What is it? Meant to signal Buick's future car-design direction, the sleek Buick Riviera concept made its North American debut in Detroit. Designed in China by one of GM's international joint ventures, Shanghai Automotive, the Riviera concept was initially unveiled in 2007 at the Auto Shanghai 2007 event last year.
The two-door sporty coupe has a 2+2 seating arrangement and vertical-opening "gull-wing" doors. The body panels are made of relatively light-weight carbon fiber. GM said that the Riviera was engineered to accommodate a hybrid-electric propulsion expected to be produced in China in 2008.
Several bits of the exterior have night-time backlighting, giving off a neon hue from the Buick logo, a strip running down the hood, and around the headlights, side mirrors and exhaust ports. Buick's signature chrome portholes along the hood edge survive as a three-section chrome strip.
What is new or notable? The Riviera concept's Chinese-made hybrid drive system is due to be unveiled in time for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
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