27k for this car is a pretty decent price. From what I have seen in this car, I may have to go test drive one when they arrive at my local dealership.

I ( and many others) doubted Buick could be revived. I would say that so far they are off to a great start. I am 23 and I can say that this Regal appeals to me, especially in GS form. Depsite being up against though competition, it has everything to make anyone happy at under $30K. I am sure that options like Navigation and others may bump the price to $32K or $35K, but the Infiniti, BMW, and Audi (for now) all start over where this tops out, and let’s talk about adding any technology packages to those. If anything the TSX will be the biggest competition. Its 4-Cylinder with Tech Package is around just $33K and to me looks just as nice. My biggest thing is why the Ontario Plant? Not knocking Canada, but they already produce some GM models and have been increasing shifts to meet demands. As I recall there are a few plants in MI that could use some work. Hey GM, how about that Riviera Coupe and Cabrio.

GS! GS! GS! You got me Buick. I can’t say I ever thought thAt would happen. You just let me know the details of my sales agreement and I will sign the dotted line!

Yeah, I can actually build these now in our car builder system for fleet. They look to come pretty loaded with leather and everything. The color choices aren’t that many though. Three greys with one being somewhat tan in color, white black and blue. No reds or greens at least on start up. Interior choices it’s black or tan. The base CXL doesn’t come with sunroof – that’s an option.

if you could order up one of these, when the manual tranny is available (of course), and then let it slip off the lot un-noticed, let me know…

Why Canada? Because we provided some of those the bail-out loans with the promise from GM to continue production in Canada. Ontario did as well, and cities like Oshawa were hit extremely hard by GM’s tough times. Just remember that there are still countless Canadian GM employees that are waiting to be called back. The US is still getting a good many new GM vehicles built on its soil, including some new plants going up. Every country involved with keeping GM afloat deserves to get their money back, and receive jobs for their investment.

Oh, I also see the option packages too – but no prices, just what’s in them.. The 40 gig HD Nav system with Harmon Kardon looks like a nice option but you have to get all the other options packaged together to get it ala Honda and Acura’s structure. I like that they are having packages though instead of the limitless options of the former GM.

I don’t know kids, it’s a very nice car but if I can get a 6 cylinder LaCrosse for the same money… that’s a tough call. And I’m sure the Regal is much lighter than the Terrain but when the latter is equipped with same 182 horse 4 banger I’ve read it can barely get out of its own way. The fact that the same engine is in something like a Terrain is in itself cause for concern. GM four cylinders haven’t exactly been known for being Honda smooth in the past.

Why Canada? Because it’s taking the place of what was supposed to be built there, the next gen Aura (which this is) – it was planned for years to be built in that plant.

Sorry Leftwing – I no longer hold a postion where I can do that – although I may get a former co-worker to see what they can do

Just kidding GM – don’t put the info out if you don’t want it out.

Ha! Did anyone watch the promo video for the 1998 that comes up in the boobtube player? I won’t spoil it.
—– You got me Buick —– You got me Buick —– You got me Buick —–
And you’ve got my permission to use that as your new tag line. Just please don’t put it to the tune of Van Hagar.

I think I have gone through all the stages of loss with Pontiac (shock, denial, anger, bargaining, testing, acceptance) and I am ready to move on. What I need now is an American brand I can be proud of again, and Buick has that vague/ambiguity of brand image that we, as American consumers, can mold into what we feel is appropriate for our own worship. Does that make sense? Since Buick does not have a firm identity (other than the vagueness of being “for old people”), I can accept it as my new brand without having to rationalize their past to myself. I can mold the image of Buick as I see fit to fill my personal desires.

IN SHORT, Buick’s lack of brand identity for the past decade has turned the brand into a clean slate.
It’s kind of like seeing a member of the opposite sex wearing big sunglasses. Your mind fills in the blank of what is hidden behind the glasses…

for what it’s worth, the 4-banger used in the malibu i drove was just fine…not chocolate pudding smooth, but it wasn’t noticeably rough at all…

and jake, thanks a bunch, you’ve got my hopes up that aside from gm products you also handled bmws and porsches…hehe

“The fact that the same engine is in something like a Terrain is in itself cause for concern. GM four cylinders haven’t exactly been known for being Honda smooth in the past.”

The 2.4L was named to Wards 10Best engines and is state of the art. Its very smooth in the Terrain. Also, the Regal is almost 200lbs lighter than the Terrain so 0-60 should be at least a second faster. Expect 8-8.5 secs for a 3600lb car- hardly slow and on par with an auto Accord or Mazda6. The Malibu weighs about 3450lbs and has less hp and has been clocked at 8.6secs to 60.

Hey, to everyone put off by my “why Canada” statement, like I said, I am not knocking Canada. I understand that many GM employees all around the world have lost their job and it appears more are to follow. Honestly, wherever GM can hire back the most people to produce these new cars, then so be it and really who is to say they cannot build the same car in different locations to meet their increased demands.

Trust me Leftwing, when i get pushed around at a dealership – they take the worst hit of it by what I tell people who determine what dealership the company uses for the future. When I tell them where I work and what department (well what department I used to work), dealerships back off. That’s the pull this company has. We do buy the most cars in the country (something like 7% of all new cars)

Oh yeah Jake… I buy the most cars in my neighborhood, so what do you think of that, eh?

I’m happy to hear the good reviews about this 2.4. I’m still a bit leery when it comes to putting these 4 cylinder powerplants in relatively heavy cars. Maybe it’s old school thinking but I’m used to the reasoning that the larger engines don’t work as hard so in real life any perceived difference in mileage is negligible. Of course in the case of this Regal the optional engine is actually smaller in displacement so I guess that theory probably needs to be put to rest.

Don’t worry, ChuckTown86, I wasn’t put off by it. It was just a reply to what sounded like a reasonable question.

And for Johnny, the GS is built for people like you and me. The base 4-cyl car is made for our aunts, who have never pressed an accelerator down farther than 1/4 of the way to the floor.

$27K?? Isn’t that a little bit on the pricey side for a domestic compact luxury sedan? It may be a nice car and all but it aint no Caddy,

Looks like a high end rental car! II’d rather put more $ and get a cadillac.

Opel is going to make a two-door GS model? The GS days are gone, unless there’s a sustainable source of fuel to be had. And those GS days were real Buick days (decades ago)—not Opel days, like now.

Looks like a fat Toyota Corolla actually…

Man, I was hoping the GS would come in under $30k, but if the CXL is right at $30k, that would put the potential GS at about $32-33k. Considering my G8 GT sitckered at $32,750 fully loaded (of course I paid much less than that), this is disappointing news. I guess it’s priced appropriately, but I don’t see it as great bang for the buck.

I was hoping this car would start under $25k. But, its close. It is also looks like very good if not better product over the Ford Taurus. And this car does give the American people a choice to choose a car that is not korean or japanese.
So I guess the GS will start over $30K.

Remember that we are talking the relatively loaded CXL at $27k. When the CX comes out the price will be closer to $24.5k which is the difference between the LaCrosse CX and CXL currently.

This is also a smaller vehicle than the Taurus but it is sure not a compact vehicle. This is midsize.

Saw it at the car show today and the lower strake from the fender down the doors is not as pronounced as in the photos. Looks great.

I too saw it at the car show. When the GS comes out I’m all over it.

This is insane pricing. Since when Buick was equated to BMW, Lexus or Acura? 27 large for 4 cylinder car that stole its arse from Acura is a lot of scratch. Especially when after few years of ownership it value plummets faster then health reform options.

you guys have an under-inflated sense of what the average car price is…comerica bank last year had the number pegged at 26.3k in the 2nd quarter of ‘09 (according to a competing website that i won’t link)…expecting a new model like this to come in under 25k (with heated leather, etc.) is a bit optimistic, especially for a buick…this isn’t a malibu, after all…

I don’t know what you guys are talking about as far as the price being high.

“or $29,495 with destination for the turbocharged model. ”

•The Volvo s40 is over 30k to get the turbo-5.
•The 328i starts at 33.5k until you start adding silly things like paint. comparably equiped to the turbo regal is more like $38,000.
•The G-sedan is 33k,
•The a4 is 32k + 1500 for the suspension & 18″ wheel upgrade.
•The Acura TSX: starts over 30 including destination. to add 18″ alloys costs $2264 and does not come with the convenience of tires attached… tires are an additional $899!

also, once they shift production to North America the horrible exchange rates will no longer factor in, affording GM the ability to discount the vehicle significantly (which they will do in a few years when sales start to taper off)

Doubt they will lower the MSRP. MSRP has nothing to do with cost of vehicle. It has to do with competition and the volume they want. Of course once the vehicle is made here they may want to increase volume more than just the addition of the CX and decrease price on the CX but I doubt it.

It’s almost too expensive at $27K…but what equipment is included at that price point? Remember, Buick still has to earn good resale values and woo a generation which never considered the brand.

I predict rebates or lease incentives on the horizon, in order to sway people from the “know good values” offered at Honda and Toyota…or the “yum yum factor” of a somewhat comparable TSX, A4, or CC…just to name a few.

carstuff – Wait a minute. CXL? Isn’t that the top of the line model? Atleast it is in all the other models. If that’s the case then the actual base price should be less. Although the list of cars its trying to compete with is giving the Regal some mean game to go up against. I see it as, giving Buick the opportunity to hit the ground running to get into shape.

Maybe I confused?

The only Regals IMPORTED, at least at first, will be well appointed CXL’s for $27,000 with base four cylinder and $29K with turbo. Buick has had the CX, CXL, CXS with their sedans. So they are sending over the uplevel non performance vehicle first, which have leather and are well equipped.

That is why the CX, which I suppose will come here when Oshawa starts build, will come in some $2k less than the CXL. And I hope that the GS or CXS or whatever they call the OPC version starts to come over ASAP as an import.

I think GM will not import the lower cost/less profitable CX’s due to, well, lower profit margin. Could be wrong here but I believe that is what I read. The LaCRosse CXS is ~$1k more than the LaCrosse CXL and has the 3.6L vs. the CXL’s 3.0L.

Competition for BMW, Acura, Audi??? HAHA!!!

More like Hyundai and Honda, and even that is questionable. When 27k gets an Accord EX with a V6, with stellar resale value, GM ought to rethink the pricing of this car. Other than fanboys and GM employees, GM is asking consumers yet again to take a chance on their products. Not just for drivability, but also for resale. In a down economy with unemployment still a big problem.

Where is the extended warranty? Where is the guaranteed resale value?

GM – Good products are not good enough. There is no strong value proposition for this car.

GM product:

“GM North America President Mark Reuss said Jan. 12 that the
automaker is studying how to increase production of the Equinox
and its sister vehicle, the GMC Terrain, to meet demand. GM has
14 days supply of the GMC model and 53 percent of its buyers are
coming from non-GM vehicles, up from 40 percent of buyers of the
Pontiac Torrent, which it replaces.”

Considering the price of entry of the LaCrosse
Is advertised at $27k
And they are pushing that pretty hard
How does this help the new Regal launch well?

Sounds like they either aren’t ready for this car
Or don’t have a marketing plan for this car
DrFill

-Good resale
-High quality
-Great reliability
-Outstanding design
-Exciting options
-Advanced features

Two of those cannot yet be answered, but the others just don’t fit this vehicle. Seems like another Buick Century or regular Regal to me that was sold in the late 90’s- alright all around cars with great pricing, but boring, low resale and non-outstanding design.

Buick has always had an amazing quality reputation, right up beside lexus, although they may not have been the most attractive cars, the new ones are beautiful and I don’t doubt for a second that the quality will not be there, the ecotec is an awesome engine and very reliable, I work at a gm dealer and we get tons of them with very high mileage and not a single repair, they very smooth and great on gas, and they make a lot more power then a honda 4 cylinder.

As for it being in oshawa well that’s even better seeing as oshawa has always been known as gm’s top quality plant.

Another thing people don’t seem to realize is the CXL is the top model (minus the GS of course but that’s performance top model) the lower models will be in the low 20’s im sure which is a bargain for this type of car.

Buick is back !

Well good dr. at least they are not unintentionally accelerating them out of the dealerships:)

Miss you over at the Toyota recall thread.

One bad thing about Buick today is that both the LaCRosse and Enclave are selling so well they are hard to find and the darn plants have to work overtime to keep up. Must be bad pricing and boring products.

Go USA

Carstuff- I didn’t mean to imply they would lower the MSRP, but rather that they will be able to afford discounts/incentives because their total cost will be less.

saabaru1:

Dont expect substantial discounts, LAcrosse has sold with virtually no incentives thus far. This isnt the OLD GM, times are changing. $27k is on par with a comparable camry so I fail to see why discounts should be necessary. This car sure as hell looks better than camry inside and out.

THATS TOO PRICES. THAT CAR SHOULD START 19K. I WOULD BUY A CAMRY OVER THAT.

The Opel version of this is now the best selling midsize sedan in Europe.

So what I;m getting out of what the Dr is saying – Buick is now advertising more so that must mean they are doing bad? Could it be that Gm now has the money to advertise Buick because they have less other things to advertise?

Jake
Reading comprehension is not your strong suit

Why are they making this huge push
For LaCRosse, a $27k mid-sized car
As a Lexus ES alternative
Then later this year they will have a new huge campaign for……….
Another $27k mid-sized car?

Buick is taking a page out of Hyundai’s marketing book
The Art of Spaghetti
DrFill

Difference is the large/midsize car base price starts at $27k and go up from there to $44k and the other midsize car base price will start at $24.5k and end just north of $30k. Some overlap.

One is also a sporty car while the other is a lux entry. They are after different buyers.

We will have to wait and see how they do. All we know now is the LaCrosse is selling as fast as they can make them with an ATP over $30k. I can only imagine, with the comments here, that the Regal will do just as well.ds

I think the issue that is confounding you is that the Regal is coming out first with the uplevel version.

They announced the base Regal will not be available at launch
The CXL will start at $27k
And it will be awhile before a CX is available
DrFill

So for “awhile” Buick will sell a sporty smaller midsize nicely equipped sedan for $27k and a whole bunch of larger midsize lux sedans for $33k.

Carstuff
Did you call the 180HP Buick Regal “sporty”?
Don’t Honda Accords come with more power?
If that’s Buick’s “sporty”
Buick has a lot of work to do

And a not-so-sporty midsize for $27k
Most LaCrosse sell for $27-30k

If the CXL with 182HP will be $27k
How much will the Turbo 2.0 cost?
Or the rumored GS cost?

The Regal should be an Accord alternative
Not fighting LaCrosse for $30k customers

I love it when a plan can’t come together!
DrFill

i was actually more excited about this car before i saw it live @ detroit last weekend. maybe it was the color but it didnt strike me as the cool european i had thought it would be in person. it struck me as being very well made (not that you could get very close). but that pricing was somewhat optimistic. and that rear end left me scratching my head. even the “concept” GS was tepid looking. im certain they will drive well and no doubt will appeal to red state yuppies who feel compelled to “fly the flag” and would sooner be caught dead at an obama fundraiser than drive a german car. but every time i hear the name “regal” i think back to my dad’s 1972 brand new buick lesabre custom that left us stranded on 1-95 in balitmore the weekend of a family trip to new england. exciting as an 8 year old. i just dont think a 2011 regal would give me the same joy as the 2010 a4 mt6 sline i just overpaid for when i hit the gas midcorner. just sayin

Out here in Westlake Village, CA, land of BMW’s and Audi’s, very few people as young as I am (and I’m 50!) are willing to drive Buicks. We may be the extreme. When I visit Indianapolis, they’re all over the place.

That said, I think that the body design of this new Regal is so beautiful, so outstanding, so rich with detail (look at that rear end–outstanding!), that it will begin to bring Buick back from the ashes in most other markets. The new LaCrosse looks great INSIDE, and although I like the front end design elements, it’s still a big wedge. In contrast, all the elements of the Regal really do come together in better proportion, so the design theme works better.

Design in fashion, grooming and automotive design during the late nineties to date have rubbed my fur backwards: military, jingoistic, hyper-macho, reactionary, in-your-face, covered with tattoos, pierced, full of gang symbols, trucks instead of cars. I GET macho. I GET in-your-face. But I’m sick of it; we’re going to look back on this someday like we look at the ’70’s, and say, “What were people THINKING?!

Now that I’m finished with that rant, here’s how it relates to the Buick Regal and to Buicks: they are smooth, quiet, and understated. That’s a significant part of why they haven’t fit with the culture in the past, say, 15-20 years.

I am confident (based on driving some of the recent GM products, which I really believe have been world class) that the new Regal is a great car. The question is, how will the market accept it? I predict that it will work a little like the Cadillac CTS: it will be the car that introduces, or reintroduces, more people to Buick–partially because it’s closer to entry-level. And yes, sadly, due to inflation, that’s at least $27K.

That reminds me of one other problem. The “status” luxury makes have crowded out “premium” makes (those that are a cut above Toyota and Chevrolet, but below Lexus and Cadillac) in the US market. We’ll have to see if buyers will be willing to take something posh but not bling.