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Buick Regal to debut at NAIAS??

24K views 144 replies 46 participants last post by  T'Cal  
#1 ·
Long before the current financial crisis and virtual collapse of the U.S. auto market that led General Motors to rethink its vehicle lineup, the company was believed to be working on the development of the next-generation Saturn Aura midsize sedan. The new Aura was first speculated to be a near clone of the Opel Insignia that's sold in Europe, but then GM delayed the replacement of the car and said that the next Aura would get unique sheetmetal and interior. So, was this Buick the reason for the change? The new Regal reportedly went on sale in China earlier this year, and sources now say that Buick will replace Saturn as Opel's global partner. In the near future, it's expected to be built in Canada and sold in North America.
Link
Photo GalleryRead the caption the photo gallery,says its expected to debut @ NAIAS.
 
#2 · (Edited)
Looks good. Insignia is a good car.

There's a detailed review of the Insignia in CAR magazine. Except for straight line stability at higher speeds, they say that it's on par with the Mondeo.

I think the only styling mistake for the Buick is that the grille needs to be blacked out.

From what I read, Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, and Cadillac are the only safe brands here.
 
#7 · (Edited)
I think the only styling mistake for the Buick is that the grille needs to be blacked out.


I agree with that. And I would add that the venti-ports on the front fenders should be more like the ones on other Buicks. These could be glued onto almost any car, anywhere. They're mounted too low, as well.

I guess this makes me a minority, but I'm just not over-the-moon about this car, as an Opel, a Saturn, or a Buick. I'm afraid it will end up like the other verbatim imports GM has failed with (GTO, G8, Astra). But I hope I'm wrong.
 
#5 ·
If they reveal it at NAIAS, +1 point for them.
If they get it onto market at the same time as the new Lacrosse, +5 points for them.
If they make it a 2011 like the new Aura was supposed to be, then -100 points for them.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't the 2000s LeSabre and Park Avenue revealed at the same time?
 
#6 ·
Correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't the 2000s LeSabre and Park Avenue revealed at the same time?

Well, both the 2000 model-year cars were revealed at the same time. But if you mean were they were both completely new that year, the answer is no. The LeSabre was new for 2000, but the Park Avenue was a carry-over from 1997.
 
#13 ·
The only product that met with any success I can think of off the top of my head is the Catera. It sold reasonably well, at least the first few years.
Actually, it is regarded a flop... It sold around 10K a year on good years, IMHO not because the product was bad, but it was improperly packaged and marketed (Cadillac? Imported?).

The VUE does pretty fine, but it is up against a much stiffer competition, is a heavy gas hog, and Saturn has lost quite a bit of its lustre. According to the sales data I have found, the new VUE sells just as well as the old one.

If you want a "verbatim" import, try T-bodies and J-bodies. Might have been awful in a true GM way, but they've sold. The Vectra-based Saturn L-Series also did sell quite a bit. But for the most part, GM never actually TRIED to sell an Opel designed car in the US. "Captive imports" were always fringe models, the VUE is the first exception, and I believe it bodes well for the Regal.
 
#14 · (Edited)
Actually, it is regarded a flop... It sold around 10K a year on good years, IMHO not because the product was bad, but it was improperly packaged and marketed (Cadillac? Imported?).
The marketing was great. Cindy Crawford and Ziggy the merlette. I really wanted a stuffed Ziggy. I still do too!!
And Catera was the first Cadillac Super Bowl commercial too.

Image


Image


The car itself was retarded. Cupholders? Improperly sized cigarette lighters? The car was sold in the US... but it was not localized for the US. A fatal mistake.

The car itself, I thought was pretty stylish, and drove quite well -- like a European.

I almost got one, until one day I was passed on the freeway by a gorgeous 9-5 and wondered "What is that??!!"
 
#15 · (Edited)
The marketing was great. Cindy Crawford and Ziggy the merlette. I really wanted a stuffed Ziggy. I still do too!!
To me, this was pretty childish, bad taste and irritating. And the name? Catera??? Even Captiva and Epica are better (but only just). GM's naming department is secrelty subsidized by Toyota, Honda and Ford!

The car itself was retarded. Cupholders? Improperly sized cigarette lighters? The car was sold in the US... but it was not localized for the US. A fatal mistake.
FWICR, the Omegas did have cupholders. Rather large - I remember them to be TOO LARGE to hold a plastic cup (I don't want a bottle cupholder, a bottle can be capped and put away somewhere, hard to do with a cup!)

Anyhow, the car WAS localized. For some mysterious reason GM found it necessary to leave out the bulbous diaper-inspired Opel Omega steering wheel, but to replace the neat central console...

Omega B:
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Omega C:
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Catera:
Image

Post-facelift, I believe


Why did they NOT replace the lighter (I understand you mean the socket does not fit mobile phone power adaptors and such) on the occassion is beyond me. Just like the fact that GM skimped on a serious gear selector for a car that was to be sold in a predominantly automatic market (btw Omega automatic -> leeeeeeeeisure [acceleration and kickdown on weekends only, by previous written request]).
 
#17 ·
I always thought that those "The Caddy That Zigs" commercials were embarassingly lame, almost as bad as the Bellafonte siblings singing loudly " Tro-FAY-hay-hay-YO" for those REALLY bad Olds Trofeo commercials.
 
#19 ·
A big Buick will sell in decent numbers no matter what you call it. A Buick, is a Buick, is a Buick. I'm interested to see how this Opel Insignia sells as a Buick.

The Buick Regal in China is the exact same car as the Insignia. So really what we are getting is the rebadge of the Opel here. There is nothing unique from China, the car is as German as a domestically produced BMW or Mercedes. If GM is smart there will be NO mention of the China collection as the country is about as popular as the plague here right now (see job losses, import flooding etc.)
 
#22 ·
A big Buick will sell in decent numbers no matter what you call it. A Buick, is a Buick, is a Buick. I'm interested to see how this Opel Insignia sells as a Buick.
I believe the Regal will sell fine too. It is dimensionally very close to Camry / ES, much like the LaCrosse drifts into the Avalon territory, if their sales can give you an indication. Or see Acura TSX/TL.

The Buick Regal in China is the exact same car as the Insignia. So really what we are getting is the rebadge of the Opel here. There is nothing unique from China, the car is as German as a domestically produced BMW or Mercedes. If GM is smart there will be NO mention of the China collection as the country is about as popular as the plague here right now (see job losses, import flooding etc.)
GM already said it will "align Buick with Opel", not with Shanghai-Buick. They are being pretty smart. As concerns "nothing unique from China", I believe that knowing they are getting the car, PATAC has lent a hand to its development. Hopefully, however, it IS a global car in that it won't be "tweaked" for North Americans.

BTW it is confirmed now that, at least in Chile, the Insignia becomes Chevrolet Vectra. Talk about kerfuffle.
 
#23 ·
I believe the Regal will sell fine too. It is dimensionally very close to Camry / ES, much like the LaCrosse drifts into the Avalon territory, if their sales can give you an indication. Or see Acura TSX/TL.



GM already said it will "align Buick with Opel", not with Shanghai-Buick. They are being pretty smart. As concerns "nothing unique from China", I believe that knowing they are getting the car, PATAC has lent a hand to its development. Hopefully, however, it IS a global car in that it won't be "tweaked" for North Americans.

BTW it is confirmed now that, at least in Chile, the Insignia becomes Chevrolet Vectra. Talk about kerfuffle.
The LaCrosse will also compete (kinda) with the Lincoln MKS,just slightly smaller. Acura RL also
 
#29 ·
I hope it happens! This car would be great for Buick! and better yet it just would be imported from over seas.. our friends from the north would be making them.
 
#32 ·
This car will do very well for Buick, but if its made here, it will lose a lot of the upper end technologies that the Insigna has over in Europe IMO. Dont expect to see the LED assisted headlights.
I do hope that Buick taking over Opel is a win win for GM overall, and IMO a better move world wide.
Like I said in my editorial, Saturn could still be an Opel channel, but for the smaller cars.
 
#35 ·
The Lacrosse should be around $35K as a base price with the Regal in the $28-9K base price range. While these are both higher than the current sedans they are so much better they should be even higher. The days of Buick being another choice for family sedan buyers are over with them moving up to the Luxury tier II category. Hopefully this will allow Cadillac to move up to tier I, but I doubt it.
I do think that Buick should come out with a RWD flagship, but it should be the Electra and instead of choice of v6/v8 it would be choice of BAS+ or two mode.
 
#48 · (Edited)
THe SKy is an Opel, SO is the Vue and they are the best things to happen to Saturn. If the Astra was built here it would be cheaper and have better engines so.....

Now as for Buick getting the Insignia...I am all for it as long as it comes to AMerica unchanged. Plus Buick customer can afford it and it can go up against the new Lincoln.

Now nothing is wrong with today's fake leather....BMW uses it standard as well as Benz, Audi and VW. Cadillac puts it on the dash and doors of the CTS. I'm all for it and the Germans started it first and they have been the worlds standard of luxury.
 
#52 ·
The Buick will use a smaller engine as its base and is somewhat smaller so naturally gets better gas mileage. Also I bet the engine bay of the Lacrosse wouldnt be able to fit the 3.5 EB. Also the MkS should go up to a 3.7 DI which should raise its fe. And the Lacrosse wont offer all the same features of the Lincoln standard as the Buick.
 
#76 ·
i hope they dont dumb it down for the US. Decontenting is NOT the way to go.
 
#78 ·
Heck, I don't care where the new Regal debuts at...it just needs to get here as quickly as possible.