2012 Buick Enclave Leather on 2040-cars

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2015 Buick Verano offered with six-speed manual after all

Good news, boys and girls (well, at least those of you who still like shifting for yourselves). Buick got in touch with us to correct some information that it had mistakenly announced; namely, that the 2015 Verano will lose its optional six-speed manual transmission. Apparently, that announcement was incorrect, and the compact sedan will indeed continue to offer a manual option for 2015, despite what we're certain is a low take rate. Additionally, the Desert Dusk Metallic paint that was said to come as part of an Appearance Package is no longer part of the deal. With that out of the way, we now return you to your regularly scheduled automotive-obsessive broadcast...

2020 Buick Encore, Encore GX set for Shanghai debut

Buick says it will debut the all-new 2020 Encore small crossover and new-for-China Encore GX compact crossover at the Buick Brand Night April 15 in Shanghai on the eve of Auto Shanghai 2019. They'll join the updated 2020 LaCrosse and LaCrosse Avenir sedans, which GM is discontinuing here in the U.S. Buick released a darkened teaser image of both vehicles in rear three-quarters view, though it's a little hard to tell which is which (we're going with the GX being the one on the right). It suggests the Encore gets more streamlined taillights that taper along the rear liftback, with some redesigned creases on the door panels and haunches. The latter don't appear to be present on the Encore GX, which Buick says is a new addition to the model series in China. Both will be offered with GM's new nine-speed Hydra-Matic and continuously variable transmissions, plus what Buick says will be "enhanced connectivity," including new technologies. They'll join the Envision and Enclave for China, which is Buick's largest market. First introduced in 2013, The Encore was last refreshed for 2017. It has been the top-selling Buick model in the U.S. for the past 3 years, with 93,073 sold last year, up 5.7% from 2017.

Question of the Day: Coolest factory-supercharged car?

Last week, we discussed possible engine-swap recipients for the plentiful-in-every-junkyard Eaton-supercharged GM 3800 V6 engine. The Buicks, Oldsmobiles, and Pontiacs that came with that engine from the factory were reasonably cool, of course, but when you look at all the production cars that have been available with supercharging over the decades you can find some pretty amazing stuff. My personal favorite has to be the Paxton-blown Studebaker Larks of the early 1960s, partly because the Lark was just about the stodgiest-looking, sleepiest little sedan available in America, possibly the most ridiculous recipient of a howling force-fed V8 imaginable, and partly because of the name of the optional supercharged 289-cubic-inch V8 you could get in the Lark: Jet-Thrust! What do you say is the coolest factory-supercharged car of all time? Related Video: Auto News Buick Automotive History Performance Classics supercharger questions