Autoblog Chinese has the early word on Buick's Shanghai Motor Show concept, and it's got another familiar name attached to it: Riviera. Better still, it's a coupe -- no Dodge Charger-style door growth here. The Riviera is being called a "global" concept that showcases Buick's future design DNA. Penned at GM's Pan Asia Technical Center, the Shanghai show is just the first venue at which it'll be shown. According to AB Chinese's report, it will travel to other international auto shows afterward. Hopefully that schedule will include next year's North American exhibitions, where there will likely be no shortage of people interested in seeing the Riviera nameplate on a modern Buick coupe, concept or otherwise.

The Riviera features a traditional coupe profile with short front and rear overhangs and a tall nose that we sure meets pedestrian safety requirements in a number of markets. Not traditional, however, are the car's oversized gullwing doors, which allow for wide entrance into the Riviera's apparent 2+2 interior layout. We should have a lot more on this car next week as the Shanghai show gets rolling.

We're left scratching our heads as to why the US division insists on using silly names like LaCrosse and Lucerne for its cars, while China manages to see the value in leveraging the traditional American monikers with some history behind them, like Regal, Park Ave, and now Riviera.

Images have leaked online of the new Buick Riviera concept, which is to be revealed at the Shanghai auto show this week. Designed at the GM Pan Asia Technical Center, the car is yet another stylish Buick designed by GM's China design team.

The Riviera is supposed to showcase Buick's forthcoming global design language for Buick, and the coupe will tour the world after the Shanghai show closes. Unfortunately, there aren't any major American autoshows left, leaving GM without a place to properly showcase such a concept in the US until late this year.