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.
No comments:
Post a Comment