2015 Buick Riviera?

Recently it was discovered that Gm had patented the Riviera Moniker for use on an automobile, this news came right after GM had patented the SS nameplate for the new Sport Sedan, now naturally this was exciting information for the automotive community, as the Riviera is sorely missed. The 1963 Riviera was designed by GM styling legend Bill Mitchell who hoped to create “a cross between a Ferrari and a Rolls Royce” now obviously this is no longer possible because of café standards and Buick’s mid level Luxury positioning, but Buick’s Lineup, not unlike its upscale stable mate Cadillac’s, has the glaring omission of a proper flagship. Follow the jump to learn more about the future Riv' and see a mock up that the production model may be based on. CLICK READ MORE

2013 Opel Adam?

For quite a while it has been common knowledge that GM’s Opel Division has been working on a premium Fiat 500 fighter to slot below the Corsa, which possibly replace the Suzuki sourced Agila. Speculation as to the baby Opel’s name has been crazy; it has been referred to as TRIXX (after the 2004 Concept), Allegra, and Junior, which is the car’s internal code name. Opel has officially confirmed via a comic strip on their FaceBook page that Junior is not the car’s real name. 
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Chevrolet Strobe?

So a long time ago I reported on the possibility of Chevrolet getting a version of Buick’s Encore, perhaps called the Strobe, and now L'Automobile Magazine has obtained Patent renderings of this Vehicle. The car shares absolutely no sheet metal with the Encore; even the door skins are unique.

The Strobe has a more upright front end, blockier fender flares, a more traditional crossover DLO,

a more Captiva like rear end,

and a front fascia that looks like a Cruze and an Equinox had a love child. So because it shares no styling, why does it still look like an Encore? Well I think this can be attributed to two things, 1: one the Proportions, and 2: the fact that it’s a patent rendering does the car no justice, I think it will look allot better, and less like the Encore when it’s in production, but it doesn’t look too bad now. I might try to “Paint” the car in Photoshop to give us a better Idea of what it will look like if I get the time. It’s unclear whether or not this will come to America, as reports have both confirmed and denied it, but if it does, we can probably expect at least some lighting changes, but judging by spy shots, I’d be willing to bet it gets a more Sonic like face if it makes our shores. I hope it does come here though because Chevrolet needs something to go up against the other small SUVs like the CRV and Rav4, But I’d like to pose a question to you guys, would you rather Chevrolet get this or the Meriva?

Mystery Voltec Mule

Earlier today spy photographers just Outside GM’s Proving Grounds captured photos of an absolutely ridiculous looking Volt sporting 20” rims wrapped in custom rubber. The natural response to the car is “What were they thinking!?” but then after you see that all important blue “M” on the plate you realize there is more to this car than meets the eye.

So if this is a Mule what is it for, well we don’t really know, but the most likely guess is the Cadillac ELR, the ELR is the upcoming production version of the infamous ConverJ concept. Because it is a Cadillac Larger wheels are a given, and this “Volt” seems to have the same slightly elevated ride Height rear end as the production intent ELR, but that could just be a visual trick. If this is the ELR don’t expect to see these wheels on the production version, the ELR will most likely get specifically made wheels the same size as these, but with a unique design.

So, What Else Could it be? Well there is a Voltec Buick on the way, but it’s expected to be a crossover, although you never know, this could end up wearing a tri-Shield Badge. Another Possibility is that this is just a mule for Voltec 1.5, which is set to debut soon, but I Can’t see Chevrolet adding 20” wheels to the updated Volt. 

So with all things considered, it’s most likely the Cadillac, but it could be a host of other things as well, let me know in the Comments what you think it is, and Head over to Autoblog to see the rest of the Photos: http://www.autoblog.com/2012/03/22/is-this-dub-rockin-chevrolet-volt-actually-a-cadillac-converj-i/#aol-comments

2013 Opel Astra MCE

Recent spy shots have given us a strong hint as to what Opel has in store for us in the upcoming Astra refresh.

The Astra will get a new Corsa inspires front fascia with a larger smile, new projector style foglamps sporting chrome accents, a new grille with a slimmer chrome bar that curls up at each end. The bumper itself is much less defined, and while it looks a great deal more like the Corsa, which I think is a very smart looking subcompact, I think I actually prefer the old Astra’s muscular creases.
The new rear bumper actually looks less like the Corsa, the license plate cove is redesigned to have more harmony with the lower bodywork, and a chrome spear has been affixed to the body crease.
You don’t really notice these changes until the cars are next to eachother, and it really doesn’t make too much of a difference to me anyway. If it ever does come to the US the front end at least would most likely be completely redesigned, which brings me to the same rant I give every time I talk about the Astra, Dear GM let us buy this car! You already build a version in China, the Buick Excelle Xt, and we have the Astra’s Sedan Counterpart here already, and sales of the Verano have been great so why not capitalize on that and add variants, I would love to be able to buy one of these, give Buick a competitor to the high end golfs GTIs, it makes perfect sense, yet we still can’t get it here. Head over to World Car Fans to see the Photos!
http://www.worldcarfans.com/112031942525/2013-opel-astra-facelift-spied-undisguised/photos

Alpha Based RWD Buick Coupe?

A while Back GM held a sort of open house for the North Hollywood Design Center, Journalists were invited in to watch the Unveiling of the Cadillac ULC concept, and were allowed to wander the building to get a glimpse of its development, the Studio contained many mock ups, mostly from Cadillac, but other brands were represented as well. Most of these mockups were supposedly dead, although the Cadillac Ciel, is almost Identical to several of them, so perhaps some of the Bucks are just slightly different from future vehicles or concepts. At any rate I believe allot of information can be gleaned from the photos. Ever since the pictures were published I have been pouring over them, trying to pick up on details that were missed, and I believe I may have. This is purely speculation, but Bob Lutz has said that Pontiac was to get a Sporty RWD car based on a Cadillac platform, probably Alpha. At the Design center there were shelves of mockups, the center two shelves are rumored to be solely Alpha based Bucks, possibly studies for the ATS and next Gen CTS, All but two of them are Cadillacs. Nestled among the Caddies were two others a Buick & a Pontiac, allot of blogs focused on the Pontiac, probably because the brand had recently shut its doors, the pictures of what could have been were like salt on the wounds. The Buick when largely unnoticed, until the other night when I was looking at it again, I noticed something funny about the wheels, and after looking closely I determined they bore a Pontiac arrowhead. This certainly threw me for a loop, but then I started thinking, what If designers borrowed a frame for a Pontiac Mock Up and built a Buick around it? It’s among the range of possibilities, and due to the cars placement on the shelves this could be the first glimpse of Buick’s Alpha car. I know a logo is hardly enough to base much on, but for the RWD fans out there here is a glimmer of hope for you. Design wise the car is quite nice, though hopefully any production versions that could come from this will receive some attention to the front end. Many cues seem to come from the Riviera Coupe Concept, and the Lower front fascia inductions are really different looking, and are repeated in the indentations on the lover doorskin. Again it’s not much to go on, but we can hope right?

Teaser Tuesday: Buick Encore Update

Buick teased yet another picture of its very Subaru like Encore; this week’s picture came with no new info, and none has leaked since the tidbits of information on the Mokka surfaced late last week. What we can see of the Encore’s rearward styling in this new photo is very Subaru like, but also shares some cues with Pontiac’s Last wagon, the Vibe, right down to the Opel version’s light use of cladding, to me this looks more like a baby VUE than a Baby Enclave. I maintain my statements that I think this would be better in Saturn’s lineup, but this may be a great seller for Buick, that is if they don’t slap some astronomical price tag on it. Thankfully these new photos show that the images that were leaked about 2 weeks ago are Chops, as the rear DLO doesn’t have the foreword sweeping Lancia like edge that the chops had. The Encore appears to have the scalloped bone line like the Regal and Verano, which would give it a more signature Buick look, despite the rest of the sheet metal being decidedly Saturnesque. The Profile DLO has a slight unconventional kick up like the one found on the 2013 Chevrolet Malibu, the taillights don’t appear to be LED based, but I could be wrong. Personally I’d like the roof rack to have a little less plastic, or they could just take it off, it might give the car a more premium appearance. This might throw a little heat Acura, Infinity, & maybe even Lexus’s way, but I think to become a Buick it should have more resolved sheet metal. It should help retain some Pontiac and Saturn customers, so this could be a very good thing for Buick, because the VUE and the Vibe sold pretty well, but it might make it harder to justify shelling out $36,600 for an entry level Enclave, or $37,785 for a fully loaded Regal GS.

Opel's New Mokka, The Encore's Cousin From Accross The Pond

The Buick Encore’s European cousin Under the Opel brand has been officialy name Mokka, a name originally rumored to be used on Opel’s upcoming Supermini, dubbed Project Junior. The Mokka will bow at Geneva a few months after we see the North American Encore for the first time.New information about the Mokka has leaked, which helps paint a better picture of what we will see when the curtains are pulled back from Buick’s upcoming crossover. The Car’s length will be around 14 feet long, and may be priced In the $23,000 USD range, Both the Encore and the Mokka will offer all-wheel drive as an option. The Car is now confirmed to be riding on the Gamma platform with the Sonic and the Corsa. Rumor has it Opel is going after cars like the Nissan Juke and the Skoda Yeti with the Mokka, which is interesting because a few months ago there were rumors floating around that Chevrolet would launch a sub-equinox model in NA to compete with the juke. So there is more evidence that we will see A Chevrolet version, possibly carrying the Strobe Moniker in the near future.