Buick Avant: Buick’s Small Car

Much like Lincoln, Buick feels there’s room for a premium small car within its lineup. It’s toying with a concept named Avant.

The car, revealed on GM’s “The Lab” website, hasn’t even reached the pre-concept build phase. GM is trying to involve consumers very early on in the design process by offeringdifferent design ideas on on the site andinviting visitors to comment.

All four Avant renderings show a compact hatchback, giving the car more usable luggage space than a coupe or sedan. All four use some of the familial Buick cues, but each is much more aggressive than current Buick wares.

Buick aims to produce a small car with large-car aspirations, meaning it will feature some interesting tricks to make it feel like a larger car. One of these tricks is to place the driver, steering column, and pedals closer to the center of the car to impart the feeling of increased shoulder room. Should there be a front passenger, the driver can slide the steering column, pedal box, and seat closer to the door, granting plenty of room for two.

Buick also envisions fitting the car with a panoramic glass roof, allowing additional light into the compact cabin. Drivers can reportedly “close” the light by pressing a button, which will activate small shades built into the roof panel.

Also interesting is the “luggage porter” function, which is a powered slide-out tray in the cargo compartment that prevents owners from reaching in to grab their baggage. Another is the “smart door,” which can slide forward parallel to the car in tight parking spaces.

Buick hasn’t set a date on when the actual Avant concept will be unveiled, but the drawings and ideas shown certainly show an interesting start. Head over to the GM Lab site to check out the concepts and voice your opinion.

Source: GM Lab