General Motors To Introduce New Buick Enclave For 2008 Model Year

Anthony Fontanelle
June 14, 2007

As part of General Motors’ effort to increase sale in its home market, it has developed the General Motors Lambda platform. The said platform is what the company uses for a new wave of crossover SUVs that they hope will bring the company back to profitability. The first vehicle to be built around the automobile platform is the Buick Enclave. The full-size crossover SUV will be released by the company in the market in summer this year for the 2008 model year.

The base model of the Enclave with a front-wheel drive configuration will have a starting price of $40,895. The base model of the Enclave is given the CX label. According to General Motors, the all-wheel drive version of the CX trim level will have a starting price of $43,895.

A higher trim level than the CX is the CXL. For the front-wheel drive Buick Enclave CXL, pricing will start at $48,295. The top-of-the-line all-wheel drive CXL will be priced starting at $51,295. Optional features offered by General Motors with the Enclave will, of course, increase that price.

According to the manufacturer of the Enclave, even the base CX model with a front-wheel drive configuration will come with a long list of standard features. That means that a stripped-down version of the Enclave will have a lower price than the two-wheel drive CX.

The Enclave is being marketed as Buick’s first ever luxury crossover SUV. It was first shown to the public as a concept at the 2006 North American International Auto Show. During the event, General Motors announced that the Enclave will go into production and will be sold for the 2008 model year.

The production version of the vehicle though did not appear until November last year. At the Los Angeles Auto Show, General Motors unveiled the production version of the Enclave which will soon be hitting showrooms across the country. Golf superstar Tiger Woods was on hand at the introduction of the production version of the Enclave. During the event, he drove the Enclave through a 35-foot video wall with General Motors Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner in the passenger seat.

The Buick Enclave, regardless of trim level, is powered by a 3.6-liter V6 engine which is capable of producing as much as 275 horsepower. The engine features the variable valve timing which increases the fuel efficiency of the powerplant. It is mated to Buick’s first six-speed automatic transmission.

The Buick shares its platform with other General Motors vehicles such as the GMC Acadia and the Saturn Outlook. These three vehicles share the same underbody and components although they differ in other components. Of course, the Outlook’s Saturn hub caps are not shared with the Acadia or the Enclave.

According to General Motors, the Enclave comes with convenience features such as its roomy interior. According to General Motors, the Enclave can accommodate as much as eight passengers while providing adequate room. The third row of seats of the Enclave, according to General Motors, can seat three grown-ups comfortably. This is, of course, a distinct advantage because even SUVs have issues concerning their third row of seats which critics say are only suitable for children or small persons.

According to General Motors, the Enclave will be sold alongside with the Buick Rendezvous and the Buick Rainier. Both of these will be discontinued after the 2007 model year with the Enclave taking their place in Buick’s lineup of vehicles.

Source:  Amazines.com