1971 Buick Skylark Convertible Custom on 2040-cars

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Buick asks design students 'What could a Buick sedan look like in 2030?'

When you think of daring concept cars or emotional design-student projects, Buick probably isn't the first brand that comes to mind. It's not for lack of concepts; when General Motors ran down 11 concept-car highlights from Buick's 110-year history, three of them are from the past 15 years, with other experiments in that same timeframe like the Black Hawk, Centieme and Cielo left unmentioned.
But the company still thinks about them even if we don't. It ran a contest for students at Detroit's College for Creative Studies to create a Buick for the year 2030 that would incorporate future materials and transportation needs, and nanotechnology.
Best exterior design went to Sam Kenny for his Neo Classical Buick, Justin Salmon took honors for innovative material use, like having exposed algae on the bodyshell to generate energy, and Namsuk Lee nabbed best overall concept and best interior for his Buick Vision Sedan. You can read more about the design challenge and winners in the press release, and hear students talk about what went into the work in the video below.

Weekly Recap: Volkswagen moves forward under Muller

Most stunning was the speed of it all. On the morning of September 18, Volkswagen AG stood atop the automotive world. It was profitable and sold more cars than Toyota and General Motors, its two main rivals for global supremacy. By nightfall, the company would be embroiled in scandal. Revelations the German auto giant cheated on diesel emissions testing in the United States reverberated from Washington to Wolfsburg, Germany. What started out as a problem with 482,000 VWs and Audis in the US exploded into an international scandal. Millions of vehicles have the rigged software, meaning VW broke environmental rules as its cars spewed pollutants all over the world. The fallout began immediately. Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn – one of the most respected and capable executives in the business – apologized on Sunday and Tuesday. On Wednesday he resigned. As the week progressed, the company's stock took a beating and credit agencies threatened to drop their ratings. VW dealers and owners said they felt betrayed. The automaker hired a law firm that defended BP after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The EPA is already extending its testing procedures to look for "defeat devices" like the ones used by Volkswagen. On Friday the company announced a major restructuring. Matthias Muller, Porsche's chief for the last five years, took over as CEO of Volkswagen and is charged with picking up the pieces of a shattered company facing regulatory action and lawsuits. With GM, Toyota, and Takata scandals still fresh, Volkswagen will likely experience unprecedented levels of scrutiny. Additionally, VW's markets in the United States, Canada, and Mexico will be combined into a North American region under the leadership of former Skoda boss Winfried Vahland, though US chief executive Michael Horn will stay on. The company is also realigning its brands by specialty and streamlining its board. Firings, government action, restructurings, and international outrage – things that usually build up over months or years – all occurred in about a week. With dizzying speed, Volkswagen's future has changed dramatically. It all happened, it's still happening, so fast. OTHER NEWS & NOTES 2016 Buick Cascada to start at $33,990 Buick hasn't made a convertible in 25 years. That's a whole person who can drink plus a kindergartner. So it's been awhile. Enter the 2016 Buick Cascada. It has top-shelf Opel engineering, slinky design, and it's reasonably priced.

March Madness upsets good for auto advertisers

There are no Cinderella teams left in the NCAA men's basketball tournament - the fairytales ended with Georgia State's loss to Xavier over the weekend. And even though the Sweet 16 is composed of elite teams - at the time of writing the lowest-ranked squad is 11th-seeded UCLA, which has most championships of any school in the country - there are still underdogs and surprises, and they are good for NCAA business and advertisers. Last year the March Madness Live app, which allows users to watch games on the go, was downloaded 4.5 million times, a jump of more than 40 percent over 2013. Buick sponsors the iOS version of the app, but more than a million of those downloads were for the Android version, sponsored by Infiniti since 2011. Part of Buick's engagement is a "Boss Button" on the livestream sites that can quickly mask the page with something your boss won't question you over. It also sponsors a trick-shot competition for fans, has a display in Bracket Town during the Final Four, and its cars lead the team buses through the city. Infiniti said last year's tourney increased online searches for the brand by 25 percent in March, and things are going even better this year: it's round-by-round bracket game drew 477,859 total entries in 2014, this year's game has signed up 534,350 already and the tournament has another two weeks to go. The luxury brand is all over the event, promoting the QX60 through to the Final Four, then moving its efforts to the Q50. It sponsors the Coaches vs. Cancer charity and will have an Infiniti Lounge near the Final Four venue in downtown Indianapolis. So for the two automakers keeping their own scores... come on, Wichita State! Six brackets, six chances to win a trip to #FinalFour 2016. Official rules at http://t.co/4b9GyGJ4wP. #RoundByRound https://t.co/ZCsFatVlja - Infiniti USA (@InfinitiUSA) March 19, 2015 News Source: Automotive News - sub. req. Marketing/Advertising Buick Infiniti app sports ncaa march madness