General Motors previewed its Beijing auto show "concept" Monday; the Buick Invicta sedan. The Invicta is said to hint at the next-generation LaCrosse, which will be built off the second-generation Epsilon (Chevy Malibu/Pontiac G6/Saturn Aura/Saab 9-3) platform, but really, what showgoers will see Saturday is pretty much the real car. Its styling, says GM interior design chief Dave Lyon, will feature modern interpretations of the Buick portholes (or "ventiports" as they were called in the '50s) and the "sweepspear," the asymmetric v-shaped profile accent found on many of the brand's cars in the '50s and '60s.
With the Invicta, Buick designers have taken last year's Riviera concept even further, Lyon says, making "a very aggressive, very chic four-door concept with a low roofline." You may also read that to mean there's no Buick coupe in the cards. The division's biggest market, China, (where most Buick owners ride in the back seat) is even more adverse to two-door models than is the U.S. As for the "low roofline," it's mostly a visual trick, made possible by a high beltline. Think front-wheel-drive, midsize version of the Chrysler 300.The good news is that this will make for a very stylish front-drive midsize car, intended to take advantage of the momentum begun with the Enclave crossover utility vehicle. The interior also will pick up some of the themes that the Riviera concept set, like ambient lighting. Lyon describes it as evoking calm and quiet. "It will lower your blood-pressure," he says.
