1966 Buick Skylark Convertible V8 300 on 2040-cars

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2020 Buick Enclave adds Sport Touring trim, tweaks tech

With its redesign for 2018, the Buick Enclave added the fancy Avenir trim level. Now the 2020 Enclave moves a bit in the other direction with a new Sport Touring model. The Sport Touring package is based on the Essence trim level, and consists of a body-color grille surround in place of chrome, and special 20-inch wheels that combine a bright finish with darker insets. The package doesn't touch the 310-horsepower V6 or the Enclave's suspension, so this development is hardly one to threaten the Ford Explorer ST or the Dodge Durango SRT8. Instead, it is perhaps a baby step toward an Enclave Gran Sport, although we might rather see the Regal TourX wagon move in that direction. Other Enclave news falls into the more traditional Buick wheelhouse. There's a new message function and power lumbar adjustment for the Premium and Avenir models. GM's HD rear vision camera — in which the rear-view mirror can switch to show a wide-angle camera feed — is newly available, as is an HD surround-view feature. In other tech developments, the standard 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system gains new capabilities, now supporting connected navigation and Sirius XM's higher-level 360L service, both of which require a subscription. The 2020 Buick Enclave rolls quietly into dealerships this summer, with an asking price of $41,195.

GM cutting Chevy Sonic, Buick Verano production [UPDATE]

UPDATE: A previous version of this story indicated that Orion Assembly would be idled for seven weeks, from February 16 through April 6. This was incorrect. The factory will instead only be idled for the weeks of February 16 and April 6. The story has been edited to reflect this. General Motors has announced that the factory responsible for the Buick Verano and Chevrolet Sonic will be idled for the weeks of February 16 and April 6, with blame being placed on excess supply. The Orion Assembly plant, about 45 minutes north of GM's Renaissance Center headquarters, employs about 1,800 people, but they'll be given a pair of furloughs as inventories of the sub-compact Sonic and premium compact Verano reach 127 days and 84 days, respectively. That works out to 26,600 Chevys and 9,800 Buicks waiting for buyers. According to Automotive News, the compact Chevy sales bested the industry average in 2014, jumping up nine percent versus the the overall segment's eight-percent gain, while the Buick sedan's sales were down four percent. When asked about the shutdown, a GM spokesman told AN that it will "build to market demand," while also pointing out that the company did not comment on production plans. News Source: Automotive News - sub. req.Image Credit: Bill Pugliano / Getty Images Plants/Manufacturing Buick Chevrolet GM buick encore orion assembly

Facelifted Buick LaCrosse caught in China

Back in September, General Motors promised nine new or refreshed models for its Buick and GMC brands within 12 months, and while we've already seen what the updated 2014 GMC Sierra will look like, we're now getting our first look at what appears to be the facelifted 2014 Buick LaCrosse. Judging by a set of spy shots posted on Autohome showing a Chinese-market model, the updated sedan is getting a pretty big makeover, including a completely redesigned interior and a refreshed exterior.
From the outside, all of the usual midcycle updates have been made to the LaCrosse, including new lights and fascias. The new front end features a larger, reshaped seven-sided grille, LED-trimmed headlights and Buick's signature portholes are now mounted on the side edges of the hood to be more visible. The rear view has similarly small yet refined changes such as the new decklid with a chrome brow that stretches the full width of the car, to a more squared-off rear fascia with exhaust outlets pushed out to the corners. From the single shot we can see, the LaCrosse's new rump looks very similar to the Hyundai Equus.
The second-generation LaCrosse helped reestablish Buick as a near-premium automaker with its interior quality, and the next model could very well up the stakes even more. The new cabin design ditches the wraparound wood trim on the instrument panel and door panels for a smoother, more contemporary look. While it's hard to make out all of the changes, we can instantly see that the center stack is now more upright with fewer buttons, but the biggest news might be the cabin technology the 2014 LaCrosse might offer. Checking out the shot of the center console, we see what looks to be a pad similar to the handwriting recognition technology used by Audi, which would make this a first for GM.