Buick shifts gears with 2011 Regal
by Scott Burgess, Detroit News
The 2011 Buick Regal is the most important car in Buick's lineup.
It can transform the brand, or bury it, depending upon whom you talk to. But it's certainly going to shake things up in the coming months.
Based on the Opel Insignia, this midsize sports sedan will arrive this spring with a nice 2.4-liter direct-injection four-cylinder engine mated to a six-speed automatic transmission.
But the car is not what brought me to Milford, outside of General Motors Co.'s testing grounds. I was there to test the exact engine that will come in the Regal this summer: the 2-liter direct-injection turbocharged four-cylinder. This is the heart of the real Regal; the one disguised as an Opel Insignia has won acclaim across the Old World.
Now, it's the New World's turn.
Along with me on the drive was Jim Federico, GM's vehicle line executive for global midsize vehicles, and Craig Bierley, Buick's marketing director. As we ate lunch, they talked excitedly about the new Regal.
Federico, an engineer by trade, has spent more time in airplanes than offices in recent months, flying back and forth from Michigan to Germany, where the Insignia is currently made. (It will first be made there and shipped to the United States. Later, it will be made in Canada.) Future Buick owners may raise a statue in his honor for the work he did on this car. In fact, they should.
This car is important for many reasons: It could be the third hit in a row for Buick. GM is still less than a year out of bankruptcy, so there's no time for failure, and it's the very first truly global car in GM's lineup. From the beginning, it was designed to be sold around the globe.
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by Scott Burgess, Detroit News
The 2011 Buick Regal is the most important car in Buick's lineup.
It can transform the brand, or bury it, depending upon whom you talk to. But it's certainly going to shake things up in the coming months.
Based on the Opel Insignia, this midsize sports sedan will arrive this spring with a nice 2.4-liter direct-injection four-cylinder engine mated to a six-speed automatic transmission.
But the car is not what brought me to Milford, outside of General Motors Co.'s testing grounds. I was there to test the exact engine that will come in the Regal this summer: the 2-liter direct-injection turbocharged four-cylinder. This is the heart of the real Regal; the one disguised as an Opel Insignia has won acclaim across the Old World.
Now, it's the New World's turn.
Along with me on the drive was Jim Federico, GM's vehicle line executive for global midsize vehicles, and Craig Bierley, Buick's marketing director. As we ate lunch, they talked excitedly about the new Regal.
Federico, an engineer by trade, has spent more time in airplanes than offices in recent months, flying back and forth from Michigan to Germany, where the Insignia is currently made. (It will first be made there and shipped to the United States. Later, it will be made in Canada.) Future Buick owners may raise a statue in his honor for the work he did on this car. In fact, they should.
This car is important for many reasons: It could be the third hit in a row for Buick. GM is still less than a year out of bankruptcy, so there's no time for failure, and it's the very first truly global car in GM's lineup. From the beginning, it was designed to be sold around the globe.
More...
