GM vehicle designed in China to debut in Detroit auto show
GM vehicle designed in China to debut in Detroit auto show
General Motors Corp. is showing off the Riviera coupe concept vehicle the auto maker unveiled at the Shanghai auto show last year. GM was set to show the vehicle at an event Thursday in Detroit, just a few days before the North American International Auto Show kicks off in Detroit. Though a concept not necessarily slated for production as presented, these vehicles often show the direction of future design for the nameplates.
The coupe is the first show car to be designed jointly by teams in Shanghai and North America, GM’s vice president of design Ed Welburn said Thursday. Welburn unveiled the Riviera ahead of the North American International Auto Show, which starts media preview days on Sunday.
The Buick Riviera, a concept car designed to showcase Buick’s new global design direction, will make its North American debut next week at the North American International Auto Show, Ed Welburn, vice president, GM Global Design, said Thursday.
The display of the Riviera concept vehicle, first shown in Shanghai, also signals GM’s intention to have US designers in Michigan, and Chinese designers in Shanghai, collaborate and compete on all future designs for the Buick brand.
The Riviera will debut at the North American International Auto Show, which starts media preview days on Sunday. The front-wheel-drive coupe has gull-wing doors and a swooping glass roof and revives the Riviera name after an 8-year hiatus. GM sold about 1.1 million Rivieras between 1963 and 1999.
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. PATAC designed the Buick Riviera to accommodate the new hybrid system, which will be introduced in China in 2008 this year prior to the Beijing Olympics. The new hybrid system fits naturally with the Riviera’s “earth and water†design theme.