truth about domestics

I have been waiting for the new Buick Regal to hit our shores and the time has finally come.  Above is the first commercial for the new Regal, and it does a nice job of showing off the car.  Hopefully people will buy the fact that its “German” engineering means it’s a high quality car, but only time (and sales) will tell.

General Motors currently has two vehicles on the market that offer a “Pause and Play” feature on the radio.  Those two vehicles are the Cadillac CTS and the Buick LaCrosse and what “Pause and Play” allows you to do is basically treat your radio like your home TV DVR.  You can pause and record up to 20 minutes of radio, from AM, FM, XM or Sirius and then play it back at a later time.  The technology has until now only been fitted in more upscale cars, but word is out that it will now be offered on the 2011 Buick Regal and the 2011 Chevrolet Cruze.  It’s always nice to see technologies being offered in both the high and low end of the buying spectrum.  For more information, head on over to Autoblog.

(Image source: GM)

The 2011 Buick Regal (based off the stunning Opel Insignia sedan) will be priced starting at $26,995 including destination charges.  This price gets you only the mid-level CXL trim and the 2.4L Ecotec four-cylinder.  This is actually the only trim level offered at launch, as the car will currently be made in Europe, and that plant is busy making Insignias for European consumption.  Later down the road GM will offer a more base CX model and hopefully a more expensive GS model based on the GS Show Car seen at the 2010 Detroit Auto Show.  Stay tuned for more, or hit up Autoblog for the full press release.

(Image source: GM)

According to GM’s vice president of communications, Chris Preuss, General Motors has some pretty big concepts to unveil at this years Detroit Auto Show.  The Cadillac XTS will be shown as the replacement for the ages old DTS sedan.  GMC will be showing the Granite off as the sibling to the Chevrolet Orlando, both built on the new Delta platform.  Chevrolet will be showing off the new Aveo RS, supposedly more shapely than the current Aveo.  Buick will also have a high performance version of the 2011 Regal, so stay tuned for more news from the 2010 North American International Auto Show.  For now, head on over to Autoblog.

(Image source: GM)

The average age of a new car buyer today is 52.  The average age of a Buick buyer?  70!  Buick is hoping to lower that number, and it needs to in order to compete with rivals Lexus and Acura.  The first step in a younger direction was the 2010 LaCrosse.  The average age for the sharp looking new sedan is 55, 15 years below Buick’s average but still older than Brian Sweeney likes.  Sweeney is Buick/GMC’s new division manager, and he’s hoping to lower the age even more with the new 2011 Buick Regal.  Their hope is that by using “experimental marketing” they will be able to attract an even younger crowd to Buick.  For more details, head on over to Autoblog.

(Image source: GM)

The Chevy Orlando has been a stunning concept ever since it debuted almost a year ago.  Well word has come out that GM will show a concept of the GMC version to be called Granite.  That’s not all, Buick will reportedly show off a high performance version of the 2011 Buick Regal!  Hopefully it has some form of sporty like the Opel Insignia on which it is based.  For more details, head on over to Canadian Driver.

(Image source: GM)

In an interesting bit of news, General Motors announced that the 2011 Buick Regal would be entering production in early 2011 at the Oshawa assembly plant in Ontario.  Then they slipped in a bit of news that the 2011 Chevrolet Camaro convertible would also be starting production at that time.  Say what!?  The Mustang will finally have some drop top muscle car competition and that can’t be bad for sales.  For more, head on over to Autoblog.

(Image source: GM)

I know, it’s hard to believe, but Jalopnik actually liked the 2011 Buick Regal!  Can you blame them though, I mean, the car is based on the Opel/Vauxhall Insignia which has won tons of awards and is a top-seller.  They have pretty much only one complaint about the car and that is…well, why don’t you just head on over to Jalopnik to find out what it is!

(Image source: Jalopnik)

Buick has revealed that the new 2011 Regal will feature a six-speed manual transmission!  This is great news as it will offer customers something that you really can’t find on other luxury brands.  For more details, head on over to Autoblog.

(Image source: GM)

The new 2011 Buick Regal is one heck of a good looking car.  While it’s basically a re-badge of the Open Insignia, that is not a bad thing in the slightest because the Insignia has been a hit across the pond.  What many people are asking is if its possible for the United States to get a more powerful version of the Regal, maybe based on the Insignia OPC that features 325 horsepower, AWD and a six-speed manual transmission.  Only time will tell, but a quote captured by Car and Driver from Bob Lutz himself had the letters “GS” (for Grand Sport) and “335 horsepower” in the same sentence.

(Image source: GM)