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Malaise Era Junkyard Gem: 1979 Buick Electra Limited

In the fall of 1973, the Arab members of OPEC shut off the oil taps, and Detroit got busy making many of their full-sized land yachts a lot smaller. By model year 1977, the downsized fifth-generation Buick Electra was ready to go ... just in time for the 1979 Iranian Revolution to squeeze the supply of the black stuff even further. You won't see many of the 1977-85 Electras these days, but I spotted this faded but solid '79 Limited sedan in a Denver self-service yard last week. General Motors must have bought up the entire world's supply of blue velour around this time, because you'll see this stuff in just about every car they made for the following decade or so. By this time, GM was doing a lot of mixing-and-matching with engines from its various divisions, which meant you could buy an Oldsmobile 88 with a Chevrolet 350 V8 engine, a Chevrolet Monza with a Buick 231 V6 engine, or— as in this case— a Buick Electra with an Oldsmobile 350 V8 engine. Do you want to know how many horses this engine delivered to this 3,631-pound car? 155 horsepower out of 5.7 liters of engine displacement. Times were tough during the Malaise Era. Related Video: Featured Gallery Junked 1979 Buick LeSabre in Colorado Junkyard View 20 Photos Buick Automotive History Luxury Classics Sedan malaise era

Buick mulling more powerful Encore; diesel too

Looking to set itself apart in the mid-luxury segment, Buick is looking to introduce a diesel engine somewhere in its US lineup. And according to Edmunds, the two best chances of a diesel Buick rest with the Encore and Verano.
In both our First Drive and Review of the 2013 Encore, our chief complaint about the compact crossover was the the lack of power from the 138-horsepower turbo engine. Edmunds says that the recently introduced 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine (with both gas and diesel variants) from the Encore's overseas cousin, the Opel Mokka, could make its way into the Encore delivering the much-needed boost in power.
Then there's the Verano. As a close relative to the Chevy Cruze, which just added a diesel engine for 2014, the article speculates that a Verano Diesel might actually be the more "probably candidate" if and when Buick decides to add a diesel model to its portfolio. Either way, offering such an engine in one of its products could be a great way for Buick to differentiate itself from Cadillac and possibly even attract buyers from Volkswagen, Audi and Mercedes-Benz looking for a luxurious, fuel-efficient vehicle.

Buick Enspire spied for the first time, loses concept's electric powertrain

About a year ago, Buick showed a high-performance electric crossover with wide, aggressive, curvy lines that was called the Buick Enspire. Now we have our first look at the production version. While it does seem to be styled like the crossover, it also seems to have lost its electric powertrain in favor of internal combustion. At the front of the crossover, we can clearly see it has the skinny, scowling headlights of the concept sitting high on the front fascia and flush with the hood. The main grille looks like it may be smaller, but it could also just be that the actual open section of the grille doesn't fill up the grille area of the fascia. In profile, the crossover has an attractive long nose, low roof and rising belt line. The rear shows the most change, as the rear pillars are much thicker, and the taillights don't appear to span the full width of the crossover. It's in the rear that we can also see the evidence that the Buick Enspire will actually be gasoline powered. Looking very closely under the rear bumper cover, we can see two exhaust tips turned to face the ground. Based on the size of the crossover, and the fact a Cadillac XT4 was being driven along with the prototype, the Enspire is probably using the XT4's platform, as well as its mechanical bits. That means it probably has a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder making 237 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque. Power will also probably go through a nine-speed automatic to either the front wheels or all four. This prototype looks to be pretty far along, so we'll probably see the production version in about a year. Considering the Enspire's size and likely powertrain, it may even replace the similar Buick Envision. And since the Envision is Buick's worst selling crossover (unless you count the Regal TourX as one), it would be ripe for replacement.