1954 Buick Roadmaster Riviera 2dr Hardtop on 2040-cars

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NC dealer falsely announces return of Regal Grand National, Regal GNX

Like many new car dealers, Liberty Buick GMC gets so excited about its brands' new wares that it puts out press releases announcing when new models are on the way. That's not typically national news, but the Charlotte, NC store has created a bit of internet hubbub by announcing that it will be "one of the first dealers in the country to offer the Buick Regal GNX," and it's even started to add customers names to a waitlist. Only one problem: Despite seemingly annual rumors and calls for such a model, Buick hasn't announced any Grand National models at all – let alone a GNX – and no such models are actually in the cards. The Liberty Buick press release talks in a nostalgic, venerative tone of the original 1982-1987 GN franchise, and goes on to say: "These returning relics will be based on the highly-acclaimed Alpha vehicle architecture currently used in the Cadillac ATS, 2014 Cadillac CTS, and soon to be in the sixth-generation Chevy Camaro. Alpha is the internal name of a General Motors vehicle architecture engineered to underpin compact and mid-size rear-wheel-drive vehicles." In the release, Liberty Buick claimed the GN/GNX models would arrive in late 2015, citing a coupe bodystyle, including a rather fantastical-looking GNX rendering from Bestride.com. Unsurprisingly, none of this is true. Autoblog reached out to Buick for comment about the release, and brand communications manager Nick Richards confirmed that the company had discussed the matter with Liberty Buick representatives. Richards went on to say that the release was wholly incorrect, proclaiming "an agency [for the dealer] picked up a lot of stuff off the internet" and ran with it, including an old Car and Driver story from 2013. The dealership subsequently issued a retraction, with Scott McCorkle, owner of Liberty Buick GMC saying: "We love the idea of the Buick Regal GNX coming back to our showroom but for now, it's only a concept. Bottom-line, the article was incorrect.

J.D. Power: Mini, Lexus again offer most satisfying sales experience

JD Power has released its annual Sales Satisfaction Index Study, and once again Mini and Lexus have taken top honors. Overall, buyers are more satisfied with the auto-buying sales experience than they were last year, with those surveyed reporting an average score of 664 points on a 1,000-point scale. That's up from 648 in 2011. Dealer satisfaction also increased by five points over last year as well.
All told, Lexus brought home an index score of 737, which was high enough to put it atop the luxury brands for the second year in a row. JD Power says Infiniti came in second in that category with a score of 728 and Cadillac rounded out the podium with it's rating of 725. Speaking of Infiniti, that brand saw the single largest jump in sales satisfaction of any brand on the survey, popping up 52 index points over 2011.
Among mass-market brands, Mini ranked highest with a score of 712, followed closely by Buick with 706 and GMC farther down the line with 683. You can check out the full press release below for more information.

The 2018 Buick Regal is now a hatchback and a wagon

Buick has long been General Motors' most traditional brand. With the launch of the 2018 Regal, it's now arguably GM's most risk-taking brand. Buick is turning its midsize staple into a hatchback, called the Regal Sportback, and a wagon, the Regal TourX. Revealed Tuesday afternoon at GM's historic Design Dome in Warren, Mich., the cars will go on sale in the fall after next week's public debut at the New York Auto Show. "At Buick we can try things other people haven't tried," GM product chief Mark Reuss said. The wagon – though Reuss was reluctant to call it one – is a longer (3.4 inches), higher-riding (0.6 inches) version of the Regal Sportback. It's the first Buick wagon since the 1990s Roadmaster, and it's aimed at the seemingly never-satiated crossover market in the United States. View 12 Photos The TourX will compete against the Volvo XC60 Cross Country, Audi A4 Allroad, Subaru Outback, and BMW 3 Series wagon. The Buick offers up 73.5 cubic feet of storage space behind the front seats and is all-wheel drive only. Power comes from a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder making 250 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque that teams with an eight-speed automatic transmission. "It's something that is very different and very beautiful, and it's a good alternative for Buick to try," Reuss said. The Sportback, meanwhile, offers the same four-cylinder and eight-speed trans as the TourX in AWD trim. The Sportback also offers a front-wheel-drive model that uses a four-cylinder paired with a nine-speed automatic, and the engine is rated at 250 hp and 260 lb-ft in that setup. With swoopy creased styling, the Regal Sportback offers a slightly different riff on the crowded sedan segment, which GM says still has three million annual retail sales. On a side note, Saab fans might feel some old wounds at the sight of the hatchback Buick, as the 5-door 9-3 was axed by GM in an attempt to make the model more mainstream before the brand's demise. Both models will offer front pedestrian braking, lane keeping assist, adaptive cruise control, OnStar and seven-inch or eight-inch touchscreens with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. As expected, the Regals are based on the Opel Insignia, and they will be built in Ruesselsheim, Germany. Reuss said GM plans to build the Regals there after the company sells Opel to PSA. He also said GM isn't concerned about potential border/import taxes that could be levied by the Trump Administration. "I don't know what the border tax is," he said.