Buick: Enclave Financing Available on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Buick Velite Plug-In Hybrid Concept debuts to little fanfare

Buick pulled the covers off its latest Velite Concept at the Auto Guangzhou 2016 show in China. We say latest because this is actually the second time Buick has used the Velite name for a concept, the previous having been shown at the 2004 New York Auto Show. The first Velite concept was a two-door convertible; the second Velite is a four-door crossover. Enough about the name, what about the concept? Well, it's very highly stylized, and we don't really mean that in a good way. There's nothing about the Velite that screams Buick, except for its badges, of course. At the front is a compressed version of Buick's traditional waterfall-like fascia. It's flanked by slit-like LED lighting elements. The rest of the face looks to our eyes like it draws inspiration from the latest Toyota Prius. There isn't a single flat element to the Velite Concept's bodysides, in a way that resembles recent concepts from Infiniti. The last bit of styling flourish are deep recesses just ahead of the rear wheels, a look that is reminiscent of BMW's i-series of vehicles. There aren't any images showing the Velite's hind quarters, but from what we can see, that also has a QX-ish look about it. There are no shots yet of the Velite's interior, but Buick says it's "elegant" and "includes recycled materials." We wish we could see what it looks like, because the automaker says it "[points] to design trends for upcoming new energy vehicles." So, the Buick Velite Concept is a nondescript mashup of design elements that we've already seen. Under the skin, however, things are more interesting. It's a plug-in hybrid with a modular lithium ion battery. That doesn't tell us much – it could be a variant of the Chevy Volt, or it could be a different system altogether. We look forward to finding out. In the meantime, have a look at the high-res image gallery up above. Oh, and if you're wondering, the word velite traces its roots back to a lightly armored military division in ancient Rome. Related Video:

We recap the 2017 Detroit Auto Show | Autoblog Podcast #499

We're back with our first Autoblog Podcast of 2017! This week, Greg Migliore and David Gluckman discuss the 2017 Detroit Auto Show, including the hot debuts, some new versions of bestsellers, and an unofficial theme we picked up on. Then it's on to what they've been driving lately, and we wrap up with Spend My (Your) Money buying advice to help you, our listeners. The rundown is below. Remember, if you have a car-related question you'd like us to answer or you want buying advice of your very own, send a message or a voice memo to podcast at autoblog dot com. (If you record audio of a question with your phone and get it to us, you could hear your very own voice on the podcast. Neat, right?) And please send trivia questions! You'll get the honor of stumping your fellow listeners, and we'll thank you too. Autoblog Podcast #499 The video meant to be presented here is no longer available. Sorry for the inconvenience. Topics and stories we mention Our 2017 Detroit Auto Show coverage America was the unofficial theme of the 2017 Detroit Auto Show 2017 Chevy Malibu Hybrid 2017 Volkswagen Passat 2017 Buick Envision Used cars! Rundown Intro - 00:00 Detroit show recap - 03:04 What we're driving - 25:04 Spend My Money - 35:46 Total Duration: 49:45 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Feedback Email – Podcast at Autoblog dot com Review the show on iTunes Podcasts Detroit Auto Show Buick Chevrolet Ford Honda Jeep RAM Toyota Volkswagen Crossover Minivan/Van SUV Sedan Ford Bronco kia stinger gt

Buick, Lexus top J.D. Power survey, as vehicle service improves overall

Buick and Lexus returned to their customary place atop J.D. Power's scorecard of satisfaction with dealership service departments. In the Customer Service Index Study, out Thursday, Buick scored 860 on a 1,000-point scale for mass-market brands and has topped this ranking in three of the past four years. Lexus topped the list of luxury brands with a score of 874. Fiat and Land Rover were the bottom-dwellers in the two categories. Buick and Lexus also ranked highly in the research company's overall Vehicle Dependability Study rankings out recently. The customer experience at car dealerships has improved steadily, with the overall industry score rising in seven of the past eight years. And one statistic is particularly remarkable: 94 percent of customers say their car was fixed right the first time. The dominant area of difficulty in repairs seems to be infotainment systems. Only 80 percent of respondents said their stereo was fixed right the first time. And in last month's Vehicle Dependability Study, J.D. Power reported that infotainment systems were the most commonly reported vehicle issue, accounting for 22 percent of all problems reported, up 2 percent from the previous year. J.D. Power surveyed 70,000 customers for the Customer Service Index Study. For the Vehicle Dependability Study, it surveyed 35,186 first owners of 2014 model-year vehicles after three years of ownership. Below are charts for both the current study and the complementary overall brand dependability survey. Related video: