First Drive: 2011 Buick Regal

[vh_supra26]

First Drive: 2011 Buick Regal
International Rescue: With Help from Europe, the Enthusiasts' Buick
February, 2010 / By Angus MacKenzie / Photography by Wesley Allison

Click to view GalleryIt's been a long, long time since a Buick was featured on the cover of Motor Trend. Nearly 28 years, to be precise. The Century T-Type that graced our August 1982 cover was, we reported, designed for "young, affluent, trend-setting import buyers" -- the sorts of people who might otherwise drive an Audi 5000, Toyota Cressida, or Nissan Maxima. Uh-huh... Little did we know that, by the time the Century nameplate bit the dust in 2005, Buick would be a hapless relic of a Detroit mindset that believed American automakers could get away with foisting outclassed machinery on American consumers too patriotic -- or dimwitted -- to buy an import brand.

That's why the 2011 Regal is one of the most important Buicks ever launched. The Regal checks those pension cards marked Park Avenue and Roadmaster at the door, banishes those unfulfilled promises labeled Century and Reatta and Lucerne to the basement. The Regal is much more than just the first Buick with a manual transmission since the 1989 Skylark, more than the first Buick with a turbocharger since the head-banging 1987 GNX. This is the first Buick in history with internationally chic sheetmetal and sophisticated road manners to match. This is the first Buick in history that is truly likely to appeal to young, affluent, trend-setting import buyers.

"The closest thing to the Regal is the Acura TSX," says chief engineer Jim Federico. And for once, this isn't P.R. spin. The Buick Regal is, of course, a rebadged version of the Opel Insignia, while the Acura TSX is a rebadged version of the European Honda Accord. The cars are direct rivals in Europe, but while Honda has successfully managed the brand bait-and-switch in America, the track record for American automakers attempting to leverage their European-market product portfolios Stateside has been somewhat less successful. Remember the Merkur?

"From Day 1, the Insignia was always meant to be a Regal," says Federico, in reference to the car's long-planned role as a key model for the Buick brand in China. It was initially also meant to be a Saturn Aura until GM's bankruptcy and uncertainty over the future of the division stalled the project. "Once the Aura door closed," adds Federico, "the obvious thing to do was make it a Regal." Having been baked into the Insignia's overall design from the beginning, the Buick graphics work brilliantly on the car. In fact, the Regal version is arguably the better looking of the two, the Buick grille giving the car a much stronger visual signature at the front end. It looks confidently American, but in a modern, classy, thoroughly metropolitan way.

Two versions of the Regal are confirmed for the U.S. The first to launch -- in the second quarter -- will be powered by a 182-horse direct-injection version of GM's 2.4-liter Ecotec four-cylinder engine. Torque will be 172 pound-feet, and Federico expects 20/30-mpg city/highway EPA numbers with the standard six-speed automatic transmission. The 220-horse, 2.0-liter Turbo bows in October, packing 258 pound-feet of torque and available initially only with a six-speed automatic transmission (a manual version will be available three months after launch). EPA numbers are expected to be 18/29 mpg city/highway for the auto. The cars will be imported from Germany until production shifts to GM's Oshawa, Canada, plant in the first quarter of 2011.

The standard wheel on Regal 2.4 is an 18-inch alloy, while the Turbo will be available with 19s, along with what Buick calls Interactive Drive Control System, which allows drivers to switch between three damper, throttle response, shift algorithm, and steering response settings. All-season tires will be standard, partly to help initial ride compliance, and as a result, U.S.-spec Regals have slightly different shock rates and a rear stabilizer bar stiffer than the Insignia's. Federico wants to offer an optional 20-inch wheel and summer tire package for the Turbo.

We drove a Regal 2.4 extensively in China last year and weren't overly impressed. The powertrain seemed lazy -- a combination of poor throttle response and lethargic transmission -- and the suspension was anything but buttoned down. "The Chinese Regal is the crudest of the bunch," Federico admits. "It has a multiport injection engine, and the suspension and transmission calibrations are specifically for the Chinese market."
The American-market Regal 2.4 promises to be a vastly improved car, if our exclusive drive of an early calibration mule is any indication. Though it has only five more horses, the 2.4 D.I. engine is much smoother and more responsive than the multiport version. The American-spec six-speed automatic transmission boasts much crisper shifts. Meanwhile, the Regal Turbo's 2.0-liter four is smooth and punchy, with loads of meaty mid-range torque. The six-speed manual is pleasantly slick through the shifts.
Federico reckons he has a couple of minor tweaks before he's happy with the Regal's ride and handling setup (and both the 2.4 and the 2.0 Turbo will share the same suspension settings).

"The Pontiac G8 GT is our benchmark ride and handling car," says Buick product marketing manager Craig Bierley. That's not a bad target. Of the two Regals we drove, the Turbo had the latest-iteration suspension. There were noticeably fewer sharp vertical movements than in the earlier-calibration 2.4, yet the steering remained pleasantly crisp and body roll well controlled. Noise, vibration, and harshness were well suppressed.
Our first impression is the new Regal has the meaty, planted feel of a European car, overlaid with just the right veneer of compliance needed to cope with the often frost-shattered roads of America's snowbelt. "The Regal will defy preconceived notions about driving a Buick," says Buick-GMC general manager Brian Sweeney. The good news is...he's right.

2011 Buick Regal

Base price range $26,995-$29,495
Vehicle layout Front engine, FWD/AWD, 5-pass, 4-door sedan Engines 2.4L/182-hp/172-lb-ft DOHC 16-valve I-4; 2.0L/220-hp/258-lb-ft turbo DOHC 16-valve I-4
Transmissions 6-speed automatic; 6-speed manual Curb weight 3600 lb (mfr) Wheelbase 107.8 in
Length x width x height 190.2 x 73.1 x 58.4 in
0-60 mph 7.5 sec (Turbo, mfr est)
EPA city/hwy fuel econ 18-20/29-30 mpg
CO2 emissions 0.82-0.89 lb/mile
On sale in the U.S. Spring 2010 (2.4); Fall 2010 (Turbo)

[vh_supra26]

BUICK REGAL GS

Concept? Nope. A no-brainer

Ponder this: It's a hot-looking Euro-style sport sedan that ticks all the right boxes. A high-output turbocharged four with 255 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque, six-speed manual transmission, and a Haldex all-wheel-drive system that can funnel up to 85 percent of the torque to the rear wheels. It rolls on 20-inch alloys and has Brembo brakes. Claimed 0-to-60-mph time is under 6.0 seconds.

Now ponder this: It's a Buick. And it's not just an auto-show concept car. All the Buick Regal GS' hardware is production ready.

The GS' Interactive Driver Control System (IDCS), for example, is an evolution of the system that will be available in the regular 2.0 Turbo. "We're going to take the electrons to the limit," says Regal chief engineer Jim Federico. In its sportiest mode, the GS' IDCS firms up the steering, remaps the throttle, stiffens the shocks, shunts more torque to the rear wheels, changes the limited-slip diff settings, and reprograms the stability control to allow more tailout limit driving.

Officially, the Regal GS is a concept car. But when we asked GM North America president Mark Reuss if there was any logical reason why GM would not put the GS into production, he simply smiled: "No. It's what Buick performance should be -- very sophisticated."

Buick product marketing manager Craig Bierley echoes Reuss' sentiments: "Is there a logical reason why I wouldn't do that car? No. But we want to see what the reaction to it is first. We want to walk before we run." But before Bierley's mild caution is interpreted as an echo of old-school GM conservatism kicking in, he adds: "The dealers saw the car last October. They were drooling."

No wonder. It's a no-brainer.

http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/sedans/112_1004_2011_buick_regal_drive/regal_gs.html#ixzz0fwyv4KC1

[S2KtoFT86]

Damn, I like! I'd take that over a TSX in a second.

[YourFearlessLeader]

If a Buick can pack 255HP and 280lbs. of torque in its 2.0L engine, there is NO reason why toyota cant do the same with the FT-86.

[RRnold]

Kind of looks like a Pontiac! Not feeling it...

I wonder if Buick plans to bring back a Grand National.

[Midship Runabout]

I like the interior.

[Axel]

Originally Posted by YourFearlessLeader

If a Buick can pack 255HP and 280lbs. of torque in its 2.0L engine, there is NO reason why toyota cant do the same with the FT-86.

Where did you see those numbers? I saw 2.0L/220-hp/258-lb-ft turbo DOHC 16-valve I-4 as the top engine.

[MtnDrvr86]

Originally Posted by RRnold

Kind of looks like a Pontiac! Not feeling it...

I wonder if Buick plans to bring back a Grand National.

hopefully this car is the first step on the way.

Its based on the opel insignia if im not mistaken, which doesnt seem like a bad thing to me.

[RRnold]

Originally Posted by MtnDrvr86

hopefully this car is the first step on the way.

Its based on the opel insignia if im not mistaken, which doesnt seem like a bad thing to me.

That's the first thing I thought once I saw the turbo! With Ford, Chevy and Dodge bringing back the ol skool retro cars, I wouldn't be surprised.

Hopefully they'll do it right unlike the Pontiac GTO

[MtnDrvr86]

aww come on the only thing pontiac did wrong with the GTO was calling it GTO...other wise it was pretty much a precursor to the G8 (agruably the best pontiac ever, especially in gxp trim) and Camaro, being a Holden and all

[OldSkoolToys]

Buick...always reminds me of my Great Aunt and her sedan...

Yeah, have fun with that guys.

[RRnold]

Originally Posted by MtnDrvr86

aww come on the only thing pontiac did wrong with the GTO was calling it GTO...other wise it was pretty much a precursor to the G8 (agruably the best pontiac ever, especially in gxp trim) and Camaro, being a Holden and all

yep and thats exactly what they did wrong, mock it up after a G8! Absolutely no hint of the 60's GTO.

[Jordo!]

It's a fucking four door Buick... why is this hunk of shit even being acknowledged on here?

[Axel]

Originally Posted by Jordo!

It's a fucking four door Buick... why is this hunk of shit even being acknowledged on here?

LMAO Exactly! I guess vh_supra26 thinks we are looking forward to every new car that gets mentioned on the blogs.

Hint... if they could be considered by most here as alternatives for an FT-86, then by all means post them... but Honda CR-Zs ? Buick Regals? Nissan Jukes?