2011 Buick Lucerne Cxl Sedan 4-door 3.9l on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Buick Velite Plug-In Hybrid Concept debuts to little fanfare

Buick pulled the covers off its latest Velite Concept at the Auto Guangzhou 2016 show in China. We say latest because this is actually the second time Buick has used the Velite name for a concept, the previous having been shown at the 2004 New York Auto Show. The first Velite concept was a two-door convertible; the second Velite is a four-door crossover. Enough about the name, what about the concept? Well, it's very highly stylized, and we don't really mean that in a good way. There's nothing about the Velite that screams Buick, except for its badges, of course. At the front is a compressed version of Buick's traditional waterfall-like fascia. It's flanked by slit-like LED lighting elements. The rest of the face looks to our eyes like it draws inspiration from the latest Toyota Prius. There isn't a single flat element to the Velite Concept's bodysides, in a way that resembles recent concepts from Infiniti. The last bit of styling flourish are deep recesses just ahead of the rear wheels, a look that is reminiscent of BMW's i-series of vehicles. There aren't any images showing the Velite's hind quarters, but from what we can see, that also has a QX-ish look about it. There are no shots yet of the Velite's interior, but Buick says it's "elegant" and "includes recycled materials." We wish we could see what it looks like, because the automaker says it "[points] to design trends for upcoming new energy vehicles." So, the Buick Velite Concept is a nondescript mashup of design elements that we've already seen. Under the skin, however, things are more interesting. It's a plug-in hybrid with a modular lithium ion battery. That doesn't tell us much – it could be a variant of the Chevy Volt, or it could be a different system altogether. We look forward to finding out. In the meantime, have a look at the high-res image gallery up above. Oh, and if you're wondering, the word velite traces its roots back to a lightly armored military division in ancient Rome. Related Video:

Lexus LC 500 dominates 2016 EyesOn Design Awards

The Lexus LC 500 captured top honors for the best-designed production car and the best interior at the 10th annual EyesOn Design awards at the Detroit Auto Show. The awards are handed out by the Detroit Institute of Ophthalmology. The Buick Avista won the concept car category, just as its four-door predecessor, the Avenir, did last year. Other winners this year included the Chrysler Pacifica, which won for the best-designed production "truck" (as crossovers and minivans are sometimes categorized), and the Audi H-Tron Quattro, which won for the best concept truck. The Acura Precision concept was also recognized for its "innovative use of color, graphics, and materials." And the new Volvo S90 was singled out for its human-machine interface. The panel of jurists this year included designers from an array of automakers and art schools. Several past honorees for the organization's LifeTime Design Achievement Award participated in the voting, including GM's Wayne Cherry, BMW DesignworksUSA founder Chuck Pelly, Hyundai's Peter Schreyer, and Jack Telnack (formerly of Ford). Telnack also served on the select panel of chief judges this year, alongside Chris Chapman from Hyundai, Dave Marek from Acura, and Stewart Reed from the Art Center College of Design. Lexus Takes 2 and Buick Wins Best Concept For 2nd Year at EyesOn Design Awards at NAIAS January 12, 2016, Detroit, Michigan. A panel of design leaders representing worldwide automotive manufacturers and transportation design chiefs from top design schools around the globe today selected these vehicles to receive the following EyesOn Design Awards at the North American International Auto Show: * Production Car: 2017 Lexus LC500 * Production Truck: 2017 Chrysler Pacifica * Concept Car: Buick Avista Concept * Concept Truck: Audi h-tron Quattro Concept * Best Designed Interior: 2017 Lexus LC500 * Innovative Use of Color, Graphics and Materials: Acura Precision Concept * Human Machine Interface: 2017 Volvo S90 Chief Judges were: Chris Chapman of Hyundai, Dave Marek of Acura, Stewart Reed of ArtCenter College of Design, and Jack Telnack of Ford Motor Company (retired). 2016 marks the tenth year the EyesOn Design Awards have been an integral part of the North American International Auto Show. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2016 EyesOn Design Award Winners News Source: EyesOn Design Detroit Auto Show Acura Audi Buick Chrysler Lexus Volvo chrysler pacifica volvo s90 lexus lc 500 acura precision concept

Buick, Lexus top J.D. Power survey, as vehicle service improves overall

Buick and Lexus returned to their customary place atop J.D. Power's scorecard of satisfaction with dealership service departments. In the Customer Service Index Study, out Thursday, Buick scored 860 on a 1,000-point scale for mass-market brands and has topped this ranking in three of the past four years. Lexus topped the list of luxury brands with a score of 874. Fiat and Land Rover were the bottom-dwellers in the two categories. Buick and Lexus also ranked highly in the research company's overall Vehicle Dependability Study rankings out recently. The customer experience at car dealerships has improved steadily, with the overall industry score rising in seven of the past eight years. And one statistic is particularly remarkable: 94 percent of customers say their car was fixed right the first time. The dominant area of difficulty in repairs seems to be infotainment systems. Only 80 percent of respondents said their stereo was fixed right the first time. And in last month's Vehicle Dependability Study, J.D. Power reported that infotainment systems were the most commonly reported vehicle issue, accounting for 22 percent of all problems reported, up 2 percent from the previous year. J.D. Power surveyed 70,000 customers for the Customer Service Index Study. For the Vehicle Dependability Study, it surveyed 35,186 first owners of 2014 model-year vehicles after three years of ownership. Below are charts for both the current study and the complementary overall brand dependability survey. Related video: