#buick

The tri-shield brand continues to revamp its product lineup, announcing major revisions to the Enclave, its entrant in the murderously competitive three-row midsize crossover segment.

After showcasing the model’s new clothes almost one year ago, Buick has set pricing for its Envision crossover, one of four similarly-named – and similarly styled – vehicles in its lineup.

The tri-shield brand continues to push forth into that good night, bragging about sales increases in this country whilst showing off a shadowy image of what is said to be the next three-row Enclave.

Buick reportedly spent 2023 closing a lot of dealerships. The brand lost 47 percent of its American retail locations through the year, which has been attributed to General Motors buying out storefronts that refused to invest in the necessary changes required to sell all-electric vehicles.

Contrary to what some of you snarky commenters believe, I do not prowl junkyards for UCOTD. That's Murilee's department. I don't even know, without Googling, where the nearest junkyard is. Instead I scour our forums. And today I found an interest 1978 Buick Century Salon that looks like it's been sitting in the boneyard. Except it runs.

In 1931, Buick introduced the world to its first big sedan with an eight-cylinder engine (which wasn't a V8 but did have overhead valves) driving the rear wheels. It seemed that such cars would always be available in Buick showrooms, but it turned out that the very last ones were the 1992-1996 Roadmasters. Here's one of those cars, found near Pikes Peak last winter.

The Buick Regal may have been removed from our market. However, the model persists in China and has recently undergone a refresh that includes the updated tri-shield emblem.

Despite U.S. sales volumes having been lackluster, with the Regal failing to break 20,000 annual units after 2014, the model offered functionality, all-wheel drive, and even a couple of desirable powertrains. There was even a TourX wagon variant that arguably mixed some of the vehicle’s best qualities in an ultra-practical package and the performance-slanted GS that offered a 3.6-liter V6 that developed 310 horsepower. It could have been more focused and aspects of the interior should have been better. But one cannot help but feel like the Regal failed to get the attention it deserved.

Just over 20,000 Buick Reattas were made during the model's production run for the 1988 through 1991 model years, and I had documented seven of them in car graveyards prior to today's Junkyard Find. All of those cars were in reasonably good condition, but today's '88 is an example of a Reatta that was loved to death by its final owner.

Buick is busy rolling out its first EV in China, but here in the U.S., we’re getting the brand's last new gas-powered vehicle. The 2024 Envista arrives to replace the Encore as Buick’s smallest SUV, bringing attractive styling and a more engaging driving experience than the tiny and not-so-Buick-like Encore.

Buick’s EV ambitions haven’t been a secret. The automaker trademarked the iconic Electra name from its past and even teased its first EV last month, but we’re now learning that it will be a while before the vehicle lands on American soil.

General Motors has done something that I think might be a bit dumb. It also had me checking the calendar to make sure it was for real.

Buick is an old nameplate, both in terms of how long the brand has existed and its perceived target market.

OK, the latter probably isn't true anymore and probably hasn't been for a while. Certainly, the brand's actual target market appears, at least based on recent TV ad campaigns, to be young-ish and attractive folks between the ages of 30 and 50.

Flying in the face of empty dealership lots and a headache-inducing supply chain, General Motors reported this morning that the company recorded just under $10 billion in net income during the 2022 calendar year. This is good news for anyone wearing a GM hat, including hourly workers who will find enormous bonus checks in their mailboxes later this year.

Starting with the 1962 model year, GM sold cars on the new compact rear-wheel-drive X Platform (thus dooming the Corvair long before Ralph Nader had any say in the matter). In the United States, these cars were Chevrolet Chevy IIs and Novas; north of the border, they were Acadians. Eventually, the platform got bigger and the other GM car divisions jumped in for a piece of the action. Buick sold these cars from the 1973 through 1979 model years, and I've found one of those Buickized Novas in a boneyard near Reno, Nevada.

Today's throwback for your midday enjoyment is a 2012 Buick Regal GS.