At Buick, “Avenir” has become a boulevard of broken dreams. First the company teased the world with the gorgeous rear-drive, four-door Avenir flagship concept. Then it announced the name would come to market not as a distinct model but as a premium trim level, like GMC’s Denali. That was a big enough letdown. Now, we find out the first Buick to wear the Avenir name is the China-only GL8 minivan.
Although General Motors hasn’t offered a minivan in the United States since the Buick Terraza, Pontiac Montana, and Chevrolet Uplander died in the 2009 model year, Buick has been producing and selling the GL8 in China since 2000. Investing in its brand where there’s demand (76,607 GL8s drove off lots last year in China), Buick announced the third generation of the MPV in early October. Then it capped off the month yesterday by unveiling this upscale version of the GL8 that will be the first model of the Avenir sub-brand.
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On the exterior of the minivan, the only similarities to the original concept (not that we’d really expect many) are the winged crest on the nose and the fact that it has four wheels and four doors. Moving it more in the direction of the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter and away from a Toyota Sienna vibe are the honeycomb grille, 18-inch aluminum ...