1985 Buick Riviera T-type Turbo Charged on 2040-cars

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GM's Ultium EV platform finally shows up in Q3 sales numbers

General Motors has heralded its Ultium battery-electric platform as the future of its passenger car and truck lineup, but for the first two years of its existence, its impact on the marketplace has been virtually nonexistent. Well, that finally changed in the third quarter of 2023, and while the cars based on this architecture don't represent anywhere near the volume of GM's broader combustion portfolio, we're reaching a point where Ultium products are finally in view (and in the hands) of real-world shoppers. At this point, five U.S.-market Ultium models are in production: the GMC Hummer EV, Cadillac Lyriq, Chevrolet Blazer & Silverado EV, and BrightDrop Zevo 600. If you're not familiar with that last one, that's OK; it's a commercial product that you likely won't see on the road for some time. Together, these four combined for 4,257 sales in the third quarter alone — up from 2,663 for the entire first half of the year. While that may not seem like a significant uptick when viewed from altitude, the quarter-to-quarter numbers paint a clearer picture.  Let's toss out the stragglers first. The Chevy Blazer EV, and Silverado EV for example, are barely in production. GM delivered 19 Blazers and 18 Silverados in the third quarter and that's the entirety of their production runs so far. Likewise, GM's BrightDrop Zevo 600 delivery van effectively exists apart from the consumer marketplace, so its contribution of just 35 units can be set aside too. That leaves us the two you've heard of: the GMC Hummer EV and Cadillac Lyriq — models with high sticker prices and long reservation queues.  Through the second quarter (remember, we're talking six months here), GMC sold 49 Hummer EVs. No typo. In the three months that made up the third quarter, GM moved 1,167 of them. Not only is that a dramatic improvement over the first half, but it's more Hummers than GMC sold in the entirety of 2022 (854). Lyriq's improvement was less eye-popping on paper, but after moving just 122 total units in 2022 and 2,013 of them in the first half of 2023, Cadillac managed to up that figure to 3,018 units in the third quarter alone.  GM is betting its short-term EV future on the Ultium platform, so these trends need to continue if that's going to be a profitable wager.

Buick Encore GX fuel economy out, 1.3L more efficient than 1.2L

EPA fuel economy ratings for the 2020 Buick Encore GX are out, the most powerful engine taking the overall trophy. The new, slighty-less-compact subcompact crossover comes with a turbocharged 1.2-liter three-cylinder as its base engine, putting out 137 horsepower and 166 pound-feet of torque. Available solely with front-wheel drive and with a continuously variable transmission, the powertrain gets 26 miles per gallon in the city, 30 on the highway and 28 combined. The optional engine is a turbocharged 1.3-cylinder with 155 hp and 174 lb-ft. Mating it to the CVT in front-wheel drive guise returns the best fuel economy in the Encore/Encore GX family, being 30 city, 32 highway, 31 combined. That's spot on GM's prediction last year for combined fuel economy. Buyers who opt for the 1.3-liter with all-wheel drive — the engine costing an additional $395, the drivetrain a $2,000 upgrade — get a nine-speed automatic transmission, that combo returning 26 mpg in the city, 29 mpg on the highway and 28 mpg combined. Among luxury front-wheel drive entries, the 2020 BMW X1 sDrive28i gets 27 mpg combined utilizing an eight-speed automatic, the Lexus UX 200 gets 33 mpg combined with a CVT. Among less the expensive options, the Nissan Kicks returns 33 mpg as well through a CVT, the Mazda CX-30 rated at 28 mpg combined and employing a six-speed auto. The Encore once offered two versions of its turbocharged 1.4-liter, but is now left with the lesser-powered unit producing 138 hp and 148 lb-ft, paired with a six-speed automatic. Fuel economy with front-wheel drive is 25 city, 30 highway, 27 combined; with all-wheel drive, that shrinks by one mpg across the board to 24 city, 29 highway and 26 combined. The Encore GX is scheduled to hit dealership sometime this spring. Related Video:

Junkyard Gem: 1983 Buick LeSabre Estate Station Wagon, Rocky Mountain High Edition

If you live in Colorado and want an affordable chariot to haul you and your snowboarding droogs to the slopes, you could get one of the obvious cheapskate choices, e.g., a Tercel 4WD, a Corolla All-Trac, or an 80s 4WD Subaru wagon. However, if you want to channel the spiritual forefathers of early-1980s punk rock (and you do), you'll need a big, battered, Detroit bomb. This '83 LeSabre, spotted in a Denver self-service wrecking yard, is such a car. As you can see in 1984's Suburbia, you're pretty much halfway to being a member of The Vandals when you drive a couple of tons of once-luxurious Detroit Iron. 1983 was the final year of the Malaise Era, and so you didn't get much power from the V8s back then. The standard engine for the LeSabre that year was an Olds 307 generating a mere 140 horsepower. The only way to get a burnout out of this setup was to pour a case of Lucky Lager over the right rear tire, then neutral-drop the transmission while floating the valves. Chrysler and Nissan dominated the Whorehouse Red car interiors during the 1980s, but GM made a respectable showing with this scratchy, velour-influenced stuff. When you know you're a car's last owner, nothing holds you back from decorating it to suit your tastes. Ron Paul, the Snowboarders + Skiers For Christ, and many other icons of Buick-driving snow enthusiasts are represented upon the ample flanks of this wagon. How many miles are on it? With a five-digit odometer, there's no telling. The Colorado sun is rough on interiors, but this car may have spent its first couple of decades parking in a garage, or maybe it came from cloudy Oregon. Advertising for this generation of LeSabre emphasized fuel economy, which may have been a less-than-convincing approach. Related Video: