By Jeremy Sinek for MSN Autos

Detroit, Mich. - Talk about being blind-sided by a curve ball out of left field. We knew Buick was planning to unwrap a small crossover at Detroit, and we thought we knew what it would be: obviously, a Buick version of the Chev Equinox/GMC Terrain, designed to compete in the compact luxury segment against the likes of the Audi Q5, BMW X3 and Mercedes GLK.

By Greg Migliore, AutoWeek

Summoning the colors of coffee, saddles and wine, Buick has crafted an upscale concept car to illustrate its potential for interior design. The LaCrosse GL debuted on Wednesday afternoon at a Detroit concert house, ahead of a showing next week at the Los Angeles auto show.

The Buick LaCrosse GL features brown and caramel-colored cocochino leather inside, ice-blue stitching and an expensive-feeling suede headliner as Buick tries to lure new customers by promoting top-shelf interiors. The car also has ambient lighting and an upscale suede steering wheel.

By Dale Jewett, AutoWeek

General Motors will equip the 2013 models of its large crossovers--the Chevrolet Traverse, the Buick Enclave and the GMC Acadia--with a center-mounted airbag that protects front-seat passengers in side impacts.

The airbag, developed by GM and safety-system supplier Takata, is mounted on the inboard side of the driver's-seat backrest.

Bing: How does an airbag work?

GM says the airbag helps restrain and protect the driver in the event of a crash on the passenger side of the vehicle when the front passenger seat is empty. It can also act as a cushion between the driver and a front-seat passenger in a side impact.

GM says the airbag will be standard on all models of the Enclave and on models of the Traverse and the Acadia that have power seats.

By Greg Migliore, AutoWeek

This is a heady title: highest specific output of a General Motors production engine. Ever. Better than any Corvette, Cadillac or Camaro or anything else GM has produced in the last century.

That's what Buick is claiming for the turbocharged four-cylinder in the halo sedan launching this fall, the 2012 Regal GS.

Granted, it's only 2.0 liters. But still. Buick said on Wednesday that the sporty four-door will punch out 270 hp from a direct-injection, 2.0-liter Ecotec powerplant—more than the 255 hp the car was expected to get. That breaks down to 135 hp per liter. Torque is rated at 295 lb-ft, which Buick claims bests many import competitors.

By Dale Jewett, AutoWeek

Future Buick SUVs in China will use some of the design themes seen in the Envision concept that was unveiled on Monday ahead of the Shanghai motor show.

The Envision seats four, who get in and out of the vehicle via scissor-wing doors on either side.

The all-wheel-drive concept is fitted with a plug-in hybrid powertrain that marries a 2.0-liter gasoline engine with a pair of electric motors inside the eight-speed transmission.

By Greg Migliore, AutoWeek

Buick revealed its latest technology for the Regal in a century-old building in Chicago that symbolizes everything the brand hopes to be--trendy, urban and electric.

Buick showed off eAssist on Tuesday, ahead of the Chicago auto show, at a former power plant turned local hot spot called the Illumination Company. The technology is a mild form of electrification that helps the Regal improve to 26 mpg in the city and 37 mpg on the highway in expected fuel-economy ratings.

By Jeremy Sinek for MSN Autos

Let’s not conjure the ghost of the Cimarron. Buick’s new luxury compact sedan may share DNA with the Chevrolet Cruze, but that doesn’t make Verano a re-run of GM’s infamous attempt 30 years ago to turn a tarted-up Chevy Cavalier into a poor man’s Cadillac.

Firstly, a 2011 Cruze is a vastly more sophisticated starting point than was the 1981 Cavalier. Second, morphing a Chevrolet into a Buick – the brand that promises to be “a value in the luxury market” -- is less of a leap than that from Chevy to Caddy. And finally, the enrichments that separate the Verano from the Cruze go much deeper than just the tacky trim that defined the Cimarron.

By Jeremy Sinek for MSN Autos

Believe it or not, OnStar is 15 years old. Since the mid ‘90s, GM’s original and still-unique on-board telematics service has logged more than 325 million interactions with subscribers in their GM vehicles. Long before Bluetooth became a household word, OnStar offered hands-free calling, plus a suite of other safety, security, communications and convenience services -- Automatic Crash Response, Stolen Vehicle Slowdown, Turn-by-Turn Navigation, Remote Vehicle Diagnostics, Remote Door Unlocking and more.

While other automakers are wheeling out their own interactive technologies – Ford’s Sync being the most obvious – one thing that remains unique to OnStar is the human connection to trained advisors, 24/7. But OnStar isn’t stopping there.

By Greg Migliore, AutoWeek

It’s sort of like a diet hybrid, green car light, if you will. But by dipping into several existing technologies, Buick is wringing an impressive 37 mpg out of the LaCrosse for 2012.

Called the LaCrosse with eAsssist technology, the feature will be standard on all of the base versions of the sedan with the 2.4-liter Ecotec engine. Buick is swapping out the alternator with a belt-driven electric generator that that works with 115-volt lithium-ion batteries to help improve fuel economy.

The car bows this week at the Los Angeles auto show and will go on sale in mid-2011.

By Mark Rechtin, AutoWeek

General Motors Co. is studying whether to revive brands for performance vehicles to improve its image among go-fast car shoppers.

At the Specialty Equipment Market Association trade show in Las Vegas last week, GM unveiled the Z-Spec Chevrolet Cruze, Volt and Spark cars, and two SS-badged Chevrolet Camaros.

The debuts signal that the company's new performance vehicles and motorsports division--launched eight weeks ago--is looking harder at performance brands, said Chris Perry, vice president of Chevrolet marketing.

Last year GM put development of performance-branded vehicles on hold and reassigned about 60 engineers. It's still possible to buy a Camaro SS or Cadillac CTS-V developed by the disbanded group.