The Enspire Is Buick’s Awesome New Electric Crossover You Can’t Have

Well, for now...

Buick teased it briefly earlier this month, but I don’t think anyone was expecting the company’s new electric SUV concept to be this gorgeous. The brand kept details light and sweet during Tuesday’s reveal in China but did let it be known that the battery-electric SUV features the company’s eMotion electric propulsion technology, which the Enspire uses to produce a maximum of 550 horsepower metered out to all four wheels.

When all’s said and done, the Enspire should sprint to 60 mph in just 4 seconds. Buick also kept the battery specs a secret but did say the electric crossover can go 370 miles on a charge, and it supports fast and wireless charging. Which means that using a fast charging station will get you 80 percent of the battery’s range after 40 minutes of waiting. It was rumored that the beautiful Buick Avista concept would be produced if the Chinese market took a liking to it. Well, think of the Enspire as what the Chinese market wanted from the Buick Avista all along: a beautiful, timeless design, but with room for shopping in the back, a chauffeur up front, and WiFi. Of course.

Hopefully, we'll see more of these design elements on Buick’s moving forward, in particular, the sharpened and slimmer headlights with LED accents, along with the more natural integration with Buick’s waterfall grille. In the back, the design features a thin LED light bar spanning the entire rear, which helps widen the SUV’s stance, along with the Buick block text spelled out over the rear liftgate. Moving inside, the Enspire brings technology to the front with a brand new OLED screen along with an intelligent augmented reality technology-based head-up display system. Buick also said a 5G high-speed network concept is standard.

It’s unclear what Buick intends to do with the Enspire, be it actually produce something like it, or just use it to inspire future design. Regardless, the Enspire concept will appear next week at the Beijing Auto Show, which opens on April 25. It'll be interesting to see if the Enspire makes it to North America later this year for the 2018 LA Auto Show.

GM Recalls 230,000 Chevrolets, Buicks And Cadillacs Due To Bad Brakes

Remember when 150,000 Dodge and Jeeps were recalled for dodgy brakes last month? The brake calipers were made by the same manufacturer.

General Motors has issued a massive recall affecting 210,628 vehicles in the US and 19,385 in Canada because of faulty brakes. According to a safety report filed by GM, improperly chromed rear brake caliper pistons can cause gas to be released into the braking system’s hydraulic circuit resulting in a “soft or spongy feel” when the brakes are applied.

Obviously, reduced brake response could increase the risk of an accident if you can’t stop in time. These brake calipers are sourced from Germany’s ZF group, which is the same manufacturer of the faulty brake calipers that led to 150,000 Dodge and Jeep vehicles being recalled.

“The manufacturer of the brake pistons failed to properly chrome and temper the brake pistons during the manufacturing process,” the report says. “In this condition, hydrogen gas can remain trapped in the piston body.” Vehicles affected by the recall are 2018 and 2019 models of the Buick LaCrosse, Cadillac XTS, GMC Terrain and Chevrolet Bolt EV, Cruze, Equinox, Impala, Malibu and Volt.

ZF Group has been investigating similar reports on its brake calipers from other automakers such as Audi, Volkswagen and BMW but failed to notify GM until June 14. Luckily, GM says it is not aware of any accidents caused by the brake issue. To rectify the problem, GM will bleed the rear brakes of affected vehicles to remove any gas.