One of the refrains we've all heard in recent years is how strong Buick is for General Motors in China, where it's not cursed with the stigma of being a grandparent's brand in the States. While most of yesterday's attention was rightly focused on the industry-wide year-end U.S. sales bloodbath, Shanghai Daily reports that 2008 was a bummer for GM's joint venture with SAIC in China.

Shanghai GM ended up down 7% versus 2007, with analysts saying that its new cars, like the freshly-updated Buick Excelle, didn't deliver the goods in terms of styling, price, or fuel economy. Hence, buyers reportedly turned to the VW Jetta and Toyota Corolla instead. Shanghai Daily points out that Chevrolet, Cadillac, and Saab all showed growth in China last year, so the overall Shanghai GM decline essentially gets laid at the feet of Buick. Now, it'll be interesting to see how 2009 plays out. GM is hoping that the Chevy Cruze can help get things back on track in the People's Republic (and everyplace else, for that matter) when it arrives sometime in Q2, joining other key Shanghai GM newcomers like the Buick Regal.

Shanghai GM's disappointing 2008 performance was part of a broader growth slowdown for the General in China. When factoring in the rest of its joint ventures, GM's China sales were actually up 6% overall. But that's a significant dropoff from the double-digit sales gains exhibited in preceding years -- 19% in '07, and at least 27% in the each of the four years prior to that, according to Bloomberg. With so many consecutive years of explosive sales growth, things were probably bound to level off as car shoppers transformed into car owners. Whether GM's influx of new models planned for this year and beyond stokes the sales fires in China again is a story that we'll follow throughout '09.



[Sources: Shanghai Daily, Bloomberg]

General Motors has just released a huge gallery of photos of its new Chinese-only Regal sedan. Anyone who has seen the Opel Insignia will immediately recognize the Regal as a badge engineered version of Opel's mid-size model. Aside from the standard Buick waterfall grille and the badges, the new Regal is essentially the Insignia. Prior to the launch of that car last summer, we had been expecting that car to arrive stateside in the next year or two as the next-generation Saturn Aura. However, GM delayed that program earlier this year and it may in fact be dead.

When GM revealed its viability plan to congress earlier this month, Buick, along with Chevrolet, GMC and Cadillac were announced as the core U.S. brands, with Saturn on the backburner. GM has not provided any indication of whether it will offer the Regal in the US market as a Buick, but the Epsilon II platform it uses will also sit under the new LaCrosse and the next-generation Chevrolet Malibu so it should have no trouble passing US safety regs. With Buick being a core brand and only having the LaCrosse, Lucerne and Enclave right now a fourth model might be helpful. Some suggest that it could be offered as a lower cost four-cylinder alternative to the LaCrosse, but there's no word yet on how much the Regal will cost to manufacture. We hope to learn more about Buick's plans at the Detroit show in a couple of weeks when the LaCrosse is finally unveiled.


[Source: General Motors]

Small(er) is the new big as far as Buick's concerned. With the precipitous sales falloff of full-sized cars, Buick's putting its chips on the mid-sized 2010 LaCrosse, which will go on sale in the U.S. and in China. That leaves the full-size Lucerne in terminal orbit; built on GM's G Platform, Buick has no plans to redesign it, and no plans to replace it with the Park Avenue, which goes straight from its Holden assembly line in Australia to a port in China.

The LaCrosse will aim at the U.S. premium mid-size buyers and be the first domestic entrant on GM's new global mid-size platform. While it can fit both four- and six-cylinder engines, the pick of the litter will probably be the all-new 3.0-liter direct-injection V6. To give it a serious chance as an import fighter, the LaCrosse will also receive features like a heads-up display and all-wheel-drive. We'll be bringing you the full story on the car that will be Buick's spearhead from next month's Detroit Auto Show, so stay tuned.


[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req.]

General Motors has unveiled China's new Buick Regal (or at least official pics of it have found their way onto the web), and save for some cosmetic changes, it's basically a badge-engineered Opel Insignia. That's by design though, as Buick is GM's top-selling brand in the land of the great wall, and the new mid-size sedan from Opel has the best chance for success donning a Buick logo. Comparing the Insignia and the new Buick Regal back to back shows that GM simply popped out the Opel grille, got rid of the lightning logo and retrofitted Buick badging for Buick-loving Chinese. The Opel Insignia is a head-turning sedan as it is, and after looking at these official Regal pics, it doesn't look half bad with a Buick grille, either.

The new Regal is scheduled to hit Chinese showrooms in December will arrive with a choice of two powertrains: a 164-hp 2.4L four-cylinder engine and 211-hp 2.0L turbocharged four-cylinder, both of which come standard with a six-speed manual transmission. The naturally aspirated four-banger has a leisurely 0-60 time of 9.8 seconds, while the turbo motor scoots to 60 in 7.8 seconds.

We've been hoping for our own U.S. version of the new Insignia, and recent news of GM product delays could push the next-gen Saturn Aura even further into the future. Meanwhile, China gets a Buick version this year and the new Chevy Cruze, which we may not receive until 2011.


[Source: CarScoop]

Judging from spy pics we've seen of the upcoming 2010 Buick LaCrosse, General Motors may have a winner on its hands, even if it is getting delayed. If specs from GM Inside News are accurate, Buick's new midsize sedan will have significant new powertrains, too. The big news comes from an all-new 3.0L, direct-inject V6 engine based on the larger 3.6L VVT powerplant that the General uses now. The small-displacement V6 packs some serious punch at 250 hp, and will be mated to the automaker's new 6T70 six-speed transmission for improved efficiency. The new 3.0L engine is likely to achieve a significant fuel economy gain over the 3.6, with highway economy estimated at close to 30 mpg. The new LaCrosse will also feature the same 3.6L powerplant that underpins the Chevy Traverse, with direct injection and an estimated 290 hp.

Other details about the new LaCrosse include HID headlamps, a heads-up display, rear view camera and all-wheel-drive. We haven't received any details on the AWD system, but we're guessing it will be the same unit that currently drives all four wheels of the new Saab 9-3X. We're looking forward to getting more details on the Buick LaCrosse, and when we do, you'll be the first to know.


[Source: GM Inside News]

According to a report by Reuters, General Motors has nixed plans to debut production versions of the Cadillac CTS coupe and new Buick LaCrosse at the LA Auto Show next month. The report goes on to say that the Buick unveiling has been delayed until the Detroit Auto Show in January, and after navigating Cadillac's voice-mail Hell, we weren't able to get confirmation on when GM plans to reveal of the CTS coupe. The decision by GM to delay both debuts is reportedly intended to reduce costs. If you buy that one, there's a bridge we think you might be interested in. Top tip Scott S.



[Source: Reuters]

Tiger Woods has been a Buick spokesman since 1999, but both General Motors and the greatest golfer of all time are in a holding pattern regarding a new endorsement contract. Tiger's current deal, which expires in 2009, was reportedly for $40 million over five years. Though getting Tiger was a coup for Buick, many wonder why GM would give the world's most popular athlete to its low volume Buick brand instead of Cadillac or even use him across multiple marques.

Both GM and Tiger are taking a wait-and-see approach towards negotiations on a new contract, with both sides having met once and agreed only on when they should meet a second time. The automotive landscape is tenuous at best, and GM is taking a major hit on the sales floor and on Wall St., which could make retaining Mr. Woods more difficult. We're pretty sure Tiger will end up hocking cars for one automaker or another, so the General better find some funds fast if it doesn't want to lose the 14-time majors champion to another brand.

[Source: The Detroit News]

Click above for more images of the 2010 Buick Regal

Two weeks ago we showed you spy shots of a 2010 Buick Regal caught testing in China that appeared to be nothing more than a rebadged Opel Insignia. (As you may recall, we'll be getting the 2010 Buick LaCrosse in the States.) All three of those cars are based on GM's Epsilon II platform, which we will also likely see under future vehicles from Saab, Saturn and Chevrolet. The Buick brand, and the popular Regal, are doing very well in China. As such, it's no surprise to see these latest spy shots of the barely disguised four-door Regal dipped in red, and it looks great despite being a badge job. The production version is expected to debut at the Guangzhou Auto Show in November. Thanks for the tip, Jason!

[Source: China Car Times]

We don't feel slighted anymore over the Chinese getting what appears to be a pretty nice looking Buick Regal, not after those spy shots from earlier today showing the 2010 Buick LaCrosse that we'll get in the U.S. After all, the Chinese Buick Regal appears to be not much more than an Opel Insignia with a new front end based on these spy shots, while the U.S.-spec Buick Lacrosse gets an entirely unique interior and exterior design. All three cars - the Opel Insignia, Chinese market Buick Regal and U.S. market Buick LaCrosse - are based General Motors' Epsilon II platform. Of course, the Buick brand is much bigger in China than here in the U.S., and the redesigned Regal, one of the cars that helped the brand gain popularity early on in China, looks ready to continue that trend. Thanks for the tip everyone!


[Source: China Car Times]

Let's forget about the Pontiac G3 for now and focus on what General Motors is doing right. Case in point is the upcoming 2010 Buick LaCrosse, which has just been caught undergoing testing wearing very little camouflage. We can clearly see now that Buick designers drew heavily on the Invicta concept for inspiration. Even the concept's character line remains that kinks just ahead of the rear wheels to create a smooth arch over the rear fenders.

Photographers actually caught two LaCrosse models out testing, one of which showed a clean rear bumper and the other was brandishing two large, rectangular tailpipes and wearing demonstrably larger wheels. They even managed to snag a clear shot of the interior that shows an impressive dash design with what appears to be very high quality materials like a double-stitched leather dash and real wood accents.

Thankfully, the 2010 Buick LaCrosse looks like a winner along the lines of the Cadillac CTS and even Buick's own Enclave. It may even add ammunition to the argument that GM can build a world-class car when it wants to, but we'll wait until we see one in person and get some seat time to make our final judgment.


[Source: KGP Photography]