1990 Buick Reatta Coupe 3.8l V6--exclusive, Rarely Seen, Beautiful & Cheap!! on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Junkyard Gem: Heavily personalized 1997 Buick Skylark Custom Sedan

Normally I wouldn't be much interested in a third-generation GM N-Body (a family that includes the Chevy Malibu and Olds Achieva) spotted in the junkyard, though a case could be made for such a vehicle's historical significance. This '97 Skylark, however, arrived in a Northern California self-service wrecking yard well-plastered with stickers, reflectors, and other personalizing touches, making it an interesting document of its time and place. It appears that both of the original white fenders got mashed and then replaced with blue ones, almost certainly obtained cheaply at a yard like this one. If you're not going to paint your new fenders to match the car, then you're already well down the slippery slope to making the car a giant mobile canvas to display your interests. A 20-year-old GM N-Body, regardless of how nice it was when new, isn't worth much, and you could stretch a line of these cars from Lansing to Lahore with all the used-up Ns sitting in American wrecking-yard inventory right now. Perhaps it was the grandchild of the car's original owner who indulged in White Widow cannabis and listened to Siouxsie & the Banshees. The odds against finding the original window sticker in a car like this are mighty long, but here it is. Sold new at Putnam Buick in Burlingame. It appears that this car spent most of its final decade in or near Mill Valley. Mill Valley is a mere 30 miles from Burlingame, or about three hours of Buick driving (you have to go past SFO, through San Francisco, and across the Golden Gate Bridge, a journey featuring apocalyptically terrible traffic at just about any time). Drive east across the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge and you'll get to this Skylark's final parking space, about 20 miles from Mill Valley. This car lived its whole life near the shores of San Francisco Bay, and it will die there. Feathers and a political-party charm adorn the headliner. This car's final owner had a practical side, as we can see from the many reflectors and lengths of safety tape. Just the thing for avoiding a T-bone wreck in the dead of night! "Essentially, Skylark embodies all of the features customers expect from a Buick, in a smaller package, with a very attractive MSRP."

2018 Kia Stinger vs. other luxury hatchbacks compared by the numbers

Ten years ago, if you had told us that one of the many new luxury segments to develop would be sedan-style hatchbacks, we'd have said you'd lost your mind. And yet, here we are today with not one, but four cars competing in just such a niche upscale segment: The Kia Stinger, Buick Regal Sportback, BMW 3 Series Gran Turismo and Audi A5. That's just in one size and price bracket. Two of the manufacturers listed here make larger versions of each luxury hatchback. We aren't entirely sure how it happened, but we're not going to complain, because we love the idea of a car with almost no compromise: luxury features, sporty performance, and plenty of practicality. Try Autoblog' s Car Finder to search for your next new vehicle. One of the reasons we're taking a look at these cars right now is that Kia has recently released pricing for its entry in the segment, the Stinger and Stinger GT. Buick wasn't far behind with the Regal Sportback and Regal GS, nor was Audi with the A5 and S5. So it seemed like an appropriate moment to look at the numbers and see which come out ahead or behind, with victors in each category highlighted with bold and underlined text. What we found when comparing these cars' statistics is that each one has a clear area of expertise. For performance, it's hard to beat the four-cylinder Kia Stinger and the V6 Stinger GT. The four-banger has the most horsepower of the four cars, and is just behind on torque. The V6 has the most power and torque among the six-cylinder versions. The Stingers are also the second lightest of the group when equipped with rear-wheel drive, though they fall to third with all-wheel drive. Space is a split between the Buick Regals and BMW 3 Series Gran Turismos. The Buicks have the most cargo space with the rear seats up or folded by a significant margin. The BMW on the other hand generally offers more space for passengers. It's up to you what's most important. Compare these and other potential new vehicle purchases using our tool. When it comes to cost, nothing can beat the four-cylinder Regal's base price of under $26,000. But if a V6 is what you're after, the Stinger GT is the cheapest. Neither matches the Audi A5 and S5 for fuel economy, though. Both Audis have the highest numbers for city, highway, and combined EPA estimates. Related Video:

GM cars and SUVs recalled for leaking transmission fluid

General Motors is recalling more than 194,000 vehicles from 2018 to 2020 due to transmission fluid leaks. The leaks stem from an auto stop-start component that may have been installed with loose or missing bolts. The leaking fluid can affect the transmission's performance, and if it leaks onto a hot exhaust component, could potentially cause a fire. GM says that to date, it knows of no accidents or injuries related to the defect. The issue affects models from all four GM divisions. From Chevrolet, the affected vehicles are: 2018 Malibu, 2018–2019 Cruze, 2018–2020 Equinox, 2018–2020 Traverse, 2019–2020 Blazer At Buick, the following models are included: 2018–2019 LaCrosse, 2019–2020 Encore, 2019–2020 Enclave, At GMC, the recall includes: 2018–2020 Terrain, 2019–2020 Acadia Cadillac has two affected vehicles: 2019–2020 XT4 and 2020 XT6 The recall is scheduled to begin in mid-December. Owners of the affected vehicles will be contacted. Dealers will inspect the transmission accumulator, and replace those with loose or missing bolts.