1978 Buick Skylark Base Coupe 2-door 3.8l on 2040-cars

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Junkyard Gem: 1992 Buick Century Woodie station wagon

The Detroit station wagon with fake-wood exterior paneling had a good long postwar run, but minivans and — increasingly — sport utility vehicles were giving such wagons quite a beating in the showrooms by 1992. Buick was down to just two woodies by 1992; here's a discarded example of the front-wheel-drive Century, spotted in a Northern California self-service yard. Buick sold big rear-wheel-drive Roadmaster wagons with Simu-Wood™ siding through the 1996 model year, but the smaller Century was fairly plush. American car shoppers didn't insist on real-looking "wood" on their wagons, although Chrysler went much more three-dimensional with their plastic wood that did GM during this era. This one has the 3.3-liter Buick V6 engine, rated at 160 horsepower. This is not to be confused with the unrelated GM 60° V6, which was available in earlier and later Centuries. If only these seats could talk, they'd tell many tales of sibling battles and spilled fast food. Related Video:

Buick working on Encore refresh

It's been three years now since the model we know as the Buick Encore (sold overseas as the Vauxhall/Opel Mokka) first hit the scene. That makes it about due for a bit of a facelift, and judging from these latest spy shots, that's precisely what General Motors seems to be up to. The nose of this prototype (intriguingly wearing Buick badges but German plates) is all covered up, so it's hard to tell what Buick and its European counterparts have in store for the front-end restyling, but the fact that they've covered it so extensively tells us that somethings afoot. The tail should also get new lights and bumper as well. You can fully expect GM to take the opportunity to refresh the cabin while it's at it with tweaked ergonomics and new equipment. Meanwhile our sources tell us the 1.0-liter inline-three from the new Corsa could find its way under the Opel/Vauxhall's hood to join the current lineup of four-pots, but it's too early to say whether that engine might find its way across the pond to the Buick version as well.

Buick Envision arrives in US next year

In a detailed piece on what General Motors has planned for the Buick brand stateside, Automotive News reports that the Envision will finally come to the US a little more than a year from now, in the latter half of 2016. The size gap between the small Encore and the large Enclave is a perfect fit for the Chevrolet Equinox-sized Envision. Assuming this actually happens, it should excite both customers and Buick dealers. In China, the Envision uses a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder with 256 horsepower and 260 pound-feet of torque, mated to a six-speed transmission. Before then, dealers sales forces will be preparing for the Cascada convertible, expected in Q1 next year. Later in 2016, around the same time as the Envision gets here, we can expect a redesigned Verano sedan. AN says it "should grow in length and interior roominess, similar to the Chevy Cruze," but the Verano already roughly matches or exceeds many Cruze dimensions. The Chinese-market Verano that premiered at the Shanghai Motor Show earlier this year probably holds some clues to what we'll see, but our version might not be an exact copy. A redesigned, lighter, and slightly larger LaCrosse will be right there with it. In 2017 the redesigned Regal appears. Following the trend, it also gets larger, but that's required because it needs to be more distinct from that larger Verano. AN suggests a new base engine will go in the Regal, perhaps something as small as the 1.5-liter turbo being lined up for the 2016 Chevy Malibu. At the other end, executives are said to be considering importing the diesel Opel Insignia wagon for the Regal lineup. If they bring the manual over, auto scribes will probably take the day off when the first one arrives, and make it an industry holiday.