2001 Buick Lesabre Custom Sedan 4-door 3.8l on 2040-cars

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Volvo and GM team with Amazon for in-car deliveries

Volvo and GM are the first automakers to pair their vehicles with a new service from Amazon that lets owners have their packages delivered inside their cars, without them having to be there. The service will initially be rolled out in 37 U.S. cities at no extra charge to Amazon Prime members with a Volvo On Call or OnStar account, and it works with same-day, two-day and standard shipping. It's intended as an alternative for people who don't want to risk having their package stolen from their front porch or receive deliveries at their workplace, and both automakers say it's an example of how they're embracing innovation as a way to make their customers' lives easier. Volvo released a video (above) showing how the service works. Users download the Amazon Key App (or " Ama-zin," as the narrator pronounces it) and link their Amazon Prime account with their Volvo On Call account — or OnStar, in the case of GM-branded vehicles. Once they register their delivery location in a publicly accessible location, users can select the "In-Car" option at checkout. They get a notification when the delivery is en route and once it's completed and the car is relocked. Volvo has been offering in-car delivery in certain European countries since 2015 through its Volvo On Call platform, which enables services like the ability to send calendar-based navigation destinations directly to the vehicle, find nearby gas stations and help locate the vehicle when you forget where you parked it. Volvo says the platform is now available in roughly 50 countries and covers more than 90 percent of its global sales. The service is compatible with 2015 or newer Volvo, Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC vehicles. Volvo says it's available to the majority of Volvo owners, while GM says more than 7 million vehicle owners can qualify. The service is expected to roll out to more cities later. You can check eligibility at amazon.com/keyincar. Related Video: Buick Cadillac Chevrolet GM GMC Volvo Technology Infotainment Amazon connected car volvo on call e-commerce

2021 Buick Encore sheds top two trims, offer only Base and Preferred

A few days ago, CarsDirect reported that the 2021 Buick Encore would prune its top two trims, the Sport Touring and Essence variants. Paring those two trims would leave the Base and the Preferred, creating larger price and amenities differences between the stalwart Encore and the new, larger, nicer Encore GX. It turns out the change has already gone into effect for the 2020 model year, as shown in Encore's Build & Price page at the brand's web site. Now the only trims available are the 1SV and Preferred. The prices for these trims won't change for next year, either. The Encore will start at $24,195 after a $995 destination charge, and now topping out at $26,215 for the all-wheel drive Preferred model. Previously, the Essence AWD established the top of the hill at $31,795. The move eliminates almost all of the MSRP overlap with the Encore GX, which ranges from $25,195 to $31,595. There will be less feature overlap, too. The now-dead Encore trims opened the door to proper luxury amenities like LED headlights, leather seats, dual-zone climate control, and an auto dimming rear-view mirror. The amenities available on the Preferred are limited to floor mats and accessories, save for the $495 Safety Package that adds Rear Cross Traffic Alert and Side Blind Zone Alert, and the $300 Remote Start. The Encore GX comes in three trims, Preferred, Select, and Essence, and "Leather-appointed seating" doesn't appear until the top-dollar Essence trim for $29,495 in FWD fettle.  The closest the Encore and Encore GX will get to one another is in engine output. The smaller crossover comes only with a 1.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder that makes 138 horsepower and 148 pound-feet of torque. The Encore GX offers two engines depending on powertrain. A 1.2-liter turbocharged three-cylinder with 137 hp and 166 lb-ft comes solely with front-wheel drive, and a 1.3-liter turbocharged three-cylinder with 155 hp and 174 lb-ft is available with either front- or all-wheel drive. Related Video:    

Buick Regal lives on in China, gets visual and tech updates

Axed from the American market after the 2020 model year, the Buick Regal lives on in China. It's selling well enough across the Pacific for the General Motors-owned brand to justify investing in a round of updates that includes a new-look exterior design and more interior tech. Chinese buyers only have access to the sedan variant of the Regal; the TourX wagon briefly sold on our shores isn't available. The facelift includes sharper-looking headlights, a big grille that occupies most of the space on a redesigned front bumper, and Buick's new logo. Not much has changed when you look at the Regal from the side, it still features an upswept line that runs across the bottom of both doors, and Buick chose not to publish photos of the rear end which strongly suggests little has been updated. New wheel designs are available as well. Most of the changes made to the interior fall in the technology basket. Buick notably added its QuietTuning noise-cancelling function, which promises to make the cabin quieter, while shift-by-wire technology frees up space for two big cupholders on the center console. Connectivity is part of the package, too: Buick's eConnect infotainment system includes an artificial intelligence-powered Baidu voice assistant. Power for China's Regal comes from a turbocharged, 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine whose output hasn't been released. Alternatively, the list of options includes a 2.0-liter turbo-four rated at 233 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque. It spins the front wheels via a nine-speed automatic transmission. In contrast, the Regal sold here was available with anywhere from 250 to 310 horsepower depending on the trim. Pricing for the 2023 Buick Regal starts at 159,800 Chinese yuan, which represents around $22,400. China is the Regal's last bastion. Buick left the sedan segment in the United States after it swept the Regal out of its range in 2020, and no evidence credibly suggests that a successor for our market is in the pipeline. Opel — which General Motors sold to Peugeot in 2017 — developed the Regal and sold its own version of it called Insignia across Europe until 2022. Here again, the model won't be directly replaced. Continuing our global tour, Australia-based Holden tried to market a variant of the Insignia as a replacement for the rear-wheel-drive, V8-powered Commodore from 2018 to 2020. The model flopped and retired after a lackluster career, and Holden closed shortly after. Related video: