GM alchemists turn a Chevy into a Buick. Will anyone care?
You might think that Buicks are always big, but history tells us that this isn't necessarily so. Way back in 1975, Buick introduced a version of the Chevy Monza called the Skyhawk. It was some twenty inches shorter than any other Buick model at the time and was powered by General Motors' newly resurrected V-6 (the tooling for which had been sold to American Motors in the late '60s). The two-door Skyhawk does not look pretty through our 2012 lens, but then again, not much from 1975 does. The quad-headlamp, rear-wheel-drive hatchback was a quick and easy way for Buick, whose sales plummeted after the 1973 OPEC oil embargo, to sell a more fuel-efficient car. Americans, by and large, would hear nothing of such a cobbled-together contrivance, and Skyhawk sales were but a blip. The nameplate was discontinued after 1980 but was brought back on a front-wheel-drive J-car in 1982. That car sold well, but we'd venture that no Skyhawk will ever grace the lawn at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.
Photo Gallery: First Drive: 2012 Buick Verano - Automobile Magazine
Photo Gallery: First Drive: 2012 Buick Verano - Automobile Magazine
Source: http://www.automobilemag.com/reviews/driven/1201_2012_buick_verano_first_drive/index.html
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