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Buick asks design students 'What could a Buick sedan look like in 2030?'

When you think of daring concept cars or emotional design-student projects, Buick probably isn't the first brand that comes to mind. It's not for lack of concepts; when General Motors ran down 11 concept-car highlights from Buick's 110-year history, three of them are from the past 15 years, with other experiments in that same timeframe like the Black Hawk, Centieme and Cielo left unmentioned.
But the company still thinks about them even if we don't. It ran a contest for students at Detroit's College for Creative Studies to create a Buick for the year 2030 that would incorporate future materials and transportation needs, and nanotechnology.
Best exterior design went to Sam Kenny for his Neo Classical Buick, Justin Salmon took honors for innovative material use, like having exposed algae on the bodyshell to generate energy, and Namsuk Lee nabbed best overall concept and best interior for his Buick Vision Sedan. You can read more about the design challenge and winners in the press release, and hear students talk about what went into the work in the video below.

Buick will cease using ‘Buick’ badge on vehicles from 2019

GM Authority recognized that the recently unveiled 2019 Buick Envision is missing something: a " Buick" badge on the left side of the tailgate. Every other vehicle the carmaker sells features that script, but not the new mid-sized crossover. When the site asked about the omission, "representatives recently told GM Authority that Buick will stop using the brand badge on the rear of its vehicles, starting with the 2019 model year." The only identifiers that will remain are the three-color Tri Shield logo and the model nameplate, i.e., "Envision" or " Regal." It's a bold game for a mass-market major automaker, though Audi, Hyundai and Volkswagen follow the same trend. Even Bugatti, Rolls-Royce, Bentley, and Aston Martin affix their brand names to their vehicles within company icons or on brake calipers, albeit in small fonts. The coming Continental will wear the word "Bentley" across its trunk, silverware the present Continental does without. Porsche allows customers to delete model designations, but it must be requested. At the other end of the spectrum, the Ford Mustang Bullitt wears zero badges, but the Bullitt is a special edition of a well known model that otherwise advertises its provenance everywhere. Buick plays in hard-fought segments where mass appeal overrules instantly-identifiable design daring. Those kinds of carmakers usually want to take every opportunity to advertise every sale. Remember the last Buick to go without a make badge? The terrifically handsome Buick Avista concept that wore only two Tri Shield logos and its model name on the decklid. Perhaps that gave Buick some ideas. If the carmaker plans to start putting out cars like the Avista, then this move makes perfect sense. Update: A commenter pointed out that Hyundai vehicles don't have "Hyundai" badges, only the "Flying H." We've thought of some other brands/models, too. So Buick has mass-market company. Related Video:

GM laying off 500 workers to slow Chevy Sonic production

Due to slow sales of the Chevrolet Sonic and Buick Verano, General Motors is cutting a shift at the Orion Township plant that builds the pair. The move lays off about 500 workers, but most of them are expected to get offers to transfer to other factories, Automotive News reports. The move came just a day after GM announced adding 1,200 employees to the Detroit-Hamtramck plant. GM has been trying all year at the Orion Township factory to align production of the Sonic and Verano with their demand. The automaker first attempted idling the plant several times and eventually resorted to laying off about 100 workers. It also reduced the production rate there. With the huge rise in popularity of crossovers, demand for the plant's small cars is on the downturn. According to Automotive News, there's currently a 116-day supply of Sonics and 100 days of Veranos to sell. Delivers tell a similar tale because the Chevy is off 35.2 percent from January to September, and the Buick does little better with a 27.2 percent drop from the same period last year. While the situation at Orion Township might look rough now, big things are on the horizon. Soon, the new Chevy Bolt electric vehicle will be built there when it hits the market around 2017. Plus, the plant will also get a $245-million upgrade and 300 new jobs for another, unannounced vehicle.