Two-Door GM Compact Coming, But It’s Not A Cruze

From GMInside News: Late last week rumors surfaced (for the second time in a year) that Chevrolet is prepping a coupe variant of the new Cruze compact sedan. While we hate to be the bearers of bad news, we can confidently say that there is no Cruze Coupe in the product plans. There is, however, a two-door (err...three?) GM compact car in the plans for North America.

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Life following art? Thoughts on the new Nissan Murano CrossCabrolet

Personal File: So I was finally going back through my brochures from our annual Chicago Auto Show trip and came back upon the Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet. Having done an early look at what it might have looked like for InsideLine, I was very impressed with what Nissan had actually done with the vehicle.

It seemed to be a hit with the ladies at the show, especially the younger female demographic. This got me thinking, since women influence over 3/4 of all vehicle sales, what if this vehicle concoction takes off? Would other manufacturers take note and start to offer SUV convertibles?

As I was pondering that question, I couldn't help but feel I've already seen this done before in the past. After a bit of digging around, I stumbled upon this old chop I did for a monthly design contest on GMInsideNews about 5 years ago. We were asked that month to chop the 2003 Centieme Concept and I went hog wild with a 2-door retractable hardtop convertible.

Funny how things work out ... I can now compare a 5 year old chop to a real life convertible SUV. Life imitates art or something like that ... ha ha ha

What do you think - should other manufacturers hop on the bandwagon? Would you consider buying a convertible SUV from Nissan, Buick, or any other brand if one was offered? Has Nissan just found their own BMW X6 niche? Time will tell :)

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What if GM made a Buick LaCrosse wagon?

Personal File: I read on InsideLine a few weeks back that there could be a Regal wagon coming to America soon. This is great news as not only am I a major fan of wagons, but because I figured GM would all but abandon this market (minus the CTS wagon) in America.

if the Regal wagon will actually happen, it got me thinking 'what if the wagon takes off and sells well'? Would Buick consider a Buick LaCrosse wagon too? Using the Buick Enclave as a starting point, I was determined to find out. I think the results are outstanding.

Now that is a proper Buick wagon! What do you think?

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My wish list for the 2011 Buick Regal

Personal File: I recently read on GMInsideNews that production of the Buick Regal will be moving to Oshawa Canada starting in 2011. This is great news as there is a possibility that the vehicle could receive a few more Buick design cues. The only major change moving it from Opel to Buick for 2010 was the grille change.

In the hope that something more may come of this production switch, I wanted to put together a "wish list" of items I feel would truly integrate the Regal for Buick North America.

Edits include:

• Revised profile - sweep-spear profile added similar to LaCrosse and the Opel downturning swoosh in the front door has been removed
• Revised tail lights - to reflect similiarly, but not exactly, to the LaCrosse
• Redefined trunk cutline - this is just a pet peeve of mine! The current trunk line is very awkward so I tried to adjust it to a more pleasing line that extends up from the bumper cover trim/cut line until it reaches the back window glass
• Revised trunk chrome bar/badges - cut off parts of both sides of the chrome bar that extended into the lights and slightly moved badging to further bring similiarty to the LaCrosse
• New wheels - the current wheels are terribly drab so I grabbed the wheels from the LaCrosse concept for proof of concept.

Now I think it looks like a proper Buick! What do you think?

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