i actually really like the car but its just way too overpriced!! if Buick really wants new customers that are interested in there cars they should make cars that will blow you away with something that is new and radical and not be rebadged versions of other cars like Lincoln for ex. at this point i think that they should of just scrapped the company all together when they really needed to...its just like mercury, an unnecessary branch...

 

for about the same money (before taking into account the sizeable GM discounts to come), the TSX and TL give greater performance, increased mpg, nicer interiors, higher resale value and better reliability

 

I agree.Though,the TL is quite ugly.

 

You didn't hear that from me. I've posted a number of times on the fact that minivans can be ideal vehicles for more than suburban moms or emasculated males. It is the regular auto press and some of the enthisiast mags that keep saying otherwise.


Of course I remember the Grand National. I also remember its predecessor....the Chevelle-based Buick GS350/400 muscle-car from the 1960s, when I was in high school.

Both designs flopped in the marketplace.....although one CL member (forgot his name) is presently restoring one. Most Buick buyers simply weren't (and still aren't) interested in sport-sedans.

And the mid-late 80s Grand-National, (from what I remember), wasn't as stiff-riding as today's Regal....tires, for one, were much higher-profile back then, and there wasn't as much obsession with steering-response as there is today.

 

Last year C&D did a three sedan comparo and here is how they finished:

VW CC 2.0T (200 points)
Acura TSX V6 (186 points)
Regal CSL Turbo (180 points)

They mentioned the Regal's weight which contributed to giving it the slowest 0-60 time by 1 to 1.5 seconds and the poorest fuel economy. Overall they liked alot about the car but said it needed some refinement here and there.

 

I drive one. Its been reliable so far. (For every one you show me that isnt, I can probably think of one that is). That wasnt my point.

My point is, they were supposed to be reliable. All machines are designed to operate a certian way. If engineers designed machines specifically to break, they would not sell.

I am so tired of vehicle stereotypes. That is my other point. People can change, so can car companies. People always said Lexus was luxury...then the IS-F and LFA were introduced, proving they can do both sport and luxury.

Ford doesnt only do Mustangs and minivans, Chrysler doesnt only build crap anymore and Buick no longer is interested in only catering to the nearly dead population of america. Times are changing. People who arent on board should probably get that way or they are gonna get run over with the damned bus.

 

Buick still has a way to go and for the money,there are better choices than the Regal GS,IMO.

 

Unfortunately, Josh, the idea that, even in the past, Buick catered pretty much just to those with one foot in the grave was just that...a stereotype, and a somewhat inaccurate one at that. A lot of older people did (and still do) buy Buicks, but more younger people drive the traditional larger softer-riding Buicks than you would think....I see people in their 30s (and sometimes 20s) with them quite often.

In fact, guess what?......I myself had two of them, just out of high school, before the age of 20....and I liked them both. My closest friend (and auto-buddy) in high school had a more or less similiar Olds 88.

So, it's not necessarily a matter of Buick catering to just a "younger" population now. To some extent, they always did.

The idea, though, that all the traditional Buick customers are dying off and that a different, younger group replacing them is going to want sportier, stiffer-riding sedans is not as cut-and-dried as the auto-press would have you think. It is partly, but not totally, true. That "damned bus" as you phrase it, still has to stop at marked bus stops.


That's why I think that Buick is making a HUGE error in dropping the Lucerne (and Cadillac in dropping the similiar DTS). Both divisions are going to pay a hefty price for it....as a number of those former customers will end up buying USED Lucernes and DTS models instead of other newer Buicks and Caddys.

 

Time marches on. Tastes, styles and preferences change, and brands like
Buick, Lincoln etc. have to change if they want to stay in business. It's nothing new and has always been that way in cars and other consumer products. Nothing new really.

It's a stretch to say that younger people are buying Buicks in any quantity. Maybe used cars, but in new car purchases, the important category, it's pretty much an older consumer. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

 

Odd, they love to bash Lexus for platform sharing and sharing of parts and here is a clear rebadge and while its good looking they are not bashed for it.

Then for 36k base, you get FWD, heavy, and a pretty tepid performing car. The best thing about it is the LOOKS. Past that like the V-6 FWD TSX, its overpriced.

Its a good looking car but it will be 40k with options and that is IS 350/G37/335 etc money, higher level competition as this is not on par with those cars.

Bring the AWD 325hp Insignia over...

 

The new Lacrosse already offers AWD, but, I agree.....not at the same level of sportiness as a Regal/Insignia. It would not necesarily be a market-overlap.

And, of course, the G37/IS350/335 already have the AWD option.

 

thing is, Insignia is priced at Rav4 prices in Europe


:-)

 

you obviously have not seen the 2012 yet

you obviously have not priced those cars, at least not with the steering wheel & tires included package factored in. 335 cannot be had for less than $46K in real world

 

Buick, from the '50's was always marketed as "the poor man's Cadillac". After the Depression and WWII, the GM philosophy was to offer a line of cars through which a person could progress throughout his lifetime. The entry level was the Chevrolet, while Pontiac offered a bit more performance and sophistication as the next rung on the ladder. Oldsmobiles were known as "the doctor's car", the stealth luxury brand for managers and professionals who felt the Cadillac image was a bit too showy for their clientele. The Buick was intended to be a bargain-basement Cadillac, with most of the luxury and prestige at about 20% off the sticker. Finally Cadillac was for those who had "arrived" at a position in life where they didn't have to care what the neighbors thought and were willing to show out with a big luxo-boat in the driveway.

If the new Regal GS is really a re-badged Opel, count me interested. I had a '72 Opel Rallye that was the best-built and most fun car I ever owned - and it shared a garage with my monster K20 Suburban that was its polar opposite. The Opel wasn't too powerful, but it was light, responsive, well-balanced and ultimately "flingable". The Rallye totally dominated the SCCA's Showroom Stock class for several years and could kick the butt of many snooty drop-top "sports" cars of its era . . . and do it with the A/C on.

 

Actually I have.It's toned down a bit but still ugly.