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Buick boss shuts down idea of importing Opel Adam

Anyone hoping for Buick to sell small city cars in America, you're not going to like this story. Buick boss Duncan Aldred has effectively ruled out importing the stylish Opel Adam city car for US drivers. Yep, this is us being bummed. Admittedly, the business case for Adam is not as strong as it used to be. Gas is cheap and consumers have fallen back in love with the idea of high-riding crossovers instead of efficient cars. That's why Buick sold twice as many teeny, tiny Encore CUVs in 2015 as it did its smallest car, the Verano. With that in mind, slotting in another car, let alone one below the Verano, isn't a great idea. Of course, Aldred didn't come out and say as much, even though he campaigned for a US-market Adam in the past. "I very much did feel when I came over that that could really help accelerate the Buick brand story," the executive told Automotive News at last week's New York Auto Show. "I don't see that as much. Whether the market shifted or the fashion nature of those cars has changed, I don't know. But I wouldn't be looking for a small, B-segment car today." That, friends, is a real bummer. Adding a car like the Adam, even in a small, captive-import capacity would add a real dose of fun to Buick showrooms and (we're guessing) would bring in younger foot traffic. Related Video:

GM issues stop-sale for 3 SUVs over incorrect MPG rating

This week, GM sent a memo to Chevy, GMC, and Buick dealers to tell them to stop selling three SUVS. The 2016 Chevy Traverse, the GMC Acadia, and the Buick Enclave all have EPA window stickers that show higher fuel economy ratings than the vehicles actually have. Unlike other recent – and very public – fuel economy ratings problems from VW and Mitsubishi, it doesn't seem like GM did anything wrong with the testing for these vehicles, it just misprinted the labels. New labels are being printed and should arrive at dealerships this weekend and early next week. After that, the SUVs will be able to be sold and delivered again. The official fuel economy rating for the three SUVs are all the same. The correct numbers for the all-wheel drive versions are 17 miles per gallon combined, 15 city, and 22 highway. The stickers say the SUVs get 17/24/19. The front-wheel driver models were also incorrectly labeled, and the total number of affected vehicles is 59,823. In the memo, GM said the problem was caused by an "inadvertent error," Automotive News says. GM is working with the EPA to solve the issue. We have asked GM for a comment on the mistake and will update this post if we hear back. Related Gallery 2013 GMC Acadia View 16 Photos News Source: Automotive News – sub. req. Government/Legal Green Buick Chevrolet GM GMC Fuel Efficiency mpg gmc acadia chevy traverse

Repo man pays off elderly couple's car just in time for Thanksgiving

Repo men get bad raps for a good reason; no one likes having their car taken away. At least one guy in the repossession game proved folks in his profession aren't all bad when he helped an elderly couple hold on to their wheels right before Thanksgiving. According to the Belleville News-Democrat, unexpected bills and the rising cost of prescription medications pushed Stanford and Patty Kipping's fixed income to the breaking point. Unable to keep up with the $95 dollar a month payment on their 1998 Buick, they fell into arrears and the bank sent a repo man out to their home in Red Bud, Illinois to reclaim the car. Jim Ford, co-owner of Illini Recovery Inc., hooked up the old Buick and dragged it away, but later that night his conscience caught up with him. "When I got home that night, I said to myself, 'They are a real nice elderly couple. I gotta do something. I can't just take their car,'" Ford told the News-Democrat. Ford did do something, something surprisingly humane. He set up a GoFundMe and, within just a few short hours, he raised more than $3,500 dollars. This was enough money to pay off the Kipping's loan with a little left over for some maintenance. Ford and a friend then hooked the car back up and towed it back to the Kipping's home. Ford presented the couple with their trusty Buick, and threw in a thousand dollars in an envelope and a frozen turkey for Thanksgiving. "It was a miracle come true," Patty told the paper. "We didn't know what we were going to do." "I got up this morning and I looked up at the sun and I said, 'I hope we get our car back,'" added Stanford. "It's just unbelievable."Related Video: News Source: Belleville News-Democrat Auto News Weird Car News Buick repossession repo man