1982 Buick Regal W/ Factory T-tops, Formerly A Factory 4.3 Diesel on 2040-cars

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Buick Envision interior just as nice as its exterior

GM China loosed more photos of the all-new 2021 Buick Envision, this time of the interior. We are happy to report that the cabin design is just as pleasing to the eye as the exterior. When the 2021 model shows up for the reunion with its earlier model-year siblings, no one will recognize it. The modestly dated interior of the current crossover with its too-small infotainment screen and Rorschach-blot button placement is all gone. The gaudy curves and textures on the current instrument panel give way to a simple, split-level, bi-color form. What's more, the IP subtly carves out distinct driver and passenger spaces, a design trait normally reserved for sports cars. When Buick and GMC design boss Helen Emsley said the coming Envision would possess "striking styling designed to combine the expressiveness of a car with the practicality of an SUV,” she wasn't lying. The new steering wheel picks up more substantial spokes decorated with linear buttons instead of the circular pads, and its center cap is wider and no longer reminiscent of an alien face. The dash's dark portion up top houses a 10-inch infotainment screen canted at an 18-degree angle for the driver's ease-of-use. Air vents accentuate the break between the top and bottom of the instrument panel. Beneath the center vents, in the cabin-colored portion of the dash, are a slick set of climate controls. The pushbutton gear selectors along the left side of the center tunnel come from the China-market Enclave. And even the cupholders are handsome. The Envision Avenir gets a few exterior changes like a mesh grille and nicer wheels to set itself apart, the interior wearing Ivory White and Jazz Black hues and diamond-stitched seats. We might prefer the interior with peanut-butter brown and black even more. And suddenly, the Cadillac XT4 could have a problem; the Buick and the Cadillac share the E2 platform, but one of them — in photos, at least — is incontestably more fetching. As for tech, expect Android Auto and Apple CarPlay standard, and driver safety features such as automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, lane-keep assist, and the automaker's safety alert seat. Regular conveniences will include space for five, nearly two dozen storage cubbies, and an available giant panoramic moonroof. The only engine we've heard tell of so far is a 2.0-liter turbocharged unit, expected to be a carryover mill with 252 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque.

2024 Buick Encore GX Cupholder Mega Test: Will the Nalgene bottle fit?

I recently reviewed the 2024 Buick Encore GX in its new Avenir trim, appreciating the updates from its mid-cycle refresh and assessing its comfortable driving style. What I didn't dive into, however, were the cupholders. Specifically, I wanted to know if it could accommodate in a convenient location what is my favorite hydration facilitator, a 32-ounce Nalgene water bottle. This, like other oversized water bottles, often can't find a cupholder that will fit it. Its a particularly American problem (we're more obsessed with cupholders than other markets), so can this American budget-luxury crossover satisfy my own obsession with this big, dumb bottle? Let's find out. Ideally, we could put it in the front cupholders. Few vehicles' cupholders are big enough, though, with the Chrysler Pacifica, Lexus GX and Toyota 4Runner being notable exceptions. We can't add the Encore to that list, unfortunately. The cupholders are far too small. Usually, the second best option, if possible, is to put it in the front door pocket. Voila! It fits. No Nalgene rolling around on the front passenger seat in this Buick. But what about in back? The center armrest in the Encore GX is a fine place to rest one's elbow, but what about a big-ass bottle of water? Alas, the rear cupholders are equally dinky as the ones up front, which is often the case. The last-gen Toyota Tundra was an exception, where the rear cupholders were bigger than those up front which is super weird to me. I'mm looking forward to see what's what with the new Tundra. The rear door pockets are much smaller than those up front. This does not look promising. It's just big enough that I can wedge the bottom of the bottle inside, but not big enough to keep it there when the car is in motion. Sorry backseaters, you'd better settle for your lesser bottles, suckers. I had almost overlooked this little cubby in between the front cupholders and center console armrest. It's an odd shape, but with some luck, the Nalgene will fit. That's the ticket! This is even better than putting it in the door. It's not the most secure fit, but it's not so huge a space that the bottle knocks around and falls over with every input to the steering wheel or pedals. This ended up being where I put the Nalgene every time I drove the Encore GX, and, subsequently, I remained content and adequately hydrated. And the cupholders remained open for alternative beverages. Interested in more than just the cupholders?

Junkyard Gem: 1985 Buick Somerset Regal Limited

The Oldsmobile, Buick and Cadillac divisions of The General's mighty army got serious about their attempts to compete with futuristic and stylish German and Japanese coupes during the second half of the 1980s, with cars such as the Cadillac Allante, Oldsmobile Toronado Trofeo, and Buick Reatta. They featured edgy styling, wild digital dashes, and other interesting gadgetry. Before them, however, came the Buick Somerset. Built for the 1985 through 1987 model years, only the '85s were badged as Somerset Regals. Here's one of those ultra-rare cars, spotted in a San Francisco Bay Area self-service wrecking yard. This badging confused many Buick shoppers at the time, because the 1985 Regal was a "traditional" midsize rear-wheel-drive car, based on the increasingly antiquated G-Body platform, and the Somerset Regal was an N-Body front-wheel-drive compact. For 1985 and 1986, the car became the Buick Somerset. The interior is your standard Whorehouse Red velour, a theme used by everybody from Nissan to Chrysler during the 1985-1995 period. This cloth looks pretty nice for a car from sunny California. Digital dashes became very trendy during this period, with Mitsubishi, Subaru, Nissan, and even Toyota getting into the act during the first part of the decade, and everyone else jumping on the bandwagon a bit later. The radio face went into this weird pod perched over the HVAC controls, which looked like something from the Mars Base and made aftermarket audio-system installation nearly impossible. The factory cassette deck, if desired, had to go elsewhere in the console. The base engine in the Somerset Regal was the decidedly un-European Iron Duke four-cylinder with 92 horsepower, but this car has the optional 120-horse 3.0-liter V6. In theory, a 5-speed manual transmission was available, but I'm guessing that the quantity of so-equipped Somerset Regals was numbered in the high dozens. There's plenty of hard red plastic and fake wood inside, of course. Base price on a V6 Somerset Regal Limited came to $10,026 (about $24,000 in 2018 dollars). Meanwhile, a Pontiac Grand Am LE with the 3.0 V6 was nearly the same car and listed at $8,970. If you wanted even crazier electronics and an interior that looked like something out of a jet fighter, the 1985 Subaru XT GL had a $9,899 price tag. Give me savvy. Give me cool. Give me a car that breaks all the rules. Give me the look. Give me the feel. Give me the magic. Give me the wheel.