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2021 Buick Envision preview: Bold new look for Buick’s small SUV

Buick on Thursday detailed the redesigned 2021 Envision arriving at dealerships now in the U.S.

The crossover SUV features a bolder, more expressive look than its somewhat staid predecessor that has been on sale since 2016 and never managed to really excite the market. Sales in the United States have averaged about 30,000 units annually.

Envisions are powered by a 2.0-liter turbo-4 with 228 hp and 258 lb-ft of torque paired with a 9-speed automatic transmission. Front-wheel drive is standard while all-wheel drive is an option.

The Envision’s grown-up look ties in with the refreshed 2022 Enclave visually. The longer stance comes courtesy of a new platform that pushes the wheels to the corners and provides a 30% stiffer structure. A new five-link independent rear suspension replaces the previous four-link setup and should deliver a better ride and handling. A MacPherson strut setup remains up front while top-spec Avenir models can be optioned with adaptive dampers.

2021 Buick Envision

Inside the Envision features an analog gauge cluster in a digital world paired with an available 10.2-inch touchscreen. The standard 8.0-inch touchscreen comes with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility. A new push-button gear selector is located on the center console.

Other standard features on the 2021 Envision will be popular electronic driver-assist features such as automatic emergency braking, forward collision warning with pedestrian detection, blind-spot monitors, and rear park assist.

2021 Buick Envision

Buyers will be able to add a semi-autonomous park assist feature, as well as a surround-view camera, and head-up display.

Buick’s upmarket Avenir trim makes its first appearance on the Envision, and tops a trim walk that includes Preferred and Essence trims. A Sport Touring package adds a touch of attitude with darkened exterior trim and dark 20-inch wheels.

Envisions will have seating for up to five people with a 60/40-split folding second row. With the second-row seat folded the Envision can swallow up to 52.7 cubic feet of cargo, and up to 25.2 cubic feet of stuff with the second row occupied.

The current Envision was the first Chinese-made vehicle sold by General Motors in the U.S. and that won’t be changing with the 2021 model.

For more on the Buick Envision, read the in-depth reviews at The Car Connection.

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January 21, 2021
100 years ago: Rolls-Royce rolls along assembly line in Massachusetts

On January 17, 1921, a Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost rolled off an assembly line, but it wasn’t in Derby, England. Instead, that car and 2,945 that followed were assembled in Springfield, Massachusetts, USA.

“These Rolls-Royce ‘Springfield’ Motor cars benefited from the creativity of US coachbuilders including Brewster, Willoughby, Merimac and Hollbrook, and brought us some wonderful early commissions,” the British automaker noted in a news release celebrating the centennial of its American production effort.

From that start in 1921 and until the Springfield workshop closed in 1931 because of the Depression, 2,946 Rolls-Royce vehicles were assembled in New England. Among them were 1,703 Silver Ghosts, which joined the ‘Springfield Phantom’ in 1925.

Springfield assembly plant supervisory staff poses with the first US-constructed Silver Ghost

Owners of the Springfield Rolls-Royces include President Woodrow Wilson, the Guggenheim and Bloomindale families, “and perhaps the most famous,” Rolls-Royce notes, “fictional Socialite Jay Gatsby with his 1922 Silver Ghost.”

After World War I, Charles Stewart Rolls’ partner Charles Johnson (Henry Royce lived until 1933, but was in ill-health after 1912), saw that the US market was in better condition than the British economy and saw assembly in the US as a way to avoid duties that made the cars even more expensive for American customers. So in 1919, Rolls-Royce purchased the American Wire Wheel Co. factory building in Massachusetts.

The Springfield assembly plant

Cars ready for delivery in 1922

Building cars in America didn’t make them all that much less expensive. Prices ranged from $12,930 to $15,880, making the Springfield cars the most expensive of American-made vehicles.

The first 25 cars were produced entirely of imported parts, but afterward, the coachwork for the Springfield-built cars was produced in the US. Various American coachbuilders provided bodies. Rolls opened its own body-building workshop in 1923 and in 1926 acquired Brewster, a leading American coachbuilding firm whose work was popular with Rolls’ customers.

This article, written by Larry Edsall, was originally published on ClassicCars.com, an editorial partner of Motor Authority.

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January 20, 2021
Ford renews Thunderbird trademark

Ford has filed a new trademark application for the Thunderbird name with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, according to documents spotted by Muscle Cars & Trucks. But that doesn’t mean a new Ford Thunderbird is on the way.

The application was filed on January 13, and specifies that Ford is applying to use the trademark for “motor vehicles, namely concept motor vehicles; four-wheeled motor vehicles.”

Automakers often trademark names even before they have a potential vehicle in mind for them; it’s just a way of reserving those names for possible future use. Given the importance of the Thunderbird name to Ford, it’s also possible that the Blue Oval is applying for a new trademark to prevent other companies from using it. Ford has renewed the trademark multiple times in recent years, most recently in 2016, Muscle Cars & Trucks noted.

1956 Ford Thunderbird parked on the second floor of McCarran International Airport

The mention of “concept motor vehicles” in the application could also indicate plans for a concept car (assuming auto shows ever return), but not a full-fledge production model.

The Thunderbird took on many forms during its decades of production. Starting out in 1955 as a two-seat sports car, it grew into a cushier “personal luxury car,” then morphed into a NASCAR homologation special with aerodynamic bodywork. After a brief hiatus, the Thunderbird returned for the 2002 model year with retro styling. Despite initial hype, that version didn’t last long. It was retired after the 2005 model year, and the Thunderbird name has remained dormant ever since.

Unlike many other iconic nameplates, the Thunderbird has always changed to suit the times. With the electric Mustang Mach-E, Ford has also shown that’s not afraid to reuse classic names in ways hardcore fans might find sacrilegious. So perhaps the Thunderbird will return in yet another new form.

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January 19, 2021