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Two nearly new 1987 Buick Grand National 'twins' found in garage after 30 years

Back in the '80s, a Buick Grand National could leave a lot of vehicles in its dust. The final, 1987 version of the menacingly styled performance coupe produced 245 horsepower and 355 pound feet of torque, and it was never designed to sit still, let alone for 30 years. But two low-mile Grand Nationals did just that. At the time, it was widely known that nothing like the Grand National would be built again, as the Regal platform would be moving to front-wheel drive. So a lot of buyers stockpiled Grand Nationals and rarer GNX versions with the idea of making a buck on them when they gained value. Some people even bought several. That's what happened to these two cars, recently unearthed from their slumber. Thirty years of storage has turned them into barn finds instead of showroom beauties, and they haven't exactly been flawlessly preserved. A story reported on gm-efi.com shows the cars – the "Twins," as they're called – parked side to side, the way they were laid to rest decades ago, with thick dust on them. Two enthusiasts, Shawn Matthews and William Avila, originally contacted the owner, who had posted them for sale on Facebook with a staggering $200,000 asking price. After inspecting the cars and confirming they were legit, the prospective buyers managed to strike a deal for an undisclosed sum. The story does say the seller was a bit eccentric, demanding money in hand before the cars could be touched at all, but the cars were eventually acquired and transported to a shop for desperately needed refurbishing. Time has caused the headliners on both cars to droop, and it's obvious all gaskets and fluids will need to be addressed, but both cars have extremely low odometer readings: One has 807 miles on the clock, while the other hasn't even reached 600. The car with a more miles was moved "once in a while," so clearly the original owner couldn't resist giving it a go while the other one slept. We couldn't've, either. Related Video: Featured Gallery Two Old Buick Grand Nationals View 12 Photos News Source: gm-efi.com via BarnFinds Auto News Buick Classics buick grand national grand national

Porsche and Buick earn top honors in J.D. Power Sales Satisfaction Index Study

Customer satisfaction with car buying has been at a low point over the past few years, as price increases, inventory shortages, and COVID restrictions have complicated every part of the process. There are signs of improvement, however, as J.D. Power’s 2023 U.S. Sales Satisfaction Index Study showed that customer satisfaction has improved slightly from a year ago. J.D. Power rates satisfaction on a 1,000-point scale, finding that it improved seven points to 793 from last year. Improving inventory levels and a slow leveling off of prices have contributed to that improvement, and fewer people are paying above MSRP for new cars. Some auto brands performed better than others with sales satisfaction. Porsche ranked highest among premium brands, followed by Alfa Romeo. Buick took the top spot among mass-market brands, with GMC, Chevrolet, and Mitsubishi behind. J.D. Power also handed out segment-level awards: Premium Cars: Porsche Premium SUV: Porsche Mass-Market Car: Chevrolet Mass-Market SUV/Minivan: GMC Mass-Market Truck: GMC Despite the increase in sales satisfaction, thereÂ’s still room for improvement to reach pre-pandemic levels. J.D. Power noted gaps in salesperson knowledge as an area of improvement. Buyers rated salespeople much better during a gas vehicle purchase than with EVs, citing their expertise as a challenge. Pricing remains a challenge despite an improvement since 2022, and satisfaction is still below pre-pandemic levels. Mass-market buyers reported a slight bump in satisfaction, while premium buyers felt that pricing was less fair than a year before. ItÂ’s an interesting contrast, showing that dealer pricing tactics can significantly impact satisfaction with the sales process. Fewer people may be paying more than MSRP, but several premium models still list with significant markups. Even more interesting is PorscheÂ’s top spot on the satisfaction list, as its cars often sell with huge upcharges, and itÂ’s exceedingly tricky even to get a build allocation for some models. Buick Chevrolet GMC Porsche Car Buying Ownership

Buick and Bar Refaeli teach in-car yoga

We're not sure which make or model you'd most readily associate with yoga. You'd probably see a fair few Mercedes convertibles, VW Beetles, and assorted minivans and crossovers outside your typical American yoga studio. But not to be left out of the contorting action, Buick is out to link itself to the age-old practice with these latest videos. They feature, as you can see, the ever lithe and supple Bar Rafaeli, clad in spandex, stretching and contorting herself inside and out of a Buick Verano. Which is really all you should need to know, but there's a little more to the clip above (and the behind-the-scenes video below) than eye candy. Choreographed by yoga guru Chad Dennis, the idea behind the video – cleverly entitled The Body Shop – is to show drivers, in as artful and visually pleasing a way as possible, how to limber up their body, mind, and soul in preparation for (or recovery from) a long drive. It also serves to promote the brand's new 24 Hours of Happiness test drive program that lets prospective buyers take a Buick home and try it out for a day before buying. And if nothing else, it aptly demonstrates that Buick has excellent taste – or at least as good as Sports Illustrated that gave the Israeli model her first big break, Leonardo DiCaprio whom she dates for several years, and the dozens of fashion labels, jewelry brands, and magazines for which she's posed in recent years.