Buick Plug-In Hybrid SUV Coming in 2011

Let's get this straight: General Motors is still trying to shake its image as the world's top maker of gas guzzlers. It create as small crossover for Saturn that will include a full hybrid and a plug-in hybrid. It sells the Saturn name and kills the crossover. It revives the crossover and plans to rebadge it as a Buick. Then it kills it again.

That's what happened yesterday to what some may have known as the next-generation Saturn Vue. The current generation version is seen above.

GM Vice Chairman Tom Stephens said the crossover announced a couple of weeks ago flunked when consumers saw it. It apparently looked cheap. "It didn’t fit the premium characteristics that customers have come to expect from Buick," he wrote in GM's Fastlane blog. What he also said:

"We were all struck by the consistency of the criticism of the compact crossover. And what we decided to do in response is a good example of the essence of the new General Motors … acting quickly and boldly, and listening to feedback," he wrote.

2010 Buick LaCrosse Photos

2010 Buick LaCrosse Wallpaper

2010 Buick LaCrosse Interior

2010 Buick LaCrosse Side View

2010 Buick LaCrosse Sport

2010 Buick LaCrosse Engine

2010 Buick LaCrosse Luxury Car

2010 Buick LaCrosse Picture

2010 Buick Enclave Midsize SUV

The 2010 Buick Enclave is largely unchanged. This midsize SUV is a crossover that shares its basic design with the Chevrolet Traverse, GMC Acadia, and Saturn Outlook. Enclave comes in a single CX trim level. The sole powertrain teams a 288-hp 3.6-liter V6 engine with a 6-speed automatic transmission. Maximum towing capacity is 4500 lb. Front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive is available. Seven-passenger seating with 2nd-row bucket seats and a 3rd-row bench is standard. A 2nd-row, three-person bench is available. General Motors' Smart Slide 2nd-row seats have flip-forward bottom cushions and sliding backrests. They're designed to allow easier access to the 3rd row and are standard. Available safety features include ABS, traction control, antiskid system, curtain side airbags that cover all seating rows, and front side airbags. Bi-xenon headlamps are standard. A DVD entertainment system is available, along with a navigation system with real-time traffic updates and heated and cooled front seats. A rearview camera is also available.

GM keeps Buick (LaCrosse CXS)

GM has dropped some brands (Hummer, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Saturn,
Saab) and retained others, namely: Chevrolet, Buick Cadillac and GMC.
Basically, drop the duds and fly (motor) with the brands that indeed have
the best prospects!

Buick has earned a reputation for building some of the best rated cars
that GM has offered. Additionally, Buick’s styling has shown well
thought out design and execution. As a reference point, this new
2010 Buick LaCrosse CXS is aimed squarely at the front-wheel drive
Lexus ES 350. Its basic profile is similar to the Lexus, however, it is
5.8 inches longer, 1.4 inches wider, and 2.1 inches taller. Furthermore,
the larger dimensions show up in some extra back seat room.

The CXS was actually designed in China as Buicks have held appeal there
for some time with the upper class. The exterior of this new car is expressive
with its crisp shoulder lines and concave lower door panels accented with
a clean looking chrome strip.

If the exterior of the CXS is inviting, the interior closes the deal. Some
of the highlights include double seam stitching and faux wood that has a
soothing effect – especially at night when the dash provides ambient blue
lighting. With the doors closed and the front acoustic glass plus the extra
thick (5mm rear) windows up, the interior has dome like silence providing
meditation like tranquility.

In a direct comparison to Lexus, Buick offers three DOHC direct-injected
engine choices all of which are connected to a six-speed automatic transmission.
The base CXS has a 2.4-liter 182 hp 4-cylinder engine rated at 20 mpg city and
30 mpg on the highway. Next, is a 3.0-liter V6 making 252 hp and available in
front-wheel or all-wheel drive. Additionally, a 3.6-liter 280 hp V6 is available
with front-wheel drive only.

Buick’s all-wheel drive system is a Lexus trumping feature. It has a Haldex
system with limited slip rear differential and the capacity to shift torque front
to back and left to right. Other options include remote starting, Blind Zone
Alert (coming soon), electronic Dampening control, and a touring package
including 19-inch wheels.

2010 Buick Enclave Overview

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The 2010 Buick Enclave is a good-looking vehicle, most reviewers agree. Curvaceous fenders and glamorous detailing are a big part of it, though TheCarConnection.com thinks that the D-pillar would look better blacked out than in body color (it's the vertical piece that separates the rear doors from the cargo area). The Enclave's interior is loved, too; it's subdued, luxurious, and high-quality throughout—and in many ways, a revelation for Buick.

A number of reviewers try to assess the overall design, and many see retro influences. MotherProof considers the Enclave "curvy" but still "lean" overall. According to the reviewers from Kelley Blue Book, the "waterfall" grille and portholes above the fenders hark back to the classic design lines of Buicks from the late 1940s and early '50s. It’s “a more soothing design,” Car and Driver contends—and BusinessWeek agrees, saying, “the curvy contours, the chrome, and the bold grille-work perfectly reflect the Enclave's overall tone.”

Reviewers are more positive about the Enclave's styling than that of other Buicks. Some reviews of the Enclave’s style could be mistaken for descriptions of a cocktail waitress. For example, the 2010 Buick Enclave’s "voluptuous curves" and "graceful lines" are admired by the likes of Edmunds, while Road & Travel calls it "slinky." Others are less poetic, observing that the Enclave is a “crossover with flowing lines, big wheels, a wide stance, and a tapered upper body,” according to Car and Driver. Underneath the suave exterior, it’s similar to its siblings, MSN Autos says, “but the Buick model looks the best of the trio,” referring to the GMC Acadia and Saturn Outlook; the closely related Chevrolet Traverse also joined GM's roster last year.

The interior of the 2010 Buick Enclave draws overwhelmingly positive comments. "The dash features a center arch in housing an analog clock giving the Enclave an Art Deco feel," says The Auto Channel. BusinessWeek gushes over the interior as well, calling it “gorgeous” and “easily as nice, or nicer, as the interiors of the Lexus RX 350, the Acura MDX, and the Volvo XC90.” The New York Times agrees, reporting, “the cabin’s design showed that G.M. was successful in its effort to upgrade its interiors.” Motor Trend notes that “its nicely designed interior is as tangible an improvement over the other two [Lambda-platform crossovers] as its organic, Coke-bottle sheet metal is compared with their creased lines.”

2013 Cadillac XTS To Share Buick LaCrosse Platform

Rumors about what Cadillac is planning for its next-generation flagship sedan have been flying around the web for years now. Guesses have ranged from a Zeta-based vehicle sharing Pontiac G8 heritage to the most recent reports of a still-murky XTS-badged AWD sedan. This week, a new report confirms the program to build a new flagship Caddy is back underway.

The range-topping Cadillac had been derailed by the financial crisis and then the bankruptcy General Motors has so famously dealt with over the last year, but now that the New GM is running the show, the DTS/STS replacement is go.

The report indicates that the Zeta-based solution won't be used, however, and that instead the new flagship will ride on a modified version of the Epsilon II platform found in the 2010 Buick LaCrosse. According to GM insiders, the usually FWD Epsilon II platform will be made wider and longer and converted to AWD.

The car is part of a new strategy for Cadillac that is similar to BMW's three-car lineup of small, medium and large. The CTS would be the medium-sized car, and a new small Cadillac also is expected in 2011.

The DTS/STS replacement has had a rocky road through GM's restructuring process.

Whatever is to come of the top-end Cadillac model, however, don't expect to see it on the road until very late in 2011, though it will likely make an auto show debut sometime before that. The plant where the car is expected to be built--GM's Oshawa, Ontario plant--isn't going to start on the XTS until December 2011.

2010 Buick Enclave Review

The 2010 Buick Enclave is a good-looking vehicle, most reviewers agree. Curvaceous fenders and glamorous detailing are a big part of it, though TheCarConnection.com thinks that the D-pillar would look better blacked out than in body color (it's the vertical piece that separates the rear doors from the cargo area). The Enclave's interior is loved, too; it's subdued, luxurious, and high-quality throughout—and in many ways, a revelation for Buick.

A number of reviewers try to assess the overall design, and many see retro influences. MotherProof considers the Enclave "curvy" but still "lean" overall. According to the reviewers from Kelley Blue Book, the "waterfall" grille and portholes above the fenders hark back to the classic design lines of Buicks from the late 1940s and early '50s. It’s “a more soothing design,” Car and Driver contends—and BusinessWeek agrees, saying, “the curvy contours, the chrome, and the bold grille-work perfectly reflect the Enclave's overall tone.”

Reviewers are more positive about the Enclave's styling than that of other Buicks. Some reviews of the Enclave’s style could be mistaken for descriptions of a cocktail waitress. For example, the 2010 Buick Enclave’s "voluptuous curves" and "graceful lines" are admired by the likes of Edmunds, while Road & Travel calls it "slinky." Others are less poetic, observing that the Enclave is a “crossover with flowing lines, big wheels, a wide stance, and a tapered upper body,” according to Car and Driver. Underneath the suave exterior, it’s similar to its siblings, MSN Autos says, “but the Buick model looks the best of the trio,” referring to the GMC Acadia and Saturn Outlook; the closely related Chevrolet Traverse also joined GM's roster last year.

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The interior of the 2010 Buick Enclave draws overwhelmingly positive comments. "The dash features a center arch in housing an analog clock giving the Enclave an Art Deco feel," says The Auto Channel. BusinessWeek gushes over the interior as well, calling it “gorgeous” and “easily as nice, or nicer, as the interiors of the Lexus RX 350, the Acura MDX, and the Volvo XC90.” The New York Times agrees, reporting, “the cabin’s design showed that G.M. was successful in its effort to upgrade its interiors.” Motor Trend notes that “its nicely designed interior is as tangible an improvement over the other two [Lambda-platform crossovers] as its organic, Coke-bottle sheet metal is compared with their creased lines.”