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Opel to be shuttered in China, but will restart Buick production in Germany

Opel, General Motors' troubled German brand continues its quest to reinvent itself and find solid profitability. In the course of that metamorphosis, the company has a bit of good news/bad news today. The good news is, it will once again begin screwing together Buick models for the American market. The bad news, though, is that it's being shut down in yet another country, China.
Let's start with the good news. The last vehicle Opel's Ruesselsheim factory built for the North American market was the early run of the then-new Regal, which is based heavily on the Opel Insignia. Production ran for just over two years, from 2009 to 2011, before moving production to Oshawa, Ontario.
Now, thanks to a 245-million-euro investment (just over $336 million), Opel will kick off production of a unspecified model for the US in the "second half of the decade," according to Automotive News. According to Opel, the new model will be announced before the end of 2014. You can begin your speculation about this new model down in Comments (we're wagering it'll be the Cascada convertible, sold here under the Buick umbrella).

2018 Buick Enclave spied looking slim in Death Valley

The nine-year-old Buick Enclave is well past its prime, but this set of spy photos reveals that GM won't put the vehicle out of its misery, but will give the vehicle a large update instead. Our photographers managed to catch Buick testing a heavily-camouflaged 2018 Enclave testing below sea level near Death Valley. Buick was testing the prototype in Nevada earlier this year, but slapped a trailer onto the back of the SUV. Thanks to the camouflage that covers the badging, headlights, taillights, and hood, there's no way to confirm if the prototype is really a Buick or something from Chevrolet. But the circular outline on the grille has us leaning towards it being a Buick. Five LED running lights shine through the heavy camouflage, while Buick's iconic waterfall grille is prominently uncovered. The Enclave, which came out in 2008, shares the same platform as the GMC Acadia and Chevrolet Traverse. With the new Acadia slimming down and ditching the old Lambda platform in favor of the Chi platform, the Enclave will surely follow suit. The Enclave, though, is expected to get a stretched version of the Chi platform with three rows. While the entire body is concealed, the prototype's side profile looks to be slimmer than the current Enclave. With the addition of the new, lighter platform, the Enclave is expected to get GM's new 3.6-liter V6 with a nine-speed automatic transmission added later down the road. The new Enclave is expected to make its debut early next year as a 2018 model, which will be followed by the reveal of the Traverse shortly after. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2018 Buick Enclave Spy Shots View 13 Photos Image Credit: Spied Bilde Spy Photos Buick GM Crossover SUV Luxury

Mysterious white powder discovered at GM Orion Assembly

Workers at General Motors Orion Assembly Plant in Orion Township, MI uncovered a mysterious white powder in two different parts of the factory earlier this week, raising concerns about worker safety. "We can confirm that an unknown substance (white powder) was found on the floor outside of Gate 6 at Orion Assembly on Monday, August 29. On Tuesday, August 30, we had a second report of a bottle containing a similar substance found inside the plant," GM spokesperson Dayna Hart told The Oakland Press via email. GM stressed that incident didn't disrupt operations at the plant, and that the company was taking steps to ensure the safety of the sprawling factory's workers. That did include, an anonymous worker told The Oakland Press, closing off parts of the factory for two full days, as drug-sniffing dogs and crews in haz-mat suits descended on the area. "A sample of the substance has been sent to a laboratory for identification and results are expected later this week," Hart said. "All findings and actions have been shared with our employees." Orion Assembly currently builds the Chevrolet Sonic and Buick Verano, and will eventually be responsible for production of the new, all-electric Chevy Bolt early next year. Related Video: