1970 Buick Skylark Custom Coupe on 2040-cars

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Buick announces Ultium-based EV for the Chinese market

Buick will expand its presence in the EV segment by launching a five-seater crossover on the Chinese market before the end of 2022. The model will use the Ultium technology developed by parent company General Motors, and it will be closely followed by another electric car. Official details about the model remain few and far between; we don't even know what it will be called yet. The company published an image that shows an electric platform topped by the outline of a crossover, and it clarified power will come from a battery pack with cells "tailored for China." The battery-powered Buick will also be available with the Super Cruise technology found in other General Motors models. The outline shares more than a passing resemblance with the heavily-camouflaged test mule that our spies spotted testing earlier in 2022, but it's difficult to tell whether we're looking at the same car. Trademark filings suggest Buick has several electric cars in the pipeline. While the crossover won't be the first electric Buick — the Velite 6 MAV went on sale in China in 2019 — executives have high hopes for it. To that end, the company will open up to 58 Buick EV City showrooms and over 600 Buick NEV Zones across China. It's also working with "mainstream third-party charging operators" to make over 400,000 charging points available throughout China by the end of 2023. Buick will release additional details about its upcoming electric model before the end of 2022, and deliveries are scheduled to start in the first half of 2023 on the Chinese market. As of writing, it's too early to tell whether the EV will join the Envista on its trip across the Pacific or stay in China. Looking ahead, the brand announced plans to release a second electric car built around Ultium technology before the end of 2023.

GM expanding Lansing Lambda CUV plant

Considering that crossovers are a rapidly growing portion of the US auto market, it's not surprising to hear that General Motors is preparing to build even more of them. The company is investing $63 million to expand its Lansing Delta Township Assembly plant that builds Lambda platform CUVs like the Chevrolet Traverse, GMC Acadia and Buick Enclave.
According to GM, the expansion will add roughly 263,000 extra square feet of space to the plant. Of that, 181,000 square feet will be for an updated body shop with cutting-edge robots. There will also be 54,000 square feet of additional room in the paint shop and 28,000 square feet of more area for general assembly.
GM isn't saying as much, but there is the possibility that this extra space could allow for additional models produced at the factory. Cadillac reportedly dropped plans to build a three-row SUV on the Lambda platform earlier this year, however, dealers for the luxury brand were recently pitched the possibility of adding large and small CUVs, an ATS convertible or a sedan below the ATS.

Chicago Auto Show: The really big reveals from shows past

The 2024 Chicago Auto Show may seem like a shell of its former self, but it still holds the title of the largest consumer auto show in the United States. It didn't get that reputation simply by being efficiently produced or convenient for locals desperate for something to do in February — it earned it over decades of breaking automotive news and powerhouse reveals, eventually earning an informal designation as America's truck show.  2024 may be a down year for Chicago, but let's not forget all of the great things that have come out of it, historically. Here's a look at some of our staff favorites. Bet you didn't know about a few of these cars that were first revealed in the Windy City.    2008 Dodge Challenger SRT-8  I didn't just pick this one as a former Challenger owner, but instead to illustrate just how many cool Chicago debuts we take for granted. Chrysler often chose its home turf to debut new cars, so the few times its unveilings happened elsewhere tend to stick in our minds. The first Challenger SRT-8 was kind of garbage, if we're being honest. I mean, who buys a race-bred, V8-powered muscle car without a limited-slip differential? But the SRT-8 formula evolved over time into something truly special, and what we saw in Chicago was essentially the early version of the Scat Pack, which was ultimately very successful for Dodge. And who would have thought we'd be here, 15 years later, still talking about that debut? And still loving these big Mopars, flaws and all. — Associate Editor Byron Hurd SHO time in Chicago IÂ’ll always have a certain fondness for the return of the Taurus SHO at the 2009 Chicago Auto Show. Chicago has always leaned truck and van heavy for press reveals, but every now and then, as this list illustrates, something spicy would appear. The return of the SHO as a high-powered successor to the original that ran from 1989-1999 gave enthusiasts hope for FordÂ’s performance business, especially for sedans. With a 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 packing 365 hp, all-wheel drive and five-spoke wheels, the SHO was a nice upgrade from the lower-rung Taurus models. It was a bit more sedate than the original SHOÂ’s Yamaha-sourced V6 that teamed with a five-speed manual transmission, but still a worthy response to the Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger and later the Chevy SS. The SHO — Super High Output — begat things like the Fusion ST and gave Ford solid four-door performance for the rest of the decade.