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Buick Velite 6 to come in PHEV, electric versions for China

In addition to the all-electric Enspire crossover concept revealed this week ahead of the Beijing Auto Show, Buick is adding a new production variant to its Velite series of electrified vehicles for China. It's called the Velite 6, a plug-in hybrid that will launch this year in Buick's largest market. A full-electric version, shown in the lead photo above at right, is coming later. Buick already sells a vehicle called a Velite 5 in China, which is essentially a rebadged Chevrolet Volt, only with a higher electric-only driving range. This one is based on the Velite concept PHEV introduced in late 2016 at Auto Guangzhou. The PHEV and battery-electric versions look nearly identical, with a wide stance, plenty of creases and a hatchback design that bears some similarities to the longer 2018 Regal TourX wagon. The Velite 6 uses two AC permanent-magnet synchronous motors, a lithium-ion battery and a 1.5-liter four-cylinder combustion engine. Buick says combined gas-electric driving range is 435 miles, which is 15 miles greater than the Volt. Buick will assemble what it calls the "new-generation" ternary battery pack at its new SAIC-GM Power Battery Development Center in Shanghai. The company says the Velite 6 electric vehicle "will adopt a new-generation pure electric drive system to offer customers a smooth, quiet and natural driving experience." Both models get the cloud-based Buick eConnect technology, which allows over-the-air software updates, real-time integration with China's WeChat social media network, and other digital perks. Owners will also be able to use their smartphone as the vehicle's key, and they can also authorize others to use the car through their phones. China has long been Buick's largest market, with more than 1.18 million vehicles sold in 2017 compared to just 219,231 in the U.S., and the country has established aggressive mandates for production of electric vehicles. GM has plans to add 20 new electric and fuel-cell vehicles globally by 2023. Related Video:

Buick celebrates 110 years by naming most significant model of each decade

In May of 1903, Buick began work on its first vehicle, the 1904 Model B, the first example of which was sold to a doctor in Flint, Michigan. That first sale was appropriate since later on, Buick became known as a "doctor's car." The Model B is the first of 11 cars chosen by Buick to highlight each decade of the company's 110-year history.
The 1916 D-45 Touring with a six-cylinder engine was Buick's highest seller that year, and helped push overall sales past six figures for the first time, making Buick the top-selling automotive brand. In 1931, Series 50 got an eight-cylinder engine, which helped the company survive the Great Depression. The 1936 Century was the first Buick that could hit 100 miles per hour, the 1949 Roadmaster had a supporting role in Rain Man, the 1953 Skylark had Italian wire wheels and the owner's name engraved on its steering wheel.
Then we have the iconic 1963 Riviera, the V6-powered 1975 Regal, and in 1987, the legendary GNX. With a turbocharged, intercooled V6 pumping out 276-horsepower it could hit 60 mph in just 4.6 seconds. In 1999 Buick built the first car in China, the Century, and that country remains the brand's largest market.

1987 Buick Regal GNX driven just 54.8 miles heads to auction

The previously unimaginable prices for seemingly anything on any number of wheels continues to lure garage queens into the open. Here we have another Buick GNX headed to auction, this one Mecum's Summer Special in Orlando from July 6-9. Buick only made 547; it feels like half went to owners who never drove them. The last GNX auction we covered, in 2019 on Bring a Trailer, ended up grossing $200,000 for a model with 8.5 miles. This example has been driven much harder than that, praise be to enthusiasts, with 54.8 miles on the odometer. That means the original owner, who kept the coupe until 2017, got more than six times the use out of his GNX than the 2019 owner. Way to go. For those who haven't attended any classes on the Buick Regal GNX, allow us to summarize the subject matter. When Buick greenlit "a Grand National to end all Grand Nationals," out came the one-year-only 1987 GNX. A racier brand back then, it partnered with ASC/McLaren to work up the wheel lip flares, fender vents, 16-by-8-inch BBS rims, more aggressive tires, and the interior treatment. The Grand National trim used a 3.8-liter V6 making 245 horsepower and 355 pound-feet of torque hooked to a four-speed automatic. The GNX benefited from a larger Garrett T-3 turbocharger with a ceramic impeller, a larger intercooler, more aggressive fuel, spark, and waste gate tables, and a dual exhaust system that boosted output to what some say is an underrated 276 hp and 360 lb-ft.  This GNX headed to auction spices up the standard specs with the original order paperwork, window sticker, dealer invoice, ASC documentation, a GNX coffee table book, and a GNX jacket. That jacket could be the denim one or the high school varsity jacket with the cloth front and back and leather(ish) sleeves, which, sadly, didn't include Buick's attacking eagle logo of the time. We'd mention the black and sand gray cloth interior, power driver's seat and mirrors, and Delco Concert Sound stereo, but it's likely that the future owner won't spend much time with them. Likely fated to be a garage or show queen again, the jet black paint, "original parts stickers still affixed on suspension," and "original chalk markings throughout" will be the major points of interest. Mecum doesn't give a pre-sale estimate for this GNX, so we'll be waiting to find out if the 2019 sale price was an anomaly — well, more of an anomaly — or the new benchmark.