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

Sibling Rivalry: Ampera Vs. Volt

Thingsare looking up for the 2012 European Car of the year, Despite Delays theChevrolet Volt’s Sister Car the Opel Ampera is selling pretty well, themajority of current owners have traded in higher end cars like BMWs, Audis andBenzes, and this year’s Ampera orders have already come very close the numberof Volts sold in America last year, with over 7,000. And with 8 months left inthe year it seems very likely that the Ampera will at least meet the new salesgoal of 10,000 units. This could be because Europeans are more open to the Ideaof an electric car, but I think styling could play a bigger factor in thesales. The Volt and the Ampera are somewhat pricey, and rightfully so, they areboth engineering masterpieces, but the Ampera’s styling is considerably bolder,a further departure from the ICE cars, which is a very good thing in myopinion, because the people with money to spare who are looking into, say anAudi, might find the bolder look more appealing and may be more inclined topurchase an Ampera, than say a Volt, because it has the distinctive look of a car that doesn’t use gasoline. So bring on the ELR!

Just thought I’d put thatout there, It could also be that they don’t have politicians attacking it, anddestroying their own industry, but Volt sales here are slowly picking up aswell, what do you all think? Let me know in the comments.

2013 GMC Acadia

GMC has unveiled the refreshed version of their first crossover, the Acadia, at this year’s Chicago auto show, revealing a more aggressive granite inspired design.

This Update, rather than being powertrain focused like it was previously rumored, is mostly styling related.

Back in 2007 when GMC initially released the Acadia, it’s stablemate Saturn also launched a Lambda derived Vehicle called the outlook, which was phased out along with the Saturn brand in 2010, this left GMC with a crossover in need of an update, and the unused tooling for a very similar, yet cleaner looking SUV, who’s fender flairs always looked like they belonged on a GMC.

And It appears that GM made an extremely brilliant decision to turn the Outlook into the new Acadia, GMC Designers updated the Outlook’s taillights, front fenders, hood, and front fascia to create the new Acadia.

The Outlook’s styling blends very well with the new face, especially the wraparound rear window, and the fender flairs. The taillamps draw heavy inspiration from the Granite Concept, and look like they could be interchangeable with the Outlooks, so Saturn Owners could upgrade theirs if they wished.

The front end is an attractive mix of the Denali XT Concept, the Terrain, and the Granite. The Styling is extremely polarizing, you either love it, or hate it, there really isn’t much in between. It’s got a very muscular and futuristic look, with an oversized three bar grille, a chrome bar running the length of the lower front that curves up around the lower inductions, which house projector style foglamps. the headlamps feature false(Running mascara style) vents, LEDs, and HID projectors. The car’s level hood features muscular angular sculpting.

The interior also appears to be sourced from the outlook, the classic woodgrain inserts, have been replaced by brushed aluminum accents, and red LED accent lights, the Outlook’s dash has been recovered in soft touch materials, and the center console handsomely restyled to an extent. The new upholstery now features French seams. The capacitive  infotainment system offers intelilink, and it’s display is sourced from the Terrain. A standard rear view camera is also included as are several new safety features, such as blind spot alert, and an industry first center Airbag. GMC is also updating the driving experience by mating a new Automatic to the 3.6L Mill

I Love that the Outlook is sort of in production again, But I’m sure GMC will take some heat for this and I don’t see why they made do with what they had, the outlook was a fine car, underappreciated, but still a good car, and so they made it better, It’s almost unrecognizable as an Outlook, and the original Acadia looked allot like an Outlook anyway. They already had the tooling so why not use it? It will save GMC from having to retool too much, and they still get the look they wanted. In a way what GMC has done is very American, they used what they had, and did not waste it. So think about it that way before attacking them.

SAAB: Don't Count Me Out Just Yet

About a week ago a story surfaced that SAAB had thrown in the towel and the PheoniX platform had been sold to youngman, this is not true and the entire company may have been given the opportunity to do as the platform’s namesake did and rise from the dead. SAAB is Showing that it won’t go down without a fight, the latest development in a two year saga that the terminally ill Swedish brand has endured, has the now officially bankrupt carmaker in talks with The Turkish government, and Mahindra, an Indian automaker, who has been attempting to make a presence in the US for some time now, in a last ditch attempt to ward off SAAB’s looming liquidation. These new prospects could be more fruitful than the Youngman & Pan Dai ones because SAAB’s former parent GM may feel safer if their intellectual property is not in China, so there is a possibility they will approve these potential takeover packages. Originally there were 27 potential buyers for SAAB, I wonder why none of them have stepped in ?

Lotus The Next SAAB?

Proton, the Company that purchased Lotus in 1996 is being pushed by investors to unload the 59 year old British Sports car brand. Proton is a manufacturer of standard bread and butter production cars in Malaysia, who is controlled by the government, who is looking at selling the entire company. As of right now Proton is determined to hold on to Lotus, but if the parent company is sold there is no telling whether or not  its new owner will decide to keep the little niche brand. In 2010 at the Paris Auto show Lotus unveiled six new future models and it became clear that they were seriously taking aim at brands like Porsche or Aston Martin, The new cars include the 2013 Espirit, the 2013 Elan, the 2014 Elite, the 2014 Evora, the 2015 Elise and the 2015 Eterne along with an upcoming citycar dubbed Ethos, which a production date has not been announced for. Lotus is not just launching new cars, but their own in house 4.8L V8 engine which will debut with the 2013 Espirit. All of these products and their gorgeous design language could be dead if Proton is sold in the near future. History has not exactly been kind to Lotus; the brand has been passed from company to company, since GM unloaded it in 1993 it has had three owners. Looking at this situation I keep thinking that lotus has allot in common with SAAB, does this spell out the end for Lotus? No. But the similarities are eerie. It would be awful to see a brand with such promise go defunct or change to a new owner with a different direction in mind for the brand. I had a math teacher who owned an Elise, and I know she would be devastated if anything happened to Lotus. I personally am most excited for the Eterne, Panamera killer, and I will definitely miss it if it doesn’t see production.

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.

The One That Got Away: The 2013 SAAB 9-3

The current 9-3 is about 9 to 10 years old, and though over its lengthy production line it has received a series of nose jobs and minor updates, its Age is definitely showing, and its sales are slowing. The 9-3 was slated to be replaced by a new model for the 2013 model year; the next 9-3 would have spawned a sedan, a convertible, a 3 door hatch, and a wagon. The cars styling was previewed by the much lauded F-Body like Phoenix concept, and recently grainy images of what was rumored to be the next 9-3 leaked. An advanced hybrid system was also rumored, riding on the 90% new Phoenix platform, which is a version of GM’s Epsilon one platform modified beyond recognition. Only ten percent of the platform was to be carried over to the longer lower and wider phoenix.  The platform was to be extremely flexible, capable of underpinning everything from the next 9-3 to an all-new 9-7 flagship (no relation to the 9-7X) however for cars smaller than the 9-3, like the rumored 9-2 the platform would have become too expensive, so SAAB looked into using BMW’s Mini platform.  The phoenix platform may still have life in it, even if Saab doesn’t because two parties have shown interest in purchasing the rights to the platform, and SAAB’s advanced android based infotainment system IQon, Youngman, and the Turkish government, the latter has shown interest in creating a car brand, and hopes to acquire the platform to build a car around. There is still time for a new investor to save SAAB but time is running out fast for the unique Swedish Brand