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China-market Buick Envista rumored possible replacement for the Encore

Buick currently sells four crossovers, the Encore, Encore GX, Envision, and Enclave. That number will soon be whittled to three, the Encore expected to end production after this model year. If speculation provided by GM Authority is correct, there could be changes afoot in the middle of the line in time for the 2024 model year. Buick has said it will maintain four ICE-powered crossovers, so the brand will need something to fill the coming gap. GMA sources suggest the China-market Buick Envista could get the nod. Buick launched the coupe-esque model across the Pacific in August, a relation to the Chevrolet Seeker that appeared on the Chinese market in April. The Envista debuted the brand's latest design language inspired by pure-electric concepts like the Electra-X and WIldcat. Thin, angled headlights frame a wide, low grille, leading back to a roof that slopes into a high back and double spoilers. GM applied to trademark the Envista name in the U.S. in early 2019, then maintained it with extension requests until earlier this year. Then, in September 2022, the automaker abandoned the application, which could bode ill for whatever chance there was, if any. Another snag could be that the Envista is 182.5 inches long, 71.5 inches wide, and 61.6 inches high on a 106.3-inch wheelbase. Various reports have pitched the Envista to fill the (small) space between the Encore GX and the Envision; however, the Envista falls just 0.10 short of the Envision's length, and it's three inches smaller in every other dimension. On the other hand, the Envista is 11.1 inches longer and 0.1 inch wider than the Encore GX, with a wheelbase 4.1 inches longer. That makes a lot of overlap in the dimensional Venn diagram. Were the Envista to come as-is, it wouldn't so much be a replacement for the Encore as be a different kind of compact SUV from the Envision on a more modern platform. Further speculation from "sources familiar with the matter" says a U.S.-market Envista could get the Avenir treatment. Avenir marks the ultimate in Buick luxury, an appellation currently restricted to the Envision and Enclave. According to a separate report, the Encore GX is also headed into the Avenir club with the compact crossover gets refreshed for the 2024 model year. An Encore GX Avenir would adopt some exterior tweaks like 18-inch alloys, and turn a load of optional equipment available for the Encore GX Essence trim into standard equipment. Related video:

Opel Insignia OPC Sports Tourer shows its fresh face ahead of Frankfurt debut

Drive down the Autobahn and there's any number of vehicles likely to pass you, and most of them are produced locally. But if you're wondering how that Opel left you in its dust, look closely (and quickly) enough and you might make out the letters OPC on the back.
They stand for Opel Performance Center (the German counterpart to Vauxhall's VXR line) and they adorn performance versions of the Corsa, Astra and Insignia. The latter is undergoing a bit of a refresh and is expected to debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show in a couple of weeks, but you don't have to wait that long as our intrepid spy photographers have caught it in the flesh outside an Opel facility in Germany.
Spied here completely undisguised in Sports Tourer (read: wagon) form, the Insignia has had a few nips and tucks performed, but we'll be more intrigued to see what it's got under the hood. The current model packs a 2.8-liter twin-turbo V6 driving 325 horsepower to all four wheels, but rumors suggest that the OPC (yeah you know me!) could have as much as 400 hp up its sleeve. That would make this one heck of a sleeper - especially in wagon form - and only make us pine for a more potent version of its twin Buick Regal to roam our highways, too.

The 2018 Buick Regal is now a hatchback and a wagon

Buick has long been General Motors' most traditional brand. With the launch of the 2018 Regal, it's now arguably GM's most risk-taking brand. Buick is turning its midsize staple into a hatchback, called the Regal Sportback, and a wagon, the Regal TourX. Revealed Tuesday afternoon at GM's historic Design Dome in Warren, Mich., the cars will go on sale in the fall after next week's public debut at the New York Auto Show. "At Buick we can try things other people haven't tried," GM product chief Mark Reuss said. The wagon – though Reuss was reluctant to call it one – is a longer (3.4 inches), higher-riding (0.6 inches) version of the Regal Sportback. It's the first Buick wagon since the 1990s Roadmaster, and it's aimed at the seemingly never-satiated crossover market in the United States. View 12 Photos The TourX will compete against the Volvo XC60 Cross Country, Audi A4 Allroad, Subaru Outback, and BMW 3 Series wagon. The Buick offers up 73.5 cubic feet of storage space behind the front seats and is all-wheel drive only. Power comes from a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder making 250 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque that teams with an eight-speed automatic transmission. "It's something that is very different and very beautiful, and it's a good alternative for Buick to try," Reuss said. The Sportback, meanwhile, offers the same four-cylinder and eight-speed trans as the TourX in AWD trim. The Sportback also offers a front-wheel-drive model that uses a four-cylinder paired with a nine-speed automatic, and the engine is rated at 250 hp and 260 lb-ft in that setup. With swoopy creased styling, the Regal Sportback offers a slightly different riff on the crowded sedan segment, which GM says still has three million annual retail sales. On a side note, Saab fans might feel some old wounds at the sight of the hatchback Buick, as the 5-door 9-3 was axed by GM in an attempt to make the model more mainstream before the brand's demise. Both models will offer front pedestrian braking, lane keeping assist, adaptive cruise control, OnStar and seven-inch or eight-inch touchscreens with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. As expected, the Regals are based on the Opel Insignia, and they will be built in Ruesselsheim, Germany. Reuss said GM plans to build the Regals there after the company sells Opel to PSA. He also said GM isn't concerned about potential border/import taxes that could be levied by the Trump Administration. "I don't know what the border tax is," he said.