Buick had a couple of Regals at the Auto Show in Feb. It's a nice tight looking package IMO.

Still remains to be seen if they can draw in the younger buyers they are looking for, but aong with the LaCrosse it is a good start.

 

I like the name Regal.Better than the XYZ 123 stuff and Century sounds too old.Buick is trying to distance itself from anything to do with old.

 

I love the looks, love the interior, but it seems like it's underpowered. hyundai/kia will have 274hp turbo and both will go 0-60 under 6 seconds(krafcik said sonata turbo will be 2 seconds faster than base sonata).

 

Well that's like saying the Acura TSX and Audi A4 are underpowered

Different customers different markets.

 

but Buick Regal isn't perceived as a luxury car. buick is a premium brand. when people realize that Sonata turbo which looks like a premium car has 54 more horses and gets you far better mpg, some people will think twice.

again, i know what Buick is trying to do, but i can see turbo version of sonata/optima hurting Buick's sale big time. I think Optima turbo will do more damage because it will be a sportier version of Sonata.

 

Nah.

Acura doesn't have a great image either, but they manage to sell 2-3K TSXs a month, even though over at Honda a loaded 271hp V6 Accord is cheaper and just as fuel efficient.

People will buy the Regal (yes even over cheaper more powerful family sedans).

 

Acura still has a much better image than buick for normal people. and IMO, if Buick only manages to sell 2-3k a month then it will be considered as a flop.

 

eh, maybe.

2-3K wouldn't be bad for the class though. That's about how many Audi and Acura sell for their 4cyl entry level cars.

 

The Sonata is not the Regals benchmark and shouldn't be mentioned. The Regal is smaller and sportier and IMO looks better. I do prefer the Sonata interior.

The Regal is quite Euro the Sonata is quite American. I do agree both will eat the TSX pie some.

 

why not? both up coming sonata/optima turbo will be positioned to go against a lot of cars. that was hyundai/kia's intention. that was one of the reason why they dropped v6 as well. that's what Krafcik said in the press conference. and it is supposed to go below 6 seconds in 0-60.

Optima turbo most likely will be sportier than Sonata and it also has 274hp. and it looks like a premium car. and Sonata turbo is very different than sonata base. and looks are subjective thing, but I prefer Sonata/Optima's design over new Regal.

I'm not really sure if people are willing to pay 4-5k more for a Buick. Again, if this was a Cadillac, i don't see any problem. fully loaded sonata/optima turbo will probably be like 29-30k msrp, so it's not that far off from Regals' price.


again, i think people will cross shop sonata/optima/regal because all 3 of them have 4 banger turbo. i know Regal is smaller, but it's not like it's a compact. people won't cross shop audi/acura and hyundai, but i can see people cross shopping buick and hyundai just like how Lucerne/LaCrosse and genesis is getting cross shopped.

 

Nope that's just you.

No matter how high end the Camry/Accord/Sonata look (and they all look more expensive than the $20K cars they are), there is ALWAYS going to be a market for premium cars. Buick still has a great image with a lot of 40+ on my job, and they've always commanded a price premium over comparable Chevys.

So this Regal costing more than the lowly Sonata doesn't surprise me and it will sell well even at that price I'm sure. If Acura can continue selling ugly lackluster underpowered TSXs for $35K, I don't see why Buick will have a hard time selling Regals for $30K.

As 1SICK said the Regal is Euro and premium much like the TSX or the Passat. The Sonata is much more American (like the Camry and Accord)

 

will 40+ folks buy a Regal? i'm not sure. why would they though? they would most likely prefer more cushy and bigger LaCrosse.

again, all 3 cars that i mentioned have 4 cylinder and a turbo. and they all look very stylish compared to accord/camry. if you put them side by side, you would think they are competing against each other. Buick is a premium brand, so it has better image, but sonata/optima will have 50 more horses and it will have a value edge.

also, i think more people will cross shop Regal/Korean turbos then Audi A4. but most likely the regal's closest competitor will be TSX/CC.

ask yourself this question,
will any of you buy a Regal over A4?

i'm not so sure about that.

 

Sorry none of the Korean brands have the image of Buick and the Sonata doesn't look like a Regal/A4 competitor. For one it's bigger and to me looks like a Camry/Accord competitor. Almost all midsized family sedans look high end now. And almost all midsized family sedans have more power than entry level luxury sedans. Nothing new nothing special.

The A4, TSX and Regal all look very Euro which is a very different thing from looking "high end". People might not buy a Regal over an A4, but they'll most definitely cross shop with the TSX. Buick is really positioned primarily against Acura (just look at the 2 lineups), while Cadillac goes for BMW/Lexus.

 

I already mentioned that buick has the 'image' edge.



http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2011-...ima-0/#2854591

does this look accord/camry fighter to you? maybe it's just me but, this looks more TSX/CC/Regal fighter than accord/camry. This is as 'euro' as it can get. designed by a famous german designer, and this will debut in Europe as well. and i don't understand what you mean by TSX looking like euro. TSX looks like a honda to me.

again, Kia is repositioning their brand to be 'sportier' than hyundai. even the interior is very sporty. People may think it's a poorman's Regal, but it will still have power/value/size advantage. that's good enough to be cross shopped against Regal.

maybe not Sonata, but I really believe Optima will be cross shopped with regal. people won't cross shop germans with korean cars, but a buick? why not?

 

With regards to the name stealing...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buick_Gran_Sport

I think Buick had them beat on the naming convention... by 30 years or so.

It does look like every other car in its class to me though.