james614

For those who have forgotten about Buick having a turbo 4 banger, I present a blast from the past, the 1987 Buick Skyhawk Turbo Hatch! "One of the true VERY rare models of Turbo Buick. The Skyhawk hatchback was only made with a turbo from the middle of the model year in 86 and then in 87 with none built in 88. The 86 was with the 1.8 and the 87 was with the 2.0. In 86 the turbo was an option, but not required, on the T Type. In 87 you could order the T package and also the Turbo package as was available on the Regal. There were only 3,757 Sport Hatches built in 87 and the best guess is very few of them were optioned up to the T or the Turbo package. So, I would think that was rare. Curb weight is set at 2396 lbs and the motor at 165HP and 175 lb/ft torque. This is on quite low boost and timing. If you check out some "J" body sites you will find a few people having a bit of fun with these." I remember seeing one in the Buick dealership my Uncle worked at. Gray with black interior. Pretty sharp but not many built.

Let's keep it civil over here. I come from a Buick family having been taken home from the hospital in one and can not recall the family not having a Buick. I currently drive a Buick and I have also been in many a Lexus. It is my personal opinion that Buick has a ways to go in build quality to catch up with Lexus. The mechanical quality may be equal but the Buick is not as solid or well assembled. I hope that the Invicta closes the gap otherwise I may see my favorite marque go the way of Olds. I have driven the Aura as a rental car and was surprised at how GM has cheapened the materials from even my austere Rendezvous. The arm rests bowed-in when used since they are hollow and the A-pillar was dented due to the thiness to the metal. The Aura was not well assembled and lowered my expectations for both the 'Bu and the Invicta. I hope to be proven wrong but have been less satisfied with each subsequent GM purchase over the years. It is time for GM to step up their game otherwise another diehard will move on to Toyota......

I don't expect the new Buick to start more than $2K over the comparable Saturn. Given how poor Saturn sales are at the current price range and the need for a Buick home run, I expect the pricing to be aggressive. Plus the 'Bu and Aura will be on the same platform in a few years so I can't see GM pricing this model out of the comparable mid-size market place. I don't see this as an ES competitor at all. I expect it to take on Acura not Lexus. Buick is no Lexus and never will be. The quality and image are not there. Also, with fewer models in the lineup, I expect there will be a high MPG engine option to satisfy CAFE. The 2.4 DI 6 speed sounds like the ticket. Plus with development costs shared with the Chinese market, GM may well have more models coming than we think.

This interior screams for tan instead of the gray plus remove the fake wood for some nice brushed aluminum. The new 'Bu interior looks so much better..........

I own a 2002 Buick Rendezvous in Sedona Bronze. I like the color more today that the day I bought the vehicle. The color looks like melted chocolate. I think it has much better staying power than that deep red Buick offered that year. Too bad GM saw fit to drop the color after one year. I think it looks spetacular with the tan and brown interior. I hope that Buick always offers a brown. My family had a brown Buick when I was growing up and I think it is a rich looking color when in the proper tone with a good measure of metallic added.