GM's Buick to obtain luxury compact for initial time

For the first time in its history, General Motors' Buick luxury brand will obtain an upscale compact car.

The company says it will reveal the Buick Verano on Monday at the Detroit auto show, GM's only new model to first appearance at the event.

The Verano is a small car based on the Chevrolet Cruze that GM says is designed to contend against the Audi A3 and Volvo S40 in the entry-level luxury market.

GM engineers say they go to large lengths to build the car different from the Cruze, pretty its conduct and ride with a suspension borrowed from Europe's Opel Astra, altering the body to give it a more sculpted, aerodynamic appear and building the car quieter with improved insulation and window glass. GM also says the car has a far more luxurious interior than the Cruze.

In past years, GM was guilty of selling the similar car across many of its brands with only minor cosmetic differences between them. However Jim Federico, the car's chief engineer, said the Verano will be far unlike from the Cruze to contend with difficult European and Japanese luxury brands.

The Verano, to be built in Michigan, will appear in showrooms a short time in the fourth quarter. Pricing was not declared, but the car is expected to cost somewhere between the luxury version of the Cruze, which starts approximately $22,000, and the midsize Buick Regal, which starts approximately $26,000.

The car also is predictable to be a focus for younger buyers, serving Buick as it endeavors to shed its image of offering cars for senior citizens. Last year the standard age of a Buick buyer was 65.

Buick sales increased 52 percent last year with a series of revamped models such as the Regal and LaCrosse bigger luxury sedan.