Buick Rocks the Detroit Auto Show with the Avista Concept

Surprises always abound at the Detroit Auto Show.  Part of the fun is to see who comes up with either the most outlandish concept, or better yet, the concept that we would most like to see in production.  This year, Buick got the crowd buzzing early by debuting the Avista concept car.  

Based on GM's Alpha platform (yes, the same platform as the Chevy Camaro), the Avista is a 400-horsepower luxury coupe.  It is powered by a 3.0 liter, twin turbo V6, and is rear-wheel drive.  To put things in perspective, Buick hasn't produced a coupe since the front-wheel drive Riviera back in 1999.   

"There is elegant simplicity in the Avista's surfaces, which speak to the purity of the car's performance, and a timeless beauty that's a hallmark of Buick design," said Bryan Nesbitt, executive director Global Buick Design in a press release. "It was designed to capture the spirit of the perfect drive."

GM Makes $500 million investment in Lyft

 

Ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft are becoming more and more popular, and General Motors in jumping on the trend in a big way.  GM announced that they are investing $500 million in Lyft, with an eye towards autonomous car technology. 

 

GM will have a seat on the Lyft's board of directors as part of the deal.  According to a press release, GM president Dan Ammann says "We see the future of personal mobility as connected, seamless and autonomous," 

 

The concept that Lyft and GM are betting on is that we will reach a point where hailing a cab is as simple as using a variation of an existing smartphone app, and being picked up by a self-driving (General Motors-made) vehicle.  "We strongly believe that autonomous vehicle go-to-market strategy is through a network, not through individual car ownership," says Lyft president and co-founder John Zimmer.  The alliance could mean huge fleet sales for GM.