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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.

Buick Envision Plus is a seven-seater tweener developed for China

Buick has filled the gap separating the Envision and the Enclave with a new crossover named Envision Plus. Launched at the Shanghai auto show, the three-row people-mover is scheduled to go on sale in China later in 2021. The plus-sized Envision stretches 190.7 inches long, 74.1 inches wide, and 66.7 inches tall, figures that make it around eight inches longer and two inches taller than the regular Envision. It's also a full 14 inches shorter, four inches narrower, and three inches lower than the Enclave, which is the biggest crossover in the Buick range. Designers didn't settle for stretching the Envision's wheelbase. They gave the Plus a more upright front end characterized by a taller grille, a flatter and longer roofline, and a redesigned rear end accented by a strip of bright trim that connects the lights. Only photos of the upscale Avenir trim (shown above) have been published so far. Images of the cabin are not available yet. We expect the Plus offers an interior close to the standard Envision's — from the driver's point of view, at least. The biggest difference is that the longer Envision lives up to its name by letting motorists take more gear or kids along for the ride thanks to a more spacious trunk and third-row seats. Power for the Envision Plus comes from a turbocharged, 2.0-liter EcoTec four-cylinder engine fitted with 48-volt mild-hybrid technology. Bolted to a nine-speed automatic transmission, the turbo-four is the same basic engine found in the American-spec Envision, where it develops 228 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque, but figures for the Plus weren't released. Front- and all-wheel-drive models will presumably be available. Buick will release pricing information closer to the model's on-sale date. As of writing, the Envision Plus has only been announced for China, where it will be built, but unverified reports claim it will arrive in American showrooms before the end of 2021. We've reached out to the company, and we'll update this story if we learn more. 2021 Buick Verano Pro GS View 5 Photos What else did Buick show in Shanghai? Buick no longer sells sedans in America, but it remains present in that segment on the Chinese market. In addition to the Envision Plus, it unveiled a model named Verano Pro developed specifically for China, built locally, and aimed at relatively young buyers. At launch, motorists will be asked to choose between the regular sedan and a sportier-looking variant that wears the storied GS emblem.

Question of the Day: Coolest factory-supercharged car?

Last week, we discussed possible engine-swap recipients for the plentiful-in-every-junkyard Eaton-supercharged GM 3800 V6 engine. The Buicks, Oldsmobiles, and Pontiacs that came with that engine from the factory were reasonably cool, of course, but when you look at all the production cars that have been available with supercharging over the decades you can find some pretty amazing stuff. My personal favorite has to be the Paxton-blown Studebaker Larks of the early 1960s, partly because the Lark was just about the stodgiest-looking, sleepiest little sedan available in America, possibly the most ridiculous recipient of a howling force-fed V8 imaginable, and partly because of the name of the optional supercharged 289-cubic-inch V8 you could get in the Lark: Jet-Thrust! What do you say is the coolest factory-supercharged car of all time? Related Video: Auto News Buick Automotive History Performance Classics supercharger questions