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2013 Opel Cascada

The Future Buick Verano Convertible?
I wasn't wearing a pedometer while in Germany covering the Frankfurt Motor Show this year, but it's safe to say I walked more than a few miles between press conferences, shooting cars and trekking back to the media center on the first day alone. For this reason, it didn't take much convincing from General Motors for me to duck out of the Messe a day early and drive some of its latest Opel models. No, this didn't include the all-new Country Tourer, but I was able to drive the Opel Mokka (our Buick Encore), the Opel Adam and the Opel Cascada.
I focused most of my driving time behind the wheel of the Cascada, which went on sale in Europe earlier this year, since rumors are swirling that a Buick version of this convertible "could happen soon." Buick hasn't had a convertible since the Reatta, and GM has been lacking a non-performance, budget-minded convertible since the Pontiac brand - and its G6 - was dropped, so adding the Cascada to Buick showrooms could further help the reemerging brand compete in the near-luxury segment. Although the weather was too chilly (and occasionally rainy) to enjoy the Cascada with its top down for very long, I was able to clock a fair bit of drive time behind the wheel on roads ranging from the autobahn to tight roads in small, quaint villages.

2024 Buick Envision previewed with new design, Super Cruise technology

The second-generation Buick Envision will enter the 2024 model year with an array of updates inside and out and Super Cruise hands-free technology. While the model won't make its full debut until later in 2023, an official preview image gives us a good idea of what to expect. Buick designers gave the Envision's front end a complete overhaul; this is not a subtle nip-and-tuck. The crossover gets a bigger grille positioned lower on the front fascia, bright trim, and the new Buick emblem on its hood. The headlights are now integrated into the bumper, Jeep Cherokee-style (or Citroen-style, depending on where your automotive references lie), and LED daytime running lights replace the outgoing Envision's headlights. The revamped look brings the Envision in line with other recent additions to the Buick range, like the Encore. We'll need to be patient to find out what the rear end looks like, though the overall proportions haven't significantly changed. Similarly, Buick hasn't released photos of the interior yet. We're guessing that infotainment- and trim-related changes will be part of the 2024 updates. The updated Envision will bring the Super Cruise technology already available in several General Motors products, including the Chevrolet Tahoe, to the Buick brand for the first time. Likely offered as an option with a four-digit price tag, the system will allow drivers to take both hands off the wheel when the right conditions are met; the car notably needs to be on a highway that General Motors has mapped. Super Cruise won't make the Envision autonomous, the driver will need to remain focused on the road ahead and ready to take over if needed, but it should make long trips less tiring. As of writing, General Motors has mapped over 400,000 miles of roads in the United States and Canada. Built in China, the 2024 Buick Envision will go on sale across the nation before the end of 2023. More details about it will emerge in the coming months. It's too early to tell what's next, but the company promised it will unveil two additional new vehicles before the end of 2024.

Buick takes top spot in 2022 J.D. Power Initial Quality Study

People, economies, and supply chains weren't the only things continuing to get sick over the past year. The 2022 J.D. Power Initial Quality Study (IQS) is out, showing the average rate of problems per 100 vehicles (PP100) during the first 90 days of ownership increased overall. The average figure for the 32 ranked manufacturers in 2020 was about 166 problems per 100 vehicles. In the 2021 IQS, that dropped to an average of 162. This year, the average jumps to 180 problems. J.D. Power says that figure is a record high over the 36-year history of the study. Buick leapt to the top of the rankings this year with the fewest issues, at 139 problems per 100 vehicles in the first 100 days of ownership. After Dodge became the first American automaker to lead the IQS in 2020, followed by Ram in 2021, this year marks a three-peat for U.S. carmakers. Dodge took second this year at 143 PP100, Chevrolet third with 147 PP100, Genesis the first luxury maker on the chart in fourth with 156 PP100. Between February and May, this year's study gathered responses to 223 questions from more than 84,000 new 2022-model-year car owners and lessees. The questions are designed to zero in on real-world problems new owners encounter with nine categories of vehicle features: Infotainment; features, controls and displays; exterior; driving assistance; interior; powertrain; seats; driving experience; and climate. As has been the case in the past few year, infotainment has proved to be the most problematic bugbear making scores worse. Considering features individually, six of 10 of the worst problem areas dealt with infotainment, causing infotainment's score of 45 PP100 to be 19.5 PP100 worse than the second-placed feature. Consumers ranked getting Android Auto and Apple CarPlay to connect reliably as the most troublesome.  GM didn't just score with Buick, which was one of only nine of the 33 ranked brands to show improvement this year. The conglomerate earned first place with the fewest PP100 among all the automaker groups, and scored the most model-level awards with nine, ahead of BMW with eight and Hyundai Group with three.  This year's study again showed a gap between luxury and mass-market makers, thought to be down to the amount of tech in luxury vehicles that consumers aren't properly informed about or that doesn't act as expected — that latter issue exacerbated by the chip shortage.