In advance of this week’s North American International Auto Show, Buick unveiled the 2016 Avista concept, a high-performance 2+2 coupe powered by a 400-horsepower twin-turbo V6. Get all the latest auto industry news in the Executive Briefing.
Today’s headlines:
+ In Detroit on Sunday, General Motors debuted the Buick Avista concept, a rear-drive 2+2 coupe with 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 power. More at the Detroit Free Press.
+ Volkswagen AG will unveil a plug-in hybrid version of its Tiguan SUV with a total range of 580 miles at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit today. More at The Detroit News.
+ Also at NAIAS at Cobo Center today, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles will debut the latest generation of Chrysler’s trend-setting minivan, now rebadged as the Pacifica. More at USA Today.
+ The European division of General Motors continued to generate a loss in 2015, but hopes to return to profit this year, GM Europe boss Karl-Thomas Neumann told German magazine Auto Bild. More at Reuters.
+ Veteran auto executive Bob Lutz and designer Henrik Fisker have teamed up in a new venture, VLF Automotive, to offer an updated version of the VL Destino sports sedan. More at Bloomberg.com.
+ Brazilian Pipo Derani in the Patron EM LMP2-spec Ligier-Honda JS P2 topped the charts in the final day of testing for the Rolex 24 at Daytona on January 23-25. More at Racer.
+ Actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and his company, Seven Bucks Productions, are developing a Fast and Furious spinoff for television that features a police department auto theft unit. More at Autoblog.
+ Volkswagen engineers have developed a catalytic converter that could be fitted to around 430,000 older diesel vehicles in the U.S. as a repair for their illegal emissions systems. More at the Chicago Sun-Times.
+ French industrialist Roland Peugeot, who oversaw the merger of the Peugeot and Citroen brands in 1976 at the request of the French government, has died at age 89. More at Automotive News Europe.
+ Robert Carini, prominent car collector, AACA Lifetime Achievement Award winner, and father of TV car show personality Wayne Carini, has passed away at age 93. More at Hemmings Daily.
+ Reigning Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton says he expects the Mercedes team to continue its domination of the series through the 2016 season. More at the UK Mirror.
Read the previous Executive Briefing from January 8 here.
Photo by General Motors.
I believe Buick has a winner if they produce this car. Not real keen on the glass roof, but the rest of it has some nice styling. Maybe Buick’s entry back into the personal performance car market? Looks like it could go head to head against the Camaro and Mustang. Add a LS based V8 and it might be a giant killer! To slightly rework an old GM as phrase, “Not your Grandpa’s Buick!”
It’s still…… a Buick….