Just more of old GM proving that new GM is not real.

The Opel Insignia was originally supposed to be rebadged as as the next Saturn Aura. Since Saturn has left the building, GM needed a new badge for the Opel. Would have made a great G6. O yeah, Pontiac has left the building as well. OK, let's make it a Malibu. Whoops, we already made a new Malibu on this same platform that comes out next year. By default, it became a Buick.

If the Buick seems really Saturn-like, it's because it is. Not only that, but the Russelsheim factory had difficulty with production early on and the cars had quality issues known to GM. They even had to replace some media test cars. They even publicly stated that quality would improve when production moved to Canada. Instead of waiting for the Canadian facility to be on line Q1 2011, they shipped the cars from Russelsheim factory so that they could get the car on the road as fast as possible. Let me repeat that: Instead of fixing the issues with the Russelsheim cars or waiting to ship the car until the Canada facility was online, GM decided they would just ship subpar products for several months until production switched to the "assumed" higher quality facility. I get the feeling they knew it wouldn't get any better. Either way, the public is being lied to and directly manipulated again, as usual.

Now for the pricing. Originally intended to be an Aura, the car would have been in the Aura's price range. Due to the cost of changing it to a Buick relatively late in the production cycle and an extremely unfavorable exchange rate last year, the Regal was forced to be priced nearly as high as the Lacrosse when both are in base trim, but the base trim was originally not available, making this a full-on CF. GM says it would rather lose money on the early models from Germany than raise the price for only one model year, meaning that it was somewhere implied that the price should be even higher to cover the expenses of the car.

All in all, this is another rebadged, low quality, overpriced offering from GM and they are more than happy to continue in the GM tradition of producing junk, claiming it is on par with real cars, pandering lies and deceit to the media and the public, and marketing the heck out of it until they fool enough people. They should be ashamed and embarrassed to operate this way. It is really disturbing that they are so disconnected from reality. Almost as disturbing as the number of people they have tricked into believing there is a new GM.

 

i was going to say it could be the weight why the Regal doesnt feel as peppy/powerful, but the Audi A4 weighs a whopping 3814 lbs, compared to the Buick Regal 3600 lbs..nice looking car though

 

Since the old drivers of Buick are heading into permanent retirement (or to their deathbed), the question remains as to what will make Buick relevant in today's automotive world. Hence the shift by Buick to attract young buyers by moving into something more dynamic (instead of old and conservative)

This is IMHO the step in the right direction for Buick.

 

Thanks for another good review. My neighbor, who works for GM, has a Regal and is pleased with it. It is a sharp looking car. However, I also wonder about the quality of it.

 

I thought it was crazy that Buick was offering a manual transmission in ANY vehicle. I would like to give the turbo manual a spin sometime ...

 

I wish it was AWD though...and it likely will be a high 5/low 6 second car, not exactly an asphalt burner..that is Camry V-6 territory..

 

Regal is essentially Passat and TSX competitor, and weights 300lbs more in base trim.

So yes, it is very heavy car and that weight means less mpg and less speed.

 

Correct.....here is a comparo where the CC was first, the TSX 2nd and the Regal 3rd

http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/...mparison_tests

 

7.5 sec 0-60 is nothing to write home about, slowest by far. The weight, 3,772 lbs is a killer. Lowest mpg's in the test too.

 

Regal is basically same size as Camry but weights like GS.

 

but Regal/Insignia have really nice interiors that look like quality and they also look good, so people will buy a lot of them...

 

Mike, have you reviewed an 11 Jetta?

 

AWD would be a nice option. I personally would choose slower manual over a faster auto in all cases, but I am kind of a freak of nature

 

When they start making the Regal in Canada they probably won't make it any lighter, so maybe they can come up with a better engine for it.

 

I haven't test-driven one, or formally written one up. I've static-reviewed it in the showroom, though. VW lowered the price on the latest-generation model (it's down to $15,995) and cut corners on the chassis and the quality of the interior. Most of the formal reviews I've read myself have not thought very highly of it....including Consumer Reports. The all-new 2011, of course, is untested in the long run, but the reliability record for previous versions, according to Consumer Reports, varied up and down, but was generally average. One feature on the new one, though, that is better than the old is more interior space.

I myself do think very highly, though, of the 2.0L Turbo engine, the TDI diesel, and the DSG/S-Tronic Twin-Clutch transmission, though, regardless of what VW or Audi product they are installed in.

(Don't confuse the S-Tronic twin-clutch with the more-conventional Tiptronic torque-converter automatic)