Love Buick, Columbia? Love Santa? Connecting the two is an OnStar button away!

For many Columbia residents, driving to see loved ones on Christmas Eve is a common choice.  Naturally, we think that driving to see family in a new Buick from Jim Hudson Buick (the premier Columbia Buick dealer) is an even better choice, in no small part because of the connectivity and safety provided by OnStar service that comes standard for six months with the purchase of a new Buick.  OnStar performs many functions, including providing turn-by-turn navigation, emailing you diagnostic information about your Buick, unlocking the doors should you lock yourself out, and notifying emergency services should you be involved in a serious accident.  This year, OnStar will be providing another crucial function: letting you know where Santa Claus is!

On Christmas Eve, OnStar advisors will be prepared to give subscribers specific location-based updates on Santa Claus’ journey around the world based on data received in partnership with the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). Beginning at 6 a.m. Eastern on Christmas Eve, if you are an OnStar subscriber you can press the blue OnStar button to request a “Santa Update.” OnStar advisors will share Santa’s whereabouts through 5 a.m. EST Christmas morning. If your Buick doesn't have an OnStar subscription, you can still visit www.noradsanta.org or call 877 HI-NORAD (877-446-6723) for Santa’s location.

“It’s great to provide our customers with a fun, highly informative benefit during the holidays,” said Scott Kubicki, executive director, OnStar Sales, Services and Marketing. “Our advisors also enjoy hearing children’s surprise and joy when they learn that St. Nick is only hours away from their home.”

For more than 54 years NORAD has used its North Warning Radar System, geo-synchronous satellites with infrared sensors and other technologies to monitor Santa’s Christmas Eve travels and share the information with children and families around the world.

All of us at Jim Hudson Buick wish you and yours a wonderful Christmas season.  We will be closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and will reopen to serve you the following Monday morning.

Columbia Loves Buick Regal - So Does Esquire Magazine!

The 2012 Buick Regal GS is coming soon to Columbia, SC.

If you've had the chance to drive the Buick Regal in Columbia, SC, you've probably fallen in love with the  crisp handling, the premium amenities that come as standard equipment, and the distinct styling.  And if you do love Buick's latest premium sedan, you're in very good company--so does Sam Smith in Esquire magazine.

The 2011 Buick Regal, as you no doubt know by now, is the American sibling of the Opel Insignia, a car that found much love in Europe--enough to become the 2008 European Car of the Year.  As Smith writes, "And in this version it does something few American cars have done: take down the competition while reinventing a brand.  Save a few trim changes and minor chassis tweaks, the Regal is undiluted Opel."  Smith goes on to praise the Regal as a return to the glory days of Buick. "Don't remember what that is? Once, Buicks were admirable machines, the kind of comfortable, capable vehicles driven by doctors and fathers. Men might not have lusted after a Buick, but they didn't settle for one, either. Charmingly, the Regal seems cut from the same cloth, albeit updated for the times — it's refined but not distant, sporty but not harsh."

With the more potent Buick Regal Turbo arriving in Columbia, SC, and the Buick Regal GS coming soon, it's easy to find a lot to love about the Buick Regal in Columbia--and Jim Hudson is here with the best selection of Buick Regal sedans in town.

Love Buick's fuel efficiency, Columbia? Get ready to love it even more!

Buick LaCrosse, coming soon with eAssist
technology to Columbia, SC

Even with gas still below $3 a gallon (knock on wood), fuel efficiency remains a concern for a lot of drivers in Columbia, South Carolina.  Buick's fuel economy has improved by leaps and bounds over the past few years with new models like the Buick Enclave crossover and the new Buick Regal.  Perhaps the best example of the improvements, though, has been in the Buick LaCrosse.

The final model year of the LaCrosse's first generation offered a V6 engine rated for 28 highway MPG, or a 5.3L V8 rated for 24.  For 2011, LaCrosse offers a 4-cylinder engine rated for 30 highway MPG.  Now, for the 2012 model year, Buick is introducing the eAssist system to the four-cylinder Buick LaCrosse as standard equipment with an estimated 37 MPG!

Don't call it a hybrid--you won't be driving on the electric motor alone--but the eAssist system uses an electric motor coupled to the four-cylinder engine on the LaCrosse in lieu of a traditional alternator.  A 115V battery pack in the rear of the car provides the motor with up to 15 horsepower (or 11 kilowatts) of electric assistance during heavy acceleration.  This is a huge leap over the 2 kilowatts of the last-generation system found on models such as the Saturn Aura Green Line and Chevy Malibu Hybrid.  The eAssist system also provides up to 15 kilowatts of regenerative braking power, capturing energy for later use that would otherwise be lost to heat and friction.  The system also allows the 2.4L Ecotec engine to shut down fuel delivery in certain situations, allowing the motor to spin the engine to a stop at just the right position to restart smoothly.  Unlike many hybrid sedans available in Columbia, the LaCrosse will retain its split-folding rear seat; cargo space will be reduced slightly to make room for the battery.

LaCrosse with eAssist will also include improved underbody aerodynamics and actively-controlled shutters on the lower grille.  When cooling is not needed for the engine, such as while cruising down the highway, the shutters will close to force air around the body of the car to reduce drag.  In cases where more airflow is needed, such as in the city or while going up a steep grade, the shutters will open to provide better cooling for the engine.

All of this, save for an ECO gauge on the instrument panel, is invisible and effortless to the driver as you'd expect from a Buick in Columbia.  Although pricing has not been announced for the 2012 Buick LaCrosse eAssist, Buick expects the sedan to come in "about $30,000".

Another New Buick to Love: 2012 Buick Regal GS Announced for Columbia, SC

2012 Buick Regal GS sedan, available soon in Columbia, SC (GM Media)

If you love Buick Regal's styling but wanted something a little more potent than the standard CXL's 2.4L engine, your ship has come in!  Buick has announced the new 2012 Buick Regal GS, which will arrive in the second half of 2011 to Columbia, South Carolina.

When it arrives, the Regal GS will deliver an estimated 255 HP and 295 lb-ft of torque, all run through a six-speed manual gearbox; a six-speed automatic transmission with paddle shifters will be available later on.  The new Regal GS also receives exclusive race-inspired exterior styling and interior appointments. Furthering the Buick styling tradition, the four-cylinder Regal GS has two portholes on each side; Buick models equipped with V6 and V8 engines historically received three and four respectively.

Unlike the Regal GS show car, the production model will only be available in front-wheel drive.  Columbia drivers will experience the well-received HiPerStrut suspension system, seen on uplevel models like the Buick LaCrosse and Saab 9-5, which serves to reduce torque steer under acceleration commonly found in front-wheel-drive performance sedans.  Regal’s class-exclusive Interactive Drive Control System will also be standard equipment, providing Columbia Buick drivers with pushbutton control over the Regal GS’ suspension and steering settings.

Pricing has not been announced, but the 2012 Buick Regal GS will be for sale in Columbia, South Carolina in the second half of 2011.  When it does, you can bet that your Buick dealer in Columbia will be among the first to get a hold of this Buick performance sedan!

Flashback Friday: 1980 Buick Regal for Columbia, South Carolina Drivers

YouTube finds itself loaded with all sorts of old videos, many of them promotional videos of vintage cars that have passed through Buick dealers in Columbia, South Carolina over the years.  Today, set your clocks back thirty years and take a look at the 1980 Buick Regal.

Buick Regal: Then and Now the Buick Columbia Loves

Back then, the Buick Regal was available as a two-door coupe in standard, Sport Coupe, and Somerset trims.  You wouldn't know it then, but the turbocharged V6 engine found in the Sport Coupe would form the basis for one of the most world-renowned Buicks of all time, the Buick Regal Grand National.

The Regal has come a long way in the three decades since the 1980 Buick Regal, with the new 2011 Buick Regal offering a range of options that people could only dream about back in the Carter administration.  Today's Regal offers features such as dual-zone climate control, heated leather seats, XM Satellite Radio, a total of six airbags, ultrasonic parking assist, an onboard GPS navigation system, and a USB port for connecting your iPod.  (Okay, perhaps the iPod comparison is unfair--in 1980, America was just getting the Sony Walkman!)

2011 Buick Regal in Columbia at Jim Hudson Buick

Today, the 2011 Buick Regal is available from Jim Hudson Buick in Columbia, South Carolina starting at $26,245 for the well-equipped Regal CXL that includes leather seating, USB port inputs, dual-zone climate control, heated seats, a power driver's seat adjuster, a six-speed automatic transmission, and six months of OnStar service with turn-by-turn navigation. Available in six levels of equipment right now, the Regal lineup will grow late this year with the addition of the Regal CXL Turbo and its 220-horsepower four-cylinder engine; the turbocharged model will start just under $30,000.

For more information, visit Jim Hudson Buick at our Buick Regal Columbia website or call us at 803-783-0110!

How-To Tuesday: How to love Bluetooth in the 2011 Buick LaCrosse

We know that sometimes it can be a long road to falling in love with your new car.  Most new cars these days have a plethora of features that take a bit of time to get used to.  It's not just limited to cars, either--the same thing can be said about many cell phones these days!

If you've recently started driving the 2011 Buick LaCrosse in Columbia, South Carolina, your car may have Bluetooth hands-free connectivity.  (It's standard on the CXL and CXS trims, and available on the entry-level CX model as part of the Comfort and Convenience Package.)  Jim Hudson, as your Columbia Buick dealer, is happy to offer this short clip from Buick that demonstrates setting up the Bluetooth feature with your phone and using it to place and receive calls.

It's just another thing to love about the 2011 Buick LaCrosse!

C&D drives the 2011 Regal--do they love a Buick like Columbia does?

2011 Buick Regal CXL in Columbia, South Carolina

The September issue of Car and Driver magazine saw their staff get behind the wheel of a new 2011 Buick Regal. The people of Hogback Road overall enjoyed their time behind the wheel of the reborn Regal over on its home turf of Germany, particularly its smaller size compared with competitors that have grown over the years, although their naturally lead-footed nature meant that the standard 2.4L engine was a little less power than they hoped for.  (They, like us, are waiting on the turbocharged Regal that should be arriving later this year, or even for the not-too-far-beyond-that Regal GS.)

Many Columbia Buick drivers are falling in love with the Regal's slimmer dimensions compared to the larger family sedans on the road today.  What about you?

Columbia Loves a Buick, But What About This Road?

Buick undergoing virtual testing (Source: GM Media)

Columbia is blessed to have roads that are in more or less good condition.  But when the roads get rougher, you still expect your Buick to handle like the world-class car that it is.  Buick engineers put thousands of hours of testing on the roughest roads they can create, but Buick now puts new models to the test digitally even before the first model hits the test track.

Buick Testing for Columbia, SC Drivers

Istanbul native Mine Tasci is part of a team of engineers that created an innovative road scanner that makes a micro-detailed 3D digital representation of some of the toughest real-world road surfaces. Then she drives equally detailed digital Buick vehicles on the digital roads to test for quality and reliability.

"Just like a photo scanner, we can scan the surface of a road to create a three-dimensional digital representation," said Tasci. The scanner works with cameras and a laser to determine a 3D model of a road surface down to 1mm of fidelity.

An interesting application of this new technology involves a road leading to Mexico's Cerro del Cubilete shrine. It's a twisting, rocky path that winds its way up toward one of the most important religious shrines in Mexico. Each day, pilgrims from throughout Mexico are jostled and bumped as they traverse the stone road of Cubilete. 

If ever there was a road that could bring out vehicle rattles, squeaks and vibrations, Cubilete is it. "Customers who drive on that road complain about steering rack noise," said Tasci. "That's why we wanted to recreate this road so that we can test and ensure that our vehicles are up to the challenge of driving on roads like this one."

Buick submits new vehicles to rigorous virtual testing well before a physical prototype ever sees the light of day. Testing on challenging roads like Cubilete allows Buick engineers to find and address issues early on in the development cycle. "In the end, it leads to higher-quality, quieter and more comfortable Buick cars and crossovers," said Tasci.

Try a Buick in Columbia, SC

Jim Hudson Buick is the premier Buick dealer in Columbia, SC for both sales and service.  Recognized as a ten-time Readers' Choice award winner by readers of The State, Jim Hudson Buick serves South Carolina Buick drivers with a great lineup ranging from the all-new, sport-injected Buick Regal to the exceptionally spacious Buick Enclave luxury crossover.  We invite you to experience The New Class of World Class at our showroom located at 7201 Garners Ferry Road in Columbia.

Does Columbia Love a smaller Buick?

Buick Verano teaser from GM

If you're like many Columbia Buick lovers, you probably remember Buick's last run in the compact car segment: the Buick Skylark.  Last produced in 1998, the Skylark's demise left Buick buyers forced to choose a bigger entry-level sedan (first the Century, then the LaCrosse, then most recently the new Regal).

All that is due to change soon, as General Motors has announced a $145-million investment in their Orion Assembly Center last used to build the Pontiac G6.  Once retooled, the plant will create a new small car for Chevrolet and, more important to those that love a Buick in Columbia, an all-new Buick compact sedan dubbed the Verano.  Buick has released just one teaser image of the Verano, seen at the right, but hopefully more information will leak out soon enough.  (Sources are reporting that the Verano should share a platform with the just-released Chevrolet Cruze.)

What do you think?  Is it time for something smaller than a Buick Regal in Columbia?

Buick Regals in Columbia SC: Now an IIHS Top Safety Pick!

2011 Buick Regal CXL (before the crash tests, of course)

Good news for anyone looking for a Buick Regal in Columbia, SC: the 2011 Buick Regal has been awarded the Top Safety Pick award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety! Regal received the institute's highest rating of Good on front, side, rear, and rollover impact protection.  (Matter of fact, the roof took just shy of five times the vehicle's weight before failing--the federal standard is 1.5 times.  Good news should you find yourself in a Regal shiny side down.)

You can see the IIHS' full test results for the 2011 Regal here, or (if great test results have you in a looking mode) shop your Columbia, SC Buick dealer for a great selection of new 2011 Buick Regal sedans.

Columbia, South Carolina loves a Buick Enclave--and so does Autoblog!

Today the fine folks at Autoblog posted their review of the Buick Enclave.  (We'll forgive that they're only now getting the review out as the substantially similar 2011 Enclave hits the ground; press vehicles are apparently a rather tricky thing to schedule.)

Heralded as "the epitome of inconspicuous consumption", the review praised the Enclave for its roominess inside compared to its rivals from Lexus and Acura and for its ease of navigation--despite being close in overall length to a GMC Yukon, the Enclave "drives smaller than it looks".  We also agree with their assessment of their tester's White Diamond Tricoat paint; while we're glad to get you an Enclave in any color that Buick paints them, the White Diamond paint does look exceptionally good on the Enclave with its standard Xenon headlamps.

Whether 2010 or 2011, Jim Hudson Buick/GMC/Cadillac/Saab is your Columbia, SC Buick dealer and here to help for sales, service, and parts.

Something New to Love: Buick Lucerne CXL Premium

2011 Buick Lucerne Sedan

Here's another new thing to love about the 2011 Buick Lucerne in Columbia, South Carolina: the newly-introduced Lucerne CXL Premium trim.

The Lucerne CXL Premium includes sophisticated technology that used to involve mixing and matching several packages and options, slotting in nicely between the mid-level CXL and the top-of-the-line Super.  The CXL Premium offers a 280-watt Harman/Kardon 9-speaker premium sound system, the Driver Confidence Package (optional on the CXL) with content theft alarm, remote vehicle start, and ultrasonic rear parking assist; heated power mirrors that dim automatically on the driver's side, side blind zone alert that adds a warning in your side mirrors of cars that may prevent a safe lane change, and exclusive chrome-plated 17" aluminum wheels.

Pricing starts in the upper-mid-$30s, depending on your choice of options and equipment. (And if you're one that clings to the plush ride of Buicks of yore, you'll definitely want to check out our selection; the Lucerne is easily our smoothest ride and the last Buick still available with a front bench seat!)  If you have any questions, Jim Hudson is Columbia, SC's authorized Buick dealer here to help you.

It's not just Columbia, SC that loves the new Buick Regal...

Ever since the new 2011 Buick Regal hit Columbia, SC in mid-May, many of our customers have loved the modern styling, sporty performance, and refined interior.  Turns out they're not alone; Buick has launched MomentofTruth.com featuring reactions, interviews, and discussions from all across the internet about the new Regal.  With discussions being pulled from Twitter, Facebook, and Flickr, it doesn't get much more pure.

If you've had a chance to see the new Regal in person, there's also a place to share your thoughts.  (If you haven't, come pay your Columbia, SC Buick dealer a visit and see what you've been missing! We even have one on the showroom floor, no walking in the heat required.)

Rumormill: Buick to receive flagship Lexus LS competitor?

Chinese market 2010 Buick Park Avenue

Here's a piece of news that may make Columbia, SC love a Buick even more: Sources reporting to GM Inside News are indicating that GM is in the early stages of a flagship, rear-wheel-drive sedan that would go up against such rivals as the Lexus LS series.  Such a sedan would be based on a premium version of GM's Australian-sourced Zeta platform; more pedestrian Zetas have been on American shores for a few years, most notably as the dearly-departed Pontiac G8.  Of course, as these rumors go, the plans are still in the early stages without so much as a sketch; the closest inspiration may be the Chinese-market Buick Park Avenue seen at the right.

What say you, Columbia?  Would this have you rushing for your Columbia Buick dealer?

Welcome!

All of us at your Columbia, SC Buick dealer, Jim Hudson Buick/GMC/Cadillac/Saab, are proud of our GMC lineup. We've been selling and servicing new Buicks for about three years since we acquired the franchise from Hancock Buick in 2007.  We still see quite a few Hancock stickers on the backs of Buicks visiting us for service, a sign of their longevity and how much our customers care about their Buicks.

Over all those years, we know that more than a few of you have fallen in love with your Buick sedans, SUVs, and vans (we haven't forgotten about you, Terraza owners!). We want to tell Columbia your stories and why you love yours, and we've devised this blog to highlight them. We'll also mix in the latest news from Buick to keep you in the loop--with the launches of the new LaCrosse and Regal, there's much to be excited about!

Click here to find out how to share your Buick story with us!