buick

Will the feds jam your phone in the car? Your next rental car may not have an engine. Mobile TV just won't die. And we drive the 2011 Lincoln MKX Hybrid.

• Feds look into car cell phone jammers

• 2012 Buick LaCrosse gets amazing MPG boost

• Sirius satellites to go dark in move to XM?

• Mobile Digital TV may blossom in 2011

• Nissan Leaf rated at 99 MPGe - CNET Review

• CNET's LOLCars gallery!

General Motors Co. is installing a relatively inexpensive start/stop system to give the 2012 Buick LaCrosse a 25 percent boost in fuel economy.

The technology, now dubbed eAssist, is modular and likely will spread across a range of GM vehicles.

"From a business standpoint," said Steve Poulos, eAssist global chief engineer, "there is an opportunity to bring this kind of light electrification and regenerative braking to the vast majority of our vehicles."

Poulos said eAssist is similar in principle to the belt-alternator starter start/stop system first used on the 2007 Saturn Vue Green Line. … Read more

General Motors recently released a suite of iPhone and Android apps for OnStar and 2011 Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC models as a first step toward improving in-vehicle communications technology. I was eager to take the OnStar MyLink app for a spin in a 2011 Buick Regal during a road trip from New York to Boston, but I was surprised at how little opportunity I had to use it. OnStar's MyLink app is primarily a safety application for emergency situations, so not finding opportunity to use it was a good thing. But if the app is a step toward … Read more

Buick's new entry-level Regal CXL has a lot going for itself. The sedan features looks that Buicks of the mid-90s could only dream of. The performance and fuel efficiency look good on paper, while the European-tuned suspension impressed on the road. In the cabin, it checks many of the boxes we like to see in the technology department. So, why did the 2011 Buick Regal CXL end up with such a middle-of-the-road score at the end of our review? As they say, the devil's in the details.

Once the Regal rolled off of the showroom turntable and onto … Read more

When you think of automotive test tracks, you might think of flat blacktop and a course delineated by orange cones.

But Mine (Mee-NAY) Tasci and engineers at General Motors have taken testing to the extreme for the latest Buick models. They have created an innovative road scanner that makes a micro-detailed 3D digital representation of some of the toughest real-world road surfaces.

As seen in the video below, Tasci drives virtual Buick vehicles on the roads to test for quality and reliability.

"Just like a photo scanner, we can scan the surface of a road to create a 3D … Read more

Keyless entry just got smarter. The 2011 Buick LaCrosse CSX will feature a smarter keyless entry that anticipates when the driver, or passengers, want the cars doors locked and unlocked.

With new key fob technology, the driver is able to program which doors are to be locked and unlocked and when. The key fob can be carried in a pocket, purse or briefcase. It sends a signal that opens the driver's side door, or all of the doors, as the driver approaches. After the car is parked, and the driver and passengers leave the car, the key fob will … Read more

General Motors launched a new social-media advertising campaign, including a new Web site, to promote the 2011 Buick Regal.

"We are inviting consumers to find out on their own that Regal is a true performance sedan and worthy of their consideration," said Craig Bierley, Buick advertising director. "We are making it easy for the consumer to get unbiased opinions in one online location."

The automaker announced the new Web site, "Buick's Moment of Truth," last month. Buck hopes the Web site well help it rebrand the classic model and entice a younger generation … Read more

GM is planning to keep drivers and passengers of 2013 Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, and Cadillac cars cool with a sustainable air-conditioning refrigerant that lingers in the atmosphere for only days instead of years.

Honeywell has designed a new refrigerant, (HFO-1234yf), that lingers in the atmosphere for just 11 days and has a global warming potential (GWP) of only 4, a 99.7 percent improvement over current emissions.

On average, the refrigerant used in current GM models, R-134a, has an atmospheric life of more than 13 years and a GWP of more than 1,400.

"GM's decision to adopt … Read more

DETROIT--Call it the Fiesta Movement for grown-ups.

To help launch the 2011 Regal sedan, Buick will host a social media Web site with videos from buyers supplied with flip cameras, just like Ford's campaign for the youth-oriented Fiesta small car.

But the Regal site will feature reviews, not the playful commercials and local coming-out parties that characterize the Fiesta Movement. Buick will post all articles written about the Regal, even if they're unflattering, and visitors can post any comments they want, Buick's top marketer says.

The site, called "Buick's Moment of Truth," is part of the brand's efforts to remake its image--tarnished in some parts of the United States and nonexistent in others because of years of unappealing products and shrinking sales. Buick marketers' willingness to post bad press shows the brand is ready to take unusual risks to rebuild credibility.

When Buick tested marketing plans for the Regal, the candor behind "Moment of Truth" impressed consumers, says John Schwegman, U.S. marketing chief for Buick-GMC.

"It came across as a very positive thing to be that open and that transparent in an age that people are mad at bailouts, people are mad at big corporate America," Schwegman says. … Read more