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Buick Wildcat EV concept previews the future of the brand

Once again, Buick has revealed a drop-dead stunner of a coupe concept, the Wildcat EV. And just like the Avista that came before it, don't get your hopes up too high for a production model. Buick hasn't said "no," but they haven't said "yes," either. But unlike the Avista, the Wildcat does give us a look at where Buick is going as far as styling, branding and technology. Also, did we mention it's freaking gorgeous? The Wildcat EV started out as a sketch by a Buick designer that caught the eye of the department, simply because it was really cool. The team started developing it further, and eventually the brand gave the go-ahead to bring it to the full-size concept you see here. It is purely a design concept, so although it's an EV by name, it doesn't have any kind of production powertrain or real specs. But it is designed with electric power in mind, as evidenced by the extremely long wheelbase and short overhangs. And this translates into Buick's electric future. The brand plans to be fully electric by 2030, and its first EV will launch in 2024 as a 2025 model. The shape of the coupe is very clean, simple and organic, but with interesting creases and intersections scattered throughout. It has wide haunches and a low, pointy nose. The grille is pushed down and made wide, which accentuates the shape of the car. The badge now sits atop the bumper, too. The greenhouse has blacked-out front pillars to create a wraparound look, and the roof has a gentle slope toward the rear. It incorporates a glass hatch, and the taillights blend into the glass and extend all the way up the rear pillars. While Buick isn't making a commitment either way for the Wildcat EV, these styling cues will appear on future Buick models. So imagine the front and rear fascias, the window treatment and sheetmetal detailing, but on other bodystyles, likely crossovers and SUVs. In fact, Buick said it has two models it will reveal later this year with some styling based on the Wildcat. Before we get too far from design, we should also highlight other cool aspects of the Wildcat EV concept. The wheels are turbine shaped as a throwback to Jet Age design and optimism. Each wheel took two months to produce and finish. The doors on the Wildcat are conventional, except for the gull-wing upper panels. They open up to make ingress and egress easier. And the interior is a gorgeous, mid-century-modern design.

Junkyard Gem: 1985 Buick Somerset Regal Limited

The Oldsmobile, Buick and Cadillac divisions of The General's mighty army got serious about their attempts to compete with futuristic and stylish German and Japanese coupes during the second half of the 1980s, with cars such as the Cadillac Allante, Oldsmobile Toronado Trofeo, and Buick Reatta. They featured edgy styling, wild digital dashes, and other interesting gadgetry. Before them, however, came the Buick Somerset. Built for the 1985 through 1987 model years, only the '85s were badged as Somerset Regals. Here's one of those ultra-rare cars, spotted in a San Francisco Bay Area self-service wrecking yard. This badging confused many Buick shoppers at the time, because the 1985 Regal was a "traditional" midsize rear-wheel-drive car, based on the increasingly antiquated G-Body platform, and the Somerset Regal was an N-Body front-wheel-drive compact. For 1985 and 1986, the car became the Buick Somerset. The interior is your standard Whorehouse Red velour, a theme used by everybody from Nissan to Chrysler during the 1985-1995 period. This cloth looks pretty nice for a car from sunny California. Digital dashes became very trendy during this period, with Mitsubishi, Subaru, Nissan, and even Toyota getting into the act during the first part of the decade, and everyone else jumping on the bandwagon a bit later. The radio face went into this weird pod perched over the HVAC controls, which looked like something from the Mars Base and made aftermarket audio-system installation nearly impossible. The factory cassette deck, if desired, had to go elsewhere in the console. The base engine in the Somerset Regal was the decidedly un-European Iron Duke four-cylinder with 92 horsepower, but this car has the optional 120-horse 3.0-liter V6. In theory, a 5-speed manual transmission was available, but I'm guessing that the quantity of so-equipped Somerset Regals was numbered in the high dozens. There's plenty of hard red plastic and fake wood inside, of course. Base price on a V6 Somerset Regal Limited came to $10,026 (about $24,000 in 2018 dollars). Meanwhile, a Pontiac Grand Am LE with the 3.0 V6 was nearly the same car and listed at $8,970. If you wanted even crazier electronics and an interior that looked like something out of a jet fighter, the 1985 Subaru XT GL had a $9,899 price tag. Give me savvy. Give me cool. Give me a car that breaks all the rules. Give me the look. Give me the feel. Give me the magic. Give me the wheel.

Buick shows off new Ultra Luxury Interior for LaCrosse

The options sheet of the 2014 Buick LaCrosse gets all kinds of fancy with the addition of the Ultra Luxury Interior. Pointing its Tri-Shield logo at the world of haute luxury, the cabin treatment combines sangria leather with ebony accents, shadow tamo ash wood trim and a microsuede headliner to "drive fashion forward."
You'll need to start with LaCrosse models with the 3.6-liter V6 and either the Leather, Premium or Premium II trims to go all Brioni and Buckingham on the cabin, and the privilege package will run you $2,495. We're told that you won't find such contrasting hues anywhere else in the class, though, and that kind of exclusivity might make any price a bargain.
You can find more information on the Ultra Luxury Interior in the press release below, along with some intensely fashion-foward gobbledygook.