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Buick Verano Earns IIHS 2012 Top Safety Pick

Brand’s 2012 lineup earns Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s designation

DETROIT – The all-new Buick Verano, with its 10 standard air bags, is an Insurance   Institute for Highway Safety Top Safety Pick for 2012, and completes a sweep of Buick cars and crossovers earning the designation.

General Motors is among industry leaders with a total of 14 IIHS 2012 Top Safety Picks, including 13 models that previously qualified for the 2011 award and were carried over to 2012 because their structure is substantially the same as the institute tested for 2011.

“GM set a goal that every new product would be designed to meet or exceed the third-party metrics that IIHS and others use to communicate crash worthiness to consumers,” said Gay Kent, GM executive director of Vehicle Safety. “We are now seeing the results from that commitment.”

In addition to the Buick LaCrosse, Regal and Enclave, 2011 carryover winners included the Chevrolet Cruze, Sonic, Volt, Equinox, Malibu and Traverse; the Cadillac CTS (sedan) and SRX, and GMC Terrain and Acadia.

The IIHS tests vehicles to determine how well they protect occupants in front and side crash tests, in rollovers via a roof strength test, and simulated rear impacts to evaluate seat and head restraints for protection against neck injuries. The Verano achieved a “good” score in all four types of tests performed and has standard electronic stability control, which the IIHS requires for Top Safety Pick designation.

The Verano is designed to help drivers avoid crashes, while protecting occupants in the event a crash occurs. Standard safety features include:

  • Ten air bags:  Driver and front passenger dual-stage frontal and seat-mounted side pelvic/thorax air bags; rear outboard seat-mounted side-impact airbags; head curtain side air bags with rollover protection that cover front and outboard rear seating rows; driver and front passenger knee air bags.
  • Rollover sensors which can activate the head curtain side air bags if sensors determine an imminent rollover. In a rollover, the air bags stay inflated longer to provide increased occupant protection.
  • StabiliTrak electronic stability control helps the driver maintain control by comparing the path being steered by the driver with the actual response and, when necessary, applying the brakes or adjusting the throttle or a combination of both.
  • Disc brakes with ABS to provide sure stops and full-function traction control to make the most of available traction in adverse weather conditions.
  • Front safety belt pretensioners to reduce forward movement and load-limiting retractors to help manage forces during a collision
  • Collapsible pedal system which allows the pedals to detach during a crash to reduce the risk of leg or ankle injuries.
  • OnStar, which features the Automatic Crash Response System that uses GPS and cellular phone technology to automatically call for help in the event of a crash that deploys the air bags.
  • Strong body structure to absorb crash energy and provide a protective “safety cage” around occupants. More than 60 percent of the body structure is composed of advanced steels.

“Safety is a top priority in Buick’s product renaissance as evidenced by earning these accolades from IIHS on every model,” Kent said. “Our customers can have confidence in the safety performance of every Buick for sale today.”

Buick is a modern luxury brand offering vehicles with sculpted designs, luxurious interiors with thoughtful personal technologies, along with responsive-yet-efficient performance. Buick is attracting new customers with its portfolio of award-winning models, including the Enclave crossover, LaCrosse sedan, Regal sport sedan and highly anticipated all-new 2012 Buick Verano compact luxury sedan. Buick is the fastest growing major brand in the U.S. and remains a best-selling brand in China, with continuing record growth. Learn more about Buick cars and crossovers at www.buick.com, on Twitter @buick or atwww.facebook.com/buick. Talk about this new compact luxury car at our Buick Verano forum community.

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Encore Crossover to Join Growing Buick Brand

DETROIT – Buick today confirmed the introduction of the 2013 Encore, an all-new, versatile five-passenger crossover set to debut at the 2012 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

Encore joins a rapidly expanding family of Buick vehicles that has recently seen the additions of the Verano compact luxury sedan, the Regal GS sport sedan, and fuel-efficient eAssist “light electrification” technology on both LaCrosse and Regal.

Encore will offer contemporary styling, signature QuietTuning technology, and a host of features and amenities customers expect from Buicks today. More details will be made available when Encore is revealed on Jan. 10.

This week, a new Encore tab on www.facebook.com/buick will feature a covered photograph of the vehicle. Each week leading up to the reveal, Buick will uncover a section of the photo. The final image will be revealed the same morning Encore takes the stage at the Cobo Center in Detroit.

Buick is a modern luxury brand offering vehicles with sculpted designs, luxurious interiors with thoughtful personal technologies, along with responsive-yet-efficient performance. Buick is attracting new customers with its portfolio of award-winning luxury models, including the Enclave crossover, LaCrosse sedan, Regal sport sedan, Buick Verano sedan and the all-new 2013 Encore crossover. Learn more about Buick cars and crossovers at www.buick.com, on Twitter @buick or at www.facebook.com/buick. Talk about this upcoming vehicle at our Buick Encore forum community.

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Regal GS Design Takes Inspiration from Natural World

Design director discusses style and substance of Buick’s sportiest sedan

DETROIT – The all-new 2012 Buick Regal GS, now arriving in dealerships, is the sportiest expression of Buick’s hot-selling midsize luxury sport sedan to date. Its high-output Ecotec 2.0L turbo engine cranks 270 hp and 295 lb.-ft. of torque, giving it the highest specific output of any production engine GM has offered.

GS performance persona is further supported by Brembo four-piston front-caliper brakes, a HiPer Strut front suspension system, six-speed manual transmission, driver-adjustable suspension and steering settings and 19-inch standard and 20-inch optional wheels.

Dave Lyon, executive director for Design, recently explained the substance behind Regal GS styling.

Q:  How did the Regal GS’ styling evolve?

A:  Naturally, we started with the Regal, which is already the most-athletic design we’ve ever had for Buick. The car has a great stance. The wheels are at the corners of the vehicle, sitting outside the body, which gives it a well-planted look on the road. The Regal also has beautifully sculpted sheet metal and a very sleek centerline. For GS, we weren’t looking for a personality change so much as an enhancement. Most of all, we wanted a pure expression of Buick performance.

Q:  What are the design details that give Regal GS its unique look?

A:  Regal GS’ styling is as purposeful as it is beautiful. The GS requires a lot more cooling for its brakes and powertrain than other Regal models. So, we have opened up the fascia for more air intake. Aesthetically speaking, the two vertical air intakes at the corners give the car a very dramatic signature front end, almost catlike. The Regal already had a feline grace, but we’ve enhanced it for GS, making it even more assertive. We also lowered the front and rear fascias and added rocker extensions along the sides, which gives the car a well-planted look. This also reduces the amount of air that can go underneath the car, which enhances aerodynamics.

Q:  What are some other differences between Regal GS and other Regal models?

A:  Going around the vehicle you’ll see that Regal’s bright chrome decorations are somewhat toned down for the GS, taking on a satin finish. The standard 19-inch wheels and optional 20-inch wheels, which look fantastic, also have a satin finish, look very three dimensional and sculptural. They don’t look like anything else on the road. Also, the satin-finished dual exhausts are integrated into the lowered rear fascia in a very dramatic way, and help give the car an attractive luxurious look from every angle.

Q:  Were there any specific design inspirations for GS?

A:  We looked at a lot of shapes from the natural world, including lightweight, agile predators that convey speed, power and beauty.

Q:  How important was aerodynamic refinement to GS styling?

A:  The GS team spent a lot of time on the Autobahn and Nurburgring tuning the high-speed signature of the vehicle. Aerodynamic styling enhancements like the lowered fascia and rocker extensions help stabilize the car at high speeds and the twin air intakes help keep the Brembo performance brakes cool.

Q:  How does the GS’ styling strike a balance between Buick heritage and Buick reinvention?

A:  Instead of following a specific formula for Buick design, we want each car to have its own individual personality. The Regal has a more avant-garde style than the rest of the Buick lineup, which is reaching a younger buyer and customers who might not have previously considered buying a Buick. The use of more diverse powertrains influences how we express Buick design characteristics like the waterfall grille, portholes, headlight shapes, air intakes, and other styling cues. As we transition from being a V-8 and V-6 powertrain division to one that uses very smart power like Regal GS’ high-output 2.0L turbo engine, not to mention Regal and LaCrosse’s use of eAssist, the familiar Buick cues will evolve as well. In the future, we expect to develop new ways to express even more high-tech and efficient powertrains.

Q:  How close to a four-door coupe does the GS come?

A:  I can see why someone would be tempted to use that term to describe the GS, but we prefer to think of it as a very expressive four-door sedan, and there’s no shame in that. Unlike a coupe, the GS has a very useable back seat with excellent ingress and egress, and it’s as pretty as most midsize coupes on the market. When you’re sitting the GS’ driver seat and engage with its aluminum pedals, short-throw shifter and flat-bottomed three-spoke steering wheel you forget that you’re driving a sedan. As soon as you grab that flat-bottomed wheel you know you’re in a different kind of Buick. Who needs a coupe when you have a GS?