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Buick dusting off Grand National, GNX and T-Type nameplates

Inside Line reports Buick is planning to bring back some of the more storied names from the company's past, including the Grand National, GNX and the T-Type. Those cars rose to prominence in the 1970s and '80s to become performance legends of their day.
The new models will reportedly make use of the rear-wheel drive platform that currently underpins the Cadillac ATS and all would arrive as sedans - according to an unnamed source familiar with the initiative. Odds are the T-Type and the Grand National would share a driveline, with honest money being on a new twin-turbocharged 3.6-liter V6 as the engine of choice. Word has it the mill will be good for anywhere from 350 to 400 horsepower.
That leaves only the GNX. Inside Line seems to think that machine could get down the road with some help from the all-new GM LT1 small-block V8. The engineers behind the ATS platform have already told us the engine bay is large enough for to accommodate the big eight pot, and since GM is most certainly working on an ATS-V, a slightly less powerful, less luxurious Buick iteration makes some kind of sense. We can't wait to see these things in the light of day.

This 1988 Buick LeSabre Estate Wagon looks like a boxy, wood-sided bargain

The growing interest in 1980s cars has meant that General Motors' full-size B-body station wagons of the era are now attracting the interest of collectors as well as iconoclasts seeking an SUV alternative. This 1988 Buick LeSabre Estate Wagon for sale right now on eBay Motors, looks to be a tempting example of the genre. It has covered just 72,000 miles and is described as a "rust-free southern car." The A/C is said to be cold, and it's equipped with power windows, a split-bench front seat and a rear-facing third seat. Whereas the Electra was the wagon for the finest estates, the LeSabre presumably was for those that were one rung down, so it has a slightly more downmarket maroon cloth interior where the Electra would have velour. Yet this LeSabre Estate Wagon is still slathered in a full complement of woodgrain siding, and this car sports a factory set of wire wheel covers. We're told the 5.0-liter V8 sound great, while the paint is said to be "a little tired" and one headlight looks like it needs to be replaced. The "Buy It Now" price is $8,500, and the seller is also inviting offers. Plus, 1% of the sales price benefits St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, so there's a feel-good factor. For comparison, this wagon's Oldsmobile twin currently being auctioned on Bring a Trailer already has been bid past $8,900 for four days still to go in the auction. This '83 Custom Cruiser has 74,000 miles and looks maybe a little spiffier, but not a lot more so. The seller of this Oldsmobile includes a video in his listing, and in it he appears to be not wearing pants. Sometimes it's all about presentation. Related Video:

The new Opel Insignia might be a great Buick, but it's a sad Holden Commodore

Since the first shots of the uncovered Opel Insignia hit our inboxes, we've been filled with excitement for the new sedan. It looks great, it should come to America with little to no visual changes as the Buick Regal, and we might even get a wagon version. Unfortunately, there's a lead lining to this silver cloud, and it comes to us from Down Under. You see, the Opel Insignia is also undergoing a re-badging job in Australia to become the new Holden Commodore. It's replacing the beloved rear-drive Commodore (with an optional V8 and ultra-high performance HSV variants) with a front-drive-based platform offering four- or six-cylinder engines. This is depressing news considering the Zeta-platform underpinning the Commodore VF spawned the Pontiac G8, Chevrolet SS, and fifth-generation Camaro. Knowing this was going to happen doesn't help much either. What makes it all worse is that the new Commodore doesn't have a shred of unique styling in the bodywork. That's not an exaggeration. A new grille with a Holden lion badge instead of an Opel lightning bolt badge is the only change. See for yourself in the Insignia gallery below. Not only did GM erase a unique Australian model, it didn't even allow the brand to give the car a distinct shape. It's sort of like when Ford planned to replace the Mustang with the Mazda-derived Probe. The Probe wasn't that bad for the time, but it was no Mustang. At least in that case the Mustang survived. View 12 Photos Before we get ourselves too down, we should mention that there are reasons to be hopeful for the future. For one thing, the new all-wheel-drive Commodore/Insignias will come with a version of the GKN-developed rear differential found in the Focus RS and Range Rover Evoque, which is pretty neat on its own. And Opel/Vauxhall have always had wild performance versions of the Insignia and its Vectra predecessor. The last one made 325-horsepower and had all-wheel-drive. A new one would likely produce much more, since one of the available V6s makes 308 horsepower. Then imagine all of that extra hypothetical horsepower hooked up to the all-wheel-drive system that introduced us to "drift mode." Not only that, but rear-drive Holdens may not be completely dead yet. A Belgian man announced his intention to buy an old Holden factory along with the tooling and rights for the car once it was discontinued. His plan is to continue producing the old model after Holden is done with it.