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Buick Enclave gets continental makeover with Tuscan trim

Buick is trying to lend an air of Italian elegance to the Enclave with its newly announced Tuscan Edition that's available on the crossover for the 2016 model year. Named after the famously hilly and fertile region of Italy, the package brings some bronze accents to the CUV. As the very specific trademark filing for the Tuscan suggests, the special edition adds bronze trim to the uprights in the grille, and the metallic color finds its way into the embellishments on the 20-inch chrome wheels, too. Buyers also get to choose from three shades when ordering the package: White Frost Tricoat, Dark Chocolate Metallic and Ebony Twilight Metallic. Beyond those trim upgrades, the Tuscan Edition is just like any other Enclave. The package can only be ordered on the Leather and Premium trims, and all of their features are still available including a power moonroof, park assist, HID headlights and many luxury features inside. As with the rest of the range, power comes from a 3.6-liter V6 with 288 horsepower and 270 pound-feet of torque that routes through a six-speed automatic. There's also a choice of front- or all-wheel drive. The Italian-inspired CUV makes its debut at the New York Auto Show in just a few days and brings its bronzer to dealers this summer. Buick Introduces 2016 Enclave Tuscan Edition Bronze accents distinguish crossover that ignited brand's renaissance 2015-03-26 DETROIT – Buick today introduced the 2016 Enclave Tuscan Edition – a more distinctive expression of the popular crossover, highlighted by a bronze-tone grille and 20-inch chrome-clad wheels with bronze accents. The Enclave sparked Buick's renaissance eight years ago and continues to fuel its momentum, with 2015 sales building on record sales of 62,300 in 2014. "Buick's quality, refinement and style continues to attract more customers and this modern resurgence started with Enclave," said Duncan Aldred, vice president of Buick. "It was a pioneer for three-row luxury crossovers and remains one of the segment's most popular. The new Tuscan Edition celebrates Enclave's achievement and rewards owners with a higher level of distinction." The 2016 Buick Enclave Tuscan will be on display at the New York International Auto Show and goes on sale this summer on the Leather (1SL) and Premium (1SN) trims. It is offered in three premium exterior colors: White Frost Tricoat, Dark Chocolate Metallic and Ebony Twilight Metallic.

GM announces net 220 job increase as Trump visits Michigan

GM announced today that about 900 jobs would be added (or, importantly, retained) ahead of President Trump's arrival in Michigan, where he is expected to discuss his plan to roll back fuel economy standards. The timing of the announcement is almost certainly not coincidental, as appending it to a Trump visit gives it a higher profile and dovetails with the President's jobs agenda. It's less likely the decision itself was made for those reasons, but the free PR boost is a nice bonus. As for those 900 jobs themselves, they aren't all new jobs. The only net gain is approximately 220 jobs at the Romulus Powertrain Plant, which produces the 10-speed automatic transmission that's proliferating through the company's lineup. The 180 jobs at Flint Assembly and 500 jobs at Lansing Delta Township are retained jobs – that is to say, spots the company found for workers who would otherwise have been laid off. By the way, the Flint jobs will help with production of heavy-duty pickups, and the Lansing jobs are to produce the Chevrolet Traverse and Buick Enclave. Finding jobs for manufacturing workers in the auto sector, whether new or retained, is admirable. No matter how GM couches it, the company has created or retained a total of 7,000 jobs this year, and its total reinvestment in US production is around $1 billion. But these decisions are business ones, not political ones – timing the announcements to make them seem inspired by economic policy, or the political situation, is simply smart PR. Related Video: Image Credit: Bill Pugliano/Getty Images Celebrities Government/Legal Buick Cadillac Chevrolet GMC

2023 J.D. Power Initial Quality Study shows there's less quality than last year

Vehicle inventory, vehicle pricing, and the supply chain are finally showing improvement. Vehicle quality, on the other hand, is still going the wrong way. That's the takeaway from the 2023 J.D. Power Initial Quality Study that found overall problems exceeded last year's record high. The study surveyed owners of 2022-model-year vehicles to assess the average rate of problems per 100 vehicles (PP100) during the first 90 days of ownership. The average figure for the 32 ranked manufacturers in 2020 was about 166 problems per 100 vehicles. In the 2021 IQS, that dropped to an average of 162. For 2022, the average jumped to 180 problems. For 2023, the PP100 is up to an industry average of 192 — an increase of 30 problems per 100 vehicles in just two years. Let's get to the good news first: Dodge reclaimed the crown of having the lowest number of problems per 100 vehicles at 140. Buick won last year with 139 PP100, falling to third this year. Dodge was the first American automaker to top the IQS in 2021. Its return as the least problematic gives parent company Stellantis three wins in four years after Ram was crowned in 2021. It also gives U.S. brands a four-peat after Buick topped the chart in 2022 by having owners report the fewest problems. This year's top 10 is Dodge, Ram, Alfa Romeo, Buick, Chevrolet, GMC, Porsche, Cadillac, Kia, and Lexus. Stellantis gathered a few feathers for its cap, in fact. Maserati showed the largest improvement year-on-year, followed by Alfa Romeo, and Alfa Romeo posted the lowest PP100 among the premium class, beating Porsche and Cadillac. Alfa Romeo has been vocal about working to improve quality, mentioning Lexus as a target. Last year the Japanese brand finished sixth, the Italians finished near the bottom, between Jaguar and Mitsubishi. This year Alfa jumped to third, Lexus dropped to tenth. Ram was the third-best on the list of improvers from 2022 to 2023.   The individual model with the lowest PP100 is the Nissan Maxima. Now for the troublesome bits. In the words of Frank Hanley, senior director of auto benchmarking at J.D. Power, "The industry is at a major crossroad and the path each manufacturer chooses is paramount for its future.