2006 Buick Lucerne Cxs Sedan 4-door 4.6l on 2040-cars

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U.S. new-vehicle sales in 2018 rise slightly to 17.27 million [UPDATE]

DETROIT — Sales of new vehicles in the U.S. rose slightly in 2018, defying predictions and highlighting a strong economy. Automakers reported an increase of 0.3 percent over a year ago to 17.27 million vehicles. The increase came despite rising interest rates, a volatile stock market, and rising car and truck prices that pushed some buyers out of the new-vehicle market. Industry analysts and automakers said strong economic fundamentals pushed up sales and should keep them near historic highs in 2019. "Economic conditions in the U.S. are favorable and should continue to be supportive of vehicle sales at or around their current run rate," Ford Chief Economist Emily Kolinski Morris said after the company and other automakers announced their sales numbers Thursday. That auto sales remain near the 2016 record of 17.55 million is a testimonial to the strength of the economy, said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics. The job market, he said, has created new employment, and wage growth has accelerated. "That's fundamental to selling anything," he said. "If there are lots of jobs and people are getting bigger paychecks, they will buy more." The unemployment rate is 3.7 percent, a 49-year low. The economy is thought to have grown close to 3 percent last year, its best performance in more than a decade. Consumers, the main driver of the economy, are spending freely. The Federal Reserve raised its key interest rate four times in 2018 but is only expected to raise it twice this year. Auto sales also were helped by low gasoline prices and rising home values, Zandi said. It all means that people are likely to keep buying new vehicles this year even as they grow more expensive. The Edmunds.com auto-pricing site estimates that the average new vehicle price hit a record $35,957 in December, about 2 percent higher than the previous year. It will be harder for automakers to keep the sales pace above 17 million because they have been enticing buyers for several years now with low-interest financing and other incentives, Zandi said. He predicts more deals in the coming year as job growth slows and credit tightens for higher-risk buyers. Edmunds, which provides content, including automotive tips and reviews, for distribution by The Associated Press, predicts that sales will drop this year to 16.9 million.

Texas sues GM, saying it tricked customers into sharing driving data sold to insurers

Texas filed a lawsuit Tuesday against GM over years of alleged abuse of customers' data and trust. New car owners were presented with a "confusing and highly misleading" process that was implied to be for their safety, but "was no more than a deceptively designed sales flow" that surrendered their data for GM to sell. The suit contends that at no point was selling driving data ever even suggested as a possibility, putting GM in violation of the state's consumer protection laws. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is seeking a jury trial and at least $10,000 per offense (every GM car sold in the state since 2015) and a hefty add-on of $250,000 in cases where the victim was over 65. Texas seems to be flying high after a recent $1.4 billion settlement from Meta over other privacy concerns. This may well be a way to solve any pending budgetary issues in the Lone Star State.

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.