Buick

Buick on Tuesday unveiled a small sport-utility vehicle scheduled to go on sale a year for now, as the brand moves to broaden the range of models sold at its dealerships. The Encore, shown at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, will be the General Motors division's second SUV, joining the much larger Enclave, which has become a popular model for the resurgent brand. The five-seat Encore comes equipped with a turbocharged, four-cylinder engine and features the high driving position and visibility that have made small crossovers and SUVs a growing segment of the U.S. auto market.

Buick, the General Motors nameplate, is celebrating 110 years, dating back to 1903, when the first Buick was hand-built in a small barn behind Scottish-born David Dunbar Buick's Detroit home. "Consistency, longevity, reliability. Those are the words that come to mind when you talk about Buick," Leslie Kendall, curator of the Petersen Automotive Museum, said in an interview. That's apparently still true. In the latest J.D. Power & Associates survey on customer service, announced last month, Buick finished third, behind GMC and Mini.

Imagine a world where Buick outsells Chevrolet. It's called China. Buick is the top seller for General Motors' Shanghai GM venture. November sales in China for the Buick brand reached 70,172 vehicles, a 17% gain from the same month a year earlier. The Regal sold 9,204 units, almost 10 times the volume it sold in the U.S. last month. Chevrolet sold 63,012 vehicles in China last month, a 15% gain over the same period a year earlier. GM is the largest foreign automaker in China.

General Motors is recalling some model year 2013 Buick Encores with steering wheel fasteners that may not have been properly installed. The problem could cause the steering wheel to come loose or separate from the steering column. If the steering wheel separates from the steering column while driving, the ability to steer could be lost, increasing the risk of a crash. The recall involves 144 Encores equipped with a heated steering wheel and manufactured between Dec. 9 and Dec. 28. GM issued a statement about the recall, saying there were no known crashes or injuries related to the problem.

Looking to capitalize on a wave of strong sales in the last year, Buick on Tuesday unveiled a pair of updated sedans at the N.Y. Auto Show. The refreshed midsize Regal and the larger LaCrosse each are hoped to increase the automaker's momentum. Buick has been on a bit of tear lately, with 10 consecutive months of increasing sales and 2012 ranking as the best sales year since 2006. The changes to each front-wheel-drive car are moderate, but important. The 2014 Regal, which is sold in Europe as the Opel Insignia, gets minor exterior updates including LED daytime lamps and LED taillights.

The Buick division of General Motors Corp. today extended its buyer incentive program until July 10, after moves by several other GM divisions and auto makers who hope that such lures will stimulate vehicle sales in the warmer months. Buick's program, which had been scheduled to end June 5, offers $500 back on 1989-model Skylark, Skyhawk and Century cars, and rebates ranging from $500 to $1,500 on Regal, Le Sabre, Electra and certain Park Avenue cars. Like most of GM's vehicle divisions, Buick is also offering in lieu of cash rebates low-rate financing, which ranges from 2.9% on 24-month loans to 9.9% on 60-month loans.

Sylvia O'Brion, 76, sat beside an oil lamp and wood-burning stove in her clapboard cabin on the sub-zero night, strumming her banjo and singing: "This is my home where the bobcats holler and the wild deer roam." She has lived in the primitive dwelling without running water or electricity on the slopes of Dead Fall Mountain her entire life. She shuns modern conveniences. She lives alone in one of the isolated pockets beyond the power lines in West Virginia.

Buick Invitational: A Sunday Sports article on the third round of the Buick Invitational golf tournament said third-round leader John Rollins had won two tournaments, both in Canada. One was in New York state.

In the weeks after former Commerce Secretary John Bryson's bizarre series of hit-and-run collisions in the San Gabriel Valley, authorities said his blood tests would be pivotal in deciding whether to file criminal charges. On Tuesday, Los Angeles County prosecutors revealed that Bryson tested positive for a small amount of Ambien, a popular sleep aid, after he was found alone and unconscious behind the wheel of his Lexus last month. But authorities concluded the accidents were caused by a seizure Bryson suffered and said he should not face criminal charges in connection with them.

No. Driver (Home), Car-Eng., Speed (m.p.h.) FIRST ROW 3. Rick Mears (Bakersfield), Penske-Chevy, 224.113 14. A.J. Foyt (Houston), Lola-Chevy, 222.443 6. Mario Andretti (Nazareth, Pa.), Lola-Chevy, 221.818 SECOND ROW 18. Bobby Rahal (Dublin, Ohio), Lola-Chevy, 221.401 10. Michael Andretti (Nazareth, Pa.), Lola-Chevy, 220.943 2. Al Unser Jr. (Albuquerque, N.M.), Lola-Chevy, 219.823 THIRD ROW 4. John Andretti (Indianapolis), Lola-Chevy, 219.059 26. Jim Crawford (Scotland), Lola-Buick, 218.947 20.

In a series of vehicle debuts at the New York Auto Show on Wednesday, General Motors moved to shore up several product lines with new or updated models - including announcing the return of its storied Camaro Z/28 muscle car. The automaker showed off how it was updating its entire Camaro line to improve aerodynamics, unveiled a redesigned Cadillac CTS sedan, refreshed versions of Buick's Buick LaCrosse and Regal models. "Product cycles are getting shorter across the entire industry, so everyone needs to keep up with the pace,” said Jessica Caldwell, an analyst with auto information company Edmunds.com.

Looking to capitalize on a wave of strong sales in the last year, Buick on Tuesday unveiled a pair of updated sedans at the N.Y. Auto Show. The refreshed midsize Regal and the larger LaCrosse each are hoped to increase the automaker's momentum. Buick has been on a bit of tear lately, with 10 consecutive months of increasing sales and 2012 ranking as the best sales year since 2006. The changes to each front-wheel-drive car are moderate, but important. The 2014 Regal, which is sold in Europe as the Opel Insignia, gets minor exterior updates including LED daytime lamps and LED taillights.

General Motors is recalling 26,582 model year 2013 Cadillac SRX crossovers and Buick LaCrosse sedans to fix a software problem that could allow the vehicles' transmissions to slip suddenly from manual to automatic mode. Information posted on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website said that the software problem may cause the transmissions to inadvertently shift to sport mode, removing any transmission-related engine braking effect. The NHTSA said that the risks of a crash are increased if engine braking is unexpectedly removed.

Imagine a world where Buick outsells Chevrolet. It's called China. Buick is the top seller for General Motors' Shanghai GM venture. November sales in China for the Buick brand reached 70,172 vehicles, a 17% gain from the same month a year earlier. The Regal sold 9,204 units, almost 10 times the volume it sold in the U.S. last month. Chevrolet sold 63,012 vehicles in China last month, a 15% gain over the same period a year earlier. GM is the largest foreign automaker in China.

When it comes to recalls, General Motors wasn't having a particularly good day Wednesday, though it wasn't as bad as Toyota's recall of nearly 700,000 Prius cars . GM has announced that it is recalling four models across three of its brands. More than 12,000 of Cadillac's full-size XTS sedans are being recalled for a glitch in the rear head restraints. Review: 2013 Cadillac XTS falls short of flagship status The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said the restraints in 2013 XTS models may not lock in place, causing them to fall too low for federal safety standards.

Cadillac's all-new flagship sedan, the XTS, is apparently a little confused about the difference between intern and interim. You and I both know that someone in an interim role will temporarily yet capably fill a vacant position. Meanwhile, interns sometimes stumble through tasks that might seem straightforward. The 2013 XTS is an interim at the top of Cadillac's sedan lineup. What came out was closer to an intern. General Motors' luxury marque has been without a flagship sedan since 2011, when the DTS and STS sedans reached the end of their life cycles.

A Main Street grocery store received about $5,000 in damage Friday when a car slammed into it and smashed three plate-glass windows, police said. The crash at Jue's Market at 1947 E. Main St. occurred just after 4 p.m., said Ventura Police Lt. Brad Talbot. According to market employee Andy Marklee, the driver of a Buick was heading south on Main when she was sideswiped by a northbound car.

Two men who robbed a Loomis Armored Inc. courier of $160,000 in Mission Valley remained at large Tuesday, and FBI investigators added a third suspect to the case, officials said. Witnesses told police two men came up behind an armed Loomis courier as he was walking up a stairwell about 9 a.m. Monday. The courier was making a cash delivery and pickup at the Navy Federal Credit Union in the 4000 block of Camino del Rio South, officials said. Officials said a third man drove the getaway car.

In the weeks after former Commerce Secretary John Bryson's bizarre series of hit-and-run collisions in the San Gabriel Valley, authorities said his blood tests would be pivotal in deciding whether to file criminal charges. On Tuesday, Los Angeles County prosecutors revealed that Bryson tested positive for a small amount of Ambien, a popular sleep aid, after he was found alone and unconscious behind the wheel of his Lexus last month. But authorities concluded the accidents were caused by a seizure Bryson suffered and said he should not face criminal charges in connection with them.

2012 Buick Verano Base price: $23,470 (including destination charge) Price, model tested: $28,245; Verano with Luxury package Powertrain: 2.4-liter, DOHC, direct-injected, four-cylinder engine; six-speed automatic transmission with manual shifting Horsepower: 180 at 6,700 rpm Torque: 171 pound-feet at 4,900 rpm 0-60: 8.2 seconds, according to Car and Driver magazine Curb weight: 3,300 pounds...