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buick riviera concept.

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COMPELLING BUICK RIVIERA CONCEPT SHOWCASED AT NORTH AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL AUTO SHOW

DETROIT – The Buick Riviera, a stunning concept car designed to showcase Buick's new global design direction, makes its North American debut at the Buick stand during the North American International Auto Show.

Unveiled at China's Auto Shanghai 2007, the gull-wing, front-wheel-drive Riviera concept coupe was developed with global design input by the Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center (PATAC), a design and engineering joint venture between General Motors and Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC). PATAC is headquartered in Shanghai.

"We said last year the Riviera concept made us realize how small the world was – it's not East; it's not West. It's Buick," said Ed Welburn, vice president, GM Global Design. "The reaction to the car around the globe proved that to be very much the case."

Engineered to accommodate a new hybrid system that will go into production this year at Shanghai GM (SGM), GM's flagship joint venture with SAIC, the Riviera features several technological and manufacturing advances. They represent the latest achievements of GM and its partners in the promotion and development of alternative propulsion technologies in China.

"The Riviera concept underscores the diversity, strength and depth of the GM global design and engineering network," said Welburn. "It also reflects PATAC's growing role within the GM Design family and China's significance as the world's largest Buick market."

The Riviera marks the return of a renowned Buick nameplate after an eight-year hiatus. Between 1963 and 1999, GM sold more than 1.1 million Rivieras in the United States.

"The Riviera concept, with its tightly stretched carbon fiber body panels, combination of positive and negative curves, strong front and rear identities and gull-wing doors, captures the essence of Buick classics, while presenting a thoroughly 21st century design," said Welburn. "It certainly lives up to the nameplate's reputation for bold design. The Riviera communicates the global design vocabulary of the Buick brand and sets the stage for General Motors' design, engineering and manufacturing centers to work together on the next generation of Buick midsize luxury cars."

Riviera's enticing curves and "earth and water" interior tones are drawn from diverse inspirations including classic Buicks, ancient Chinese artifacts and modern electronic icons. To PATAC designers, the car, inside and out, communicates universal beauty – a look that transcends cultural or national boundaries.

A sense of existence
To establish their design direction, PATAC designers looked, in part, to Buick icons such as the original Y-Job concept of 1938, the 1960s LeSabre, Electra 225 and the Riviera coupes of the 1960s and '70s.

The Riviera design is structured around the Buick tri-shield logo, sitting proudly on a trihedral waterfall grille that is formed by three intersecting planes. This takes the traditional Buick treatment to a new level of sophisticated boldness.

The Buick logo leads into a reflective strip through the hood, a mark of respect to the distinctive mid-hood crease prevalent in classic Buicks. Elongated LED headlamps flow up the hood sides to three-section, top-mounted chrome portholes as a single piece of jewelry.

The logo, hood strip, headlamps, side mirrors and rocker covers all have "icy green" backlighting available at night, matched by backlit logo and exhausts at the rear. Designers incorporated several other design signatures from the original Riviera generation, including the "double-sweep spear" line along the body side and a flared tail design.

In this theme, the Shell Blue exterior color was chosen to elicit the right level of attention. The color is metallic silver with light blue accents that highlight the coupe's exterior curves. The gull-wing doors, selected for their exotic appeal, achieve an expansive entrance to the 2+2 seating configuration. Measuring 1,938 mm at their widest point, the doors add to the coupe's sleek sideline. At night, the fully opened doors gently cast the "Buick" name on the ground.

The use of carbon fiber in all body panels allowed designers greater flexibility through reduced mass and added strength. This made the gull-wing engineering demands easier to realize and sharp, tight radius curves possible across the body surface. The side mirrors are sweeping yet unobtrusive, taking a cue from Formula One racecars, and the Riviera sits on 21-inch, 10-spoke forged aluminum wheels that combine polished and satin finishes with low-profile tires.

PATAC designed the Buick Riviera to accommodate the new hybrid system, which will be introduced in China in 2008 prior to the Beijing Olympics. The new hybrid system fits naturally with the Riviera's "earth and water" design them

Not much changed in 1966 for the Mustang, as it continued in production with much sales success and only minor restyling that included the emblem in the center of the grille. Now a "floating" mustang with no more horizontal or vertical dividing bars. Also new was trim on the rear fender that featured three chrome pieces that led into the simulated side scoop. This was also the first year for federally mandated safety and the new '66 mustang was factory equipped with front and rear seat belts. Also standard was; padded instrument panel, emergency flashers, electric wipers and windshield washers, emergency flashers, buckets seats, sporty steering wheel, heater/defroster, carpeting, five dial instrument cluster, driver side mirror, back-up lamps, door courtesy lights, full wheel covers, rocker moldings, and 3-speed manual transmission.