Summer is Much Closer Than You Think – The Buick Verano is Here

The arrival of the new Buick Verano sedan is only a few months away and they sales staff at Runde Buick in Platteville is looking forward to seeing this new car in person.  With all of the snow still on the ground, I’ll bet you’re thinking that we’ve completely wigged out, flipped our lids, and that we’re about to come apart at the seams.   We’ll hold onto your butts for a sec.

For those of you who have studied a little Español, you probably know that the title of this blog post when translated into Spanish becomes: “El verano es mucho más cerca de lo que crees.”  The literal translation would be:  The summer is much more near than you believe.  So the Spanish word for summer (by deduction) is “Verano” and that just happens to be the name that Buick has bestowed upon it’s new small luxury car that is to be released a little later this year.  So much for the Spanish lesson, now more about the car…

GM just released photos of the new 2012 Verano that is due to make its debut at the North American International Auto Show in a few days.

This has probably been a long time coming, but Buick finally has the smaller car that they needed and that their patrons deserve.  Buick always did well with making bigger cars that got great fuel mileage — GM’s legendary 3.8 Liter engine was largely responsible for that.  I started out working in a Buick dealership right around the turn of the Millennium and I remember quite vividly that my Buick LeSabre customers would often brag (and rightfully so) about the gas mileage the got from their cars.  We also sold compact foreign cars at that dealership, but my LeSabre customers spoke far more often and far more admirably about their cars’ fuel efficiency that my customers who had smaller cars.

I remember around the end of they year 2000,  when GM announced that they would stop making Oldsmobiles, there were many folks out there who hoped that GM would produce a Buick version of the Olds Alero.  Back then, the smallest car that Buick offered was the Century, which was classified as a mid-size car.  From 2000 to 2005 the Buick Century was equipped with a 3.1 Liter V-6 engine that produced 175  horsepower.  The 2012 Verano, in comparison, will house a 2.4 Liter Ecotec engine that produces 177 HP.  Modern technology now allows GM to produce smaller and more lightweight engines that produce more power and more torque.  The result is better fuel efficiency and customers who pay less at the pumps.   Even forthose out there who claim to absolutely despise new technology … I’m quite certain that they would relish the opportunity to visit the gas stations less frequently and drive away with more cash in their pockets.

The Verano is a far cry from an Alero and it was well worth the wait for Buick fans as they have been waiting for a luxury small car for a long time.  The car is set to be produced in Orion, Michigan and will be available later this year.

Remember: “El verano es mucho más cerca de lo que crees.”