2012 Buick Verano

If you’ve been keeping up with the reading, then you’ve probably noticed that the old Buick is dead. GM’s 2009 quick-rinse bankruptcy purged the pipeline of  big softy sedans for Florida blue hairs who cruise with a permanently flashing turn signal. Today’s Buicks are smaller, firmer, and international in scope. With Pontiac, Saab, and Saturn gone from the fold, Buick finally has the elbowroom and resources it needs to thrive. Think of the Verano compact sedan,due in showrooms by the end of the year, as the new Buick’s poster child. Its mission is to take the pain out of small-car, high-efficiency driving.  And while it shares GM’s “global compact vehicle” (formerly known as Delta II) architecture with the Chevy Cruze and Volt, other than basic size, there’s no hint of family resemblance. Most of the exterior sheetmetal and chassis tuning came the long way through the GM hierarchy—from the Opel Astra.