Buick More Popular in China

Buick isn’t what it used to be in the U.S., even with one of the world’s best athletes — Tiger Woods — promoting its new cars. Sales are down 15% this year, and that’s with relatively new products like the Lacrosse and Lucerne in the lineup. News isn’t so bad in China, though. The Chinese revere Buick’s heritage, and sales in that country increased more than 27% in 2006. That’s such a large boost, that Buick will sell more cars this year in China than it does in the U.S.

As for falling U.S. sales, until more products like the Buick Enclave, shown here, make their way to market, we don’t see this trend reversing any time soon for the GM brand. 

[China Could Save a Tarnished GM Brand, MSNBC.com]

2006 L.A. Auto Show: Buick Enclave

We all knew the Buick Enclave would look a lot like the concept vehicle we saw in Detroit 11 months ago, but the production vehicle is almost identical in every way, at least from the outside. The interior is nowhere near as luxurious as the concept, but we knew that would be the case — there’s no way a mass-production vehicle can match a handmade one. Still, the interior seems upgraded enough from the Saturn Outlook to warrant the estimated price increase from that sub-$30,000 sibling.

The exterior design of the Enclave is gorgeous for a glorified minivan. Don’t use that “M” word around GM, though. They call this a “luxury crossover SUV.” The real question will come down to price and whether or not the Enclave will step into Acura MDX territory (starting at $40,000). We’d expect GM to be savvy to that figure, though when the car hits dealers this summer.

Keep reading for a bunch of photos. There will be more information on the Enclave’s powertrain and other features later today in the Cars.com L.A. Auto Show section.