1966 Buick Skylark Gs Convertible (gran Sport) 1965, 66, 67, on 2040-cars

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Reese Witherspoon is coming to the dashboard of new Buicks

You've probably heard of Oprah Winfrey's Book Club, but did you know that Reese Witherspoon has one, too? She does, and Reese's Book Club has a reported 1.7 million followers on Instagram. The "Legally Blonde" star each month selects a book to read and discuss, with the common element being that each work features a woman at its center. Now, a Reese's Book Club app will be included in Buick infotainment systems, starting with the Encore GX and spreading early next year to other Buicks. The app, which features audiobooks and podcasts, is a product of Witherspoon's Hello Sunshine media company. "As more women are making vehicle-buying decisions, we want to be thinking creatively about tailoring the driving experience to them," said Buick advertising and media operations manager Kate Hrabovsky.  There's another aspect to the partnership as well. Buicks are to be featured in Hello Sunshine's upcoming television and movie productions. The Encore GX is the first Buick set to receive some screen time. Who knows, maybe it will be as successful as the Pontiac Trans Am's star turn in "Smokey and the Bandit." Although the Hello Sunshine production in which the Encore GX will appear will likely be a very different movie — at the very least, the Sally Field character would do most of the driving.

Buick Velite is a not-so-Volt-like plug-in hybrid concept for China

Is the Buick Velite a Volt by any other name? That's a question worth asking after General Motors said that the Buick Velite concept vehicle will make its global debut at the Guangzhou Auto Show later this month. GM says the car "will provide a template for upcoming models being launched under the Buick Blue new energy vehicle strategy." Whether that means the Velite is a variant of the second-generation of the Chevrolet Volt extended-range plug-in is open to interpretation. Some automotive publications, including Autoweek, are saying that's the case, but GM China doesn't mention the Volt in its press release, only saying that the car is a "high-performance" plug-in hybrid vehicle. As we know, GM doesn't use the "PHEV" descriptor for the Volt, which makes us thing the Velite's powertrain is more like the Cadillac CT6 PHEV. Either way, the concept was developed by the Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center (PATAC), which is a joint venture between GM and Shanghai-based SAIC. As far as the name, GM has been shopping the Velite moniker around for a while now. The automaker first used Buick Velite for the convertible concept vehicle it showed off at the 2004 New York Auto Show. More recently, GM in 2014 filed to use the name for the US variant of its Opel Cascada four-seat convertible model, which debuted in 2013. As for the second-generation version of the Volt, that model appears to be gaining favor in the US. Domestic sales of the Volt through October have surged 64 percent from a year earlier to more than 18,500 units. The new version boosted its all-electric range by 40 percent to 53 miles while increasing its power output by 20 percent. Related Video: News Source: General Motors via Autoweek, Automotive News-sub.req. Green Buick Chevrolet Electric Hybrid PHEV buick velite

Consumer Reports says infotainment systems 'growing first-year reliability plague'

The Consumer Reports Annual Auto Reliability Survey (right) is out, and the top two spots look much the same as last year's list with Lexus and Toyota in first and second place, respectively. However, there are some major shakeups for 2014, with Acura plunging eight spots from third in 2013 to 11th this year, and Mazda replaces it on the lowest step of the podium. Honda and Audi round out the top five. This year's list includes six Japanese brands in the top 10, two Europeans, one America and one Korean.
Acura isn't the only one taking a tumble, though. Infiniti is the biggest loser this year by dropping 14 spots to 20th place. Other big losses come from Mercedes-Benz with an 11-place fall to 24th, and GMC, which declines 10 positions to 19th.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, it's not traditional mechanical bugs hauling down these automaker's reliability scores. Instead, pesky problems with infotainment systems are taking a series toll on the rankings. According to Consumer Reports, complaints about "in-car electronics" were the most grumbled about element in new cars. Problem areas included things like unresponsive touchscreens, issues pairing phones and multi-use controllers that refused to work right.