shots. A wide chrome strip stands out on the rear, tying the taillights together and increasing the Cascada's resemblance to the Regal sedan. A single oval exhaust tip juts out from the driver's side rear bumper. In terms of its actual dimensions, the Cascada's wheelbase is less than half an inch longer than the Verano, while the droptop is an inch longer than its four-door counterpart overall. At only an inch wider, meanwhile, the Cascada will enjoy the same easy to manage footprint as Buick's entry-level sedan.