1971 Buick Skylark Custom Convertible 2-door 5.7l on 2040-cars

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NHTSA, IIHS, and 20 automakers to make auto braking standard by 2022

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and virtually every automaker in the US domestic market have announced a pact to make automatic emergency braking standard by 2022. Here's the full rundown of companies involved: BMW, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Jaguar Land Rover, Kia, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Subaru, Tesla, Toyota, Volkswagen, and Volvo (not to mention the brands that fall under each automaker's respective umbrella). Like we reported yesterday, AEB will be as ubiquitous in the future as traction and stability control are today. But the thing to note here is that this is not a governmental mandate. It's truly an agreement between automakers and the government, a fact that NHTSA claims will lead to widespread adoption three years sooner than a formal rule. That fact in itself should prevent up to 28,000 crashes and 12,000 injuries. The agreement will come into effect in two waves. For the majority of vehicles on the road – those with gross vehicle weights below 8,500 pounds – AEB will need to be standard equipment by September 1, 2022. Vehicles between 8,501 and 10,000 pounds will have an extra three years to offer AEB. "It's an exciting time for vehicle safety. By proactively making emergency braking systems standard equipment on their vehicles, these 20 automakers will help prevent thousands of crashes and save lives," said Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx said in an official statement. "It's a win for safety and a win for consumers." Read on for the official press release from NHTSA. Related Video: U.S. DOT and IIHS announce historic commitment of 20 automakers to make automatic emergency braking standard on new vehicles McLEAN, Va. – The U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety announced today a historic commitment by 20 automakers representing more than 99 percent of the U.S. auto market to make automatic emergency braking a standard feature on virtually all new cars no later than NHTSA's 2022 reporting year, which begins Sept 1, 2022. Automakers making the commitment are Audi, BMW, FCA US LLC, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Jaguar Land Rover, Kia, Maserati, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi Motors, Nissan, Porsche, Subaru, Tesla Motors Inc., Toyota, Volkswagen and Volvo Car USA.

Refreshed 2019 Buick Envision gets sharper edges, optional nine-speed transmission

After 18 months on the market in the United States, the Buick Envision took its place as the third-best-selling vehicle among Buick's eight models, slotting in behind the Encore and Enclave. January sales this year jumped 13.7-percent year-over-year, just a few hundred behind the Enclave. Now, the Chinese-made compact SUV gets a modest makeover, but buyers of the 2019 Buick Envision will need to reach up into the upper trims to access the best of what's new. The big mechanical upgrade comes with the option of GM's Hydra-Matic 9T50 nine-speed automatic instead of standard the six-speed. However, that appears to be limited to just two of the five available Envision trims: Premium I and Premium II. The base, Preferred, and Essence models stick with the six-speed only. Design changes center around the front and rear fascias. The grille motif switches to a be-winged Buick emblem - in tri-color spec, not monochrome - over the previous waterfall, matching that of the sibling crossovers. The lower front fascia gets redrawn, with the fog lights at the edges now sitting in square recesses with reworked chrome trim and sharper edges on the bumper. Premium trims move up from HID projectors to bi-LED headlights, while the other three trims shed their composite halogens for HID lights. According to the 2019 order guide, Ebony seats with Dark Plum interior accents leave the menu, replaced by Dark Galvanized leather seats with Ebony trim. White interior lighting will illuminate the instrument panel and door trim, replacing Ice Blue, and comfort/convenience tweaks come in the form of wireless phone charging, an cabin air ionizer and a button to shut off the stop-start system. The latter would be a noteworthy upgrade as it's been a common complaint logged against so-equipped GM vehicles. In back, design elements get sharper edges, and the taillights switch to slimmer LED units. Designers have hidden the single exhaust outlet on the lower three trims with the base, 197-horsepower 2.5-liter engine. It appears that choosing the optional, 252-hp 2.0-liter engine will be identified by dual rectangular exhaust finishers instead of the round tips of previous years. Exterior colors hold steady at six, but Midnight Amethyst Metallic gives way to Satin Steel Gray Metallic, and the current 19-inch wheels get replaced with two new designs. The 2019 Buick Envision has already gone on sale in China, and should reach U.S. dealers in April. Related Video:

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.