2012 Buick Enclave Convenience on 2040-cars

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GM's labor deal with UAW union on verge of ratification

Nov 15 (Reuters) - General Motors' tentative labor deal with the United Auto Workers (UAW) union closed in on ratification as the votes were counted on Wednesday. Following the approval earlier in the day by more than 60% of union members at the Detroit automaker's large Arlington, Texas, assembly plant, additional votes in favor have the deal close to clinching majority approval. The number of union locals, most of which are smaller, still to report vote totals is not large. After several large assembly plants voted against the deal earlier on Wednesday, some media had reported the deal was heading toward failure. But Arlington's support, followed by strong voting in favor by smaller warehouse and parts facilities, has put the deal on the brink of approval. This would mark the first ratification of a deal, which runs through April 2028, with one of the Detroit Three automakers. Ford and Stellantis voting is still under way, and workers at both companies were favoring ratification by comfortable margins. The UAW's GM vote tracking site currently shows approval of the contract leading by a 54% to 46% margin with almost 32,000 workers having cast votes out of about 46,000 UAW-represented GM workers. The Arlington plant, with about 5,000 UAW members, has the most of any GM plant. Voting officially ends on Thursday at 4 p.m. EST, although most votes will be cast on Wednesday. The UAW went on strike for more than six weeks against the Detroit Three, seeking better wages, working conditions and cost-of-living adjustments. All three companies agreed to tentative agreements about two weeks ago. Workers at other GM assembly plants voted against the deal, including 60% of workers at its Fort Wayne, Indiana, truck plant, 53% at its Wentzville, Missouri, plant, 58% of workers at GM's Lansing Grand River plant and 61% of workers at the Lansing Delta Township plant. Seven of GM's 11 assembly plants rejected the deal. In addition to Arlington, workers at plants in Detroit, Fairfax, Kansas; and Lake Orion, Michigan; approved the agreement. Only nine facilities are still listed without vote totals on the UAW vote tracker, including GM's Lockport, New York, components plant with about 1,200 members. Those voting in favor of the agreement have a lead of almost 2,500 and many of the facilities still to come include workers who stand to receive large pay increases upon ratification.

2015 Buick Verano gets styling tweak, loses 6-speed manual

Well, all good things must come to an end. For 2015, the Buick Verano's experiment with a manual transmission will cease, as the American manufacturer has announced it will discontinue the 6MT in the turbocharged version of its compact sedan. According to Buick, the take rate on the Verano Turbo 6MT was (unsurprisingly) low, leading to its discontinuation.
That's not the only bit of news for the Verano, though. After a few years on the market, Buick has seen fit to refresh the popular sedan. The visual changes aren't huge, really, with subtle tweaks to the headlights and taillights. We'd bargain that the average passer-by wouldn't notice a difference between the two.
The main aesthetic change is a new appearance package, available on the mid-range Convenience and Leather option groups. Unimaginatively called just that - Appearance Package - it offers up a new paint color, Desert Dusk Metallic, as well as a grille treatment and a rear spoiler. The new package is, however, limited to naturally aspirated models.

Reuss says Cadillac CT6-based Buick could happen

Could the upcoming Cadillac CT6 and its Omega platform spawn a Buick variant? According to General Motors' product chief Mark Reuss, it could potentially be in the cards, but "not yet." "We're working on that," Reuss told Automotive News at the 2015 New York Auto Show. While there hasn't been a large, rear-drive Buick on dealerships since the Roadmaster in 1996, the company gave a big hint that it could head in that direction with the Avenir Concept, shown earlier this year at the Detroit Auto Show. As Automotive News explains, a rear-drive Omega-platform Buick could be a real hit in China, where consumers buy 13 Buicks for every one Cadillac. That move would be a big help to GM's bottom line, too, as it'd significantly increase the Omega platform's economy of scale. If a large Buick based on the CT6 were to head to China, though, it likely wouldn't be a simple case of badge engineering (thank God). Reuss hinted to Automotive News that while the mixed-material construction of the CT6 platform "is very flexible," doing an "identical version of that platform or not is a different conversation." What are your thoughts? Should Buick adopt the Omega platform for an Avenir-based sedan? Should that vehicle be sold here in the US, or should it be a China-only offering? Have your say in Comments. Related Video: