Buick concept car signals global look
— -- Buick is using the Beijing auto show to unveil a concept version of the car expected to replace the LaCrosse midsize sedan in the USA.
The "show" car at Auto China 2008, called the Invicta, is, in fact, a slightly modified version of the car as it will be sold, according to veteran industry analyst Jim Hall, managing director of 2953 Analytics in Birmingham, Mich. "They actually used the production prototype car for the show car."
The sleek sedan is expected in showrooms in late 2008 or early 2009, he says. LaCrosse sales were off 31% last month vs. March 2007 but up 8% for the first quarter in a new-vehicle market that's down 8%, according to sales tracker Autodata.
GM calls the car "a bold direction for Buick's new generation of vehicles in the world's two biggest automotive markets — the United States and China."
GM has been building Buicks in China since 1999. The brand is popular as executive transportation.
The new sedan, which may take the Invicta name when it goes on sale, was co-created by GM designers in Warren, Mich., and Shanghai. The name hasn't been used on a Buick for 45 years.
Buick says the midsize show car has a turbocharged 2-liter, four-cylinder engine rated 250 horsepower and 220 pounds-feet of torque, and a six-speed automatic.
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