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The new Enclave takes Buick back to the brand’s roots with a quiet ride, striking style and smooth performance. The Enclave shares a platform with both the Saturn Outlook and the GMC Acadia, but because it’s a Buick, this eight-passenger crossover is more about pampering. Power comes from the same 3.6-liter, 271-hp V6 as the GMC and Saturn models and comes paired to a six-speed automatic. Front-wheel drive is standard, but all-wheel drive is on the options list—as is a choice of 18-inch or 19-inch wheels. If you want some serious bling, there’s a 20-inch wheel available as a dealer-installed option. Fuel economy is rated as 16/24 (city/highway) for the front drive Enclave, and two less in each category for the all-wheel drive model.

But Enclave is more about style and ride than simple raw numbers. Of the three GM crossovers built on this chassis, Enclave offers the most appealing—“sensual,” the company calls them—bodylines and quietest ride. Showing off Buick’s luxury outside are curved fender creases in the front and rear, plus a waterfall grille. Refined “ventaports” on the hood recall Buicks of past.

Inside the cabin, the theme remains high style, with wood grain trim highlighted by bright metal borders—not to mention a real wood and leather steering wheel. Oh, and don’t overlook the wood-chrome-leather shift lever that completes a luxury message.

Enclave’s seats accommodate eight passengers in a two-three-three arrangement from front to back. Second- and third-row seats are 60/40 bench types that fold down for added stowage space. Or, order captain’s seats for the second row, and you get a walk-through passage to accommodate rear-seat passengers.

Buick’s reputation for a quiet ride is enhanced in this latest model. One example is the laminated glass in the front-door windows. Another is the acoustical windshield glass that uses a filler of sound-absorbing material. Foam fillers in structure voids offer more sound filtering in addition to strength. Special engine mounts are designed to all but eliminate engine vibration during idle and high-speed operation.

An extended morning drive on two-lane pavement through the Missouri Ozarks delivered the proof we needed that Buick does indeed deliver a quite interior. Engineers say the Buick is three or more decibels quieter than those sister vehicles from Saturn and GMC. That proved easy to believe: Transmission shifts in fairly steep and busy hills were smooth, with little engine roar and no hesitation in double downshifts.

However, a short comparison with the front-drive version revealed more than subtle differences. The front drive took curves much less nimbly, offering front tire scrub in moderate turns where the all-wheel drive held the line. For all its size and nearly 5000-pound curb weight, the vehicle drives “small,” and offers an outstanding turning tightness, given its comfort-based, 119-in. wheelbase and front-wheel-drive design.

Two models make up the Enclave line, the CX and CXL. Both are identical in power train offerings and all major measurements. Prices start at $32,790 for the front-drive CX and $34,990 for the CXL

Believe it or not, Buick-one of America’s oldest car brands-actually sells more units in China than in the States. Of course, Buick also has a wider product line in China, with everything from a rebadged Suzuki Reno hatchback to a minivan. To show its love for its loyal Asian buyers, Buick decided not only to have its Chinese studio design this new concept, but also to debut the car in Shanghai.

The Riviera concept revives a name that hasn’t been seen since the last generation car died in 1999, and it’s a very important nameplate for Buick. When the original Riv’ was unveiled in 1963, it blew the world away with its elegant, timeless design. It is still looked at as one of GM’s best designs of all time, and the car was even on our “25 Most Beautiful Cars” list in September of 2006. This new design is meant to bring some excitement back to the Buick brand, not just in China, but around the world - the Riviera demonstrates a new design language that will be used on all future models.

Based on GM’s Epsilon architecture, the Riviera concept is about the size of a Pontiac G6 and uses a hybrid powertrain (heading to production in China next year) driving the front wheels. Those may seem like the wrong drive wheels for a sports coupe, but there has also never been a rear-drive Riviera. The body is made completely out of carbon fiber, other than the glass roof, and the doors swing up gullwing-style to show an elegant cabin with 2+2 seating. Twenty-one-inch wheels and badges that glow at night add great details to the car’s appearance. Some Buick fans might think that this concept is too sporty for the brand, but we think that Buick needs a change. Just as the original Riviera looked to the future and brought some soul back to Buick, this concept looks at a changing market and, if it sees production, might just save the fledgling brand here in its motherland.

Overview

LaCrosse is the Buick of mid-size sedans. So, as you would expect, it’s quiet, pleasant-mannered, and demands little of its driver or passengers. Its styling is sophisticated and modern, yet conservative. Inside is a rich, high-quality cabin with attractive woodgrain trim, nicely presented instruments and controls, and available leather seats with nice-looking gathered stitching.

What owners of recent Buicks might not expect is the way LaCrosse drives. Its steering is more precise, and it turns into corners crisply, with little body lean. In short, it handles quite impressively on winding mountain roads where it’s capable of keeping up with any of the imported mid-size cars. Its V6 engines offer good power, growling under acceleration, but motoring along smoothly and quietly on the freeway. And of course its transmission works flawlessly.

Electronic features make the well-equipped LaCrosse a safe, all-weather family car with nice conveniences. Among them: a remote starting system that will work from up to 500 feet away, great on cold winter mornings; OnStar, which will dispatch emergency crews to your precise location if you have a wreck and don’t respond to operators’ calls; XM Satellite Radio to pick up Fox News, CNN, ESPN, or your favorite music; and StabiliTrak, which can help keep you from skidding off a slippery road. ABS and side-curtain airbags come standard.

For 2007, Buick LaCrosse benefits from revised trim and equipment upgrades, including a standard tire-pressure monitor and available Turn-by-Turn navigation from OnStar. Otherwise, it’s largely unchanged from 2006.

Model Lineup

The ‘07 Buick LaCrosse comes in three models. The base CX and the more luxurious CXL are powered by Buick’s veteran 3.8-liter overhead-valve V6, rated at 200 horsepower. The performance-oriented CXS comes instead with a 3.6-liter V6 with modern double overhead camshafts and variable valve timing; although slightly smaller in displacement, it develops 240 horsepower. » Read more after the jump →

On Sale: Third Quarter 2007
Expected Pricing: $26,000-$43,000

The 2008 Toyota Highlander, revealed at the Chicago auto show in February 2007, is the second generation of Toyota’s car-based mid-size SUV. In response to people who chose not to buy a Highlander, Toyota has made the new Highlander bigger and more powerful. A third-row seat is available, along with a gas-electric hybrid model.

The new Highlander continues to be based on the same platform as the Camry and Avalon, but is a full three inches longer in wheelbase and four inches longer overall. Gone is the base four-cylinder engine. The base model now is powered by a 270-hp 3.5-liter V6 coupled to a five-speed automatic transmission. It is offered in 2WD or 4WD. Despite an increase in size, weight and power Toyota says the overall fuel consumption will be little changed from the current Highlander. » Read more after the jump →