Is it a LaCrosse Or an Invicta?

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Matthew_Keegan]Matthew Keegan

When it comes to brand excitement, Buick doesn't jump to the top of the heap. Long noted for building near-luxury cars more akin to Cadillac, Buick hasn't had too many exciting models to brag about down through the years. One notable exception was the Buick Grand National (Regal), but the current Lucerne, and the LaCrosse aren't special cars, though an argument could be made for the brand's crossover, the Enclave.

In China, Buick is a big hit selling twice as many vehicles there then they do in the US. Credit Buick's very good history with keeping the brand's appeal alive - according to GM, Sun Yatsen, who was the first president of what was then known as the Republic of China, took his first automobile ride in a 1912 Buick. The rest is history.

Buick began to produce cars in China in 1998 and quickly became the largest volume brand for GM by the following year. In 2007, more than 332,000 Buick products were sold, an increase of 9.2% over the previous year. Buick sells the Park Avenue, LaCrosse, Regal, Excelle, and GL8 in China, but several concepts have recently been shown including the pictured Invicta (Latin for invincible).

The Invicta is a four door sedan with a roofline similar to a coupe. Powered by a 2.0L I4, this midsize model is likely to represent the direction where GM will be going over the coming years - a smaller, much more fuel efficient model featuring a direct injection turbocharged engine paired with a six-speed automatic transmission. Whereas a V6 would have been used previously, Buick will rely on the I4 for improved fuel economy while still providing very good power (250 hp, 220 lb-ft of torque).

Notable features in the Invicta are its 20 inch polished aluminum wheels, LED interior lighting technology, center console touch pad, wood trim and polished aluminum accents, and four-wheel disc brakes.

This is the second significant Buick concept released this year; the Riviera made its debut in January in China, demonstrating GM's commitment to the market.

Copyright 2008-2012 -- Matthew C. Keegan is the owner of a successful writing and marketing business based in North Carolina, USA. He manages several websites and is a contributing writer for Andy's Auto Sport, a retailer of quality [http://www.andysautosport.com/racing_seats.html]racing seats and [http://www.andysautosport.com/truck_tonneau_covers.html]tonneau covers.

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