1996 Buick Roadmaster Collector's Edition Wagon 5.7v8 Awesome Cruiser No Reserve on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Junkyard Gem: 1993 Buick Roadmaster Sedan

In 1931, GM's Buick Division introduced an eight-cylinder engine in its stolid rear-wheel-drive sedan models, and Americans could buy big, comfortable Buick four-doors with straight-eights and — starting in the 1954 model year — V8s driving the rear wheels for more than a half-century after that. Then, the last rear-wheel-drive LeSabre left the assembly line in 1985, and it seemed that an era had ended forever. But wait! For the 1992 model year, Buick revived the Roadmaster name and applied it to an old-timey giant sedan with a V8 engine sending power to the proper wheels. Production of the Roadmaster sedan continued through 1996, and I've found one of those throwback Buicks in a Denver self-service car graveyard. Yes, in an America full of front-wheel-drive cars contaminated by European or — even worse — Japanese influences, The General brought back the spirit of the 1931 Buick sedan. Sure, it was really a near-identical twin to the "whale-body" Chevy Caprice, complete with Chevrolet small-block V8 engine, but that didn't matter. This was the kind of Buick that our prosperous great-grandparents bought in 1932 and 1948 and 1957. And the appeal of the great big eight-cylinder Buick sedan wasn't just limited to the United States. When the film adaptation of the great Marguerite Duras novel, L'Amant, was made, only a 1932 Buick 90 sedan would have made sense for the wheels of the wealthy Saigon heir. A big reason Buick is such an important brand in China right now is the legacy left by the memorable Buick machinery that owned the roads of 1930s China. These days, most of the 1992-1996 Roadmasters you'll see will be the station wagons, but we mustn't forget the sedans. Looking at the interior of this car is like a flashback to the 1960s, when stately Buick sedans had squishy seats you'd just disappear into when you climbed in. Cool-sounding names for ordinary features had gone out of style decades earlier, but not for the Roadmaster! Dynaride was a rear suspension that used air shocks and a compressor to keep the ride height level regardless of load. The last model year for a genuine Buick V8 engine was 1980, though you could make the case that the Rover V8 (made until 2006) was really a Buick all along. The engine in this car is pure Chevrolet: a 5.7-liter small-block V8 rated at 180 horsepower. Buick was a big Olympics sponsor at this time, while Oldsmobile handled golf. Still, the Buick-buying demographic of 1993 tended to approve of golf.

GM reworking mandatory OnStar plans for some 2024 models

For the 2023 model year, GM added its OnStar and Connected Services plan as standard equipment to a large number of Buick, GMC, and Chevrolet vehicles. Folding the $1,500 retail price into the MSRPs of models like the GMC Acadia and Buick Encore plumped up prices beyond the usual year-on-year bumps. Looks like there's a reversal in play for 2024, GM Authority reporting that many of the models fitted with OnStar and Connected Services — now called OnStar Premium — will step down to three years of OnStar Remote Access standard.   OnStar Remote Access comes with these features: Remote key fob, vehicle locate, and remote personalization through mobile and in-vehicle apps. Three additional features can be added to the plan: OnStar Guardian, in-vehicle hotspot, and Super Cruise. Owners can also upgrade to OnStar Premium if they choose.  Higher trims like Buick's Avenir and GMC's Denali, plus the GMC Hummer and the Cadillac Escalade will retain OnStar Premium as standard equipment. That suite starts with Remote Access and adds: Automatic crash response, stolen vehicle assistance and recovery, OnStar Guardian, in-vehicle app access, unlimited streaming, three years of Super Cruise on vehicles with the hardware, and six months of SiriusXM radio. The Escalade puts a cherry on top with three years Sirius XM instead of six months. The Remote Access plan normally charges $14.99 per month. We're not sure yet if GM will subtract the cost of OnStar Premium from the MSRP and add the $540 for OnStar Remote Access, or if the trial period comes free of charge. Even if that's what happens, the change could take nearly $1,000 off the MSRP of a car like the GMC Acadia before any 2024 increases. We'll know more as the 2024MY models roll out and prices are announced. Related Video 2022 Buick Enclave Avenir revealed

2024 Buick Envista Avenir Interior Review: A real winner from Buick

The 2024 Buick Envista is the first Buick product I’ve driven in recent history thatÂ’s kept me thinking about it for much longer after handing the keys back. Much of that credit is due to Buick pricing it so low, but itÂ’s not like there arenÂ’t other cheap cars out there. The difference, of course, is that the Envista is both affordable and a really good car at the same time. You can read about how effective the tiny and frugal 1.2-liter turbo engine is in our First Drive, or get the full download about the various trims in our Buying Guide, but here IÂ’m going to focus on its impressive interior in its most exemplary form. My test Envista pictured throughout is the Avenir trim, which is the top-shelf, priciest model, and yet it still only starts at $29,695. That feels like a steal in todayÂ’s ever-expensive car market given its size and level of equipment. So, whatÂ’s the catch?  First impressions are wildly positive when I settle into the AvenirÂ’s comfortable, heated leather seats and run my hands along the soft leather of the heated flat-bottom steering wheel. Then I check out whatÂ’s in front of me and notice the dual-screen layout housed cleanly in a single slab in the dash. The 11-inch touchscreen infotainment system is barebones as it gets from a software and user interface perspective, but that simplicity is somewhat refreshing. You get wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, along with good enough hardware that everything runs fluidly and responds quickly to touches. The 8-inch digital instrument panel is verging on being too simplistic in favor of minimalism, though. Many of the typical gauges you might see in a cluster are instead tucked into a menu on the infotainment display, and customization of that cluster screen is similarly limited. ItÂ’s functional, but thereÂ’s room for improvement or at least customization. The Pebble Gray and black two-tone look of this Avenir model is rather dashing combined with the Cinnabar Metallic exterior paint, and “Avenir” being stitched into the headrests is an upper-class touch. Also appreciated is the soft dash in front of the passenger with pretty stitching and an intriguing crease-like pattern in the material. This carries through into the doors and the door armrests, which are also padded, something you donÂ’t get in the brutally hard doors of this carÂ’s platform mate, the Chevrolet Trax.