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Neil Young's 1953 Buick Roadmaster Skylark brings $400,000 at auction

Singer-songwriter Neil Young's extensive collection of model trains have fetched nearly $300,000 at auction, along with classic cars and musical equipment owned by the 72-year-old folk-rock icon. Young, a model train enthusiast for decades, offered more than 230 pieces at Julien's Auctions in Los Angeles from his collection of Lionel trains, including a custom-painted Commodore Vanderbilt 4-6-4 locomotive that sold for $10,000. Several cars that Young owns were also sold. A 1953 Buick code 76X Roadmaster Skylark convertible with a steering wheel hub that says, "Customized for Neil Young," went for $400,000, the auction house said on Saturday. Young, best known for his Woodstock-era songs as well as his work with the bands Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young has said the vast model train layouts at his California ranch helped him connect with his son Ben, who has cerebral palsy. Other items auctioned off on Saturday included some of Young's guitars, amplifiers and microphones. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Bridge School in California, which Young's ex-wife Pegi Young co-founded in 1986 for children with severe speech and physical impairments.Reporting by Joseph AxRelated Video:

U.S. denies GM tariff relief request for China-made Buick SUV

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has denied a General Motors Co request for an exemption to a 25 percent U.S. tariff on its Chinese-made Buick Envision sport utility vehicle. The denial of the nearly year-old petition came in a May 29 letter from the U.S. Trade Representative's office saying the request concerns "a product strategically important or related to 'Made in China 2025' or other Chinese industrial programs." The midsize SUV, priced starting at about $35,000, has become a target for critics of Chinese-made goods, including leaders of the United Auto Workers union and members in key political swing states such as Michigan and Ohio. GM said on Tuesday it was aware of the denial and has been paying the tariff since July. GM has not raised the sticker price to account for the tariff. Buick Envision sales fell in the United States by nearly 27% to 30,000 last year and fell another 21% in the first three months of 2019. Only a small number of vehicles are built in China and sold in the United States. Last month, the U.S. Trade Representative's Office also denied a request by Chinese-owned Volvo Cars for tariff exemptions for mid-size SUVs assembled in China after the automaker sought an exemption for the XC60, its top selling U.S. vehicle. GM, the largest U.S. automaker, argued in its request that Envision sales in China and the United States would generate funds "to invest in our U.S. manufacturing facilities and to develop the next generation of automotive technology in the United States." GM said last year the "vast majority" of Envisions, about 200,000 a year, are sold in China. Because of the lower U.S. sales volume, "assembly in our home market is not an option" for the Envision, which competes with such mid-size crossover vehicles as the Jeep Grand Cherokee and the Cadillac XT5. Ahead of the July 2018 start for higher import tariffs, GM shipped in a six-month supply of Envisions at the much lower 2.5 percent tariff rate, Reuters reported in August 2018.

MotorWeek's 80's GM muscle coupe roundup includes Regal GN and Monte Carlo SS

Even with just four brands in the family, General Motors still represents a performance powerhouse. Between the Chevrolet Corvette Z06, Camaro Z/28, Cadillac CTS-V and ATS-V, The General can still deliver plenty of thrills. The 1980s, though, saw the brand go even crazier with performance. While the Camaro and Corvette were still around back in the day, GM had a number of other interesting performance offerings. The Bowtie was complemented by the long-deceased Monte Carlo SS, while the now-defunct Pontiac and Oldsmobile offered the Grand Prix and thumping 442, respectively. And Buick, which isn't short on performance with its Regal GS and Verano Turbo, offered a much more serious vehicle, in the form of the Grand National (not to mention the Darth Vader-spec GNX). MotorWeek, in its hugely entertaining retro flashbacks, looks back on these three long-lost GM performance icons, and it's just as good as you might expect. News Source: MotorWeek via YouTube Buick Chevrolet GM Pontiac Coupe Performance Classics Videos buick grand national chevy monte carlo oldsmobile 442