MM Review: 2011 Buick Regal
05-01-11, 05:27 PM
#31
Lexus Fanatic
Thread Starter
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.
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.
As far as the idea of GM just slick-marketing another overpriced piece of junk (as you phrase it), it is true that Opel-derived vehicles have not been particularly reliable. But GM, over the last five years or so, has made notable improvements in several areas relating to quality and fit/finish. Time will tell if the new Regals become lemons or not.
Last edited by mmarshall; 05-01-11 at 05:32 PM.
05-01-11, 05:52 PM
#32
Lexus Fanatic
Thread Starter
05-01-11, 06:06 PM
#33
Lexus Fanatic
Thread Starter
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.
This is IMHO the step in the right direction for Buick.
05-01-11, 07:47 PM
#34
Lexus Fanatic
The strong selling Lacrosse is selling very well to 50+ baby boomers and I respect Buick's decision to produce comfy and modern cars of that calibre, (instead of substandard junk of recent years tailored to a dying breed of less sophisticated/demanding buyers.). Buick and GM no longer have the luxury of repeating past mistakes and losing billions in the process with a bunch of dated cars.
05-01-11, 07:55 PM
#35
Lexus Champion
The strong selling Lacrosse is selling very well to 50+ baby boomers and I respect Buick's decision to produce comfy and modern cars of that calibre, (instead of substandard junk of recent years tailored to a dying breed of less sophisticated/demanding buyers.). Buick and GM no longer have the luxury of repeating past mistakes and losing billions in the process with a bunch of dated cars.
Last edited by LexFather; 05-02-11 at 07:46 AM.
05-01-11, 07:58 PM
#36
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05-01-11, 10:11 PM
#37
Lexus Fanatic
Thread Starter
Last edited by mmarshall; 05-01-11 at 10:15 PM.
05-02-11, 05:51 AM
#38
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.
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.
Also to note, that is standard for car manufacturers, if there is an technical issue, they keep producing cars and fixing them later. Unless there is some huge safety problem or recall.
05-02-11, 05:57 AM
#39
Lexus Fanatic
iTrader: (20)
and different budgets. many are broke or will be broke because of healthcare costs.
05-02-11, 07:51 AM
#41
Lexus Fanatic
05-02-11, 08:38 AM
#43
Lexus Fanatic
Thread Starter
With how much down? Nissan and Infiniti had better be careful with lease rates. That's partly how they got into financial trouble before Renault bought them out. They underestimated the amount of depreciation on their cars, which set projected residual-value and lease-payments.
05-02-11, 08:47 AM
#44
Guest
Posts: n/a
With how much down? Nissan and Infiniti had better be careful with lease rates. That's partly how they got into financial trouble before Renault bought them out. They underestimated the amount of depreciation on their cars, which set projected residual-value and lease-payments.
08-17-14, 10:23 AM
#45
Lexus Fanatic
I had a chance to sit in the new Regal. It was used at a private dealer.
I was surprised how nice it was. For the first time ever I though I was not in a cheaper feeling GM car. The Regal really feels like a cut above a typical GM car. The doors were nice and heavy and material quality was a surprise.
I also like the styling. This is a sleeper type car.
Now I must point out one thing, the passenger seat had the cheapest SRT up I have ever seen in a passenger car. The forward/rear movement was manual, the recline feature was manual, but then there was this power up/down button for the height. How strange.
But overall, its a nicer car than I thought, totally different than the GM type materials and interior that I was expecting.
I was surprised how nice it was. For the first time ever I though I was not in a cheaper feeling GM car. The Regal really feels like a cut above a typical GM car. The doors were nice and heavy and material quality was a surprise.
I also like the styling. This is a sleeper type car.
Now I must point out one thing, the passenger seat had the cheapest SRT up I have ever seen in a passenger car. The forward/rear movement was manual, the recline feature was manual, but then there was this power up/down button for the height. How strange.
But overall, its a nicer car than I thought, totally different than the GM type materials and interior that I was expecting.