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I'm no longer going to express any shock that my island city continues to provide a seemingly inexhaustible supply of street-parked vintage cars and trucks; we got to 150 Down On The Street posts late last year, we're up to 200 as of today, and I've got enough photos in the can to get us to 250, no sweat.  read more »

Buick is planning to unveil their new Invicta concept at the Beijing Motor Show on April 19th, calling it, "a premium vehicle with international appeal." It'll be an evolution of design concepts first introduced on last year's Riviera concept and could herald a new full-size luxury car from the ailing brand. Buick has found a level of popularity in China currently unthinkable on these shores. The full press release follows the jump.  read more »

We already knew the 2007 Buick Riviera Concept would be here for the Detroit Auto Show, but the China born concept made it's US debut here last night. Originally unveiled at Auto Shanghai 2007, the Buick Riviera Concept was shown off to press by Ed Welburn and the gang at the Max M. Fisher Theater ahead of the show. We were hoping for a green light for US production from Mr. Welburn, but nothing like that was mentioned. Oh well, we can dream can't we?  read more »

You know who we don't spend enough time talking about? Max Hoffman. Max Hoffman? Yeah buddy, Max Hoffman. Those of you with steel trap memories will remember that Hoffman was the guy who convinced Mercedes-Benz to build and import the 300 SL, a car we all agree is six degrees of triple-rad. Hoffman also had Frank Lloyd Wright design him both a home and a Jaguar dealership in Manhattan and he's responsible for bringing the Porsche 356 Speedster to American soil. The BMW 507, too. What a guy.  read more »

Abstract: The 2008 Beijing Auto Show finally break open, and the Buick new four-door midsize sedan Invicta concept made its world premiere at the press open day today. This new sedan presents bold direction for Buick's new generation of vehicles in the world's two biggest automotive markets - the United States and China. Following is the release press of Buick. The sleek Buick Invicta show car revealed here in conjunction with Auto China 2008 is Buicks strongest statement yet of its deliberately international plans. The four-door midsize sedan with a coupe-like roofline presents bold direction for Buicks new generation of vehicles in the worlds two biggest automotive markets the United States and China. Invicta has evolved from Buick concepts such as the 2004 Velite convertible and 2007 Riviera coupe, both of which received accolades for their thoroughly modern adaptation of classic Buick themes. Invicta was designed collaboratively by GM centers of expertise in Warren, Mich. and Shanghai, China. The name, which is Latin for invincible, returns to Buick after a 45-year hiatus in the United States. Buicks global appeal created an opportunity for GM Design Centers to elevate our collaboration to new levels. Using our virtual reality centers in Warren and Shanghai, designers fused the best ideas from both cultures during the development of the Invicta, said Edward T. Welburn, vice president, General Motors Global Design. The result will set a new design standard for Buick, and it couldnt have been achieved by one studio working in isolation. The Invicta represents another significant design milestone in Buicks history. Invicta is powered by Buicks first direct injection turbocharged engine, a four-cylinder powerplant that produces 250 horsepower (186 kW) and 220 lb-ft (298 Nm) of torque. The engine is matched with a six-speed automatic transmission for maximum fuel efficiency.  read more »

WASHINGTON -- The insurance industry named dozens of new cars and trucks, led by Ford Motor Co. and its Volvo subsidiary, to its annual list of the safest vehicles Tuesday, helped by the increased use of anti-rollover technology.

Ford and Volvo had 16 vehicles in the 2009 model year on the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's list of the safest new cars, followed by Honda Motor Co. with 13 vehicles.

Seventy-two cars, trucks and SUVs received the top safety pick designation for 2009, more than double the number of vehicles in the 2008 model year and three times the number in 2007.

"The sheer number of this year's winners indicates that automakers have made huge strides to improve crash protection," said Institute president Adrian Lund.  read more »

Ford officially rolled out the 2009 Edge Sport at the Chicago Auto Show, and while the moniker might be dubious, it is at least a nicely done factory tuner.

The 2009 Ford Edge Sport is not the return of the GMC Typhoon, or a Porsche Cayenne for those with average credit scores.  read more »

The General's German brand saw the sign it needed to replace the aged Vectra, so they opened up their eyes — and came up with this — the new 2009 Opel Insignia . It's a new name, a new car and yes, a new badge for the brand preciously misspelled from the name of a gem and it's being revealed in July at the London Motor Show. We're guessing Opel decided to drop this load of shots and details early due to, you know, all the leakage everywhere — both manufactured , silly and otherwise . This new Vectra-replacing four-door will hit the market with a pickup truck-like selection of engine options and powertrains.  read more »