mmarshall

I've posted and talked so much lately with a number of you about the new Lacrosse (including my own) that we don't want to forget the rest of the upcoming Buick line-up this fall and early next year. The Regal Sportback Hatchback and Tour-X wagons have been given some publicity...but very little has been posted or mentioned about the new upcoming Regal GS, which is arguably Buick's most sport-oriented vehicle in the American-market. Car and Driver and Road and Track magazines both raved about the last Regal GS they tested several years ago...C&D, especially, felt it was the best Buick (to their admittedly sport-tastes) that they had ever sampled......including the classic Grand National/GNX. This fellow from AutoGuide is not Alex Dykes (who, IMO, is one of the best auto reviewers in the business)...but he does a reasonably good job of giving us a quick-tour and a brief test-drive of a pre-production GS sample. The GS will be released next spring......I plan on a review of one myself. Like the last Regal, it is essentially a redone Opel Insignia....but instead of the 2.0L turbo four and six-speed automatic of the last version (a true 3-pedal manual was also offered for a couple of years), it has essentially the same non-turbo 3.6L V6 and 9-speed automatic in my new Lacrosse....though I suspect the transmission's shift points in the production version of the GS might be tuned a little different from the seamless, pillow-soft shifting in the Lacrosse. He notes, however, that there are no shift-paddles, which, IMO, does seem a little strange in a car of this type...especially considering that my Lacrosse has them LOL. We'll see if Buick includes them in the production version next spring.

Toys4RJill

Really like the Cascada, front end of the Lacrosse is great. This new Regal looks good. I think the station wagon version is going to do very well for Buick.

Fizzboy7

Hmmmm... Very curious. All appears quite well thus far. This could be the best Hyundai/Kia clone yet. It is amazing how far those two brands have reached. Just about all current makes are copying those two, now Buick included. The identical A3/S3 taillight tube patterns are also very curious. Do any other car enthusiasts ever pay attention to these things? Apparently not.
Some other observations: 19" rims are too big. Steering wheel looks out of proportion. Should have shift paddles if "sport" is the point. Priced $5000 too high.
Don't mean to sound harsh, but this reporter needs some camera presence. Also a tad annoying.
Compared to previous entries, this car seems like it will ride the wave of success. Great news from GM.

LexBob2

The new Regal looks pretty good to me. Whether or not it will attract younger buyers remains to be seen. The previous gen was pretty good too but didn't sell. A lot of it has to do with the Buick name/image and it's hard to get past it. Fairly low financial risk for GM since the car already existed overseas.

Toys4RJill

Who knows. It looks like a top end Camry fighter than anything else. Looks good to me.

pbm317

The biggest thing that Buick seems to have fixed is the pricing. I know it's still too early to tell completely, but the Buick Sportback (non GS) starts at $25,915. That's about $2,500 more than a base Camry and about $2,500 below what the base Regal was last year. But that gets you the hatchback utility, alloy wheels, a 2.0T turbo engine. And then of course there will be the general Buick discounts that tend to be larger than other brands. Figure at least 15% off MSRP, so I think it could be more compelling than the outgoing car.

GS at ~$40K is a bit tougher, and obviously not expected to be a volume seller (outside of metro Detroit) but provides a decent halo-type model. Production car is not expected to have paddle shifters, as Buick claims (uses excuses) that prior Regal GS customers never use them. I think they should be trying to attract new buyers into the fold. So likely just a cost-cutting issue, maybe with supplier from the new Regal plant. I know it's not a track car, but it's just the optics and what they're trying to claim the marketing of it for.

Joeb427

iTrader: (1)

I don't think it's going to sell well.
The Buick AARP stigma will be hard to overcome.

Johnhav430

I guess all sedans are getting that treatment where there is a window, behind the small window that is on the door....in this case it looks like it's not real? Or maybe really dark. That style wouldn't be my preference, but even the LS500 is like that. Why are they all copying the Sonata?? I've heard the 3.6 variations consume oil, a pet peeve of mine (yes I know Porsche officially says 3 qt. per interval is ok, and Lexus says like 5? lol)...imho the owner shouldn't have to redesign the PCV system themselves...

Johnhav430

The least they could do is offer an additional discount for AARP members

Joeb427

iTrader: (1)

I've heard in the past, AARP magazine had a coupon for some cash off a Buick purchase.I don't know if that is actually true, though.

JDR76

I think it's a great looking car. I doubt it will sell in significant numbers, but I think it will at least bring some more positive attention to Buick.

arentz07

I do find it surprising there aren't paddle shifters. I think it's safe to say this is intended as a "sport-inspired" vehicle, maybe warm, but not hot.

I was actually considering picking up a Regal at one point, but I have to say I like the looks of this new one a lot more - I dig the sharper angles and new grille. And the fact that the GS actually gets an engine upgrade is better as well. (I'll need to watch the video to develop any sort of suspicions about how it drives...)

Sulu

After 2 generations, I believe that we have seen the last of the Regal. If, in 5 or 6 or 7 years, there is another, 3rd-generation Regal, it will be different. This new Regal and the current model is a rebadged Opel / Vauxhall Insignia, but Opel / Vauxhall (GM Europe) has already been sold off by GM to the French PSA Group. I assume that PSA Group took over the agreement to supply Buick with the Insignia/Regal but I would not be surprised if there are supply "problems" during the life of this model.

If there is a next-generation Regal, it will likely come from GM Korea or GM China.

Och

iTrader: (3)

Is this RWD based?

JDR76

NO. It's a transverse layout with AWD.