Autoblog

• Pics Aplenty: Chinese-spec Buick Regal looks darn good
  

  Filed under: Sedans/Saloons, China, Buick

  
  
  Click above for high-res image gallery of the Chinese-spec Buick Regal
  
  
  General Motors has just released a huge gallery of photos of its new Chinese-only Regal sedan. Anyone who has seen the Opel Insignia will immediately recognize the Regal as a badge engineered version of Opel's mid-size model. Aside from the standard Buick waterfall grille and the badges, the new Regal is essentially the Insignia. Prior to the launch of that car last summer, we had been expecting that car to arrive stateside in the next year or two as the next-generation Saturn Aura. However, GM delayed that program earlier...
  



• Buick to invest in LaCrosse, let Lucerne dodder toward oblivion
  

  Filed under: Detroit Auto Show, Spy Photos, Sedans/Saloons, Marketing/Advertising, Buick, GM

  
  
  Click above for a high-res gallery of 2010 LaCrosse spy shots
  
  
  Small(er) is the new big as far as Buick's concerned. With the precipitous sales falloff of full-sized cars, Buick's putting its chips on the mid-sized 2010 LaCrosse, which will go on sale in the U.S. and in China. That leaves the full-size Lucerne in terminal orbit; built on GM's G Platform, Buick has no plans to redesign it, and no plans to replace it with the Park Avenue, which goes straight from its Holden assembly line in Australia to a...
  



• China's Insignia-based Buick Regal revealed
  

  Filed under: Sedans/Saloons, China, Buick

  
  
  Click above for high-res gallery of Buick's new Regal in China
  
  
  General Motors has unveiled China's new Buick Regal (or at least official pics of it have found their way onto the web), and save for some cosmetic changes, it's basically a badge-engineered Opel Insignia. That's by design though, as Buick is GM's top-selling brand in the land of the great wall, and the new mid-size sedan from Opel has the best chance for success donning a Buick logo. Comparing the Insignia and the new Buick Regal back to back shows that GM simply popped out the Opel...
  



• Details on new Buick LaCrosse emerge, new DI 3.0L V6 added
  

  Filed under: Sedans/Saloons, Buick, GM

  
  
  Click above for high-res gallery of Buick LaCrosse spy shots
  
  
  Judging from spy pics we've seen of the upcoming 2010 Buick LaCrosse, General Motors may have a winner on its hands, even if it is getting delayed. If specs from GM Inside News are accurate, Buick's new midsize sedan will have significant new powertrains, too. The big news comes from an all-new 3.0L, direct-inject V6 engine based on the larger 3.6L VVT powerplant that the General uses now. The small-displacement V6 packs some serious punch at 250 hp, and will be mated to the automaker's new 6T70 six-speed transmission...
  



• GM cutting costs by delaying debut of LaCrosse and CTS Coupe
  

  Filed under: Detroit Auto Show, LA Auto Show, Coupes, Sedans/Saloons, Buick, Cadillac

  
  
  Click above for a high-res gallery of the Cadillac CTS coupe concept
  
  
  According to a report by Reuters, General Motors has nixed plans to debut production versions of the Cadillac CTS coupe and new Buick LaCrosse at the LA Auto Show next month. The report goes on to say that the Buick unveiling has been delayed until the Detroit Auto Show in January, and after navigating Cadillac's voice-mail Hell, we weren't able to get confirmation on...
  



• Buick rethinking Tiger Woods endorsement contract
  

  Filed under: Marketing/Advertising, Buick, GM

  
  
  Tiger Woods has been a Buick spokesman since 1999, but both General Motors and the greatest golfer of all time are in a holding pattern regarding a new endorsement contract. Tiger's current deal, which expires in 2009, was reportedly for $40 million over five years. Though getting Tiger was a coup for Buick, many wonder why GM would give the world's most popular athlete to its low volume Buick brand instead of Cadillac or even use him across multiple marques.
  
  Both GM and Tiger are taking a wait-and-see approach towards negotiations on a new contract, with both sides having met once and...
  



• Chinese Buick Regal caught dressed in red
  

  Filed under: Spy Photos, Sedans/Saloons, China, Buick, Misc. Auto Shows

  
  Click above for more images of the 2010 Buick Regal

  Two weeks ago we showed you spy shots of a 2010 Buick Regal caught testing in China that appeared to be nothing more than a rebadged Opel Insignia. (As you may recall, we'll be getting the 2010 Buick LaCrosse in the States.) All three of those cars are based on GM's Epsilon II platform, which we will also likely see under future vehicles from Saab, Saturn and Chevrolet. The Buick brand, and the popular Regal, are doing very well in China. As such,...
  




• 2010 Buick Regal caught testing in China
  

  Filed under: Spy Photos, Sedans/Saloons, China, Buick

  
  
  Click above for high-res gallery of 2010 Buick Regal spy shots from China
  
  
  We don't feel slighted anymore over the Chinese getting what appears to be a pretty nice looking Buick Regal, not after those spy shots from earlier today showing the 2010 Buick LaCrosse that we'll get in the U.S. After all, the Chinese Buick Regal appears to be not much more than an Opel Insignia with a new front end based on these spy shots, while the U.S.-spec Buick Lacrosse gets an entirely unique interior and exterior design. All three cars - the Opel...
  



• Spy Shots: 2010 Buick LaCrosse caught with little camo plus interior
  

  Filed under: Spy Photos, Sedans/Saloons, Buick

  
  
  Click above for high-res spy shot gallery of the 2010 Buick LaCrosse
  
  
  Let's forget about the Pontiac G3 for now and focus on what General Motors is doing right. Case in point is the upcoming 2010 Buick LaCrosse, which has just been caught undergoing testing wearing very little camouflage. We can clearly see now that Buick designers drew heavily on the Invicta concept for inspiration. Even the concept's character line remains that kinks just ahead of the rear wheels to create a smooth arch over the rear fenders.
  
  Photographers actually...
  



• GgggM CcCancels heated washer fluid option
  

  Filed under: Etc., Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GM, GMC, HUMMER, Saturn

  
  

  In a move that might frost your cupcakes, General Motors has dropped the heated windshield washer fluid option on all models. The feature was a big part of Buick advertising in the recent past, but GM has either not had enough takers, or there are issues with the OEM for the system components. Either way, you're going to have to chip the ice off the windshield of your brand new Traverse the same way we've done it since the invention of the wheel: cold, freezing, wet, and swearing.

  In all...