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Refreshed 2019 Buick Envision gets sharper edges, optional nine-speed transmission

After 18 months on the market in the United States, the Buick Envision took its place as the third-best-selling vehicle among Buick's eight models, slotting in behind the Encore and Enclave. January sales this year jumped 13.7-percent year-over-year, just a few hundred behind the Enclave. Now, the Chinese-made compact SUV gets a modest makeover, but buyers of the 2019 Buick Envision will need to reach up into the upper trims to access the best of what's new. The big mechanical upgrade comes with the option of GM's Hydra-Matic 9T50 nine-speed automatic instead of standard the six-speed. However, that appears to be limited to just two of the five available Envision trims: Premium I and Premium II. The base, Preferred, and Essence models stick with the six-speed only. Design changes center around the front and rear fascias. The grille motif switches to a be-winged Buick emblem - in tri-color spec, not monochrome - over the previous waterfall, matching that of the sibling crossovers. The lower front fascia gets redrawn, with the fog lights at the edges now sitting in square recesses with reworked chrome trim and sharper edges on the bumper. Premium trims move up from HID projectors to bi-LED headlights, while the other three trims shed their composite halogens for HID lights. According to the 2019 order guide, Ebony seats with Dark Plum interior accents leave the menu, replaced by Dark Galvanized leather seats with Ebony trim. White interior lighting will illuminate the instrument panel and door trim, replacing Ice Blue, and comfort/convenience tweaks come in the form of wireless phone charging, an cabin air ionizer and a button to shut off the stop-start system. The latter would be a noteworthy upgrade as it's been a common complaint logged against so-equipped GM vehicles. In back, design elements get sharper edges, and the taillights switch to slimmer LED units. Designers have hidden the single exhaust outlet on the lower three trims with the base, 197-horsepower 2.5-liter engine. It appears that choosing the optional, 252-hp 2.0-liter engine will be identified by dual rectangular exhaust finishers instead of the round tips of previous years. Exterior colors hold steady at six, but Midnight Amethyst Metallic gives way to Satin Steel Gray Metallic, and the current 19-inch wheels get replaced with two new designs. The 2019 Buick Envision has already gone on sale in China, and should reach U.S. dealers in April. Related Video:

Buick really wants us to know the new Cascada convertible won't leak

Quality testing on the factory floor is nothing to joke about. Automakers need to make sure the work being done is up to snuff, and that means some extensive checks. For Buick, that means using a lot of water for each of its Cascada convertibles. Each vehicle that rolls off the floor is subject to a high-pressure, ten-minute soaking that sprays nearly 20 gallons of water from each nozzle during every bath, just to guarantee the fabric roof hasn't sprung any leaks. For some reason, Buick has chosen to show off this testing with the help of what we imagine is the Gorton's Fisherman's baby cousin. Check out the strange testing video, available up top.

Mixed sales results, but automaker stocks rise on need for cars in Houston

DETROIT — The Big Three Detroit automakers on Friday reported better-than-expected August sales and issued optimistic outlooks for demand as residents of the Houston area replace flood-damaged cars and trucks after Hurricane Harvey, sending their stocks higher. General Motors, Ford and Fiat Chrysler posted mixed August U.S. sales, with GM up 7.5 percent and Ford and Fiat Chrysler down. Japanese automaker Toyota improved sales by nearly 7 percent, while Honda fell 2.4 percent. Still, analysts focused on the potential for Detroit automakers to cut inventories and stabilize used vehicle prices as residents of Houston, the fourth largest city in the United States, are forced to replace tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, of vehicles after the devastation from Hurricane Harvey. Mark LaNeve, Ford's U.S. sales chief, told analysts on Friday that following Hurricane Katrina in 2005 "we saw a very dramatic snapback" in demand. That said, Ford sales fell 2.1 percent in August. It sold 209,897 vehicles in the United States, compared with 214,482 a year earlier. Sales were down 1.9 percent in the Ford division and off 5.8 percent at Lincoln. Demand was down for cars, crossovers and SUVs. It was not clear how many vehicles in the Houston area will be scrapped, LaNeve said, saying he had seen estimates ranging from 200,000 to 400,000 to 1 million. Ford's Houston dealers may have lost fewer than 5,000 vehicles in inventory, he said. Ford is the No. 1 automaker in the Houston market, with 18 percent share, according to IHS Markit. The company plans to ship used vehicles to Houston dealers and has "every indication we would have to add some production" of new vehicles to meet demand, LaNeve said. Investor concerns about inventories of unsold vehicles and falling used car prices have weighed on Detroit automakers' shares most of this year. Now, automakers can anticipate a jolt of demand from a big market that is a stronghold for Detroit brand trucks and SUVs. "It's got to be a positive for the industry," LaNeve said. Investors appeared to agree. GM shares rose as much as 3.3 percent to their highest since early March. Ford increased 2.8 percent at $11.34, and Fiat Chrysler's U.S.-traded shares were up 5.2 percent $15.91, hitting their highest in more than five years. GM reported a 7.5 percent increase in U.S. auto sales in August, helped by robust sales of crossovers across its four brands.