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Junkyard Gem: 1978 Buick Electra 225

The Buick Electra was a big, plush, dignified land yacht for the 1959 through 1976 model years, but certain events in the middle 1970s, coupled with increasing sales of imported cars, convinced The General that a weight-loss program would help Electra sales. For the 1977 model year, the big Buick became 11 inches shorter and shed close to 900 pounds. Sales took off. Most of these cars are gone now, but I was able to find this faded '78 in a San Francisco Bay Area self-service yard a few weeks back. Just to be clear, the Buick Electra in the iconic Sir Mix-a-Lot video, My Hooptie, is a 1969 model. That car was much bigger and more powerful than today's Junkyard Gem. This car has the optional Oldsmobile 403-cubic-inch V8 engine under the hood, which was good for 185 horsepower and 320 pound-feet of torque. This is the same type of engine that was badged as a 6.6-liter plant in the Pontiac Firebird Trans Am of Smokey and the Bandit fame, and GM's mix-and-match games with engines from different divisions went on to cause great disgruntlement among buyers who wanted a Buick engine in a Buick. The silver-faced gauges were pretty cool-looking by late-1970s standards. The interior is standard-issue Detroit luxury car for the era: much vinyl, many molded-in fake stitches, plenty of not-trying-very-hard-to-look-real "wood." These cars rode very comfortably and looked sharp, so who cared if the interiors were plasticky? According to Glenn Ford, the '78 Electra carried on an ancient tradition of Buick luxury. Related Video:

2025 Buick Enclave changes trim names and pricing

Buick loves to fiddle with its trim names. In 2020, the Enclave offered Base, Essence, Premium and Avenir trims. Two years later, the trim steps went Preferred, Essence, Premium and Avenir. Two years later, in 2022, only Essence, Premium, and Avenir remained. And the 2025 Enclave has done another presto change-o, with Essense becoming Preferred, and Premium switching to Sport Touring. And while we knew that, what we didn't know were the prices for these reshuffled trims, which GM Authority sniffed out. MSRPs for the 2025 Enclave after the $1,395 destination charge, and their differences from 2024, are: Preferred: $46,395 ($1,100) Sport Touring: $48,795 (New trim) Avenir:  $59,395 ($500) These are all front-drivers, sending power to the rear wheels adds $2,000 to the price.  The Sport Touring costs $2,490 more than the entry-level Preferred, nearly 40% more than the current option price. Also, since it's a spiffier version of the Preferred, the Sport Touring is $3,800 less than the current middle trim, the 2024 Enclave Premium.     Mechanically, the Enclave gets the same turbocharged 2.5-liter four-cylinder as the Acadia and Traverse as its sole engine option. Output comes to 328 horsepower and 326 pound-feet of torque, sent through an eight-speed automatic. Towing capacity is 5,000 pounds,  All Enclaves except the Avenir get a standard 30-inch instrument and infotainment display, floating center console, adjustable ambient lighting, wireless device charging and a 12-speaker. The range-topper takes the sound system to 16 speakers, adds a panoramic sunroof, front seat ventilation and massage function, rear seat heating, a head-up display, plus adaptive shocks working larger 22-inch wheels. The Sport Touring (ST), as one might expect, adopts black trim, including in the grille, and black 20-inch wheels.  Buick added standard ADAS perks like automatic emergency braking with intersection support, blind-spot monitoring with steering assist, plus lane-keep assist as standard. And Super Cruise will be an option. All told, it's a healthy improvement in features for relatively small price increases.

GM earnings rise 1% as buyers pay more for popular pickups

DETROIT — General Motors said Thursday that higher prices for popular pickup trucks and SUVs helped overcome slowing global sales and profit rose by 1% in the second quarter. The Detroit automaker said it made $2.42 billion, or $1.66 per share, from April through June. Adjusting for restructuring costs, GM made $1.64 per share, blowing by analyst estimates of $1.44. Quarterly revenue fell 2% to $36.06 billion, but still beat estimates. Analysts polled by FactSet expected $35.97 billion. Global sales fell 6% to 1.94 million vehicles led by declines in North America and Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa. The company says sales in China were weak, and it expects that to continue through the year. In the United States, customers paid an average of $41,461 for a GM vehicle during the quarter, an increase of 2.2%, as buyers went for loaded-out pickups and SUVs, according to the Edmunds.com auto pricing site. The U.S. is GM's most profitable market. Chief Financial Officer Dhivya Suryadevara said she expects the strong pricing to continue, especially as GM rolls out a diesel pickup and new heavy-duty trucks in the second half of the year. "We think the fundamentals do remain strong, especially in the truck market," she said, adding that strength in the overall economy and aging trucks now on the road should help keep the trend going. Light trucks accounted for 83.1% of GM's sales in the quarter, and pickup truck sales rose 8.5% as GM transitioned to new models of the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra, according to Edmunds, which provides content to The Associated Press. As usual, GM made most of its money in North America, reporting $3 billion in pretax earnings. International operations including China broke even, while the company spent $300 million on its GM Cruise automated vehicle unit. Its financial arm made $500 million in pretax income. Suryadevara said GM saw $700 million in savings during the quarter from restructuring actions announced late last year that included cutting about 8,000 white-collar workers through layoffs, buyouts and early retirements. The company also announced plans to close five North American factories, shedding another 6,000 jobs. About 3,000 factory workers in the U.S. whose jobs were eliminated at four plants will be placed at other factories, but they could have to relocate. GM expects the restructuring to generate $2 billion to $2.5 billion in annual cost savings by the end of this year.