wildcat

Balthazar: Thank you for responding to my question, including some background and an image. Very interesting, and I appreciate the trouble you went to! I tried zooming in on the map to spot some future cars, but the only thing I saw looked like Harley Earl's hat with camouflage -- or a tire tread -- on it.

With its slightly Buick-looking rear, is it reasonable that the NG LaCrosse (on Epsilon II LWB) will be somewhat similar to the Malibu? So far the Aura and Malibu have that same side look (high beltline, slab doors), so will the NG LaCrosse likely have it, too? Or will it be more rounded, a la Enclave?

Another couple of questions, out of curiousity. How many vehicles are on these roads of the proving grounds at any one time? How long of a time period do they spend on those roads, before they move to public streets? How many miles of roads are we talking about within the GM compound? P.S. - Whatever happened to that, I think it was a hired security guard, who took pictures of the GMT-900s with a cell phone then leaked them? Was he prosecuted?

CD/BP: Thank you for the reply. Your answer helps me imagine the circumstances of the photo. Josh: You seem to be implying that the white car in the spy photo could be a ____? NG Impala? Or a Buick? (Maybe the latter is what I would like it to be. ) But those look like round taillights, as ocnblu observed, so that's Chevrolet design language. The white car looks much more "contemporary" to me. Less traditional, less conservative, less stodgy, however you want to say.

CD/BP: Chris, thank you for finding this and posting it. But help me to understand something - how did they get shots of this? I realize cameras and telephoto lenses can be sophisticated, but the specific wording of the article (shown below, emphasis added by me) made me wonder... " . . . We snapped this minimally disguised prototype traversing a distant road deep within one of GM's U.S. Proving Grounds. The great distance between car and camera has made the checkerboard camouflage tape a little more effective, obscuring some of this prototype's more minute details . . ." Is that writing to add to the drama? They make it sound like they're on private property. Are they? Surely GM can tell from the angle and position where these shots were taken, right? And, while I really enjoy seeing spy pics like these, why can't GM build a wall around this particular proving ground to keep people out? Or purchase additional property surrounding it, to keep cameras even further away?

To me, this is an excellent example of how black squiggly camouflage placed in all the right places can hide details of a white exterior. The front is wthout question Chevy, but the side reminds me of the Aura, and, from the angle and what little is revealed, the rear makes me think of the Lucerne. Even with so little concrete, better than the present Malibu IMHO. I've always liked those chrome five-star wheels.

The Statesman better get some style, if it expects to be a Buick. Just putting portholes on the side and a Buickish grille doesn't make a Buick! And this car won't be here for how many more years? If GM brings it here and badges it as a Chevrolet whatever and a Buick Statesman, they better be differentiated a lot, or else their words about brand identities (blah-blah-blah-blah) are hollow.

But isn't the situation at least slightly different? The fact that the three brands have been combined into one sales channel? Buick is propped up by Pontiac which is propped up by GMC. Won't that give them the time they need?

GM has now posted a response to Mr. Friedman on its Fastlane Blog. To view it, click here.

This story was already posted in a separate thread. (See "GM takes flack... ")

I'd say GM doesn't care about Buick. Another example? How many times has Buick been featured on the GM Fastlane Blog? There's never been a feature about Buick, like there's been about Saab, Saturn, Chevy, et al. The only thing has been a mention or two at a time of the Lucerne or the Enclave.

New York Times columnist Tom Friedman is criticizing GM for offering to "cap" gas prices at $1.99 for certain GM vehicles sold in Florida and California. "Is there a company more dangerous to America's future than General Motors? Surely, the sooner this company gets taken over by Toyota, the better this country will be," Friedman wrote, comparing GM to "a crack dealer looking to keep his addicts on a tight leash" by making the offer. Bob Lutz has shot back that Friedman "is so 'over the top' that it borders on psychosis." ( Go get 'em, Bob!) To view the article, which appeared in the 6/1 Detroit News, click here.

Another feather in the Buick Lucerne's cap. As of this time, I don't see any press release from GM Media Online.

Were you able to express those thoughts to GM? Do you think the coming LaCrosse Super (or NG Epsilon II LaCrosse) will seem more substantial? Do buyers of LaCrosse shop it against the Passat?

I'm actually warming up to the name "Statesman," and would prefer it over Lucerne. But what is most important is that the car has Buick character and styling, and is not simply a Holden WM Statesman with a Buick grille.

The website leftlane news.com is reporting that GM's application to use the name "Invicta" on a new Buick model is "dead" as of March 21, 2006. As they explained it, "Sometimes, automakers scrap applications entirely. Other times it cannot obtain the rights to the name . . . Just recently, there were rumors that the new Zeta-platform-based Buick sedan would be called the 'Invicta.' However, GM’s outspoken Bob Lutz said the car would be called the 'Statesman.' Looks like Mr. Lutz was right."

Construction is done at GM's new Delta Township factory in Michigan, and the first Saturn Outlook has rolled off the assembly line. Full-scale production begins in November with the Outlook and GMC Acadia. And the Buick Enclave will start production next April as a 2008 model.

I hope that you all are sending your comments to Buick via the Enclave website. It's interesting to read them here, but GM evidently is hoping that people will respond to their website.

GM says they are listening to consumers and further refining the Buick Enclave as it moves closer to production, along with including additional information on the Enclave website. There is now an updated photo gallery, interviews with the Enclave engineering team, a new video of the Enclave on the road, and actual comments and questions. Beyond elegance, beyond utility, beyond expectations... Buick Enclave. To view the website, click here.

Zarella is presently featured in a TV commercial, offering some sort of apology from Bausch & Lomb. (I don't care enough about it to recall the details, just thinking, "Hey, that's one of the fools that sent GM down the wrong path.")

GM has made inroads overseas, especially with Buick in China. For a report from NBC, click here.

You're right, the passenger's side does have the grab handle, but I guess they leave the driver to grip the armrest.

Thnaks, FlyBryun. - an Encalve fan

Hi! Not a big deal, but please correct the typo on the homepage. In the list of hot topics and other news, Enclave is spelled Encalve. Thank you.