As a kid I remember that Buicks were for successful, if somewhat stodgy members of society. My doctor drove one and I don’t think it went over 80 kph in all the years he drove it. That has been my image of Buicks, until now.
Buick kept the nameplate Regal and slid, not just a whole new car under it, but a whole new philosophy of car building as well. Engineers worldwide collaborated on this car. It has been for sale under the Opel badge as the Insignia in Europe for a couple of years now and the “vehicle dynamics” as the pocket-protector set like to call them, were set on the public portion of the Nurburgring. For the uninitiated, the North “ring” which is the public portion used to be part of the Formula one track until it was declared too dangerous.
Regal Models
Regals, for this year, will be built in Germany and as the year progresses, production will be switched over to Canada. When that happens, there will be two main models for 2011, the CXL and the CXL Turbo.
As tested, my regular CXL came with a 2.4 litre Ecotec four-cylinder motor that was hooked to a six-speed automatic. If you choose to do, the Turbo version can be delivered with an Aisin six-speed manual gearbox and the six-speed automatic will be optional.
Design
When you first lay your eyes on a Regal, your first thoughts are; “That can’t be a Buick” and “WOW, it is a Buick”. Then you open the door, get in and repeat the process! It is that impressive. One of my more irreverent friends commented that GM should go broke more often if cars like this were going to be the result.
Interior
Regal is still a big car in that five people can sit in it comfortably. Front buckets fit a wide range of forms and the leather is soft and comfortable. In this weather the three level seat heaters came on quickly and kept my tush warm while waiting for the car to warm up enough to keep my wife happy.
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| Regals, for this year, will be built in Germany and as the year progresses, production will be switched over to Canada. (Photo: Buick) |
Buick kept the nameplate Regal and slid, not just a whole new car under it, but a whole new philosophy of car building as well. Engineers worldwide collaborated on this car. It has been for sale under the Opel badge as the Insignia in Europe for a couple of years now and the “vehicle dynamics” as the pocket-protector set like to call them, were set on the public portion of the Nurburgring. For the uninitiated, the North “ring” which is the public portion used to be part of the Formula one track until it was declared too dangerous.
Regal Models
Regals, for this year, will be built in Germany and as the year progresses, production will be switched over to Canada. When that happens, there will be two main models for 2011, the CXL and the CXL Turbo.
As tested, my regular CXL came with a 2.4 litre Ecotec four-cylinder motor that was hooked to a six-speed automatic. If you choose to do, the Turbo version can be delivered with an Aisin six-speed manual gearbox and the six-speed automatic will be optional.
Design
When you first lay your eyes on a Regal, your first thoughts are; “That can’t be a Buick” and “WOW, it is a Buick”. Then you open the door, get in and repeat the process! It is that impressive. One of my more irreverent friends commented that GM should go broke more often if cars like this were going to be the result.
Interior
Regal is still a big car in that five people can sit in it comfortably. Front buckets fit a wide range of forms and the leather is soft and comfortable. In this weather the three level seat heaters came on quickly and kept my tush warm while waiting for the car to warm up enough to keep my wife happy.
 |
| Regal is still a big car in that five people can sit in it comfortably. (Photo: Buick) |