2011 BUICK REGAL: Not your daddy’s Buick

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 03/12/2010 (5794 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Earlier this year, when Motor Trend magazine declared “Buick is back,” General Motors liked the headline so much it became the marketing mantra for the brand’s rebirth.

Which raises the question: When was Buick ever here?

Before we go any farther, it’s important for me to admit that I absolutely adored Pontiac. Buick, on the other hand, not so much.

Hey, don’t get me wrong — there’s a few Buick muscle cars from the late ’60s and earlier ’70s I’d love to get my hands on, and if you have a1987 Buick GNX collecting dust, feel free to give it to me. Those cars are tough. If Chuck Norris was a car, he’d be a Grand National.

That said, in my eyes, if Pontiac built excitement, then Buick built non-excitement. As these words leave my fingertips, both my grandfathers and my father are surely spinning in their graves. If there wasn’t some kind of weird law about it, there’s a good chance all three of them would have chosen to be buried in Buicks.

Perhaps it was some sort of patriarch protest, but to me, Buick has always been the car for people who have to buy their life insurance from a TV commercial. Sure, Dad’s LeSabre did the trick on grad night, Grandpa Williamson loved his Park Avenue, and my Pepere Lebrun’s Skylark could smoke the tires, but for me, those cars were about as stylish as the army boots they all chose to wear to weddings.

When I finally hit the street, my rolling resumé went like this: Chevrolet to Pontiac to Oldsmobile, and most recently, Cadillac. I skipped right by Buick. Over the years, I’ve owned more than 200 vehicles. Most were GM products, but only one was a Buick. I’ve owned more cars than shoes. Grandpa gave me that Skylark when he was done with it and I wrecked it the following winter bouncing it off a Fiero on a stormy night. I mean, sure it was my fault, but who drives a Fiero in winter?

The funny thing is, now that I’m the ripe old age of 43, I’m probably about the exact same age that the old boys who mapped my motoring mind were when they started buying Buicks. I also now wear my army boots to weddings.

If you’re wondering where I’m going with all this, it’s really just my lame attempt to justify why I am in love with the new Buick Regal.

It’s not that I’m just another bald, middle-age man turning out just like his father and his grandfathers. Who could blame me? They were all geniuses.

Nope, that’s not why I love the new Buick Regal. I love it because it reminds me of a Pontiac. It’s agile, has decent power and has an aggressive look about it that makes me think of a pouncing cat. I also love cats.

However, the reality is that if General Motors hadn’t canned a couple of brands, the Buick Regal wouldn’t have been a Buick at all, or a Pontiac either, for that matter. It was slated to be a Saturn. The new Regal is basically a European-market Opel Insignia — a mid-size sedan that has been rebadged and rebranded for the U.S. and China. It went on sale in China last December and is a runaway hit there.

It may have been love at first sight for me with this European-designed beauty, but the honeymoon was over quickly earlier this year when I first got my hands on the new Regal CXL. I was totally smitten with the car’s curb appeal and refinement, but felt that the 182-horsepower, 2.4-litre ECOTEC four-cylinder engine was a little on the weak side. It revved high and hard but left me wanting just a little more.

Earlier this month, I finally got the chance to test the Regal CXL turbo with the 220-hp 2.0-litre ECOTEC four-cylinder turbocharged engine. When I put my right foot down, my first words were: “That’s a little more like it.”

I’ve always been a big fan of turbo engines. It just makes sense to me to try and squeeze as much power as possible out of a smaller, more fuel-efficient motor, and the turbo Regal achieves this in spades. The transmission is also top-notch and shifts ultra-smooth. Although you likely won’t be taking the Regal to the drag strip on weekends, the turbo offering is surprisingly quick and handles highway passes with ease.

The ride does absolutely nothing to remind me of past Buicks. It’s far more Pontiac-like — stiff but not too stiff, and as quiet as a bank vault. There’s also big value in this car. Highlights include standard leather seating surfaces, a power driver’s seat, a standard six-speed automatic transmission, heated front seats and satellite radio. A backup camera, blind-spot monitoring, rear-seat side airbags and a navigation system are also available at an additional cost.

Apparently I’m not the only one who likes the new Regal. Earlier this month at the annual TestFest, my fellow members of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC) voted it the best new family car over $30,000.

Perhaps the biggest news about the new Regal is the recent unveiling of the even sportier Regal GS fitted with a tuned-up ECOTEC 2.0-litre turbo four that cranks out 255 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque.

The GS will also get the HiPerStrut front suspension, an upgraded front Brembo brake package, standard 19-inch or optional 20-inch alloy five-spoke wheels, and unique exterior front and rear fascia. Inside, it will feature a flat-bottom steering wheel, metal sport pedals, heated 12-way adjustable leather sport seats and a GS-specific black interior theme with satin-finish accents on the instrument panel, steering wheel and console.

Ultimately, I still think it’s a shame that GM canned Oldsmobile, and now Pontiac. But if they continue to give us cars like the Buick Regal to soften the blow, maybe, just maybe, Buick is HERE.

willy@freepress.mb.ca

THE SPECS

2011 Buick Regal CXL Turbo

Base suggested retail price: $34,990

Price as tested: $39,645

Transport Canada fuel rating (L/100km): City 11.5, highway 7.1, combined 9.5

Engine type: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo

Transmission: six-Speed automatic with manual shift control

Peak horsepower: 220 hp @ 5300 r.p.m.

Peak torque: 258 lb.-ft. @ 2,000 r.p.m.

Wheelbase: 2,738 mm

Length: 4,831 mm

Curb weight: 1,633 kg

Cabin volume: 2,741L

Trunk/cargo capacity: 404L

Fuel capacity: 68L