Buick "Baby Enclave" in the Future

DETROIT — Buick is expected to unveil a new compact crossover — a smaller sibling to its full-size Enclave — at the 2012 Detroit Auto Show, and it may be headed for production as a 2013 model.

Buick spokesman Nick Richards, in a phone conversation late Wednesday with Inside Line, confirmed that the brand will introduce a "global crossover" at the Detroit show, but declined to provide further details or specifications ahead of the January event.

The new model, which may be called Encore, has been referred to frequently in online chat rooms and forums as the "baby Enclave," both because of its smaller size and supposed resemblance to Buick's full-size crossover, which is slated to get a significant face-lift for model year 2013.

Some media reports also have suggested the new Buick compact crossover will borrow some styling cues from the Buick Envision concept that was unveiled earlier this year at the 2011 Shanghai Auto Show.

Developed in Shanghai at the Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center (PATAC), which is jointly owned and operated by GM and local partner Shanghai Auto, the Envision is a compact plug-in hybrid crossover with unusual scissors-style doors. At its launch, GM in a statement said, "Envision merges Buick's global design language with Chinese aesthetics and was designed specifically for the China market."

The new Buick compact crossover for the U.S. is likely to share its platform with the Chevrolet Captiva, as is the production version of the Envision for the Chinese market.

The Buick brand continues to enjoy considerable success and popularity among Chinese car buyers, prompting GM to launch such products as the Regal and the upcoming 2012 Verano months ahead of their U.S. introduction.

Inside Line says: If it's sold in China as a Buick, sooner or later it's likely to come to the U.S.