NAIAS 2016: Buick Avista Concept - This Is It!

Mark Stevenson
by Mark Stevenson

Buick, eager to shed its geriatric image, has at least pulled out a few stops preceding the 2016 North American International Auto Show.

It’s no Grand National, but it is a sporty coupe. Avista is its name, and it packs a 400 horsepower wallop under its hood thanks to the same 3-liter twin-turbocharged V-6 that’s tipped for duty in the 2017 LaCrosse.

The Avista 2+2 coupe rides on the same Alpha platform as the Chevrolet Camaro and Cadillac ATS and CTS. However, it receives a less potent powerplant than what’s available in those other rear-wheel drive cars — not that 400 horsepower should be sneered at.

And while we may disagree with the basket in which Buick is putting its eggs (a premium hatchback or cross-country wagon would be nice, guys), there’s a $20,000 difference between the Camaro SS and Cadillac ATS-V. That would be a prime place to put a luxury coupe that has the power to get out of its own way and the plush ride characteristics lacking in both the Camaro and ATS.

No production model is planned of the Avista, but those boys and girls at GM will surely be keeping their ears to the walls to hear what we all say about it. Whether they listen or not is another thing entirely.

We’ll have more details on the concept tomorrow.








Mark Stevenson
Mark Stevenson

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  • SilverCoupe SilverCoupe on Jan 11, 2016

    Wow, that is just gorgeous! This car would get me out of my Audi A5 and into my first Buick since my '64 Riviera.

  • Jdmcomp Jdmcomp on Jan 11, 2016

    The real question to me is: "Will this be available as (a better looking) Vauxhal/Opel?"

  • JOHN One is for sale on an ebay car donation site.https://www.ebay.com/itm/305579991767?itmmeta=01HYHVJ49MCC6HEWQY5AX9MX85&hash=item4725fca2d7:g:k9cAAOSw5V5mThFw
  • Scott So they are losing hundreds of millions of dollars and they are promising us a “Cheaper EV”? I wonder how that will look and feel? They killed the Fiesta because they claimed that they couldn’t make a profit on them and when I bought the first one in late 2010 they couldn’t deliver the accessories I wanted for it! Then I bought a 2016 Fiesta ST and again couldn’t get the accessories for it I wanted. They claimed that the components were going to be available, eventually. So they lost on that one as well! I don’t care about what they say anymore. I’ve moved on to another brand.
  • Michael S6 CX 70 or 90 will not be on my buying list. Drove a rental base CX 90 and it was noisy and the engine noise was not pleasant. Ride was rough for a family SUV. Mazda has to understand that what is good for Miata isn't what we expect in semi luxury SUV. My wife's 2012 Buick Enclave has much better Ride and noise level albeit at worse gas millage. Had difficulty pairing my phone with Apple CarPlay
  • Michael S6 What is the metric conversion between one million barrels and the number of votes he expects to buy.
  • NJRide This could give Infiniti dealers an extra product maybe make it a sub brand
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