2005 Buick Lacrosse Cxl on 2040-cars

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Hyundai, Buick dealer apologize in wake of Chinese baby social media incident

A very strange story out of China today, as Hyundai and a Chinese Buick dealer were forced to face allegations of using allusions to an infamous child murder on a social media site as a way of promoting the safety features of their respective vehicles.
The original sad tale goes something like this: On March 4, a man reported to police that he had left his infant child in a running Toyota RAV4 while he ran into a supermarket briefly. When he came back out, the vehicle and the child were gone. Later in the week a suspect turned himself in to the police; confessing to them that he had stolen a sport-utility vehicle, strangled the infant that was in it, and then buried the child in the snow.
As you might imagine, the gristly incident was covered massively in the Chinese media. (There was huge public outcry as well, as evidenced by the vigil scene, above.) "Changchun baby abduction" was very quickly amongst the highest ranking search teams of the China's Weibo social media site - an equivalent of Twitter in the English-speaking world.

GM won't really kill off the Chevy Volt and Cadillac CT6, will it?

General Motors is apparently considering killing off six slow-selling models by 2020, according to Reuters. But is that really likely? The news is mentioned in a story where UAW president Dennis Williams notes that slumping US car sales could threaten jobs at low-volume factories. Still, we're skeptical that GM is really serious about killing those cars. Reuters specifically calls out the Buick LaCrosse, Cadillac CT6, Cadillac XTS, Chevrolet Impala, Chevrolet Sonic, and the Chevrolet Volt. Most of these have been redesigned or refreshed within the past few model years. Four - the LaCrosse, Impala, CT6, and Volt - are built in the Hamtramck factory in Detroit. That plant has made only 35,000 cars this year - down 32 percent from 2016. A typical GM plant builds 200,000-300,000 vehicles a year. Of all the cars Williams listed, killing the XTS, Impala, and Sonic make the most sense. They're older and don't sell particularly well. On the other hand, axing the other three seems like an odd move. It would leave Buick and Cadillac without flagship sedans, at least until the rumored Cadillac CT8 arrives. The CT6 was a big investment for GM and backing out after just a few years would be a huge loss. It also uses GM's latest and best materials and technology, making us even more skeptical. The Volt is a hugely important car for Chevrolet, and supplementing it with a crossover makes more sense than replacing it with one. Offering one model with a range of powertrain variants like the Hyundai Ioniq and Toyota Prius might be another route GM could take. All six of these vehicles are sedans, Yes, crossover sales are booming, but there's still a huge market for cars. Backing away from these would be essentially giving up sales to competitors from around the globe. The UAW might simply be publicly pushing GM to move crossover production to Hamtramck to avoid closing the plant and laying off workers. Sales of passenger cars are down across both GM and the industry. Consolidating production in other plants and closing Hamtramck rather than having a single facility focus on sedans might make more sense from a business perspective. GM is also trying to reduce its unsold inventory, meaning current production may be slowed or halted while current cars move into customer hands. There's a lot of politics that goes into building a car. GM wants to do what makes the most sense from a business perspective, while the UAW doesn't workers to lose their jobs when a factory closes.

2018 Buick Regal Sportback First Drive Review | Eyes wide shut

AUSTIN, Texas—Barreling along the tight backroads of Austin's Hill Country, my driving partner was coming in a little hot. Usually, beads of sweat would have appeared by now, hand crushing the grab handle. On roads such as this one, which are barely a car and a half wide, unusual confidence in the car is essential. But even with eyes closed (from the passenger's seat), it felt as if I was riding in an Audi, not in a product that shares its roots with the Chevrolet Malibu. This is a very good thing for Buick. It's unusually planted and stable, almost Germanic in nature. There's no traditional sedan available on these shores, which begs the question: Did the new Regal have to be a hatchback? Nope. Buick sells a traditional four-door Regal in China. The Regal Sportback, which is built in Russelsheim, Germany, is a European take on the sedan, in the vein of the recent proliferation of four-door "coupes" from all sorts of car manufacturers. It's far more versatile than most stylized sedans, however, with a wide opening that can swallow a full-size bicycle with both wheels on. Really—we tried it. There is an alternative to the hatchback, although it won't please sedan purists: the Regal TourX, a wagon in all but name. The 310-hp Regal GS isn't far away, either, and a luxe Regal Avenir is likely to appear. A hybridized Regal eAssist is also a possibility. Alas, the Regal nameplate is unlikely to reappear on a two-door coupe, according to a Buick spokesperson. The closest analogy for the Regal Sportback is the recently departed Volkswagen CC, in both form and function. From the quarter angles, the Regal Sportback has hints of the last-generation BMW 5 Series. Dead on from the front, or in your rearview mirror, there is more than a hint of the Audi shield grille. The LED headlight signature is distinctly European in style, but vaguely defined. Dynamically, the front-wheel-drive Regal Sportback is a match for the Audi A4/A5 Sportback duo. The smooth, turbocharged 2.0-liter inline four is a formidable powerplant, particularly when paired with the nine-speed automatic transmission. Its 250-horsepower output is a close match for Audi's engine of the same displacement. All-wheel drive is offered on the top two trim levels, Preferred II and Essence, as an option, paired with an eight-speed automatic. A trick differential that can direct torque to individual wheels, in addition to splitting it front and rear, is standard on the AWD models.