1957 Buick Century Caballero Wagon on 2040-cars

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OnStar RemoteLink mobile app coming standard on all new GM vehicles

As an evolution and improvement of its OnStar technology, General Motors has announced that it will be expanding the RemoteLink Mobile App on most 2014 model year Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac vehicles. The new, aptly named RemoteLink Key Fob Services will allow users to remotely operate all of the same systems as the car's key fob, including locking and unlocking the doors and remote starting (on vehicles equipped with a factory remote starter) using a smartphone.
These Key Fob Services will be free for five years - starting from the vehicle's delivery date - but the full suite of RemoteLink features will continue to be offered only with a subscription (trial or paid). These premium features include contacting a live adviser, getting turn-by-turn directions and remotely monitoring the vehicle's diagnostic systems.
Scroll down below for the complete press release with all the details.

Question of the Day: Best recipient for supercharged GM V6?

The good old Buick V6 engine was built from 1961 through 2008 (including a decade of production by Kaiser-Jeep) and went into way too many General Motors vehicles to list here. In 1991, the supercharged version of the 3800 was introduced, with a Roots-style Eaton blower on top, and now you can find these engines in just about every junkyard in North America. The 3800 shares a bellhousing pattern with the also-made-by-the-zillions GM 60° V6 engine, which means that it will install (with varying levels of sledgehammer clearancing and/or axle mix-and-matching) into plenty of GM vehicles that never received the 3800 from the factory. That means one thing: engine swaps! An excellent example of this is the 1992 Chevrolet Lumina APV "Dustbuster" minivan, which is a fully caged high-performance road-racing machine that features a supercharged 3800 and 5-speed manual transmission under its long, vacuum-cleaner-snout-like hood. The RaceVan, in Springfield Monorail livery, will compete this weekend at the Michigan 24 Hours of LeMons race with Autobloggers Mike Austin, David Gluckman, and Alex Kierstein at the wheel. My personal choice for supercharged 3800 power, though, has to be the Cadillac Cimarron, preferably the not-so-sought-after Cimarron d'Oro Edition. Some bashing and welding and cutting and pasting and this lightweight Cavalier sibling could have well over double its original horsepower. So, what's your blown 3800 engine-swap choice? Related Video: Auto News Buick GM v6 question of the day questions engine swap

2019 Buick Envision First Drive Review | Still not a standout

ATLANTA – "We're in the fashion business," executive chief engineer Rick Spina told us as he introduced the 2019 Buick Envision. "Except with a lot of technology." Spina was referring to the changing whims of new-car buyers, which have prompted Buick to give the compact Envision crossover its mid-generational update early — just 18 months into its lifecycle — and drop its prices across all trim levels. As with much of our consumer goods, the Envision is made in China. That doesn't seem to have hurt it in the market, even though it wears the badge of one of the most quintessentially American brands out there. It even aced the IIHS crash tests, putting it in league with Volvo, Mercedes-Benz and Lexus. There's good news and bad news about how the Envision is doing. It's now the third-best-selling model in the Buick portfolio, behind the three-row Enclave in second place and the surprise hit Encore subcompact crossover in first. Sam Russell, Buick's director of marketing, reported 73 percent growth in the past nine months versus the first half of its market life. A full 60 percent of Envision buyers are new to the GM family, too, and Russell says that nearly half of those are likely to buy another Buick SUV when the time comes to trade in the Envision. And yet, the Envision trails in luxury compact-crossover sales, behind mainstays such as the Audi Q5 and Acura RDX, even amid crossover demand in the U.S. that has companies like Nissan posting record sales numbers and Ford canceling a redesign of the Fusion. Our test of the 2017 Envision found it competent, but lacking that "X factor" that would send buyers of German and Japanese marques flocking. Instead, we compared it to the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Hyundai Santa Fe Sport, and deemed those both better values. Perhaps Buick feels the same, because the base 2019 Envision now starts at $32,990, a $2,000 cut from last year. The Preferred trim level sees a greater drop of $2,400, to $34,495. Rounding out the naturally aspirated 2.5-liter grades, the Essence's price falls $1,900 to $36,795. The turbocharged 2.0-liter Premium and Premium II trims get a discount of $1,600 and $1,400, respectively. With those prices come changes that Buick hopes will make the Envision a more compelling prospect. Outwardly, the Envision sports a new grille, a winged affair to replace the 2018's waterfall and bring it in line with the rest of Buick's lineup.