InvictaMan

I'm adding the 4-way sensing technology that is on the FX. And Bluetooth is a given. Power rear seats, which I thought should have been on the Enclave from the beginning.

I think you may be onto something here. I like the idea of a smaller coupe carrying the Riviera name. As a matter of fact, I say kill the compact sedan direction and give us a compact coupe in the new Riviera (a new market) and replace the sedan with a compact crossover like the Invicta concept (for an established market) and you have both ends covered. The sedan folks would gravitate to the crossover, which is more practical as a compact, and the allure of a sexy Riviera in a compact luxury form will make sense in the changing environment of gas prices. Love the hybrid idea, do it for both.

I envision this concept being the near-luxury sports car for those of us that have to haul some things. SWB would be fine as long as Tiger has room for the clubs. I actually would like to see some class-leading cargo room in this. And come creative use of space for storage. I also want the performance that makes me forget that it's all back there. I just came back and looked at the two together, and it was perfectly obvious how these two vehicles will reach out to two different markets. For those of us who will want to make the inevitable comparisons and differentiations. Here are the siblings side-by-side. Invicta Compact Crossover Concept Buick Enclave

The whole exercise was done on a lower resolution image that I had stuck away and resampled, but thanks for your criticisms.

I would say Sigma or Theta based, so a bit bigger than Vibe so as to differentiate the network offerings.

I had such a blast with this chop that I had to see what others thought about expanding the Buick line-up to include such a vehicle. It was posted first over in the "smaller car under LaCrosse" topic, and I didn't want to clutter the compact discussion with crossover fantasy. Talk about the design you would envision. Let your thoughts be known on what platform, what content, etc. that such a vehicle should have. Would it attract the younger buyers, as well as the older segment? Could such a vehicle compete in the near-luxury 5-seater market? I'll take one in my garage! Invicta Compact Crossover Concept Invicta Compact Crossover Concept Rear

I agree with everything you say here, except that along with the kitchen sink sans nav, there definitely needs to be a lesser contented level. If the performance, panache and quality are there, and it can be contented or modified as the owner desires, you reach a whole different youth market that is looking to emulate the contented model at an Executive, Jr. salary. My regret is that I did not mention the adjective "exotic" in my previous posts. I think Velite styling with some minor refreshes truly fits that attitude; as a compact American luxury value with some spunk. I say "don't stop at the sheet metal." When you sit in the leather driver's seat with the fob in your hand, the dash needs to come alive and put on a show to welcome you. Tastefully reserved ambient lighting, not at the blinding yet beautiful level of the Riviera Concept, should sweep out across the dash and controls like a wave from the steering column. Wow factor.

You know. a good while back I made mention that I thought the design of the Velite belonged on a much smaller car. Reproportion that baby into a compact Buick coupe and sedan, and you've got a winner! Afterthought: Look at the pics of the Velite, imagine it more the size of a G6, pop a hard top on it and tell me that is not the 2010 Buick Bengal.

LOL! Tune in tomorrow for the answer to these and other questions on "As The GM Turns."

I couldn't resist this. My dream Buick line-up: Electra = Zeta flagship sedan Riviera = Zeta flagship coupe/convertible Regal = Ep II mid-size sedan Wildcat = Delta sedan and coupe Invicta = Theta or Sigma crossover Enclave = Lambda crossover Afterthought: Maybe switch out Wildcat for Bengal, sounds catchy with Regal.

I personally think that the IS is one of the hottest and most diverse cars Lexus has to offer right now. It offers many of the wonderful possibilities that you have all described up to this post, even if some of them will require a little after-market magic. That just adds to the fun of owning that entry level car, making it your own. Buick hasn't been courting the pimpsters for nothing. Remember, not all of those young buyers that GM wants Buick to attract in their metamorphosis has a daddy worth a billion. And with today's fuel prices, he almost has to be. The smaller, more efficient Buick has to be exciting enough to attract both ends of the spectrum. Who would have thought that the homely Prius would have become such a darling for the wealthy. I think Buick is perfectly suited for that market, in the past and in their new form. It just has to be done right, have the same aggressiveness of style and quality, and seem far more expensive than it really is. Hey, isn't that what Buick is all about anyway. They, and GM for that matter, obviously just lost their way in the flurry of the Japanese invasion. Make it easier for the expressive twenagers and thirtagers by offering a lot of upgrade possibilities a la carte, a la Scion and quit reaming folks with GM packages. That would make it attractive to this oldager, lol. The new Excelle in the Chinese article (linked prior) is not the answer. It is more Skylark than IS. It might even border on Somerset. The more I think about it, Skylark is definitely not the name for this Buick. It has to rise above that heritage. Personally, I'd call it Invicta, but hey, "would I be prejudiced on that topic?" My only objection to that name for the small sedan would be if Buick also got smart and designed a little brother for Enclave. Lexus, Nissan, Infiniti, BMW for that matter, all have the pleasure of the 5-seater crossover market. In that scenario, Invicta belongs with Enclave. They sound great together and Invicta is a hot name for a small, stylish, semi-luxury crossover. I think this is the right direction for Buick, and the inevitable.

There are two photoshops in the first link. One is a concept and the other is a rendition of what the car with the camo will look like. The car in the second link is definitely the camoed car unmasked. They say the blue Excelle is coming late in 2008. Does this mean the new Delta version is not coming until 2009, as a 2010 model?

Yeah, considering the Riviera Concept, I would have expected more. I agree the front is OK, but not sure about the rear. It doesn't look upscale enough for the US market and the grill is about all of the Buick DNA I see. They did mention that this was the low end model. Just how much input does the Chinese contingent have on the new LaCrosse/Regal? Hopefully not much if this is the direction. Edit: After a second and third look, the rear actually does have some Velite cues, if you grafted them onto a Toyota Corolla.

The above is a link to the story, but the link to the real unmask is: http://www.chinacartimes.com/2008/02/25/ne...-and-uncovered/

Here is a link to the latest images I've seen. Any newer, please advise. http://www.chinacartimes.com/2008/01/31/ne...elle-for-china/

My biggest fear, based on looking at the spy shots, is that they are going to put those big light pods from the Enclave directly onto the LaCrosse. Take a look at the current Chinese LaCrosse, which will evolve into the newer car we see in these spy shots. It has a very similar pod, which IMHO is too big and busy. Looks great on the Enclave, a CUV, but not on a refined car.

I would be surprised if they transfered that much of the design. Though the Riv is only a concept, if they decided to move forward with the coupe (which I believe they will, in some form) there has been too much development done to give the exact design away to another car. What we will most likely see are subtle cues in a much less daring, consumer-oriented package.

How about a Regal GSX?

Cleaned her up a bit and Enclaved the headlights. Refresh your browsers.

Thanks folks. Sorry I didn't take the time to develop it more. I only spent about 45 minutes on it last night. If I have time I will try to clean it up, but I think it got enough camo off and respectable enough grafts that it shows that this car could be a stunner if Buick and GM are willing to stick to the refined details and proportions that show up on the concepts of late.

It was getting kind of quiet around here concerning the NG LaCrosse. Hope I haven't stepped on anyone here, but I was playing around with the desires of others to see the Riviera design language grafted to what we know of the preproduction car spied. Here's a very quick and crude interpretation done on top of one of Chris' shots. And I have taken the liberty of calling it Regal. Enjoy.

Disappointing that GM decided not to take the wraps off the new Buick. The Enclave was unwrapped, at least as a concept true to production, way before its arrival. I would have rather seen that than the Caddy BoRaX, of which I feel belongs in the Buick line-up as well named Invicta. A small Caddy CUV is watering down the brand.

What is the new URL?

Oh sheesh! That thing is about as attractive as Darth Vader in drag. And nearly as dated. On the MKS — the interior is a feast of plastic. And fit and finish... check out the wrinkled, poor application of the leather dash at the driver's side air vent. Definitely a better execution of exterior style and proportion than the Taurus and Sable, more viable than the dinosaur they call the Town Car.

I think that concept is right up the Riviera alley. Its styling has always been vanguard and unboxible. The difference with this design over those of the past is that this time they got everything right. Bring it on, it will certainly up the anty for Buick and make paying the rising prices of this debutant again more palitable; and raise resale values, making them even more so.