It’s blah. I’d rather buy the Lincoln MKS.

Two questions

1. Why would this car target a TSX, which sells 2000 a month?
Shouldn’t you target a successful car, like your LaCrosse does with Lexus ES?

2. The TSX is now V6 only, so………did you target the last-generation, and they’ve left you flat-footed?

If GM has an marketing brains, they can use some of the successful methods used to sell the rather unspectacular Nissan Altima when it first came out, with a then large and powerful 2.4L 150HP 4

The sold it as some sort of luxury car for the chronically broke, and it worked
Stupid people with poor taste wanted something premium in 1994, and that was it
Maybe lightning can strike twice

Looks more like a Jetta competitor, but nicer-looking
DrFill

Well for gm’s & and our tax dollars sake, lets hope it does well.

i seen this two weeks ago while driving on 96 (East Lansing to Detroit). i actually looks nice in person.

DrFill, this competes with the TSX in terms of luxury and not engine size. This is also a sport oriented vehicle, such as the TSX. If you pay close attention, you will discover the LaCrosse will get bigger for the next generation, effectively taking place of the Lucerne, while still competing with the ES. With that saiid, this will slot below it as a true mid size sedan. You can juadge and say its for the broke because pricing hasn’t even been announced! I don’t know where you even came up with “Jetta competitor”, but you are terribly wrong.

Well, for the most part, it appears to be a nice, nimble, and good looking product. I like seeing Buick going a little sporty. It’s fresh and will help lower their age demographic.

-iluvamcars

I don’t get where this car is in the lineup…I mean, whats GM’s other cars supposed to compete with…I thought the LaCross or whatever is suppsoed to compete with the TSX and ES350??

And the TSX is not V6 only…its just for the extra cash of the V6 you might as well get a TL.

i seen this two weeks ago while driving on 96 (East Lansing to Detroit). it actually looks nice in person.

DrFill

if you think that the nissan altima is unspectacular, you need to look around becuz i see more of those than camrys, and what other car can this compete with? The TSX is the perfect competition for this car as far as luxury and power. Maybe the Volvo S40 as well.

What a nice car and I’d buy one in a heartbeat over an Acura TSX but there’s no manual trans. I hope however that we’ll get a sport package with a manual transmission like what happened to the 2010 TL.

Jetta is a “premium” small/mid-size
4-banger
180-200HP
$20-25k

Yeah, this is going after Jetta shoppers, whether they want to admit it or not

If the LaCrosse gets bigger, that’s a mistake
It’s already bigger than the ES, and MUCH heavier
So if you see them making another Catera, thanks for the head’s up!
I’ll pass

If this is a “sports-oriented” vehicle with 180HP and slushbox only, then you should get an ACR license for driving an Accord EX 5-speed
Auto trannies are for the limp-wristed
Literally
DrFill

So are those of you who still claim to be dyed-in-the-wool Buick enthusiasts ready to admit defeat yet?

It looks good! Hopefully the consumers pick up on it and it sells well. Hopefully the car is not that heavy for those 4-cylinder engines.

DrFill

The TSX is V6 or 4-cylinder.

http://www.acura.com/ModelLanding.aspx?model=TSX

Do your resarch

I think that this is on the ugly side a bit. The front looks good but the back looks a little ugly and disproportionate. I would take the TSX over this due to power and looks, but the Regal may drive very very well. But even then, the TSX is hard to beat. It will sell if priced below 29k, but they can’t do that because of the tariffs the government places on them.

P.S.

GM-
STOP PUTTING THE SAME STEERING WHEEL IN EVERY FÚCKING CAR. It makes your cars look stupid on the inside when you see the same steering wheel in a 50k Cadillac in a 20k Equinox.

yeesh

Is GM finally giving North Americans a European car instead of a Euro-inspired one? Never understood why they never just gave us the European car.

@aggie531
I have an 08 CTS and my steering wheel looks nothing like the one in the Equinox.
What Caddy are you talking about?

As expected GM has hit ANOTHER home run! No! Grand slam!!

This is going to wipe out any Lincoln or Lexus sales. The Japanese are scared sh!tless and are on their drawing boards as we speak to find a solution to this gem.

Buick. The Class of World Class.

aggie is on teh right track, well almost, but it does seem that GM maybe has 2 or 3 steering wheels in their parts bin….and often you do spot the Cobalt steering wheel in a handful of other models, etc….

back to this car. It is way too round and floaty-looking to even be considered “sporty”. even if it performs well with the 2.0T, it looks like a blob on wheels. The interior looks nice….until yo look up at the overhead bin, and then down at the center stack (specifically teh radio/hvac controls…the stack itself is fine). Man, when will GM finally invest in modern switchgear.

I like the new Buick LaCrosse & Buick Enclave. Because of those 2 models I was looking forward to more new models from Buick then, I saw this (2011 Buick Regal).

Never mind, this will be a failing flop for GM. Just another fail, of more taxpayers money. GM just needs to die !

GM. An American Embarrassment !

^^^ Not posted by me ^^^

Not a bad offering. It might not hit the bullseye, but it at least hits the target.

no jetta shopper will ever step foot in this piece of sh!t!!!

Just think about this. Someone is looking for a car ranging from the g37, tsx, volvo, and 3 series.
One guy says, “Hey! What did you end up getting?”
The other guy responds with, “Oh…umm…a Buick Regal!” he walks out the door as everyone is pointing and laughing. The target for this car is WAY off!!

No one will go from a bmw/g37(!) to a frikin buick…OF ANY KIND!!!!! well, unless they are sick in the mind like NMOFGM!!

I think there is potential in this car. It’s unfortunate about its place of making and incurred costs related to it.

It’s not bad looking – very typical GM

lutz for GM,
You are an ebarrasement

Some of you guys would hate this car no matter what it looked like.

And when it comes to comments like the one made by you – idrinorbarsaku. Do you have any balls at all? Or is your sole reason for buying a car based on whether or not ’some guys’ might laugh at you?

Hey everybody,Ford Sucks!

Ugly. Why would buy this old mans car? Fugly and built with cheap pbr cans. Buick a joke.
GM a world class dolt.

Outstanding looking auto. This is going to make the camry and accord look like an even bigger joke to the educated buyer. If this car starts at $23k. It will destroy the camry granny sales figures.

Then someone will have to explain that joke to you
With reading blocks

Camry and Accord have nothing to worry about
As per usual
DrFill

It’s not bad and I still hope it fails because any govt economic involvement should be encouraged to fail. Fück the govt.

Dr Fill, where did you get the brilliant insight that the TSX is now V6 only. Per crApura and anything else I see the base engine in 2010 is still the anemic 4 cylinder. That being said, the crApura 4 cylinder is less anemic than the POS going into this Goverment Motors Environment Termination Device from Buick, but I never expect anything from the govt other than a pathetically weak offering. And those who rely on and encourage govt expansion are even more pathetic.

GM, An American Bailout Nation Shìthole.

My gracious, if I just read the above comments I would think this vehicle is come kind of toad.

Yet it won European car of the year. It must be awful!

Here are the cars it won against, and if you disagree please read the review since I doubt you have been in the Insignia:
* BMW Z4
* Chevrolet Cruze
* Citroen C3 Picasso
* Ford Ka
* Honda Insight
* Hyundai i20
* Hyundai ix55
* Kia Sorento
* Kia Soul
* Land Rover Discovery IV
* Lexus RX 450h
* Mazda3
* Mercedes E-Class
* Mitsubishi Colt
* Nissan 370Z
* Nissan Cube
* Opel/Vauxhall Astra
* Peugeot 3008
* Porsche Panamera
* Renault Scenic
* Seat Exeo
* Skoda Yeti
* Subaru Legacy
* Suzuki Alto/Nissan Pixo
* Toyota Avensis
* Toyota iQ
* Toyota Prius
* Toyota Urban Cruiser
* Toyota Verso
* Volkswagen Polo

http://www.caroftheyear.org/winner/Opel/Vauxhall/Insignia/2009_23/coty

Still praying the OPC version comes over here!!

“I have an 08 CTS and my steering wheel looks nothing like the one in the Equinox.
What Caddy are you talking about?”–0-60

The SRX

Hey idrinorbarsaku, I would. I would take this car over all of the ones you mentioned just on styling alone. Plus I know and realize that GM is now producing high quality competitve products. How, by chance, do you know its a “piece of sh!t”? Just because its a Buick? I find it funny how this car is condemned simply because of the name on the trunk lid. Im not even a “dyed-in-the-wool Buick enthusiast” however they are now producing some fantastic cars. Now if GM can just get passed morons like those posting on here that wont consider GM.

Forget the “icon” Buick, and rid yourself of that grill! This car was gorgeous as an Opel. Should be a good car overall though.

high quality? Really? Where is the proof? Because reliability isn’t there! You are only deceived by looks and affordability! Of the 51 cars coming out of ford, 46 are average or above average in terms of reliability. In contrast, GM has 20 out of 48 cars come in at only average, while only one came in at above average. And chrysler, which we all already know to suck in reliability, had more than 1/3 of their cars come in at much worse than reliable, with only one car coming in at average.

So, am I wrong to think what I think, FNCK NO!!

GM killed a nice interior by using it on all their cars ranging from caddy to chevy.

By all means, go out and buy their sh!t, someone has to!

Gosh, Smegley do you feel the same way about government involvement in say, the local fire department? Let’s have Free Market Fire Protection while we are at it, maybe the Fire Insurance companies could run the fire stations. You can hear the call now, “I’m sorry, but you’ve been dropped from our Fire Protection Plan”. … “But my house is on fire”, … “Sorry …”

Thanks to our government, the whole economy didn’t go out of business. Wall Street was ready to just say “sorry”, while their million dollar bonuses were invested in Swiss Gold.

So why not root for GM or Ford or Chryleriat? Root for your fellow Americans, eh, whether they are making Buicks in Detroit or Odysseys in Ohio.

Re the Buick …

Except for the flashy chrome thingy on the trunk lid, it’s a well integrated design.

There are 75 million “old men and women” coming Buick’s way in the retiring baby boom and perhaps they don’t want to but a tiny 3 series from BMW because it’s smaller than a Toyota Corolla and a pain in the ass to maintain,

No matter how good the engineering or how good the styling is, Buick won’t get rid of the “old man car” stigma. No one under 50 is even going to look at these cars. GM should have dumped Buick and kept Pontiac. The line up was already good and getting better while the Buick’s was lame and now they have to get all these new cars out to try and stay afloat. I don’t get it.

twobolt, if given the choice I would choose personal fire insurance. I would always choose no govt to more. But as a rule I go with the 80% thing. If about 80% or more of the people say a community fire dept is needed, even if I disagree I would suffer it. Note this is always at a local level – not national. At a national level a small and apparently irrelevant document called the Constitution is supposed to limit the DC intrusion into our lives, but since all the jackässes in DC use the constitution to wipe their butts anymore we all need to suffer their BS. You go ahead and drink the kool-aid that the govt saved you. The govt is prolonging the pain if anything, but since you need a udder to suck aunt Nancy’s will feed you.

aggie531 -

Cadillac’s vehicles have their own unique, three-spoke steering wheel which isn’t used on ANY OTHER General Motors car. The only exception is the Escalade which shares its steering wheel with the Lambda-platform vehicles and the T900-platform vehicles.

The steering wheel featured in the Regal is shared with the Equinox, Terrain, and Lacrosse.

Then you have the new Chevrolet three-spoke wheel, which is featured on the Cruze, upcoming Orlando, and Volt.

Must I go on?

hi smeg

Does look nice; especially in the inside.

They need to really turn on the marketing to attract younger folks. Price it right.

Only thing is…if the Malibu V6 is the same price as this, you’re going to get cannibalization.

Hey LWA.

idrinorbarsaku –

I’m a Jetta shopper. I owned a MkV GTI for 2 years. I own a Volvo now. I would step foot in this car and buy it.

I proved you wrong.

scott, Buicks average age is dropping with products like the Enclave and LaCrosse and will drop further with lower cost products like the Regal.

Buicks average age is 57 while Honda is 51 and Lexus is 56(CNW Marketing). Average age of all buyers is 46. Buicks average age 5 years ago was 62, so it is dropping.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601085&sid=aiKv4qe9Ra6w

Why not the 260 Hp 2.0T DI motor out of the Solstice GXP?

idrinorbarsaku – I do not know where you are coming from with the reliability is not there. Last time I read JD Power’s report, Buick is in the top spot for initial quality and tied for the top spot with Jaguar for quality after 3 years. This car could be the highest quality of any vehicle in the world and you would probably still call it a piece of crap.

As for those who are bitching about GM and Chrysler getting bailed out. Look at Toyota and other imports. A lot of them were bailed out by their governments as well. So does that mean you will never buy those vehicles because there is government involvement with them, or will you buy them because it was not your government that bailed them out.

scottns – I am 34 and I am seriously going to look at the Buick Regal when they come out.

Nice looking vehicle, and nice addition to the now spectacular Buick lineup.

Dr. Fill….”Camry and Accord have nothing to worry about. As per usual.”
…I remember when Chevy and Ford used to have that attitude.

I like this car but parts of it seem off, somehow, from a business standpoint.

For one thing this seems squashed too much between the Malibu (which sits in the same price range but with a V-6) and the larger Lacrosse.

It also better offer a V-6 eventually, sooner rather than later.

Aside from those things it seems well aimed at the Acura TSX. I wouldn’t say this is a competitor to the G37, 3-Series, or any of those other actual sport sedans. The new Volvo S60 should be strong competition as well, and the A4 too, despite costing a lot more.

Love the interior. As a Honda owner for the past 20 years, I will def be looking at this when I make my next car purchase.

I actually drove the Opel Insignia in Germany during the Frankfurt Car Show in September ( city and Autobahn):
absolutely fantastic car; great handling, beautiful interior;
if the Regal is anything like it, I’ll buy it

sweet buick… im actually impressed….

Dr Phill: The TSX actually is not V6 only… it is a new option… the K24z3 205hp 2.4 I4 is stll the base motor

ajm11,
Initial quality and RELIABILITY is NOT the same!!

Initial quality is short term. Reliability measures the cars reliableness throughout the cars lifetime!

Do a quick search of the *MOST CURRENT* reliability tests and you will find out. If it weren’t for buick, GM wouldn’t have any “reliable” cars besides the newest malibu!

“This car could be the highest quality of any vehicle in the world and you would probably still call it a piece of crap.”
—-To bad IT’S NOT! I praise the cars that ACTUALLY are proven by average people to be dependable and have great reliability…not just by words written in a review/test saying it’s good but doesn’t show up in real life!

and publications say the K24 I-4 version handles considerably better than the new optional V6 version, with less weight over the front axle, for a more balanced F/R weight distribution (less front-heavy)

I like the last gen TSX better anyway… i would buy an 06 or 07 if i were in the market for one…
better looking and handling than the new car, and the older K24a2 is a better motor anyway

JakeK66,
Not really! All you have is a volvo, which is most likely FWD! Someone who is looking at a performance sedan(rwd) won’t be looking at this…unless they were wishfully thinking that the sales people at bmw/infiniti/audi would give them an unbeatable deal on a car they couldn’t afford!

A fwd regal…which can be had with awd in europe in the insignia…DOES NOT compete with, as stated on here, “natural rivals will also certainly include the Infiniti G37, Saab 9-3, BMW 328i and Audi A4.” WTF are they smoking???????????????? Maybe a mazda/camry/lexus ES/ fusion/9-3…etc, but g37/bmw/audi? Time to lower their standards a bit!

Guys, the Opel Insignia is supposed to be a Passat rival, at this side of the pond, it is bigger than the Passat, by the way, similar in size to a Ford Mondeo. Opel has an Astra sedan, which is pitted against the Jetta, though many euro markets don’t get it, since us euros are not very fond of compact sedans, we like hatchbacks better.

Smegleywaxoffalot–
Your a complete tool. Government involvement is with every auto maker. Japan has been subsidizing for as long as toyota has been importing to North America. Just because a am radio station tells you something, it does not mean it is true. You sound like drug addict Rush, in his hope that America fails. Which just makes you sound like a bitter piece of anti-american crap.

A very nice looking car at least in photos, I’d like to see one in person. From what I understand the car will be imported for only one year the will be manufactured in North America.

I see we have Need More Oil imitators here. Get original already.

Nice looking car. Now bring back the GNX.

NRG, good luck with that. It doesn’t fit the Chinese demographic and it’s becoming painfully obvious with each successive introduction that GM could give a sh*t about anyone who remembers the truly great Buicks of the past.

Wow…ummm who even put the notion this would steal jetta Shoppers? Opel has a Jetta competitor its called the Astra Sedan. This if aimed at ANY VW would be Passat. Anywho. back to the buick…Its only real Saving Grace is the fact its pretty much an Insigna Clone. The motor going in here is boring and Tho it will be pit against the likes of the TSX and S40 where it fails is not offering a Manual. Its being pit against sport/ sporty Sedans. The TSX (tho not the favorite in the looking department) Is known for its drivability. The motor is good at what it was made to do and the car is tossable. I agree with Idrin 3 series and G37 Shoppers are NOT cross shopping this car. I liken Buick to Audi in some ways. Audi buyers Were bred to buy Audi’s . They are loyalist to the brand, The walk onto an audi lot wanting an audi usually, they werent shopping against BMW or infiniti or Benz (until you start lookin at audi’s performance offerings) And the same goes for Buick. Buick is pickin up The patriots that want a nice car, but didnt wanna pony up for the Cadi.

Americanrealist, you understand correctly – the Regal will move production to North America (I believe the Oshawa plant) for MY2012. That’s the same time that the Regal will add a CX trim and possibly a GS (not GNX) trim, either with the 3.6DI or the 2.8DI Turbo (not sure which).

idrinorbarsaku –

But the A4 and Saab 9-3 are both FWD…. Heck, the 9-3 is just on a smaller last generation platform that is in the Regal!!!! So is the TSX!

I’ll put money that these sell in higher numbers than the current 9-3 and Volvo combined times ten. Make that times 25.

^TSX being FWD, not on the same platform.

according to alsvw being pro freedom is now anti-american. Alsvw is an idiot.

l.sanchez – where this fits in the lineup is where the Pontiac G6 once sat. I find it interesting that part of the GM bankruptcy and reorganization hinged on eliminating the “superfluous” Pontiac and Saturn divisions.. but GM is rapidly adding new Buick and GMC products that directly replace the “unnecessary” Pontiac models in the showroom! They’ve already announced an Astra-based Excelle sedan to replace the G5, this Insignia-based Regal to replace the G6, and apparently a boxy subcompact GMC hatchback to replace the Vibe. So I guess the Pontiacs weren’t so superfluous after all!

JakeK66,
I find it funny how you try to find the smallest hole to make your argument correct. Everyone already knows the tsx is FWD. I would never take a gm over an acura…especially a buick of all things. This insignia comes standard at the dealer with fwd. The audi comes standard with awd, and HAS to be ordered special for awd…at least where I live…might be different for places down south. People would buy this because it’s cheap. People buy the a4 because it’s an audi and has one of the best awd systems on earth!

I don’t know why you were even mentioning the tsx…I wasn’t even arguing anything about it.

This is a nice looking car! The Insigna has kicked the competitions but in Europe, and it will do the same here in the US if GM can eliminate the foreign currency exchange risk. Considering the TSX nose looks like a Cuisinart the Buick should clean its clock.

I mean if our tax payer money goes into this, we better hope it sells whether we like goverment motors or not.

I like it! It’s like the Oldsmobile Aurora has come back from the dead.

idrinorbarsaku –

The A4 comes standard with AWD? I guess they just put the FWD model with the CVT on Audi’s website as a joke then….

No one is arguing that you’d buy a Audi over a Buick given the money was the same – but somepeople want a smallerish midsize sedan in the low to mid 20’s and get similiar performace and interior quality of the higher end models.

Until you have sat in or driven this car or the LaCrosse, you don’t even have a clue what kind of cars these are and how well the interiors are done. That’s from a huy who’s past 6 cars included an ‘03 Protege5, ‘04 Accord, ‘04 Pathfinder, ‘06 Legacy, ‘07 GTI and now an ‘07 S80. If that isn’t a track record of non-domestic GM customer they are targeting, I don’t know what is!!!!

Sorry idrinorbarsaku,

I get what you trying to say. but an AWD Audi A4 pricing is high 30’s to low 40’s – even used I looked at they were all $25-27 for ’07’s. Sure they might say they are competing with that car, but they are undercutting them at least $10,000 and probably closer to $15,000 and you aren’t taking that into account.

I agree johnny. That was one fast car. They’re selling for over $100K now. The only thing I didn’t like about them was the interior. I had an ‘81 Cutlass with the same interior and never really liked it, the ineterior that is. Buick kind of lost their way I think.

Last time I checked, a loaded insignia was over $34K, a comparable a4 is at $34k(what a shocker!), so that price is not that different considering what you are getting. And, if you want to talk about a version that is in the 20’s, then there is no reason to even compare them. I completely agree that the ones I was talking about can be are more expensive, which I even mentioned, but I’m not the one who put these cars in the same competition in the first place. If this car competes with those, then it makes sense for a lacrosse to compete with an a6/5 series/E-class, but it doesn’t. Regardless of all their specs and prices, which I have thought about clearly, it still makes NO sense for them to go after. Interior quality is not the same. It will look nice, but the quality is DEFINITELY not the same. Which is apparently what almost all the reviews state as I read them. They use the term, “Hollow sounding,” plastic to define the interior…sounds familiar!

I have driven the lacrosse( new one), I hate the interior, especially the door armrests, cheap ignition key cover, cheap headliner, stupid motorcycle styled dash tachs, cheap door quality(closing/opening)….want me to keep on going? I have never been in the insignia, but from looking at the pictures, the interior is pretty much the same as new gm vehicles. I Haven’t seen one person who thought otherwise after telling them what I thought about it. The only thing we all liked was the exterior styling…although not every inch of it.

idronorbarsaku, you have to expect flaws in the LaCrosse’ exterior. Do you think there is an interior out there that has 100% reliability? I test drove the LaCrosse last week. I agree with the motorcycle styled dash techs, but who really cares about the key ignition cover? I found the quality of the door just fine.

-iluvamcars

The interior of this car is gorgeous.

I can see why it won Car of the Year!

iluvamcars,
from the driver’s seat, you almost can’t tell, but wait till you get into the passengers seat!

HEY EVERYONE! GO LOOK AT THE INTERIOR AND LOWER FRONT FASCIA OF THE INSIGNIA AND YOU WILL REALIZE THAT THE REGAL IS AN EXACT COPY EXCLUDING ENGINES. REMEMBER JACKASSES THAT THE INSIGNIA WON CAR OF THE YEAR OVER BMW AND MERCEDES AND KIA!

-iluvamcars

Well then idrin,

Look past the BS GM puts out about who it looks to compete against and jjust look at the competition in it’s price class. You don’t think an Accord has “hollow sounding interior plastic”? Guess what, there’s a ‘09 Accord Sedan that parks next to me in the garage that’s got plenty of cheap interior plastic that stickers for about $30k – more than you can buy a new LaCrosse for.

If you compare this to an Altima/Accord/Mazda6 and a Fusion, I think you’ll find that the interior is as nice if not better in every way and it will ride/handle and have the power to beat any of it’s competition’s 4-cyl.

so… where’s the video?

JakeK, i agree, the LaCrosse has an amazing interior for its class, the silicon faux leather wrapped dash with french stitch looks great, instrument panel is very clear and looks good, seats feel good… its a win in my books. if an AWD Regal is released im going to push my old man to buy one

POSTED BY:idrinorbarsaku

##

I have driven the lacrosse( new one), I hate the interior, especially the door armrests, cheap ignition key cover, cheap headliner, stupid motorcycle styled dash tachs, cheap door quality(closing/opening)….want me to keep on going? I have never been in the insignia, but from looking at the pictures, the interior is pretty much the same as new gm vehicles. I Haven’t seen one person who thought otherwise after telling them what I thought about it. The only thing we all liked was the exterior styling…although not every inch of it.
_________________________________________________

Idrinor, y’all need to chillax – get a grip…. It’s a car, what did the Insignia or Lacrosse do to you? Why so personal? Most of what you post reads like a personal vendetta against GM. You have stated before that you are in your early twenties yet you read like someone who has personally experienced every possible slight that GM could possibly have inflicted since its inception in 1908. You weren’t even around in the 80’s and only a kid in the 90’s when product from all of the D3 was truly bad. Some of us were there – we know firsthand;-)

You Hate this… you Hate that… Geez, from all the cars you say you have driven you should/could give Csaba Csere pointers. Hey, just sayin’…;-)

DB9;-)

PS. Great car, looks good, about time; The 2.0L Turbo could give my CC a run, more torque and HP and about the same weight. Hmmm… next summer, biz lease is up on CC in the fall… new daily driver?

PS. To PS. I’m with Andy… where’s the vid?/!

You’re right A.J. I assumed they were the same because I saw the Terrain interior (which is generally the same as the Equinox/SRX) and then when I posted I confused myself

aggie, the SRX’s interior is not like the Equinox’s interior.

-iluvamcars

buick…for the old fart in you.

literally.

I guess I hafta do it again. The link is for 3year RELIABILITY which shows Buick at #1 over everybody.

http://www.jdpower.com/corporate/news/releases/pressrelease.aspx?ID=2009043

BUT again, the difference in scores is almost meaningless today. The best is Buick at 1.2 problems with the average at 1.7. That is only 1/2 problem between the best and average. Sure the average is 50% worse than the best but 50% of nothing is still nothing.

And that is the problem with Consumers Reports ( I knew you would bring that up). It works with above average and average and below average type ratings. So what is wrong with that? Well lets look at women ( and I do). Lets compare all good looking actresses. Now Scarlett Johansson may rate higher than the average of all good looking actresses but I sure would appreciate all of the good looking actresses, even those below average because there is not a bad one in the bunch!

Architect
The views expressed do not represent any company or corporation, and are solely those of the issuer
listed
DrFill

How come Buick articles routinely get close to 100 comments here? Lots of interest on both sides.

I have read several comparison tests in European Car magazines where the Insignia is evaluated against other European Cars such as the Audi A4, BMW 3 Series and Passat. Save for the diesel engines which aren’t quite as good as those from Audi, BMS and VW (and won’t be offered here anyway), with gasoline engines the Insignia matches them in performance, ergonomics, interior quality, and style. With respect to the size, it’s larger than those cars. In fact, I thought I’d check how it compares in size to the last Buick Regal. The Insignia is more than 2 inches taller, 1/2 inch wider and 6 inches shorter (due to less overhang). I plan on purchasing the new Regal with the 2.4 DI engine which unlike the other German cars, runs on Regular Fuel despite having very high compression.

come on HS, it will be completely worth the extra coin to bump up to the 2.0T… do the right thing lol

DB9,
What can I say, I was brought up with cars, and got to steer my uncles s500 when I was only 4! There is a reason why I got a degree in automotive industrial design…although I am pursuing a second degree right now that has absolutely nothing to do with cars. Age means nothing! I might be in my 20’s, but I have driven vehicles from as far as a 1965 sting ray, with lot’s of stuff in between, and almost every new car there is to buy in the US market…with the exception of the panamera, lamborghini LP series, and F430 and higher.

carstuff,
Come on man, a 3 year reliability? Even the old generation of KIA(you know, the ones that REALLY sucked) were great up until the 5 year mark!

I guess I don’t really know why I’m arguing. There are old farts out there who will always be impressed by them. Maybe they forget what a good car really is due to alzheimers!?

GM painted a great portrait of crap from my point of view, from the cars we have had. It surely won’t get better over quickly from my point of view, and seeing Ford do well right now sure doesn’t help things!

I hope you know what I mean…

iluvamcars-

Yes it is. At least in my opinion, but not anything like the last gen Suburban/Yukon clones. Ugh.

And this video is where exactly?

This is another lukewarm GM product, but one of their better luke-warm ones. The styling isn’t unique enough to cause a stir, the interior isn’t elegant enough to really tantalize me, but all at the same time it’s still good.
Buick needs a good selling image builder, and this just isn’t it. People are willing to pay a few thousand more for a better quality product, and are willing to put up with questionable reliability issues.

I recently sat in a Lacrosse- didn’t drive it, note you. Nice interior, looks good and flows alright, but it still isn’t at the top of it’s class. Not sure if I would take an ES over it, but I would take some other sedans over it.

Idrinorbarsaku- Where are you going/ where were you going for automotive industrial design? How much did the degree end up costing you per year?
Odd questions, but I know someone whos very interested in the field.

not bad for a buick…..going to a GM event tonight in LA to see it up close…..amazing though what it took for American car companies to start producing really good cars…near extinction…..GM is doing a good job of scaling down and focusing on qaulity (for their survival) but interestingly enough Ford, who was doing much better during the auto biz crisis did not have as much pressure and maybe they will suffer a bit…GM did ok with this Regal, great with the Camaro and great with new Cadillacs…..outside of the Mustang Ford has some reliably performing cars but not very forward design…… and the new Lincolns are not interesting at all from a design perspective….

so far ….kudos to GM if producing an American Altima saves the US car industry….I am sure the Regal will be fine under the hood based on what i have read but I am betting that the interior of the Regal, which i will see tonite, will still reek of the old buicks clunky plastic…..but I will see soon enough

I have to be honest. I like the way it looks. Its the same exact, exact, EXACT copy of the Opel Insignia. Which I think it’s a very good looking car. Like only the grille and badges are different. I actually think GM is making a smart decision by making Buick the American Opel variant. Despite my horrible experience with my two Buicks, Buick has too much history to allow it to die.

Ok now here’s my rant. Why the hell is it built in Germany? Ok. I understand that its an Opel as well. But now it has to be in limited numbers? So move production to the states! Share the factory with the Lacrosse or something.

NVM. I just read an article on Wikipedia that said production will be moved to Oshawa Canada in 2011.

100 posts on a 4 cylinder Buick. We are a twisted lot aren’t we?

Is it just me or does idrinorbarsaku sound like he is full of sh!t. He has driven so many vehicles and says he is basically an expert. Most of the people I grew up with and in my family are in the auto industry. I know GM made the poor quality cars back in the 80’s and 90’s. Hell I learned to drive on an 89 Pontiac Tempest. Now that was a piece of crap. All of my relatives that are in the industry still acknowledge that GM does make quality cars now. Before anyone claims that I or one of my family members works for GM guess again. I have relatives that work for Ford and Subaru. And relatives that worked for Mazda and Chrysler.

Okay, I posted before reading the LLN article above. Regardless why just copy the Opel Insignia and make it a Buick. My question is how is this different from the LaCrosse? I thought that was for the younger buyer? It seems to me that the LaCrosse and Regal are competition for each other. I would think the Regal would have been bigger and more upmarket! Any thoughts?

We sure are Johnny

What a joke of a car. Is this the best that Garbage Motors can put out. lol pos No wonder they went bankrupt.
The American people deserve their money back.
Buy an import, an American right.

Idrinor, I’m not being critical of your passion for cars or your dislike of certain brands, as they say “whatever floats your boat.” It’s just that over the past few months you’re critique has become borderline shrill; wait a day or two then reread some of your past posts. Good luck on your second degree, a word of advice, from experience – know when to stop; I’ll leave it at that;-)

DB9;-)

PS. I see the Vid has arrived. Hmmm… I like Opel’s take better, see for yourselves:

http://www.opel-europe.com/insignia/

i’m waaay under 50 ! i would buy it Great job GM!! keep up the good work

jayjc08,
I started at The art institute of pittsburgh, then transfered over to CIA(Cleveland Institute of Art) after building up my portfolio. Pitt. was almost 18k a year with some scholarship. CIA was 26k with just tuition. We didn’t qualify for financial aid for either one. I’m good with drawing/design/editing, and when I mix that with a computer, it turns out nice. But, as I realized, it was something that I just enjoyed doing because I like drawing cars…I didn’t want to be a designer. Drawing on a computer with an electronic pen got boring. Both of them had excellent job placement opportunities and CIA had more than 94% of their students get hired within their field within 6 months after graduating. Pitt was at 83% last time I checked. Pitt was a disorganized mess, but I didn’t really care. CIA was just amazing. CIA is one one of the BEST art school in the US.. Getting in on your first try is next to impossible! That’s what happened to me. I tried to base my enrollment on some designs I had drawn up by hand and converted to computer(I didn’t know any better). While my dad was stunned, it was nothing for them! I went to Pitt to gain some experience, then got accepted to CIA on the first try of my second time. The CIA campus is awesome, as well as the teacher. I can’t say enough good things about them
When you graduate there, companies from all over the world will know of your skills. One of my friends was majoring in architectural engineering. Some guys came from Dubai to do an interview. He got hired the same day, and now has all his living expenses paid while he works on something there.

ajm11,
What exactly is so hard to believe about loving cars and loving to drive them for fun? Seems like you’re a bit jealous! We are on this forum because we are automotive enthusiasts! I doubt I’m the only one. And I bet I have probable driven more cars than you have in your entire life! Is that that important? No! But it sure does help to notices differences amongst car manufacturers instantly(When you drive a whole lineup from one manufacturer, you get feel how similar each of those cars are when compared to another manufacturer(or how they build cars as apposed to another company)). I never said I’m an expert, but you imply that you think I am, so, THANKS!

DB9,
Yeah, pretty much. But, if you have noticed some of my posts, you would have read into the problem(s) we have right now. Sometimes, enough is enough! This isn’t something that is a couple thousand bucks, it is as much as a down payment on a new house! When it’s that much money, we expect it to be nice, and the company to back their product…which just ain’t so.
The first degree was a mistake…to be honest…although I did enjoy it throughout the whole time. But my dad has some connections at CCF and I am extremely happy with the way things are turning out. Things always happen for a reason!

I’m going to sleep! Wake me up when both GM and Ford’s quality and reliability kick toyota and honda in the ass. Otherwise, don’t bother me!

this looks pretty nice to me and I’m waaay under 50 as well. I’m glad GM is using the turbo 4s a little more, but there is no way (as has been previously stated) that this thing will compete with bmw/audi/infiniti – those are performance oriented brands, and this simply isn’t going to be even slightly performance oriented. Because Buick is stereotyped as grandpa and grandma comfortmobiles and Buick has have a lot of work ahead if they are trying to break that stereotype.

I think Buick does have a bit of a quandary on how to market these two vehicles. BUT they have done it before very successfully with the Century/Regal. They used to sell 350,000 per year when they first came out (350,000 combined). Unfortunately they held on to them for almost 9 model years during the bad days and one reason they went into bankruptcy.

The vehicles were almost identical except for front/rear fascias, powertrains and the Century was 6 passenger only. But the buyers were very different overall.

In this case we will see the larger LaCrosse be the higher priced, more sedate, competitor of the entry lux ES and fit the needs of an older crowd (average age 50) while the smaller lower priced Regal will use its European roots to go after a younger more sporty crowd (average age 40).

But the average age is not the important part, it is the psycographics of the buyers that will choose which one they prefer and I see a quite different mindset between them.

idrinorbarsaku – To be entirely honest, I do not think of you as an expert on cars. Far from it. I find you conceited and blinded by ignorance. You are so blinded by hatred over domestics you can not see that their quaility is already on par with the imported car companies. I have no major brand loyalties. I am generally one of the people dealers hate as I know what I want, and I have no loyalty to a particular make or dealer. This of course means if they do not have the right deal for me I will go elsewhere, and I have enough knowledge about the vehicles I can tell when they are blowing smoke up my @$$. This being said, I do not hold my tounge in my pocket, if I see a car is well designed and built I will say so. Same with the reverse. I do not get blinded by the name plate on the trunk which you seem to be affected by. As for your driven so many cars, I am sure most of us have driven lots. It is not a competition to see who has driven the most, but I am in the mid 3 digits in the number I have driven thanks to my relatives in the auto industry. Helps when you have a different car every week when you are in your teenage years – mid 20’s.

ajm11,
“blinded by ignorance” That’s just simply wrong. I am the result of a buyer(family) who bought GM products when they said “this one is definitely an improvement over the old vehicles.” What hurt is a lot is that about 6 months ago, we had 2 gm vehicles. One was a brand new 2007 aura xr, and the other a 2005 buick lasabre. The buick had problems with the airbag, dash moving up and down, wheel bearings going out at at only 40k miles, brake problems, abs problems, airbag light comes on randomly, and something with the airbag suspension in the rear that would jack the car up. We took a slight hit and traded this car in for a 2009 ford focus. It’s been great so far….knock on wood. The aura has had, surprisingly since they are supposed to be completely different cars, had the brakes replaced under warranty, the steering column has been replaced twice(and is going back tomorrow because the problem is back), there is a nocking when you turn(which they said was caused by a faulty tie-rod, but the replaced it and it is still there), the airbag light comes on randomly(has been to the dealer 3 times now and is going there tomorrow to get the sensor replaced). Related with the airbags, when we brought it in for the first time, the service manager said, “Don’t worry about about the airbags, you will be safe as long as you wear your seatbelt. I think there is some kind of scam going on at my dealer because I read and talked online to other ‘07 aura xr owners who have the same problem with the steering wheel, and they say it’s the hose’s fault due to it being excessively long. I told the dealer about what I thought, and they said, “we have experience in this stuff, it’s not that!” I just replied, “alright smart ass!” I think they are doing it to steal money! Anyways, we now have an attorney representing us with the ohio lemon law.

Note to you, we have owned many cars, the majority of them have been gm(chevy) vehicles, my 2 favorite cars that we have owned, out of everything, were the 2000 express starcraft conversion van, and a 2003 suburban LT. So, “blinded by ignorance?” No, simply a result of poor results from our experience…which by the way, we had bad things happen to both the express and suburban(that was scary as FNCK! You would have known this already however, I’ve already mentioned all the stuff up above before on here!

idrinorbarsaku – in that case I stand corrected, apparently you have had a few issues with GM. Hopefully you get somewhere with the Lemon Law. My only is question is, did you take your vehicle GM Dealers to get them to look at the vehicles while you were having troubles? Not every shop is good. I had one dealer tell me my Acura Integra was making a clanging noise because of a suspected ball joint on the front and they were going to try and charge me $1000 to fix it. That is until I pulled on the sway bar to show the broken pin on it and the clanging going around the corners was the sway bar hitting. That is the first thing I will always do if I have issues with a vehicle is take it two or three places before getting any work done on it as I do not trust any dealer service area. I have been bit too many times. Specially by Honda, Acura, Hyundai/Subaru dealers. The GM dealers that I deal with have never steered me wrong yet. Hopefully you will have better luck with your focus.

We tried the other, saturn of middleburgh height dealer, but they didn’t want to do a repair to something that had been started by another dealer. It also doesn’t help that they are almost 15 miles away, where as my dealer is just 2 miles away. There is only one reputable dealer that we have had nothing but GREAT experience with, Tim Lally Chevrolet(where we bought our express(2) van from. They are the best in the business, imo. My dad’s friends took over an old fairchild chevy dealer and made it into a new buick dealer…I’ll just say that I wouldn’t buy a car there knowing how it is run…

Hmmm, quite the predicament. I probably would bring the Saturn into Tim Lally even though it is not a Saturn dealer Chevy dealers will do warranty on any GM product. I asked that of a few dealers when we were contemplating buying a Saturn Vue. You might have better luck with them. I generally bring all my vehicles now to Northgate Pontiac Buick in Edmonton to get work done just because they have never d1cked me around. They have always had the work done (oil changes mostly, and a command start install) on time and let me know what was going ie. when it was done. They even took care of some repair work done on my Impala I had one a deer into the front fender.

I have found most of the time when dealing with GM dealers I have had better experiences with Buick Dealers than Chevrolet. I have dealt with two chevy dealers and found one to be ok, and the other to be an absolute pain to deal with. The one that was a pain is also the only dealer I know of in Edmonton to be closing. Hopefully, you get some good results with either the Chevy dealer or the lemon law with the Aura.

>Okay, I posted before reading the LLN article above. Regardless why just copy the Opel Insignia and make it a Buick. My question is how is this different from the LaCrosse? I thought that was for the younger buyer? It seems to me that the LaCrosse and Regal are competition for each other. I would think the Regal would have been bigger and more upmarket! Any thoughts?

The Regal is about 9 inches shorter than the LaCrosse and will cost less. It will also handle better and be more sporty.

Steve333 – The Regal and the LaCrosse are both trying to lure younger buyers to the showroom. Hell you cant much old normally in a Buick showroom. The LaCrosse is more so going after cars like the Lexus ES Series and possibly the Acura TL. This one I am going to guess would be more so after the Acura TSX and maybe the Lexus IS series.

Why in the hell would they bring a legendary name to such ruins? I love the Regal name but this doesn’t have the old charm it once had. Damn you GM

History repeats itself: Buick is importing Opels again!

posted by:Dangerous1

History repeats itself: Buick is importing Opels again!
________________________________________

lol:-)) No, you have it backwards, before, 1950’s-70’s, it was “Opel by Buick.” Today it’s “Buick by Opel,” there’s a difference.;-)

DB9;-)

PS. Soon, If GM uses Buick’s/Opel’s platforms for Cadillac it’s going to be: Cadillac by Buick By Opel” get it? lol;-))

>ajm11
Steve333 – The Regal and the LaCrosse are both trying to lure younger buyers to the showroom. Hell you cant much old normally in a Buick showroom. The LaCrosse is more so going after cars like the Lexus ES Series and possibly the Acura TL. This one I am going to guess would be more so after the Acura TSX and maybe the Lexus IS series.

Exactly

Steve333 -

The strategy is similar to Buick’s old tiered strategy. You’ve got the larger, more expensive, more comfortable sedan up top, and the cheaper, decontented, better-performing vehicle on the bottom.

It’s like Acura’s strategy with the TSX and TL.

The new Regal is the right vehicle at the right time for Buick – just after Acura has revised its TL and TSX. Now it’s GM’s move. I think the Regal has the guts to take on the TSX.

Gross

V.A.G

^^ Don’t be biased. V.A.G. at the end of your comment really doesn’t make people take you seriously.

another excellent design from GM. The Asians keep shoving ****ty Camrys and Accords at us GM goes to the trouble to make another beautiful vehicle. It’s too bad most Americans are too stupid to buy ine.

Another Buick article that is over 100 comments wow

This car is beautiful.

Since Opel is going to be ’saved’ with ‘American tax-payer money’, why not bring in Opel cars for the American people?
Besides as mentioned by Mr.Lyon (oh so many times)…. this car is beautiful

Nice car, not to sure how good it will sell though.