Update: Added statement from Buick.
As Buick rolls out its Avenir sub-brand, slashes underperforming products, and bolsters its crossover and SUV portfolio, the Regal withers on the vine — but not for long.
Speaking with a well-placed source, TTAC gleaned details on the forthcoming Buick Regal, which will be revealed in the second quarter of 2017, possibly at the New York International Auto Show.
According to the source, who shared the information under the condition of anonymity, the next-generation Buick Regal, which will again sit atop the same platform as the Opel Insignia, is set to grow in body and heart.
The Regal will bow with a more spacious cabin befitting its place in the market, particularly in the rear where space is at a premium in the current-generation model. Also, as most of the Regal’s competitors offer V6 engines, the midsize Buick will do the same, though our source did not divulge exactly which V6 Buick will drop under the Regal’s hood.
Buick designers have applied more distinctive styling to the Regal to set it apart from its European sibling. Our source stated the differences will be in the same vein as those found between the Buick Encore and Opel Mokka.
Speculation regarding the Regal’s doubling of available body styles with the addition of a crossover-style wagon will also be proven true next year, stated our source. The wagon is likely to wear the TourX moniker and come with all-wheel drive.
In three to five years, there’s also the possibility of a diesel powering the Regal, though that’s still being discussed internally.
Those looking for a mild performance increase should fear not of the Avenir sub-brand. The Regal GS is here to stay, though what form it will take is uncertain.
Buick representative Stuart Fowle would not confirm the details.
“The Buick Regal is currently having its best year since 2014 and the GS model in particular continues to draw younger customers interested in balanced, refined performance. While we cannot comment on the future of the Regal, the current model continues to play an important role in our lineup.”
Expect the Buick Regal, which switches to full-time production in Germany, to arrive at dealer lots toward the end of 2017 as a 2018 model.
Buick will launch three new or redesigned models through the 2017 calendar year, including Regal.
[Image: General Motors]
My fear dear Brothers is that this 6 would be less than 3 ltrs. All good members of the church know that their is nothing but evil in a 6 of less than 3 ltrs.
That thee know well, yet so many sin against our lord.
So the Brotherhood does not look kindly upon the 60 degree 2.8?
It is a false idol, demanding regular sacrifice of head gaskets, cam bearings, and even connecting rods, without offering in return the protection of holy torque.
Dal is indeed a wise follower of the true Torque.
Forgive me, for I grew up in a town filled with many of that false idol motor preaching its warbly gospel.
Also, the first time I peeled the tires in anything was in my grandma’s 3.1 Lumina (with my grandma riding shotgun – she didn’t seem bothered by my accidental indiscretion).
Ye have found the truth faith which promises many, many miles of holy Torque.
“No six with a ‘V’ shall have liters less than three”
So sayeth the Lord.
When I was young my parents had a Celebrity with the 2.8L V6. It threw a rod and needed to be replaced around 30k miles LOL.
This fear seems unfounded though as GM doesn’t build a V6 smaller than 3L. I think Ford basically has the only one around these days in their 2.7L Ecoboost V6, though I guess the new Porsche/Audi V6 rounds down to 2.9 from what I’ve read.
At the risk of excommunication, I bear witness to the excellence of the 2.8L GM 60-deg V6’s as well as the 1.8L V6 Mazda stuck in the nose of the MX-3.
Blasphemers!
And dear brother, and I submit for your consideration the 2.5L Duratec V-6 in the Contour, where it made around 200 hp in the later SVT. Behold its wonderous glory, DOHC 24 valve Porsche-related singing to praise all things good.
T’was many a car reviewer and owner who love the glorious note and acceleration.
Alas, some do forsake ye olde Duratec 2.5L for the 3.0L in thy Taurus brethren for use in their Contour.
Amen
The smaller 2.5L GR series in the IS Lexus, and VQ25 in entry level G sedans seemed to have worked out fairly well. Not powerhouses, but fantastically refined. C27 in older Legends and Accords was likewise not a bad motor from what I’ve heard. Mazda’s 2.5L KZLE of MX6 and Probe fame is another good one, and quite a swap into an early 90s Escort GT or MX3!
Oh, I think there is going to be a displacement inquisition after all of this blasphemy.
I rather like the 3.0L displacement for a v6 myself. Small enough to be very smooth, but unfortunately not making the huge horsepower of a modern 3.5-3.7L six. The 190ish hp my 1MZ in the Lexus is probably no quicker than my fiance’s 175hp 2.5L 4 cylinder in her Camry SE (6spd auto vs 4spd auto makes a noticeable difference here too, as does vehicle age), but the way in which that torque smoothly rolls on and how smoothly and unflustered the engine revs up and builds speed is quite satisfying. Of course most folks would gladly trade that refinement for the non-trivial improvement in MPG (she sees 32ish lifetime MPG to my 24 so far).
Bless this thy V6, that it shalt have no less than 5 liters, and no more than 55 liters. Thus sayeth the LORD.
“Buick Regal to get V6 Power”
“The Regal GS is here to stay”
Awwwwwww yea. Welcome back to me caring about you Buick.
Like you’d buy something new and FWD.
I bought the Charger brand new and I’d generally prefer to replace it with something new so that’s no issue.
My warm nostalgia for Buick also trumps my RWD preference.
I meant to imply there “something new which was FWD,” not saying you were po’!
Had no idea your affection for Buick was to such an extent.
After 2014 (or so) the GS came with 4WD. The manual GS is FWD.
The AWD is optional, the GS auto FWD still exists.
GS Manual FWD
GS Auto FWD
GS Auto AWD
Make mine all-black with a turbo-6 and AWD. Call it something like the Grand National, and let me fit a family of 4 comfortably in it. ThankYouVeryMuch.
All-black cars are for those with no sense of creativity or expression. Nothing worse.
Geez, who urinated in your Cheerios?
Dude, #blackcarsmatter.
You forgot to mention “2 doors” or all the whiny babies will come out of the woodwork just like they do about the Charger not being a 2 door.
We’ll see how the new platform shapes out, but the current one is too small to be a sedan and GM agrees.
In the case of the Charger, there is a coupe variant offered.
Lets hope it is actually good.
Doesn’t the current Regal have among the lowest customer satisfaction/highest customer regret?
Si.
My single anecdotal data point (wife of a friend owns a Regal Turbo) supports your postulation.
I have a Regal, and the regret is come form the fact that the car is 90% awesome. I needs the extra 10% to push it over the edge – the move to a V6 and a more room in the back would do that.
The local Buick dealer said that they got a lot of trade ins from old people hopping out of the Regal early and jumping into the LaCrosse once they figured out that their friends were cramped in the back seat.
The Regal is defiantly a younger persons car (or younger at heart).
“The Regal will bow with a more spacious cabin befitting its place in the market, particularly in the rear where space is at a premium in the current-generation model. Also, as most of the Regal’s competitors offer V6 engines, the midsize Buick will do the same”
We will in fact bring you the very car we recently took away (W-Impala) but with more glitz and Farfromyougood. So sorry to all of you who bought the first iteration of this POS. Enjoy your resale!
XOXOXO
Rencen
I think used and with their horrible resale value, they become a much better proposition.
That only makes sense when the overall product is still desirable and/or reliable.
If it were desirable it’d have good resale value. Pick your poison!
False. GM examples powered by Our Lord of Holy Torque were desirable but came with poor resale for new buyers.
The past is no more!
But will the wagon be available with the V6? I’d assume yes if they are marketing it as a CUV, but we rarely seem to see rationality and wagons in the same vein.
I saw the VW Golf … Outback (I can’t remember the name) the other day and it looked like a normal wagon. Hopefully Buick’s version will do the same.
I’ve seen two Alltracks at the dealer. Not bad looking, but 1) They are VWs and 2) they are not inexpensive cars
semi-OT: At my office last week I heard this terrible metallic screeching noise. Looking out the window I saw a newer Buick Regal going backwards down the road in a shower of sparks. It ended up facing the wrong way of 45mph traffic. As one of my co-workers called 911, I ran out – along with a bunch of other employees – to make sure the passengers were okay. Thankfully they were.
Based on what I saw, the rear control arm (aluminum?) just snapped, leaving the tire in the road. This made the car spin around. On the same side as the broken rear, the front tire was off too – broken arm? I don’t know if the driver hit a curb or if it was caused by the spin.
The reason these things are so heavy is that they are built like tanks. Forged steel control arms don’t just snap like the stamped ones do on many Japanese makes. Presumably there was a significant impact of some sort.
For what it’s worth, I’m almost certain the Regal’s rear control arms are aluminum alloy, but yes I agree that the described scene sounds like the result of some pretty serious curb hopping.
The other day a newer SRX passed me, and it was making the most horrible screech from the ruined wheel bearing. What causes that so soon?
Could be anything, a bad pothole even. Failed seals can cause grit/water/salt to get in and ruin them. Knowing GM’s propensity to outsource to China, I wouldn’t exclude the possibility of sub-par parts as well. Until fairly recently Hyundais have traditionally been somewhat plagued with short-lived wheel bearings. My brother lambastes Timken bearings that have been outsourced to South Korea, they’re worse than even some of the Chinese bearings he’s dealt with.
Interesting. If I know the driver of an SRX around here, it was likely an older person who’s incapable of actually -seeing- potholes.
A “crossover” type wagon? Man, why not just a wagon? Oh, yeah…because it would never sell unless adorned with plastic faux-ruggedness.
That just means a tall roof.
I’ve always had a soft spot for the Regal in my heart. If Buick does the unthinkable and offers a GS with the V6, AWD, and the 6-speed transmission my heart might burst. If it offers it in a wagon body style…OMG Becky, I just can’t even.
I wish I could record an audible sigh and upload it to the comments. It’s conflicting, working for one OEM but pining after the car offerings of the others. I like many of our products and I’m probably going to lease a Solar Yellow Renegade Sport 4×4 6MT in the winter, just to spite Bark. But as far as cars go, we just don’t have much that competes in the market or pulls my heart strings. And I can’t afford a Hellcat or Scat Pack…
What a nicely restrained looking Accord.
And great timing as sedans make a surging comeback!
Wow, GM is really trying to cash in on the disgruntled VW owners.
First a Cruze hatch with a diesel and a manual option and now the wagon is pretty much confirmed to be coming. Glad I have until 2018 to make up my mind on my Sportwagen replacement.
“Wow, GM is really trying to cash in on the disgruntled VW owners.
You’ve seen how small a fish some people will keep.
I have difficulty considering a brand who’s name ends in…ICK! They’re all pretty ICKY to me.
Hey! David Buick couldn’t help it – it was his name. If you have to complain about name endings, direct your complaint to Ransom Olds or Robert Hupp. Their cars ending in BILE was an outright error.
The front of my slacks exploded at the thought of picking up an off-lease Regal Avenir V6 w/structural damage in a few years…
You have a sickness. I like it.
Not many people still say “slacks”. It’s old-timey and I like it.
Forget “cream your jeans”. I like “my slacks exploded” much better.
Bloomer bomb?
Your lot is gonna be filled with Regal and MKZ V6s.
It’s not already?
My Grandma had a Skylark that I took my driving test in, I liked the new Regal, and I’ll be retired by the time this new Regal comes out. So maybe I’ll be interested. But I bought a Acura because I couldn’t trust Buick to be reliable.
I hope they can cut some weight from this thing, otherwise this thing is going to weigh over 4000lbs in top trim and still be more cramped inside than the average C-segment entry.
The new Lacrosse is a positive forbear though.
I’m one of the few dozen people who had been looking forward to an updated Verano, and was slightly giddy at the idea of a Verano hatchback based off the forthcoming Cruze hatchback. It’s odd b/c where I am there is a surprising # of Veranos, and Lacrosse, but Regal not so much.
Verano has been killed. Regal is now the entry level offering.
Technically, the Encore is the new entry-level offering.
At what point when your anonymous source is telling you “AWD”, “wagon” & “diesel” do you begin to suspect you may be the victim of a prank? Is it when they add “Manual” or “Brown”?
All this excitement over a Vee-Six? I guess the V6 is the new V8. What does that make the Cadillac 4-bangers?
Hopefully, any new female writer at TTAC will not confuse her cylinder count with the number of inches of her privates.
The Regal/Opel Insignia will be based off the E2XX platform like the new Malibu, yes?