Photo: General Motors
Over the next year, the Buick Enclave will be sold both with and without the front and rear park-assist feature originally intended to ship on every unit. Now, buyers will need to specifically ensure that they're buying a unit with the feature if they want it. Like so many other issues automakers are having these days, it all comes back to the chip shortage.
That's right, the front and rear park assist feature in the 2022 Buick Enclave is the latest feature to fall to the chip shortage. According to a report from GM Authority, not every Enclave will be affected, though. That's good news considering it was supposed to be standard across every trim.
Of course, it isn't just General Motors that are facing major hurdles due to the chip shortage. Maserati has pushed back the reveal of the Grecale, Ford has halted production of some models at times, and the issue doesn't seem to be near its end.
Due to the same issue, General Motors axed features like heated seats, ventilated seats, and heated steering wheels a while back. It should be noted that they seem to be planning a fix, though. They've publicly stated that they'll retrofit vehicles at no cost to the customer when the shortage ends.
Of course, there's no word yet on whether that same sort of policy will apply to ones without the park-assist feature. There's some speculation that GM will simply offer a discounted rate for the affected Buicks.
Regardless, nobody is really winning here. General Motors and Buick would love to sell an Enclave with all of its intended features. Despite a big refresh and new styling it's not exactly selling like hotcakes right now. The few customers still interested in the vehicle would surely benefit from this feature.
Interestingly enough, the Cadillac XT4, which shares the same platform as the Enclave, is facing the same limited availability, and some models will be sold without park-assist. We'll update this story as more information becomes available.
Of course, it isn't just General Motors that are facing major hurdles due to the chip shortage. Maserati has pushed back the reveal of the Grecale, Ford has halted production of some models at times, and the issue doesn't seem to be near its end.
Due to the same issue, General Motors axed features like heated seats, ventilated seats, and heated steering wheels a while back. It should be noted that they seem to be planning a fix, though. They've publicly stated that they'll retrofit vehicles at no cost to the customer when the shortage ends.
Of course, there's no word yet on whether that same sort of policy will apply to ones without the park-assist feature. There's some speculation that GM will simply offer a discounted rate for the affected Buicks.
Regardless, nobody is really winning here. General Motors and Buick would love to sell an Enclave with all of its intended features. Despite a big refresh and new styling it's not exactly selling like hotcakes right now. The few customers still interested in the vehicle would surely benefit from this feature.
Interestingly enough, the Cadillac XT4, which shares the same platform as the Enclave, is facing the same limited availability, and some models will be sold without park-assist. We'll update this story as more information becomes available.
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