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2018 Buick Enclave spied looking slim in Death Valley

The nine-year-old Buick Enclave is well past its prime, but this set of spy photos reveals that GM won't put the vehicle out of its misery, but will give the vehicle a large update instead. Our photographers managed to catch Buick testing a heavily-camouflaged 2018 Enclave testing below sea level near Death Valley. Buick was testing the prototype in Nevada earlier this year, but slapped a trailer onto the back of the SUV. Thanks to the camouflage that covers the badging, headlights, taillights, and hood, there's no way to confirm if the prototype is really a Buick or something from Chevrolet. But the circular outline on the grille has us leaning towards it being a Buick. Five LED running lights shine through the heavy camouflage, while Buick's iconic waterfall grille is prominently uncovered. The Enclave, which came out in 2008, shares the same platform as the GMC Acadia and Chevrolet Traverse. With the new Acadia slimming down and ditching the old Lambda platform in favor of the Chi platform, the Enclave will surely follow suit. The Enclave, though, is expected to get a stretched version of the Chi platform with three rows. While the entire body is concealed, the prototype's side profile looks to be slimmer than the current Enclave. With the addition of the new, lighter platform, the Enclave is expected to get GM's new 3.6-liter V6 with a nine-speed automatic transmission added later down the road. The new Enclave is expected to make its debut early next year as a 2018 model, which will be followed by the reveal of the Traverse shortly after. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2018 Buick Enclave Spy Shots View 13 Photos Image Credit: Spied Bilde Spy Photos Buick GM Crossover SUV Luxury

GM recalls 500K Chevy Camaros for ignition-switch defect

General Motors issued a recall for more than a half million Chevrolet Camaros on Friday morning because of an ignition-switch safety hazard that mirrors the one at the center of the company's current crisis.
The problem affects Camaro models from the 2010 to 2014 model years. Approximately 464,712 cars are impacted in the United States, and 511,528 overall in North America. GM will alter the Camaro key to a more standard design, and will notify car owners with a recall notice in the mail.
In an announcement, the company said the ignition switches on the Camaros are fundamentally different parts than the older ignition switches found on defective cars that are responsible for killing at least 13 people and causing 54 crashes.

GM seeks to exempt Buick Envision from U.S. auto tariffs

General Motors is seeking an exemption to a 25 percent U.S. tariff on its Chinese-made Buick Envision sport utility, the automaker said on Thursday, in a move to prevent the key model in the brand's U.S. lineup from becoming a victim of the U.S.-China trade war. The midsize SUV, priced starting at about $35,000, has become a target for critics of Chinese-made goods, including leaders of the United Auto Workers union and members in key political swing states such as Michigan and Ohio. The Envision, assembled only in China, last year accounted for about 19 percent of Buick brand sales in the United States. GM said in a statement that it filed the request on July 30 with the U.S. Trade Representative. An official notice was posted on Thursday on the regulations.gov website, which is tracking requests for exclusions from the so-called Section 301 tariff on certain imported goods from China. GM, the largest U.S. automaker, argued in its request that Envision sales in China and the United States would generate funds "to invest in our U.S. manufacturing facilities and to develop the next generation of automotive technology in the United States." GM said the "vast majority" of Envisions, about 200,000 a year, are sold in China. About 41,000 were sold last year in the United States. Because of the lower U.S. sales volume, "assembly in our home market is not an option" for the Envision, which competes with such midsize crossover vehicles as the Jeep Grand Cherokee and the Cadillac XT5. GM has taken other steps to soften the blow of tariffs, which hit just as the automaker had lowered the price of the Envision to make it more competitive. Ahead of the July 6 start for higher import tariffs, GM shipped in a six-month supply of Envisions at the much lower 2.5 percent tariff rate. Envision sales from April through June plunged to just 7,000 vehicles, while inventories climbed to more than 13,000 vehicles at the end of June. At the current sales rate, the Envision supply should be enough to keep many dealers stocked through the end of the year. GM had lowered prices by as much as $2,500 on the 2019 models, which it started shipping in late April. That means Buick's 2,000 U.S. dealers should have lower-priced Envisions to sell well into the fall. "The previous price point was too high" on the 2018 Envision, said Casey Clark, sales manager at Serra Buick GMC Cadillac in Washington, Michigan, in an interview.