New 2013 Buick Encore Priced from $24,950*, Goes on Sale Early Next Year

After telling us that the new Buick Encore has received an EPA certification of 28mpg combined, General Motors has now announced pricing for its Nissan Juke-sized small crossover that will arrive in U.S. showrooms in the first quarter of 2013 starting at $24,950, which includes a $750 destination charge (*).

The Encore is offered exclusively with a 1.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder gasoline engine churning out 138-horsepower (140PS) and 148 lb.-ft. (200Nm) of peak torque. All-wheel drive is available on all models for $1,500.

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GM Wants to be the Best in Customer Loyalty, Gain More than US$4 Billion Annually

The Holy Grail in any industry is customer loyalty. All manufacturers are fighting to improve their retention rate, that is, the percentage of customers who, when the time comes to replace a product, will remain loyal to the brand.

The automotive industry is no different. In the U.S. market, the current leader is Toyota, with a 58 percent retention rate. General Motors’ percentage is around 52-53 percent, close to the automotive industry average. Clearly, GM execs think that this should change; and there’s a very good reason for that.

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Buick and GMC to Present Nine New Models in the Next Year Including Regal, LaCrosse and Sierra

It’s going to a busy time for General Motors and its Buick and GMC brands as the company's executives told dealers today that the two automakers plan to launch nine all-new or "significantly" refreshed models in the next 12 months.

The first models to arrive will be the brand-new Buick Encore small crossover and the revamped GMC Acadia SUV this fall.

In the course of 2013, Buick will introduce the Regal sedan and LaCrosse (most likely facelifts), while GMC, the new Sierra and Sierra HD full-size pickups, as well as the Yukon and Yukon XL full-size SUVs.

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Software Glitch Causes Delays in Deliveries of Certain 2012-2013 GM Models Including Cadillac ATS

General Motors may have increased its US sales in August by 10 percent compared to the same month in 2011, but last Wednesday it notified its dealers to stop deliveries of some of its most popular models.

The reason is a software glitch on the OnStar communication system that affects the 2013 Chevrolet Cruze, Equinox and Volt, the Cadillac ATS, SRX and XTS, the Buick Verano plus the GMC Terrain.

GM spokesman Alan Adler said that the issue has been identified as the system failing to alert the OnStar call center in an accident that the vehicle’s airbags are not deployed, like a rear-end collision.

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2013 Buick Encore Small Crossover FWD EPA-Rated at 28MPG Combined

General Motors announced today that its new 2013 Buick Encore small crossover is rated at an EPA-estimated 25 mpg (9.4lt/100km) city, 33 mpg (7.2lt/100km) highway and a combined 28 mpg (8.4lt/100km) fuel economy with a standard six-speed automatic transmission and front-wheel drive (FWD). Read more »

New 2013 Buick Verano Turbo 250HP Priced at $29,990, Only $1,155 Less than the Regal Turbo

A couple of months ago, Buick unwrapped a new flagship model for its 2013 Verano series aptly named Turbo and powered by an Ecotec 2.0-liter force-fed four-cylinder engine delivering 250-horses at 5,300 rpm and 260 lb.-ft. (353 Nm) of torque at 2,000 rpm.

Buick has now announced pricing with the turbocharged compact sedan to arrive at dealerships this fall starting at $29,990, including a destination charge of $885.

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GM Posts All Time Record July Sales in China, up 11.7 Percent from the Beginning of 2012

It's been a good sales month in China for General Motors and its 12 joint ventures in the country as the Detroit-based company set an all-time record high of 199,503 deliveries in July, up 15.1 percent over the same month last year.

In particular, the Shanghai GM joint venture posted sales of 97,064 units (+5.7%), SAIC-GM-Wuling 98,694 units (+26.6%) and FAW-GM 3,379 vehicles (+3.1 percent).

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Spy Shots: Opel's New Astra-Based Convertible Takes Final Shape Ahead of Paris Debut

Up until now, Opel and Vauxhall engineers had been seen working on unfinished, test mules of the upcoming Astra-based convertible model with framed doors and other non-production parts.

Now, our spies were finally able to spot a camouflaged prototype of the open-top model wearing its production body including the electrically operated ragtop.

You may have noticed that we're constantly using the term 'Astra-based', the reason being that while the new Opel model is built on the current Astra replacing the previous Astra TwinTop, company officials have said that the four-seater convertible will gain a new and bespoke name - much like VW's Golf-based Eos.

Opel and its sister company Vauxhall will market the new convertible model as a more premium proposal than its predecessor, despite that fact that it gets a folding soft top instead of the TwinTop's retractable hardtop.

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Meet the Adams Family: Buick's Waterfall Grille Plastered on Opel's Premium Mini

Knowing that GM has rebadged a number of Opel models as Buicks since its restructuring in 2009, including the Astra and the Insignia, there was no doubt in our minds that sooner or later, someone would turn Opel's new Adam premium city car into a Buick.

'Automotive manipulator' Theophilus Chin replaced Opel's French mustache-styled chrome piece with Buick's trademark waterfall grille, and well, that's all that was done to the car.

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