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Little-bit-bigger 2020 Buick Encore GX gets two three-cylinder engines

Ford broke the ice on selling three-cylinder engines in the U.S. with the 2014 Fiesta, then followed up with the EcoSport. Buick is about to widen that supermini-sized crack in the ice with the 2020 Encore GX. The semi-subcompact crossover will come in three trim levels that mix-and-match two turbocharged three-cylinder engines, two transmissions, and two drivetrains. The smaller engine is a 1.2-liter three-pot with 137 horsepower and 166 pound-feet of torque. This comes in one horse and 18 lb-ft of twist beyond the 1.4-liter four-cylinder in the smaller Encore. This engine will only be paired with a CVT and front-wheel drive in the Preferred, Select, and Essence trims. The meatier motor is a 1.3-liter three-cylinder with 155 hp and 174 lb-ft. That's down on the 163 hp and 177 lb-ft that the same engine produces in the Chinese-market version of the Encore GX. However, it gets buyers close to the 1.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder that used to be optional on the smaller Encore, producing 153 hp and 177 lb-ft. This engine can be optioned on the front-wheel drive Select and Essence trims, where it would be mated to the CVT. The 1.3-liter three-cylinder is standard on all trims optioned with all-wheel drive, where it gets paired with GM's nine-speed automatic. GM does say the horsepower figures are estimates at the moment, so don't be surprised at any slight changes before deliveries begin next year. The Encore GX will serve buyers who would love it if the Encore had a bit more room but don't want to step up to the Envision. For a price GM hasn't announced yet, the Encore GX will reward those buyers with five more feet of cargo space, and some extra power for all those who decide to level up further. The junior Encore weighs just over 3,200 pounds, it's likely the Encore GX will shade that some. The Encore GX does ride on GM's new VSS-F platform, though, so the advanced architecture could provide an overall superior experience even with the lesser three-cylinder. GM has also said that the Encore GX will come standard with safety kit like forward collision alert and lane keep assist with a lane departure warning, features that are cost extras on the Encore. The Encore GX will also include automatic emergency braking, which can't be had on the Encore at any price.

General Motors posts record earnings, but global sales fall

General Motors started the year with record success. The automaker's $2.7 billion in adjusted earnings before interest and taxes was its highest ever in in the first quarter of 2016, up from $2.1 billion in from the same time period a year earlier. Net income grew to $1.95 billion, which was more than double the $953 million in the same period last year. The company's figures also beat analysts' predictions, according to the Detroit Free Press. Despite the financial growth, global sales actually decreased by 2.5 percent to 2.36 million vehicles. "We're growing where it counts, gaining retail share in the US, outpacing the industry in Europe and capitalizing on robust growth in SUV and luxury segments in China," CEO Mary Barra said in the company's financial announcement. GM did well in North America with an adjusted EBIT of $2.3 billion, up from $2.2 billion last year. Sales in the region also grew 1.2 percent to 800,000 vehicles. According to The Detroit Free Press, the company has been especially successful at selling more expensive models in the US. The company's average vehicle was $34,600 in Q1, about $3,000 more than the industry average. Elsewhere in the world, GM also showed improvement. Europe practically broke even after losing about $200 million last year, and Opel and Vauxhall sales grew 8.4 percent to more than 300,000 vehicles for the quarter. South America only lost $100 million, which was half as much as Q1 2015's $200 million loss. China remained flat at $500 million of income. Cadillac volume jumped 6.1 percent there, and Buick's deliveries increased 22 percent, thanks to the Envision crossover's success. GM Reports First-Quarter Net Income of $2.0 Billion 2016-04-21 EPS diluted of $1.24; First-quarter record EPS diluted-adjusted of $1.26 First-quarter record EBIT-adjusted of $2.7 billion GM Europe posts break-even performance DETROIT – General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) today announced first-quarter net income to common stockholders of $2.0 billion or $1.24 per diluted share, compared to $0.9 billion or $0.56 per diluted share a year ago. Earnings per share diluted-adjusted for special items was a first-quarter record at $1.26, up 47 percent compared to the first quarter of 2015. The company set first-quarter records for earnings and margin, with earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) adjusted of $2.7 billion and EBIT-adjusted margin of 7.1 percent.

Junkyard Gem: 1973 Buick LeSabre Custom Hardtop Sedan

The steps on Alfred Sloan's "Ladder of Success," in which you'd start your career by buying a Chevrolet and then move up through the GM marques as your wealth increased, stayed rigidly fixed from the 1930s into the late 1960s. By the early 1970s, though, "prestige creep" among The General's divisions had set in, with lower-zoot marques leapfrogging their betters with ballooning price tags and snob appeal; a fully-loaded Chevy Caprice could cost more than an Olds 98, a Pontiac Bonneville could out-snoot a Buick LeSabre, and the LeSabre itself came to threaten mighty Cadillac at the top of the GM pyramid. Here's a fully depreciated '73 LeSabre Custom Hardtop Sedan, once the picture of Malaise Era opulence but now brought down to earth in a San Jose self-service car graveyard. The high-rollingest of all LeSabres in 1973 was the Custom (though shoppers for full-sized 1973 Buicks really wishing to rub the noses of their lessers in their success could opt for the even pricier Centurion or Electra 225), and that's what I found among the Achievas and Cateras of this yard's GM section. Wasps now nest in the rust holes caused by rainwater seeping beneath the padded vinyl roof, but this car once told the world, "I've made it!" It went without saying that your big, comfy Detroit luxury sedan had a big, comfy front bench seat; let those frivolous rakehells in their Rivieras have their bucket seats. Believe it or not, a three-on-the-tree column-shift manual transmission was still standard equipment on the lower-level Buick Century in 1973, but all LeSabre buyers enjoyed two-pedal luxury that year. Some junkyard shopper grabbed the massive 455-cubic-inch (7.5-liter) V8 — rated at 225 horsepower, due to Nixon's stricter emissions standards and the switch from gross to net horsepower ratings — before I got here. I'm guessing this car got driven into the ground by the early 2000s (there's a 2001 calendar inside) and then spent the next couple of decades bleaching in the harsh South Bay sun before arriving here. So good, shoppers bought them sight unseen!