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Last-ever Buick Grand National heads to Barrett-Jackson auction

This 1987 Buick Grand National brought the curtains down on a heap of General Motors history. When this black beauty rolled down the line at 5 p.m. on December 11, 1987, it represented the end of manufacturing at GM's Pontiac Assembly Plant after 60 years building cars. This was the last car to sit on GM's G-Body platform, having supported legendary names like Monte Carlo, Cutlass Supreme, and Regal. And this was the last-ever Buick Grand National, a big coupe that in just five years on the market had helped make the Buick Regal lineup an object of sincere lust among enthusiasts. Powered by a 3.8-liter turbocharged and intercooled 3.8-liter V6, the engine made 245 horsepower and 355 pound-feet of torque. The only car above it in the lineup was the exceptionally rare GNX, which made 276 hp and 360 lb-ft. The Buick Grand National is headed to the Barrett-Jackson auction block in Scottsdale next month.    Louisiana resident Bob Colvin bought this car from the factory. The Drive spoke to Colvin, who explained that then-GM President Roger Smith told him he could have the penultimate Grand National, but Buick planned to put the last car on display. When Colvin arrived at the plant, though, Colvin said the plant manager told him, "I'm running this plant and you've gone through the effort to be here. It will be a real celebration," and got him the last car made. As proof, a GM film crew followed the car down the line, plant workers and two GM execs signed various parts of the engine, including current GM President Mark Reuss. The car comes with all of the autographs and signage the autoworkers created to go with the car, as well as the original window sticker. Colvin and his wife built an addition onto their house to display the car. Save for a trip to the Buick Centennial Celebration in 2003, the Buick has lived in its special place all its life and has just 33 miles on the odometer. Behind the new-car plastic that shrouds the interior, the only flaw appears to be a tiny crack in the steering wheel center cap where a bolt might have been overtorqued. The car is being offered with no reserve, the pre-sale estimate landing right around the $500,000 mark. That would about double recent auction sales for low-mileage GNX's this year, but there's every reason to believe this car's one-of-one place in history could get auction paddles waving. 

General Motors Recall List

It seems General Motors can't go more than a few weeks without issuing a major recall. Since the initial ignition lock recall on February 10, over 25 million vehicles have been recalled for defects. It seems General Motors can't go more than a few weeks without issuing a major recall. Since the initial ignition lock recall on February 10, over 25 million vehicles have been recalled for defects. We used the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recall list to compile a snapshot of all the GM vehicles recalled in the last two months. NHTSA also provides a search engine that allows owners to search for recalls on their vehicle. An automotive company must do everything in their power to notify its customers when a recall is issued on a vehicle. If you own any of the following vehicles and you have questions regarding your car, you can contact Chevrolet at 1-866-694-6546, GMC at 1-866-996-9463, Buick at 1-800-521-7300 and Cadillac at 1-866-982-2339. Or check out General Motor's recall site. Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153) or go to www.safercar.gov. Here's a brief summery of the other vehicles currently under recall: July 26 – 414,333 cars affected NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V447000 Models under recall: Certain model year 2011-2012 Buick LaCrosse, Regal and Chevrolet Camaro, as well as certain 2010-2012 Cadillac SRX, Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain vehicles, equipped with power height adjustable driver and passenger seats. Problem: In the affected vehicles, the bolt that secures the driver's and passenger's power front seat height adjuster may fall out causing the seat to drop suddenly to the lowest vertical position. Consequence: If the driver's seat unexpectedly drops, the distraction and altered seat position may affect the drivers' control of the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash. Solution: Dealers will replace the height adjuster shoulder bolts, free of charge. July 14 – 16,939 cars affected NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V341000 Models under recall: Certain model year 2011 Cadillac CTS vehicles manufactured October 18, 2010, to June 2, 2011. Problem: In the affected vehicles, vibrations from the drive shaft may cause the vehicle's roll over sensor to command the roof rail air bags to deploy. Consequence: If the roof rail air bags deploy unexpectedly, there is an increased risk of crash and injury to the occupants.

2025 Buick Enclave revealed with new looks, technology

The 2025 Buick Enclave has been revealed, and as expected it combines Buick's current corporate styling with the new-generation three-row SUV platform shared with the Chevy Traverse and GMC Acadia. It also gets plenty of standard features and technology, along with the first Buick implementation of Super Cruise. The design of the Enclave is much more boxy and upright than the extra-curvy model that precedes it. Even the wheel arches have been squared-up. It's coupled with the shark-nose front fascia taken from the Wildcat concept that has adorned every other vehicle in Buick's lineup. The whole thing is slightly larger than before, too, though Buick didn't specify by how much. And as is the case with most Buicks, there's a base Preferred model, as well as Sport Touring (ST) and Avenir trims that receive appearance tweaks in addition to different feature sets. The ST adopts black trim, including in the grille, whereas the Avenir uses bright metal trim and body color wheel arches, plus larger 22-inch wheels (Preferred and ST have 20-inch wheels). The interior is the biggest upgrade by far, though. Immediately obvious is the standard 30-inch combination instrument and infotainment display. It has a curvy, inverted trapezoid shape that has a slight retro-futurism vibe. It sits atop a low, wide and gently curved dashboard, one with a small set of physical short-cut buttons above the center air vents. A "floating" center console rises to meet the dash, though stops short of connecting to it. Adjustable ambient lighting is standard in here, along with power, heated seats, wireless device charging, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, plus a 12-speaker Bose sound system. Avenir upgrades the sound system to 16 speakers, adds a panoramic sunroof, front seat ventilation and massage function, rear seat heating and a head-up display. Mechanically, the Enclave is basically the same as the Traverse and Acadia. It uses the new platform and also gets the turbocharged 2.5-liter four-cylinder as the sole engine option. In the Enclave, it makes 328 horsepower and 326 pound-feet of torque, the same as the GMC, and a tad more than the Chevy. An eight-speed automatic is the only transmission offering, though both front- and all-wheel drive are available. Towing capacity is again mirrored at 5,000 pounds, and Super Cruise is available, making Enclave the first Buick with the hands-free driving assist system.