Spied: Opel Insignia Sport Tourer Hints at Potential Buick Regal Wagon

The updated Opel Insignia Sport Tourer has been caught cold-weather testing in Europe. This camouflaged Insignia gives us a sneak peek at what the Buick Regal’s facelift will look like, as well as what a Buick Regal station wagon might look like.

Like the sedan we saw testing recently, this Insignia wagon looks close to production ready. Up front it sports attractive new headlights with cat ear LED DRLs, a reworked grille, and a new front valance.  In back the Insignia Sports Tourer has new LED taillights, and a new bumper with what looks like exhaust cut-outs – possibly hinting at a performance version of the Opel wagon. As in the sedan, a camouflaged chrome trim piece links both taillights.

The updated Opel Insignia will likely be unveiled sometime this year, likely at either the Geneva or Frankfurt motor shows. An updated Buick Regal sedan will probably follow soon after that, early next year. While a Buick Regal wagon (Regal Roadmaster has a nice ring to it, no?) doesn’t seem to be in the cards, it could help the automaker take over the niche in the United States. Does the brand need a station wagon? Should the Opel Insignia Sport Tourer come to the U.S. as a Buick? Let us know in the comments below.

Article Courtesy of Carpix

Quiet Cabin Makes Buick LaCrosse a Better Listener

When General Motors speech recognition engineer Robert Sims worked to develop one of the industry's first in-car hands-free calling systems years ago, his goal was to make the call quality clear enough that his wife wouldn't hang up on him. 

Today, Buick's IntelliLink system can do far more than place a call, and QuietTuning technologies like those in the LaCrosse luxury sedan make using voice controls easier for owners regardless of marital or relationship status. 

QuietTuning is Buick's comprehensive engineering process to reduce, block and absorb interior noise. For LaCrosse, that means features like laminated window glass, triple door seals and liquid applied sound deadening. 

"There's definitely an advantage when we're developing voice controls in a quieter cabin," said Sims. "The system's ability to hear a command relies on SNR, or signal-to-noise ratio. If noise is extremely low like it is in the LaCrosse, the user's voice, or signal, can be lower. In other words, a LaCrosse driver can easily speak to the IntelliLink system at a normal, conversational volume." 

As someone who drives an 80-mile commute each day, quietness and minimizing distractions are a personal matter for Sims. That's helped drive him to make Buick's IntelliLink voice commands simple, intuitive and designed around the controls drivers need most.  

  

With IntelliLink - standard on every 2013 Buick - drivers can use voice commands to control navigation and audio functions with the push of a button while keeping eyes on the road. With a smartphone paired, IntelliLink voice commands can even tune to a Pandora internet radio station or "like" a song. 

How does it work? Using a microphone in the cabin's headliner - optimally placed by Sims and his team - the system uses a speech engine to match spoken words to known voice commands. When the engine finds a match, that command is executed. 

"We've also designed the system with speaker adaptation, which means the engine is trained for different accents or dialects," said Sims. "It can begin to predict speech patterns based on those models. Your LaCrosse remembers your speech patterns even after the car is turned off and on, but it can also identify another user and predict his or her patterns as well." 

Article courtesy of 4-traders.

New Sierra Marks 111 Years of GMC Pickup Heritage

The all-new 2014 GMC Sierra fullsize pickup will be the latest in a bloodline that stretches back over a century. The first truck to wear a GMC badge debuted in 1912, while a predecessor from the Max Grabowsky’s Rapid Motor Vehicle Co. was the first commercial truck operated in the City of Detroit 10 years earlier.
Here’s a list of highlights by decade:

• 1900s: The first Rapid truck – little more than a seat, an engine cover and a frame – was delivered in 1902.
• 1910s: The GMC name takes its place on a truck grille for the first time in 1912 and the mix of trucks offered had either upright front ends or curved “French” fronts.
• 1920s: 1927 was a milestone for design features with more stylized fenders, headlights attached to the radiator, and the first chrome-plated radiator surround.
• 1930s: Streamlining in the ‘30s added sloped grilles, more paint color options and passenger cabs inspired by car design trends, which helped expand the truck market.
• 1940s: Following the war, GMCs of the late ‘40s featured fully integrated headlights for the first time, as well as wider, lower, and bolder grilles.
• 1950s: Cars again influenced truck design in the ‘50s, resulting in more safety, comfort and performance. 1955 highlights were hooded headlights and panoramic glass.
  
• 1960s: The first GMC pickup with a full-width hood debuted in 1960. Other design cues included “jet pod” grilles at the front and a pinched-waist body crease on each side.
  
• 1970s: Padded materials replaced many metal interior surfaces in the ‘70s. Heavy duty models offered a dual rear axle for the first time and the Crew Cab debuted.
  
• 1980s: In 1987, the Sierra name became standard for all full-size pickups with the introduction of a new, more aerodynamic generation of GMC trucks.
  
• 1990s: The ‘90s brought the first rear-hinged three-door Extended Cab model. In 1999, new generation of truck introduced the first use of frame hydroforming.
  
• 2000s: The new millennium brought the “D” decade: The first Duramax diesel engine for Sierra HD added capability and the first Denali pickup set a luxury standard for trucks.
  
• 2012: The new 2014 Sierra debuts on December 13.

GMC has manufactured trucks since 1902, and is one of the industry's healthiest brands. Innovation and engineering excellence is built into all GMC vehicles and the brand is evolving to offer more fuel-efficient trucks and crossovers, including the Terrain small SUV and Acadia crossover.  GMC is the only manufacturer to offer three full-size hybrid trucks with the Yukon, Yukon Denali SUVs and the Sierra pickup. The Sierra Heavy Duty pickups are the most capable and powerful trucks in the market.

Article courtesy of GMC

Torrey Smith Wins 2012 GMC Never Say Never Moment Of The Year

Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Torrey Smith's inspiring Week 3 performance is the 2012 GMC
Never Say Never Moment Of The Year, the NFL announced tonight at “2nd Annual NFL Honors."

The GMC Never Say Never Moment Of The Year is the best moment or play of the year that represents determination and perseverance.

In what would become a preview of the AFC Championship game, the Baltimore Ravens and New England Patriots squared off in an emotional Week 3 showdown which would touch the hearts of many.  Less than 24 hours after his brother died in a motorcycle accident, Ravens WR Torrey Smith, despite permission by his coach to sit out Sunday night’s game, wanted to play. In one of the NFL’s most inspirational individual performances, Smith produced the Never Say Never Moment of the Year, catching six passes for 127 yards and two touchdowns in the Ravens’ come-from-behind victory over New England on Sunday Night Football.

Smith’s performance was selected from among five moments by voters on NFL.com/gmc. The five finalists were selected among 17 of the most memorable GMC Never Say Never Moments during the 2012 NFL season.  Each week the NFL selected three nominees for the moments of the week on which the fans voted for the winner on NFL.com/GMC.

Article courtesy of NFL