[nsap]

By Debi Domby
Automotive News / June 07, 2004


The last Buick Regal was produced at General Motors' Oshawa 2 plant in Ontario on Tuesday, June 1. The plant began producing the car in May 1987. In a 17-year run, 1,389,991 Regals were built there. The Buick Century and Pontiac Grand Prix will continue to be built at the plant.


GM's Lansing, Mich., Grand River plant has begun producing the Cadillac STS. The plant, which produced 41 STS models in May, also produces the Cadillac CTS.


Link

 

[Dodge Drivin' Paul]

And what a great car it was. For the price, it was an excellent value. It would be right at home parked next to a more expensive Lexus ES 330, a BMW 3-series, or an Acura TL.

You can't beat a Buick.

 

[dindak]

Don't think they needed to kill a solid, well known name like Regal but o well.

RIP.

 

[ponchoman49]

I especially like those Grand Sports with the 3800 supercharged motor. It was a pure blast pulling up next to a ricer with a bumble bee, coffee can muffler and blowing there doors right off. On the other hand you could cruise the highways going 75 all day and getting close to 30 mpg. That car had a dual personality.

 

[MelvinJ]

Not to mention that it was the most reliable family sedan this year in Consumer Reports, beating Camry, Accord, Altima, Passat, and all others.

 

[PaleGreen]

Originally posted by dindak@Jun 8 2004, 08:46 AM
Don't think they needed to kill a solid, well known name like Regal but o well.

I totally agree! It'll take a long time before "LaCrosse" and "Allure" have any name recognition. Meanwhile, plenty of people know & like the Buick Regal.

I'll never fully understand marketing. :blink:

 

[Sohl]

I had a `91 Regal Grand Sport Coupe. It was a really nice driving car for long distance. I did have repeated problems with the power window on one side, and the in-dash CD player and other I.P. bits had some electrical gremlins. But I traded it in just under 100K miles with absolutely no engine or trans problems. I liked how the coupe styling was very unique and combined sportiness with elegance. Farewell, Regal.
--
Sohl

 

[sheithappens]

Don't forget to mention those reliable brakes that stuck on and wore out rotors, calipers and pads every couple thousand miles. GM denied that problem for years until a class action lawsuit was filed (and won). Many folks with those brakes loved the car I'm sure! :lol:

 

[paul8488]

Originally posted by Sohl@Jun 8 2004, 02:13 PM
I had a `91 Regal Grand Sport Coupe. It was a really nice driving car for long distance. I did have repeated problems with the power window on one side, and the in-dash CD player and other I.P. bits had some electrical gremlins. But I traded it in just under 100K miles with absolutely no engine or trans problems. I liked how the coupe styling was very unique and combined sportiness with elegance. Farewell, Regal.
--
Sohl

yeah, good call. the 2-door regal has such nice proportions. i really like the nose. and the rear and back window treatment. some even had 4 bucket seats (and 4-seater badging!). in a few decades i could see it being a 'classic' (other than vettes and F-bodies and the RWD impala, i don't know what else will be). okay maybe classic isn't the word... but i hope it still has a comfy spot in history and a few loyal fans in 2050!

 

[T-Keith]

I've had a bad experience with a Regal made when this plant started. My wife's old 88 Regal wasn't nearly as reliable as my US made 88 grand Prix. Glad they've got the quality up.

 

[Rex Raider]

Maybe the Velite will be called Regal when it arrives. (Doubful, but wishful thinking)

 

[BigAls87Z28]

I think that the Velite sedan will be more along the lines of the Park Ave replacment. Regal and Centruy are being replaced by LaCrosse, which IMO, is a good move on Buicks part. I like the Regal and am looking to get one as a daily, but the LaCrosse outclasses both car by a lot.

 

[Ming]

Originally posted by bigals87z28@Jun 8 2004, 10:34 AM
I like the Regal and am looking to get one as a daily, but the LaCrosse outclasses both car by a lot.

In particular if you get the Ultra.

 

[Jay]

Originally posted by dindak@Jun 8 2004, 08:46 AM
Don't think they needed to kill a solid, well known name like Regal but o well.

RIP.

Unfortunately when you leave a model unchanged for 8 years the name becomes as worn out as the car it rides on (i.e. Sunfire). Albeit, 'Regal' still sounds a helluvalot more appealing than 'Allure'.

 

[oldsintrigue00]

killing the regal was the wrong thing to do kill the century...the century didnt make the buick name the regal did...killing the regal is a mistake if i was in charge of the production i wouldve killed the century keep the regal for another yr or 2 or redesign it for 2006 with the caddy sts frame and build a new version of the malibu G6 frame for the low cost century replacement..

 

[nsap]

Originally posted by oldsintrigue00@Jun 8 2004, 10:30 AM
killing the regal was the wrong thing to do kill the century...the century didnt make the buick name the regal did...killing the regal is a mistake if i was in charge of the production i wouldve killed the century keep the regal for another yr or 2 or redesign it for 2006 with the caddy sts frame and build a new version of the malibu G6 frame for the low cost century replacement..

The Century is leaving soon too... Eventually Buick will get a Epislon (Malibu) based sedan, as well as a Park Ave. replacement.

 

[Highlander]

Originally posted by sheithappens@Jun 8 2004, 09:44 AM
Don't forget to mention those reliable brakes that stuck on and wore out rotors, calipers and pads every couple thousand miles. GM denied that problem for years until a class action lawsuit was filed (and won). Many folks with those brakes loved the car I'm sure! :lol:

hey.... I have an 89 Grand Prix with those rear brakes, and it took 13 years (including salt covered roads in Wisconsin winters) before I had a problem with those rear calipers. That didn't stop me from realizing a great (although slightly underpowered) car which I still enjoy driving to this day.

 

[surferdude00711]

Originally posted by nsap@Jun 8 2004, 12:26 PM
GM's Lansing, Mich., Grand River plant has begun producing the Cadillac STS. The plant, which produced 41 STS models in May, also produces the Cadillac CTS.


Link

So when will the STS arrive in dealers? If they ahve allready started to make them I'd thing they'd have arrived by now.

 

[MelvinJ]

Originally posted by surferdude00711+Jun 8 2004, 07:38 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (surferdude00711 @ Jun 8 2004, 07:38 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-nsap@Jun 8 2004, 12:26 PM
GM's Lansing, Mich., Grand River plant has begun producing the Cadillac STS. The plant, which produced 41 STS models in May, also produces the Cadillac CTS.


Link

So when will the STS arrive in dealers? If they ahve allready started to make them I'd thing they'd have arrived by now. [/b][/quote]
I'm sure all 41 STSs produced in May were considered pre-production cars and will never be sold. Actual production may not start for another month or two.

 

[MCGARRETT]

killing the regal was the wrong thing to do kill the century...the century didnt make the buick name the regal did...killing the regal is a mistake if i was in charge of the production i wouldve killed the century keep the regal for another yr or 2 or redesign it for 2006 with the caddy sts frame and build a new version of the malibu G6 frame for the low cost century replacement..

Sorr..but the Regal has been around since 1973, the Century dates back to 1936, so I would say that the Century has a longer history with Buick. The Century was Buicks performance car in the 1950's, combining the smaller and lighter Buick Special Body with the larger engine from the Buick Roadmaster. The Regal, for the most part, was an extension of the Century line when it was introduced in 1973, it was a nicer coupe version of the base Century.

I dont think that the current Buick Regal and STS are in the same category, so I am a little lost as to why you would like to move the $25-30,000 Buick Regal on to the the platform of a car that costs $40-60,000?

Either way....though I liked both the Regal and the Century nameplate, I am not really that upset that the names are going away, new cars, new names, this has been the tradition for many years, only long running names like "Corvette" "DeVille" and "Mustang" have been some of the long term names, but other names come and go, its the nature of the business.


I asked on the forum a while ago, if Buick should consider doing a car based on the Epsilon platform, I thought that it would be a good idea, something on the lower end to fill the gap under the LACROSSE.