2011 Buick Regal - Spied
HotZ28
08-14-2009, 01:15 PM
The Chinese-market Regal has been caught testing in America. What does that mean for U.S. sales?
BY STEVE SILER, PHOTOGRAPHY BY KGP PHOTOGRAPHY AND THE MANUFACTURER
July 2009
http://www.caranddriver.com/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/news/spied/09q3/2011_buick_regal-spied/gallery/2011_buick_regal_28spy_photo_29_photo_1/2781940-1-eng-US/2011-buick-regal-spied-1_cd_gallery.jpg
Buick is on the rebound in its home market, with the successful Enclave crossover and the appealing 2010 LaCrosse (http://www.caranddriver.com/buying_guide/buick/lacrosse) leading the charge. Could it continue with the reincarnation of the Regal? Spied on American soil was a camouflaged Chinese-market Buick Regal, itself a re-grilled and rebadged European 2010 Opel Insignia. Just what the covered-up Regal was doing here is anyone’s guess, especially considering that it’s already fully exposed on Buick’s Chinese website (http://www.buick.com.cn/Regal/index.aspx).
But speculation has been ongoing for some time about whether a Regal would reemerge to flesh out America’s Buick/Pontiac/GMC dealerships, and that possibility is even more likely now that one of those brands will soon evaporate, taking a huge quantity of mid-size sedan sales with it. Now, whether it makes sense to sell what is essentially a short-wheelbase LaCrosse alongside the LaCrosse is a marketing question we can’t fully answer. But if it is markedly less expensive than the $27,835 Lacrosse, it could play well to Camry/Accord/Fusion buyers. Factor in GM’s pending divestiture of Saturn—which was due to get a copy of the Insignia as its next Aura sedan—and the Buick version makes even more sense.
Could a Grand National Be On the Docket?
At a recent dinner with Buick executives, we were regaled with the typical marketing jibber-jabber about the “incredible” stuff that’s coming next, and when we asked specifically about performance-oriented Buick models (http://blog.caranddriver.com/buick-picking-up-some-excitement/), we saw sparkles in their eyes and got one of those typical “just wait ’til you see what’s coming next” lines that usually prompts a collective rolling of the eyes. But with the Regal redux looking like a real possibility, it would seem quite natural for Buick to bring back the vaunted Grand National (or Grand Sport) name, too—powered by, say, a turbocharged V-6, just like the beloved original that was sold in the mid-1980s. Of course, rear-wheel drive would be out of the question and a front-drive GN would be absolute heresy, but all-wheel drive could perhaps prove a somewhat amicable compromise. On one point, however, we will not give ground: it must be all black.Source (http://www.caranddriver.com/news/spied/09q3/2011_buick_regal-spied)
BY STEVE SILER, PHOTOGRAPHY BY KGP PHOTOGRAPHY AND THE MANUFACTURER
July 2009
http://www.caranddriver.com/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/news/spied/09q3/2011_buick_regal-spied/gallery/2011_buick_regal_28spy_photo_29_photo_1/2781940-1-eng-US/2011-buick-regal-spied-1_cd_gallery.jpg
Buick is on the rebound in its home market, with the successful Enclave crossover and the appealing 2010 LaCrosse (http://www.caranddriver.com/buying_guide/buick/lacrosse) leading the charge. Could it continue with the reincarnation of the Regal? Spied on American soil was a camouflaged Chinese-market Buick Regal, itself a re-grilled and rebadged European 2010 Opel Insignia. Just what the covered-up Regal was doing here is anyone’s guess, especially considering that it’s already fully exposed on Buick’s Chinese website (http://www.buick.com.cn/Regal/index.aspx).
But speculation has been ongoing for some time about whether a Regal would reemerge to flesh out America’s Buick/Pontiac/GMC dealerships, and that possibility is even more likely now that one of those brands will soon evaporate, taking a huge quantity of mid-size sedan sales with it. Now, whether it makes sense to sell what is essentially a short-wheelbase LaCrosse alongside the LaCrosse is a marketing question we can’t fully answer. But if it is markedly less expensive than the $27,835 Lacrosse, it could play well to Camry/Accord/Fusion buyers. Factor in GM’s pending divestiture of Saturn—which was due to get a copy of the Insignia as its next Aura sedan—and the Buick version makes even more sense.
Could a Grand National Be On the Docket?
At a recent dinner with Buick executives, we were regaled with the typical marketing jibber-jabber about the “incredible” stuff that’s coming next, and when we asked specifically about performance-oriented Buick models (http://blog.caranddriver.com/buick-picking-up-some-excitement/), we saw sparkles in their eyes and got one of those typical “just wait ’til you see what’s coming next” lines that usually prompts a collective rolling of the eyes. But with the Regal redux looking like a real possibility, it would seem quite natural for Buick to bring back the vaunted Grand National (or Grand Sport) name, too—powered by, say, a turbocharged V-6, just like the beloved original that was sold in the mid-1980s. Of course, rear-wheel drive would be out of the question and a front-drive GN would be absolute heresy, but all-wheel drive could perhaps prove a somewhat amicable compromise. On one point, however, we will not give ground: it must be all black.Source (http://www.caranddriver.com/news/spied/09q3/2011_buick_regal-spied)
BNaylor
08-14-2009, 06:43 PM
It it quacks like an Opel or walks like an Opel then it is an Opel and not a Regal. :shakehead
BTW - When I was stationed in Germany the second time around I had an Opel Ascona 1.9 as a second car to my Z28.
BTW - When I was stationed in Germany the second time around I had an Opel Ascona 1.9 as a second car to my Z28.
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