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Buick Avenir Concept saunters into Detroit [w/video]

We'd never accuse the most recent crop of Buicks of being ugly. Then again, we'd also never argue that they're overly pretty. Instead, they waltz along a middle ground, not standing out while not causing offense. The Buick Avenir Concept occupies no such middle ground – it's gorgeous. A long hood and a short deck fit well with an evolved form of Buick's long-running design language, while traditional highlights such as the waterfall grille and portholes mingle nicely with newer touches, like a beautiful, curvaceous set of rear haunches that bleed into the rear decklid. The cabin, meanwhile, is solidly in the concept realm, with a prominent 12-inch touchscreen as its centerpiece. Like the exterior, the Avenir's cabin is an evolution of current Buick designs, with a curve that tops the dash and feeds into the doors. A higher center console is finished in buffed wood, although the majority of the interior materials appear to be fine leather. Check out our gallery of live images of the new Avenir, at the Buick stand at the 2015 Detroit Auto Show. Show full PR text Buick Explores Future with Avenir Concept New design proportion, device integration, rejuvenating interior push brand forward DETROIT – Buick introduced the Avenir concept today in advance of the North American International Auto Show – a flagship sedan exploring progressive design with new levels of passenger well-being and technology integration. The Avenir – French for future – is distinguished by its premium sports proportions and all-new interpretations of traditional Buick cues. It is the creation of a global team of Buick designers and sculptors who were inspired by historic Buick concepts, which pushed traditional boundaries, shaped future Buick models and influenced the entire auto industry. "Avenir embodies Buick design, which centers on effortless beauty and presence without pretense," said Ed Welburn, vice president of General Motors Global Design. "It demonstrates the growing international reach of Buick and offers an exciting vision of where it can go." The Avenir's sculptural surfacing, expressive proportion and Buick's signature sweep-spear bodyside visually cue an exceptional driving experience that awaits inside. "The interior is designed with the driver and passengers' comfort and well-being in mind," said Welburn.

2017 Buick LaCrosse an evolution of sharp Avenir concept

After years as a bloated, uninspiring, but comfortable near-premium sedan, Buick has taken the wraps off a leaner, lither, far more stylish LaCrosse. The third-generation model has just made its debut at the 2015 Los Angeles Motor Show. While there's a lot to talk about, let's first address the new, Avenir-inspired sheetmetal. The fascia is basically the concept car smoothed over into production form, featuring the same winged trishield. In place of the chrome-trimmed waterfall, the LaCrosse gets a blacked-out, recessed grille with a chrome surround. It looks good in photos but it's better in person, adding a real sense of complexity and depth to the front end. The headlights and lower fascia, meanwhile, adhere closely to the concept. The same cannot be said of the LaCrosse's tail. While the taillight lighting pattern is similar, the overall shape of the lighting element is radically different, refining the design featured on the back of the Regal. Also gone, sadly, is the Avenir's boattail rear deck. Instead, the LaCrosse gets a small rear deck that curves up into a pleasant duckbill spoiler. The rest of the tail is pleasantly restrained. Perhaps the weakest point is the profile, where Buick has instituted a "split-spear" design, featuring a strong shoulder line above the rear wheel well, which sits below an even stronger character line that curves down and towards the front of the car. It strikes us as just a little too much, like the Impala. Underneath that sheetmetal, Buick has managed to trim nearly 300 pounds of body fat, nearly half of which came from the vehicle's actual structure. That 300 lbs, according to Buick's engineers, is equivalent to a Kenmore side-by-side refrigerator, in case you needed a helpful comparison. Despite the weight savings, Buick has upped the torsional rigidity for this new model by 15 percent. The LaCrosse's cabin features a strong, cockpit-like design, with a high, floating-bridge center console. This is possible due to Buick's adaption of the Electronic Precision Shift system, introduced earlier this month on the new Cadillac XT5. Despite the new-fangled console design, Buick's retained the wraparound cabin style introduced on the second-gen model. Based on a quick crawl around the interior, space is great in front, although ingress in back is somewhat difficult due to the roofline. You're probably wondering why we haven't said anything about the mechanicals just yet.

Buick Adam a reality after all... but only in China

General Motors may have parred down its brand portfolio, but it still has more under its umbrella than most. That's why, while a company like Ford might market the same vehicle under its own name in markets around the world, GM uses different brands in different markets. But no two are aligned quite as closely as Opel in Europe and Buick in the United States and China.
What we know here as the Buick Regal is sold overseas as the Opel Insignia. Our Encore is their Mokka. Verano? Astra sedan. But one thing we don't get here is the Opel Adam. The diminutive city car is GM's take on the Mini Cooper, Fiat 500, Citroën DS3 et al. Launched at the 2012 Paris Motor Show, the Opel Adam is named after the company's founder (like an ironic thumbing of the nose to the Ferrari Enzo). But while it's sold, like most Opels, in the UK as a Vauxhall, the prospect of it porting over to Buick seems slim to none. Right?
Sorta. While the Adam isn't likely to come Stateside, the latest reports (as yet unconfirmed by GM) suggest that The General is planning to sell the Adam in China where the Buick brand is also a strong seller. Local production could ensue, with prices targeting the Fiat 500 and engines - according to CarNewsChina.com - to include inline-fours displacing 1.2 and 1.4 liters with 69 and 100 horsepower, respectively.