2011 Buick Regal Photogallery

2010 Buick LaCrosse 2.4 EcoTec Does 30 MPG

General Motors is offering the 2010 Buick LaCrosse CX with a new 2.4 liter Ecotec engine which develops 182horsepower (136 kW) and 172 lb-ft. of torque (233 Nm) and has an EPA rating of 30/19 mpg city/highway. This efficient powerplant features a sophisticated direct injection system and is also quite clean.

The 2011 Buick Regal

we told you about Buick's new digital campaign to hype the all-new 2011 Regal and youthen the model's fusty image. But sometimes, the web isn't enough, so GM is also putting the Regal smack-dab in front of the 30/40something influencers it's targeting by throwing a series of debutante balls for the sedan in hot spots around the country. That's arguably more social than social media, but you know: details.

Called the "Regal Remix", the parties are being held in Chicago, Miami, Dallas, San Antonio, and other major U.S. cities. (We can't seem to find a complete list right now, but then, we were never the Cool Kids.) The Regal is meant to be the star of the evening, although other Buick rides -- specifically, the Enclave and the LaCrosse -- also earn spins on the ballroom floor. GM has described the Regal Remix as a "low pressure" event, primarily intended to generate awareness and interest among 500 or so hipsterish guests. (If we're guessing correctly, a few business cards and brochures may be exchanged, too.) The abundance of booze and live music probably helps take the edge off what could otherwise become as uncomfortable as a timeshare pitch.

So far, word of mouth from these parties and other promotional efforts seems to be paying off for GM. Zeta Interactive -- a firm that monitors online discussion of brands much like General Sentiment does -- has seen Buick rise from #17 to #8 on its list of likable auto brands. We'll see if that continues once GM and Leo Burnett launch the Regal's more conventional campaign next month.

Buick Offering Test Drive Experience

The Buick brand will debut another initiative included in its transformation plan. The project, which has been developped with the 100 Black Men of America publication, will see Buick offer a test drive experience to the public and attendees of the 100 Balck Men of America 24th Annual Conference.

In addtion to offering test drive session that include three of its models, Buick will also offer children who are 8 years of age or older to ride along as passengers.

Here is Buick’s description of the vehicles that will be available for test drives:

• 2011 Buick Regal - Armed with turbocharged horsepower, a driver-selectable suspension system and a firm, European-tuned chassis, it delivers a driving experience that rivals the best import sport sedans in the segment.

• 2010 Buick LaCrosse - Redesigned from the ground up, the LaCrosse luxury sedan offers all-wheel drive, a suite of advanced personal technologies and safety features, and a choice of two fuel-saving V-6 engines.

• 2010 Buick Enclave - Buick’s popular luxury crossover gets available 20-inch wheels for 2010, as well as several technologies that add value and convenience.

Buick said that it will not dilute the driving expereince, allowing the attenders to enjoy the vehicles 100 percent. In other words, the company won’t bring any sales personnel at the ride-and-drive event.

2011 Buick Regal doesn't live up to its name

The upside to being so out of fashion is that Buick could now be "in," if only the Regal lived up to the promise the manufacturer showed last year with its luxury sedan, the LaCrosse CXS. With its successor, the Regal, Buick is simply trying to do too much. In its efforts to be simultaneously elegant, sporty, fuel efficient, technologically tricked out and affordable it doesn't fully succeed.

What I liked most about this mid-size sport sedan was its exterior. There's a wind-swept stylishness to its profile that elevates it to the level of its competitors: the Acura TSX, Volvo S60, Volkswagen Passat and Mazda 6, each of which shares a kind of athletic voluptuousness. The Bentley-esque grille, even the Buick insignia itself, lends the car an upscale appearance that helps the Regal live up to its moniker. And the palette of sumptuous exterior colors, including the shade of deep, seafaring blue in the model I was testing, made me curious to open the doors and see what was inside this Autobahn-inspired beauty.

The experience was a little like biting into a See's chocolate and tasting a nougat you weren't expecting — and hadn't wanted. It was, in a word, disappointing.

Although the center stack was nicely arranged, it was trimmed in cheap-looking brown plastic and anchored with an equally chintzy chrome finish around the six-speed gear shift. The "pleather" dash was inlaid with a faux-wood grain. In fact, the whole cockpit was more pastiche than crafted.

If this is regal, then I'm Prince Harry.

Of course there's only so much bling Buick can pack into a car that starts at $26,995, especially a car that has as many performance and technology objectives as the Regal. I just wish the bling had been a bit more premium because there's a lot of competition at that price point. Buick would have been better off focusing on fewer features and ensuring that each was the highest quality.

2011 Buick Regal CSX Test Drive

The 2011 Buick Regal is sold in Europe as the Opel Insignia (recipient of the 2010 European Car of the Year award) and under the Buick name in China; its development was truly a cooperative venture on a global scale.

The Regal's appearance confirms its cosmopolitan pedigree; it would not appear out of place in any modern city, from San Diego to Shanghai. As a midsize sedan, the new car is smaller and more tautly sculpted than any previous model bearing the Regal name. With Buick's signature grinning grille, its muscular shape was met with positive responses from most of the people we talked to. Given the pedestrian shapes of cars that dominate the current midsize sedan market, that's not entirely surprising. But since GM couldn't beat the competition with the rotund American architecture that formerly defined the Regal, designers had to rethink their options.

Furthermore, the choice of two four-cylinder engines rather than the historical dependence on V6s in the model line speaks of a major identity shift.

The Specs

The new Regal's base engine is a 2.4-liter inline four with 182 hp and 172 lb-ft of torque, and it features direct-injection and variable valve timing, as befits a 21st-century powerplant. The high-performance option is a turbo 2.0-liter with 220 hp and an impressive 258 pound-feet from just 2,000 rpm. Both engines hail from GM's Ecotec family, but are much smoother and more genteel than the corporation's four-bangers of yore.

Fuel economy has not been finalized, but GM estimates that the 2.4-liter normally aspirated engine will achieve 30 mpg on the highway, and the turbo will get 29 mpg. Both engines pedal through six-speed automatic transmissions with manual-override capability, but these are two different units—one a Hydra-matic, the other an Aisin—and the gear ratios vary quite a bit to take advantage of the turbo motor's wide torque spread. A six-speed manual transmission is promised sometime in the future for use with the turbo.

With a wheelbase of 107.8 inches, an overall length of 190.3 inches, a height of 58.4 inches and an overall width of 73.1 inches, the Regal is smaller in every dimension than the Buick LaCrosse. It also provides four fewer inches of rear legroom than the LaCrosse, at 37.3 inches, although chief engineer Jim Federico points out that that's three more inches than rear passengers will find in an Acura TSX.

Designed to meet new federal crash-test standards for 2012, the Regal's body shell claims to offer a 25 percent improvement in torsional bending resistance compared with the outgoing model. According to Federico, the amount of high-strength steel in the structure is considerable, and was limited mainly by weld incompatibilities between it and conventional steels. At around 3600 pounds, the Regal isn't exactly svelte, but a projected five-star rating in both major federal crash-test categories suggests that it is strong.

The Regal's suspension consists of MacPherson struts up front with aluminum lower control arms and an aluminum four-link setup in the rear, both ends equipped with direct-acting, tubular antiroll bars. An electronic adaptive-damping shock system called the Interactive Drive Control System (IDCS)—which features three push-button selectable programs: normal, tour and sport—is available for the turbo model.

The ride firmness—as well as the amount of body-motion control imparted by the shock—changes depending on which IDCS program the driver chooses. Selecting Sport Mode also alters the degree of steering assistance and the response of the Buick's Stabilitrak handling system, reducing the level of electronic intervention and raising the threshold before it steps in. These values can be adjusted independently through the car's info screen.

2011 Buick Regal

More than a few surprises have accompanied the rebirth of General Motors. Chief among them is the resurgence of Buick, which was chosen as one of just four brands GM kept alive, even as it euthanized better-selling brands like Pontiac and Saturn, plus niche marquees like Hummer. After piloting the latest offering from the premium American brand, I can see why those in GM's ivory tower picked Buick to survive.

The Regal is a good-looking, excellent-handling midsize sedan that packs a lot of content for its price, with just a few drawbacks.

The biggest problem is the model's staggered introduction; just one trim level, the CXL, with one available engine is on sale now (that's the one reviewed here). The rest will hit the street over the next year. Even with just the moderately powered four-cylinder Regal you can buy today, Buick is clearly doing things right.
Looks
Enticing younger buyers into Buick showrooms is job No. 1. While the Enclave crossover and the recently redesigned LaCrosse have chipped away at the average age of Buick owners — it's down from 72 to 64 — the curvy Regal should lure in shoppers at least a decade or three younger than that.

The Regal we see in the U.S. is identical to a German GM design called the Opel Insignia. In fact, Buick proudly states that the two are virtually identical, save for the grilles and a few light treatments. That's likely because it would have been hard to complain about the original look. The front is modern and unoffensive, the profile and rear quarter bring BMW to mind, and the rear looks like it came from Acura — from before when that brand forgot what a curve was.

Buick Regal GS Confirmed for Production

Buick said on Thursday that it will build the Buick Regal GS, after receiving "a lot of positive consumer feedback" about the high-performance Regal GS show car that debuted in January at the 2010 Detroit Auto Show. "No further details are available at this time," said Buick in a statement.

Buick Regal GS

When the Buick Regal GS show car was unveiled, the GM division called it a high-performance version of its Regal sedan. The show car was equipped with a 2.0-liter Ecotec turbocharged engine. On Thursday, Buick said the Regal CXL turbo will be available in the fourth quarter of this year. But it didn't hint at what would be under the hood of the production Regal GS.

The Regal GS show car was designed to be a scene stealer with such details as a lowered body, an adaptive all-wheel-drive system, forged-aluminum 20-inch wheels and performance tires, Recaro front seats and Brembo brakes. The cabin was equipped with a jet-black interior and a flat-bottomed steering wheel.