1963 Buick Riviera Base Hardtop 2-door 6.6l on 2040-cars

Auto blog

2024 Buick Encore GX First Drive: Fresh from cosmetic surgery

About a year ago, Buick showed us its stunning Wildcat EV concept. While that sporty coupe might never see the end of a production line, it signaled a new direction for the brand’s design. For 2024, Buick gave its most popular model in North America, the Encore GX small SUV, a fairly substantial visual refresh. While it doesnÂ’t get the WildcatÂ’s electric powertrain, the refreshed ute is the first in the lineup to borrow its design cues. It also finally gets the Avenir trim, the epitome of style and luxury previously applied to other Buick models, along with some tech upgrades. So while weÂ’re still not able to get behind the wheel of an electric Buick, the Â’24 Encore GX Avenir AWD landing in our driveway gave us the chance to see what a nip and a tuck can do to elevate this baby Buick crossover. This new face is easy on the eyes, looking more modern and athletic than the previous version. Gone is the somewhat frumpy and bulbous old fascia. Now, we get a sharp nose emblazoned with an all-new logo — the encore GX is the first production car to sport this fresh take on the Buick shields. Below that is the new grille in all its unbroken mesh glory, surrounded by shiny chrome in this Avenir trim. A pair of swoopy winged LED headlights reside just below the elegantly creased hood. From the side, the Avenir gets big, 19-inch aluminum wheels in a Pearl Nickel finish, with that new logo in the center. It also gets body-color fenders as opposed to the black on some of the other trims. In back, we see the new logo repeated prominently again, with the LED taillights looking almost as if theyÂ’re pointing it out. Below that is the brand name spelled out large. At the bottom is what looks like a black diffuser, but we canÂ’t imagine it does much but make the car look sporty. Inside, the big news is the new dual-display “virtual cockpit”, with two screens under a single sheet of glass. On the right side is the 11-inch infotainment touchscreen, on the left is an 8-inch digital instrument cluster. We like the layout of the infotainment home screen, which is easy to use and configurable. Certain information in the infotainment can be sent to the driverÂ’s display — if you want to keep close tabs on your battery voltage, for instance. Prefer the familiarity of your phone? Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard across trim levels. Praise be.

Buick trademarks several variants of Electra name

The Buick Electra was a sometimes-handsome full-size car that sold for decades, but its time came to an end in the early 1990s as the automaker moved toward smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles. That will soon change, as Buick and parent company General Motors recently filed for a series of trademarks for the name. Motor Authority reported that GM filed trademark names ranging from Electra E1 to E9. Though Buick unveiled the Wildcat EV concept earlier this year, it is GM’s only brand without a publicly announced electric vehicle. It has said that an Electra EV would be coming to the U.S. but has not confirmed when itÂ’ll arrive or what it will look like when it does. The automaker says its first EV will come in 2024 and notes that it will offer an all-electric lineup in the U.S. and Canada by 2030, though, so itÂ’s only a matter of time. General Motors already trademarked the Electra GS name last month, which could indicate a high-performance variant in the model line. ItÂ’s unclear if Buick will stick to the Electra formula and make a sleek electric car or if it will use the name on a line of electric crossovers, following the rest of its vehicle catalog. GM Authority spotted an electric crossover testing in China in late October, which could be our first look at the automakerÂ’s newest EV.   The Electra will likely ride on GMÂ’s Ultium platform, whatever the form. The architecture underpins the GMC Hummer EV and will carry the upcoming crop of electric SUVs and trucks from Chevrolet and GMC. Related video:

2014 Buick LaCrosse

A Nice, New Buick Aims For Middle Of The Road
Any time someone describes some portion of a car or a driving experience as being "nice," I want to either A) throttle them or B) run as fast and as far as I can from that vehicle. "Nice" is among the most insidious words in the English language - at best it's vague, and at worst, it conveys the exact opposite of its literal meaning. Yet it seems to be used with damnable frequency when it comes to verbally illustrating vehicles. "It looks really nice," or "These seats feel nice," or, heaven forefend, "It's got a nice ride," are all windy signifiers of absolutely nothing resembling a concrete opinion. "Nice" is the adjectival equivalent of meekly smiling and nodding your head.
Of course, I'm as guilty as the next person of having thrown English's least powerful descriptor around. There's even a chance that, rant aside, you'll catch me making nice in reviews to come. That's fine, but you should know that when you stumble upon such usage, past or future, that you've found a sentence in which I'm simply applying a bare minimum of effort to the task.