Thumbs Up: Solidly built, quiet as a tomb

Thumbs Down: Needs more power for highway driving

Buy This Car If: You want a plush midsize sedan that delivers decent fuel economy.

Sometimes, things are glaring in their omission. If you scan the outside sheet metal of the 2012 Buick LaCrosse eAssist, you won’t find a single “hybrid” badge on it. Ditto on the inside, where the only indication that you’re driving something other than a regular Buick is the available battery meter in the information display. Even the window sticker avoids any mention of the word “hybrid,” although if you look carefully you can see the term”eAssist” used in reference to the engine and the associated powertrain warranty.

In other words, GM is downplaying the hybrid aspect of the LaCrosse eAssist. Technically, it’s what’s called a “mild hybrid,” meaning that the drive system is less complex and less beneficial than a full-on hybrid like the Toyota Camry Hybrid. The bottom line is this: a mild hybrid boosts fuel economy and engine output without having a significant impact on price.

The alternator of eAssist models also acts as an electric motor, providing up to 15 additional horsepower under hard acceleration. Power comes from lithium-ion batteries, which are recharged via regenerative braking, Come to a stop, and the engine powers down (until you release the brake or step on the gas), maximizing fuel economy and reducing emissions.

All this technology works seamlessly to deliver improved fuel economy (although not equivalent to a full hybrid) and give the LaCrosse eAssist slightly more grunt than it had with just the 2.4-liter Ecotec four-cylinder. Around town, it’s enough horsepower to safely navigate city streets. On the highway, however, passing other cars at speed takes careful planning, as acceleration at highway speeds is leisurely.

Outside, not much has changed since we last reviewed the Buick LaCrosse in 2010. That’s not a bad thing, since the LaCrosse is a pleasantly styled midsize sedan. It’s not likely to draw buyers into the showroom on looks alone, but the car’s exterior design won’t put off any potential customers, either. Buick shoppers prefer tasteful over flashy, and the LaCrosse fits that mold perfectly.

Inside, not much has changed in two years, either. The dash is a blend of soft-touch vinyl, interior color-matched plastic and fake wood trim. It’s not luxury, but Buick is trying to convey an upscale air while minding costs. Buyers coming from Chevrolet will likely be impressed, but former Lexus owners won’t be.

The instrument cluster is largely the same, too, with the exception of a full-color LCD driver information display where the monochrome readout used to be. Also new, but possibly reserved for eAssist models only, is an “Eco” gauge below the speedometer, replacing the temperature gauge on earlier models. Since the gauge contains no numbers and only the vaguest of scales, it’s essentially useless in communicating valid information. Manufacturers say the purpose is to coach drivers on long-term driving habits, but I’m not seeing it.

Front seats are exactly what you’d expect from Buick. Wrapped in soft leather, they’re a decent perch for gobbling up highway miles. As expected, they’re power operated (with memory), have good lumbar support and are heated. Unlike other near-luxury cars in the LaCrosse’s price range, they’re neither ventilated nor cooled.

Rear seats are also long-distance suitable, especially if the car is equipped with Buick’s rear seat entertainment system. The rear seats aren’t heated, which seems like an odd feature to omit on a midsize sedan with luxury aspirations.

If safety is a concern, the LaCrosse does a good job of reassuring buyers with standard and optional accessories. First and foremost, it comes with OnStar, meaning that emergency response is just the press of a button away. It’s got airbags galore, and can be configured with a heads-up display, a blind spot alert system, a backup camera and rear parking sensors.

Under the hood is a 2.4-liter Ecotec four-cylinder engine, combined with an 11-kilowatt electric motor. The combination can deliver 182 horsepower and 172 poud-feet of torque to the front wheels, via a six-speed automatic transmission. With over 3,800 pounds of mass to move, acceleration from a stop is leisurely, but not unsafe. Highway passing is an entirely different story, and overtaking at even legal speeds requires planning and patience. Frankly, we’d opt for the 3.6-liter V-6 LaCrosse, but the bigger engine won’t deliver the eAssist’s 25 mpg city and 36 mpg highway.

On the road, the LaCrosse eAssist drives like a Buick. The cabin is as quite as an isolation chamber, thanks to what Buick calls “Quiet Tuning.” Unlike Buicks of old, the ride isn’t “floaty,” and you get the sense that the car would change direction far more willingly than, say, a 1978 Buick LeSabre. That said, the LaCrosse is not the car to shop if you favor winding back roads over flat and straight superslabs. It has no sporting aspirations, but it does deliver a comfortable ride over every imaginable type of road surface.

As much as Buick wants to attract younger buyers, it can’t escape the fact that its core customers tend to be in a “mature” demographic. In that regard, the LaCrosse may be the perfect blend of style, technology, safety and comfort to appeal to both traditional Buick buyers and new customers alike. Given that Buick is seeing explosive growth in China, and steady growth in the United States (sales were up by 14.3 percent last year), we’d have to say its on the right track.

General Motors provided the 2012 Buick LaCrosse eAssist Premium for my evaluation. Base price on the press fleet tester was $33,300, including a destination charge of $860. Options on the car supplied included the $600 Entertainment Package (Harman Kardon audio system, 11 speakers, 120 volt power outlet), the $1,440 Driver Confidence Package (HID headlamps, blind spot alert, heads up display), the $1,345 Navigation and Backup Camera System and the $1,295 rear seat entertainment system, for a total sticker price of $37,980.

For comparison, a similarly equipped Lincoln MKZ Hybrid (which, in fairness, delivers better fuel economy) would sticker at $40,075, while a comparable Toyota Camry Hybrid XLE (which also yields more miles per gallon) would list for $35,265.

Thumbs Up: The most entertaining Buick since the 1987 GNX.

Thumbs Down: Needs more power; creaky plastic dash.

Buy This Car If: You want a compact domestic luxury sedan with a dash of sport.

For those of us in a certain demographic, the name “Buick” conjures up images of under-damped land yachts, leisurely driven by septuagenarians on their way to a 3:00 dinner at the Old Country Buffet. For driving enthusiasts, Buick hasn’t built a car of interest since the 1987 Regal-based GNX. The GNX has become the stuff of legend, with clean examples still trading hands at semi-insane prices. Still, the 1987 GNX was capable of a 0 to 60 sprint in under 5 seconds, and in stock form could run the quarter mile in 13.5 seconds at 102 miles per hour. Back in 1987, that wasn’t just fast, that was stupid fast.

Buick has seen its ups and downs in terms of product quality since then, but its recent cars (like the LaCrosse and Regal) have been well screwed together and offer a reasonable amount of value for the money. They’re also about as entertaining as a bowl of steamed white rice, served with a side of room temperature tap water.

That’s not really a criticism, since Buick’s traditional customer base expects a certain type of ride (plush and numb) with a certain level of refinement (an interior as quiet as a tomb). Driving excitement isn’t on the “must have” list for most Buick shoppers, and the brand has largely ignored handling in favor of adding content. The LaCrosse, for example, added onboard flash memory a few years back so that owners could transfer music from thumb drives directly to their cars. That’s nice, but we don’t know too many full-size Buick drivers who download music and store it on a flash drive.

The new Regal, specifically the Regal Turbo, was a step in the right direction. It offered buttoned-up handling and a surprising amount of style and content, all for a reasonable price. The front drive sedan was sporty, but it fell short of what we’d define as a sport sedan. Even its 220 turbocharged horses weren’t enough to be entertaining, particularly since the car had nearly 3,700 pounds of mass to haul around.

That’s why we were so enthusiastic when Buick announced the Regal GS model in 2010. Finally, it seemed, Buick was stepping up to the plate to occupy the space left vacant by Oldsmobile (and to a lesser degree, Pontiac). Buick, it seemed, would build a genuine sport sedan capable of bringing new customers into the fold. With an announced 270 horsepower and 295 pound feet of torque, the car promised to produce enough grunt to go with the car’s already fine chassis. Sure, it was still a front-driver, but Opel has done such a good job developing the Insignia (the German equivalent of the Buick Regal) that you almost don’t notice.

Even the exterior styling of the Buick Regal GS is more aggressive than anything we’ve seen from Buick in decades. Up front, air intakes are prominent in the lower fascia, and the car even sports a pair of faux brake-cooling vents. Chrome trim is kept to a tasteful minimum, and the car comes standard with 19-inch wheels (and offers available 20-inch wheels, too). In profile, there isn’t much to distinguish the Regal GS from it’s less capable siblings, but that fits in with the GS’s “Q-Ship” nature. Out back, however, the Regal GS gets an aggressively styled fascia with exaggerated exhaust outlets, trimmed in aluminum. Whether you like Buick’s new styling direction or loathe it, the Regal GS has a certain European flair that makes the car stand out from anything else on a Buick dealer’s floor.

Inside, you get more of the same. Interior style is decidedly European, and we can’t fault the GS for the quality of materials used. The dash is wrapped in textured, soft touch vinyl, and it’s trimmed with a blend of piano black and aluminum colored plastic. There are a lot of buttons on the Regal’s center stack, and they control everything from ride settings (the car gets a “GS” button, meant to mimic the “M” button used by BMW) through navigation, audio and HVAC controls. While not necessarily intuitive, the layout is mastered quick enough that it won’t be an issue for most drivers.

There’s a fair amount of hard plastic used on the lower dash, and we did notice some annoying creaks during cornering. That wouldn’t be a deal-breaker for us, but it’s something we’d likely go back to the dealer to have addressed.

The front seats, while supportive, felt oddly narrow. We’d stop short of calling them uncomfortable, but we’d have liked another inch or so of seat cushion width for long-distance comfort. That gripe aside, we liked the contrasting parallel stitching used on the seat inserts, and had no problem dialing in a comfortable seating position.

The rear seats are stitched to match the front, and outboard passengers get semi-bucket seating. There’s a decent mount of leg room for a car of the Regal’s size, but the sloping roof does impact rear seat headroom. Those much taller than six feet will prefer riding in the front seat of the Regal GS, while we doubt anyone else would complain about the rear accommodations.

Under the hood lies a 2.0-liter, high-output, turbocharged Ecotec four-cylinder engine, mated to either a six-speed manual or a six-speed automatic transmission. It’s the same engine used in the Regal Turbo, but for GS duty benefits from more boost and a less restrictive exhaust. The engine is rated at 270 horsepower and 295 pound feet of torque, but to be honest it didn’t feel anywhere near this powerful. The car’s leisurely 0 to 60 time of seven seconds backs this up, and even the fuel economy isn’t stellar. The Regal GS is rated at 19 mpg city and 27 mpg highway, and we saw an indicated 20.3 mpg in mostly city driving.

Sometimes, though, a car is greater than the sum of its parts, and to some degree the Regal GS fits into this category. While quick enough off the line, the GS runs out of steam by about 5,000 rpm, so there really is no sense in flogging the engine hard. The “Hiper Strut” front suspension does an admirable job of negating torque steer, and the smooth shifting six-speed manual is one of the best we’ve seen in a GM product. The chassis is stiff, especially in “GS” mode, but the ride quality is never harsh. The brakes, which come courtesy of Brembo, are absolutely superb and among the best in the class, especially in the GS’s price range. While the car wouldn’t be that entertaining to flog on a track day event, we suspect it would be plenty of fun to push up and down your favorite canyon road. Best of all, it wouldn’t beat you up on the way there or the way home, especially in the normal ride mode. We’d stop short of calling the Regal GS a sport sedan, since it really needs more power to make that particular cutoff, but it is a distinctly styled personal luxury sedan that won’t disappoint those who like to drive.

General Motors supplied the 2012 Buick Regal GS for our evaluation. Base price on our press fleet tester was $35,310, including a destination charge of $860, and options on the car tested included the $1,145 Navigation System, the $1,000 Power Sunroof and the $700 20-inch Wheel Package, for a total sticker price of $38,155. For comparison, a similarly equipped Lincoln MKZ would sticker for $40,820, while an Acura TSX with the 3.5-liter V-6 and the Technology Package would list for $39,335.

It would’ve been so much easier if I was just into video games or something because there are times when being a car guy totally sucks. You see I don’t just like cars, I love them. In fact every aspect of my life revolves around them. I write about them, build them, race them, film them… hell, they encompass everything I do. Who knew that back in the day when I was playing with Matchbox and remote control cars that it would turn into an obsession that has taken over my life. The problem is this; I want everything, but the fatal combination of a writers salary and lack of space prevent this from happening. Sure being in the industry helps, as we get to drive press cars and go to different automotive related events, but still, that doesn’t change the fact that I jones for something different in the garage on a daily basis. Take this near perfect 1972 Ford Galaxie 500 that I spied recently on eBay. Folks, if I had the money this sucker would be in my garage tomorrow. Sure it’s big and cumbersome, but it’s a classic piece of American iron that I would love to use as a daily driver. Maybe it’s because it’s different, or maybe its because cars like this remind me of my childhood growing up in the 1970′s. Whatever the reason though, road yachts like this always get my blood pumping.

Understand that it’s not just vintage American stuff that excites me either. Take this old 1973 Mercedes-Benz 200-Series 280 SEL for example. It was build in a time when a Mercedes-Benz was still built like a tank. Cars of this vintage not only drove great, but they have a timeless style that even now, 38 years later, still looks great. Who knows, maybe one day I’ll hit lotto, or perhaps be in a position to get that 40 car garage I’ve always dreamed about. Either way though, there are times when being a car guy is a drag, as there are just so many wonderful rides out there and so little time to experience them.

It’s rare, but sometimes it happens. Sometimes a car company thinks outside the box and decides to have a little fun. Back in the 1980′s there was really no such thing as an American made performance automobile. Sure there were Mustangs and Corvettes, but with their wees-O-matic V8′s they were hardly anything to talk about. What you’ve got to remember was that back then, American auto makers were just coming out of the smog-laden 1970′s where cars were choked by emissions equipment to within and inch of their lives. Then in 1985 Buick, one of America’s luxury car makers, decided to go for broke and stuff a wicked little turbocharged V6 into one of their family cars. The car was the boxy Buick Regal and the result was the bad-ass Buick Grand National. With its 255 hp and 355 lb-ft of torque this mild-mannered sedan was the ultimate sleeper car. It ran 0-60 mph in about 5 seconds and blitzed the 1,320 in around 13.8 seconds making it one of the fastest straight line cars on the road. “Black Air” is the trailer for the soon to be released documentary about Buick’s super car of the 1980′s and by the looks of it, promises to give us some wonderful insider information as to how this hairy chested hot-rod came into being.

Source: Vimeo.com

The 2011 Corvette Z06, now with free insurance in WA and OR. Image: © GM Corp.

If you’re buying a GM vehicle in the next two months and you live in Washington or Oregon, here’s some (potentially) good news:. GM will pick up the tab on a year’s worth of MetLife auto insurance, above the minimum coverage levels specified by the states. I say “potentially good news”, because the deal comes with certain caveats, like applying only to personal (non-commercial and non-fleet) vehicles, being non-transferrable if you sell the car and being non-refundable if you opt to get your own coverage.

On the other hand, if your driving record is a train wreck, the deal may save you serious money. There’s no exclusion for a bad driving record (as long as you have a valid driver’s license and live in either Washington or Oregon), and there doesn’t appear to be any age limit restrictions, so go ahead and buy that ZR1 Corvette. Your 17 year old son is covered by the plan, as long as you give him permission to drive the car. It even gives you replacement value for a new car should your 17 year old son have an up-close-and-personal encounter with an oak tree or concrete wall.

Here’s the downside: at the end of the policy term, MetLife may or may not offer to renew your insurance. Rack up a few speeding tickets or accidents, and you can very easily find yourself without insurance coverage. Drive like a nun, and chances are good that MetLife will want to keep you as a customer.

For those of us with car insurance linked to homeowner’s policies, or with multi-car discounts, the plan may not be that attractive. Ironically, that includes most of the drivers with clean records that MetLife would want as customers. It seems to me that the plan will be very appealing to those who otherwise couldn’t get insurance, or couldn’t afford both a car payment and an insurance payment. If you’re a single male with a few tickets and accidents who happens to live in Oregon, there’s never been a better time to buy a Camaro SS or a new Corvette. The deal only lasts through September 6, so hit your local dealer up soon.

Source: General Motors

Looking back at these old road tests from Bud Lindemann’s Car & Track series, it’s amazing to see how far automobile technology has progressed. This is a 1972 Buick Centurion, a car that was considered to be somewhat of a sports sedan back in the day. It was built in a time before anti-lock brakes, stability control or traction control which means that keeping one of these behemoths on the straight and narrow was no easy task. The Centurion like so many cars from the early 1970′s was big (4,500 lbs.), soft and made to soak up road imperfections which meant performance was minimal. 0-60 mph for example took a full 9 seconds and braking distance from 60-0 was a whopping 204 feet. That’s beyond horrible by today’s standards. Still, this was 1972 and back then it was all about road comfort, space and style, things that the big Buick had plenty of. Watch the video in its entirety and get a load of what passed for good road manners and handling… you’ll get a kick out of it, I promise.

A few years ago SpeedTV used to air a show called Dream Car Garage. It was sponsored by Legendary Motorcars of Ontario, Canada and catered to everything from high end exotics, to big block muscle cars. One of the best segments they ever put together was a match up of the baddest muscle cars from the 1960′s and 1970′s. What you have to remember before you press play on these videos though, is that the American muscle car was and is, a mythical beast. Names like Cuda, Chevelle SS, The Judge and Boss made European sport sedans of that era quake in their boots. Not because of how fast, or how well they did (or did not) handle, but because of their in-your-face, take no prisoners, power house attitudes. I own two muscle cars and while I love them with all my heart and soul, I’m always amazed at how fast people think they are. Like I said, these old sleds are mythical beasts, and while other cars out there may out perform them, there will never, ever be anything as cool as an old school American Muscle Car. Click through for a whole bunch of awesome!

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There are some absolutes in the automotive world: drag racing your Miata, unless you’ve got an LS3 motor stuffed under the hood, isn’t going to be particularly entertaining. Autocrossing a muscle car, pro touring cars excepted, will be much the same, since they’re generally better at going fast in a straight line than they are at turning. The driver in the video below, Jeff Peoples, would beg to differ, and does a very respectable job of getting his 1972 Buick Gran Sport though the cones without drama.

The Gran Sport was a high performance option package offered on various Buick models beginning in 1965. I’m not exactly an expert on vintage Buicks, but it looks the 1972 model pictured here would have come with a 455 cubic inch V8, good for 350 horsepower and 510 ft pounds of torque in stock trim. A ‘Stage 1’ option gave the car an additional 40 horsepower, but the hot (and extremely rare) setup was the dealer installed ‘Stage 2’ kit designed for drag strip use only. Only 12 Stage 2 Gran Sports were known to be built, which makes them among the rarest of collector Buicks.

Source: Bangshift

Due out this fall is the new 2012 Buick Regal with eAssist, a new fuel saving technology that should boost the 2012 Regal’s fuel economy by 25%. By combining a lithium-ion battery system and electric induction motor-generator that works in conjunction with the Regal’s 2.4L Ecotec direct injection four-cylinder, Buick is predicting mileage figures of 26 city / 37 highway. For comparison the standard Regal without eAssist gets 19 city / 30 highway so the improvement we’re seeing is actually quite good. Quite honestly I have no idea why Buick isn’t calling this a hybrid, but I suppose that’s due to their marketing people as “eAssist” just sounds more fun. Aside from the additional mileage generated by the electric motor, eAssist also provides regenerative braking, automatic engine shut-off when the vehicle comes to a stop and improved under-body aerodynamics with tires optimized for performance and fuel economy. Buick has cars like the Acura TSX dead in its sights with the 2012 Buick Regal eAssist. In fact according to Tony DiSalle, vice president of Buick marketing,

“Buick’s eAssist technology means customers don’t have to trade a premium driving experience for efficiency”.

Having driven both the Regal CXL and CXL Turbo I can tell you that it’s a beautifully made automobile that offers great styling and features. As for the performance on the new eAssist – I’ll reserve my judgment on that until I actually drive one.

Source: GM.com

Thumbs Up: A Buick designed and built for those not in AARP

Thumbs Down: It’s a sporty sedan, not a sports sedan

Buy This Car If: You want an American alternative to an Acura TSX

My first experience with the “new” Buick came at last year’s Barrett-Jackson auction in Palm Beach. Given the opportunity to drive the new LaCrosse, I gladly took the keys and headed out to their parking lot autocross track. It handled, well, like a Buick: lots of comfort, but not much in the way of turn-in or steering feel. The GM product specialist made a point of demonstrating the car’s on-board hard drive and Bluetooth music streaming capability, and I remember thinking that Buick had missed their mark. Buyers of the LaCrosse would be traditional Buick customers, concerned more about ride comfort and interior noise than with the latest electronic gadgetry. If only, I remember thinking, Buick built a car that those of us who enjoyed driving would actually want to buy.

That car is here, and it’s called the Buick Regal Turbo. From the European styling (vaguely influenced by Chris Bangle’s work with BMW, especially at the rear) to the upscale interior and the surprisingly crisp handling, Buick finally has a car to draw younger buyers into their showrooms. It’s backed by a solid warranty, it comes with OnStar, it’s an IIHS Top Safety Pick and it’s competitively priced; in other words, Buick is going head to head against both the Lexus IS250 and the Acura TSX. If I were shopping either of these choices, I’d give the Buick a serious look.

One of the Buick’s selling points is the exterior styling, and I’m not ashamed to say that I think the car is stunning, especially in darker colors. It doesn’t look like any other car on the road, yet there’s enough of Buick’s traditional styling elements (like the waterfall grille and tasteful chrome trim) to remind you what family it belongs to. It’s based on the EU market Opel Insignia, so it’s the first Buick that can legitimately claim to be built from a European sedan, and that’s evident both from the style and from the cars ride. Unlike other GM products (the Cadillac CTS, for example), the Buick’s lines aren’t polarizing; even if you don’t love the looks, chances are good you won’t hate them.

Inside, the Euro theme is continued. Instruments are styled like chronographs, and reside in chrome-trimmed pods. Lighting is GM’s subdued blue, but the Regal Turbo also includes a “laser spot” needle indicator for the tachometer and the speedometer. Like the LED bar graphs in the Cadillac CTS-V, it really does help you acquire information on engine speed and road speed quickly. If I had a single complaint about the car’s interior design, it would be “too muck black on the dash”. In fact, there’s precious little other than black on the dashboard; you’ve got gloss piano black, matte black and textured black, but the only chrome or silver trim surrounds the shifter, steering wheel and instrument pods. The doors receive silver trim and chrome handles, which tends to break up an otherwise overly subdued interior. It’s not as bad as the acres of black plastic in the Camaro, but Buick could have done a better job making the interior a bit more visually interesting.

Still, that’s not much to complain about, and it pales to what Buick got right with the car. Take the front seats, for example: they’re superb in both appearance (with contrasting stitching) and comfort, and offer more lateral support than any other Buick in recent memory. They are, of course, heated, and both driver and passenger get adjustable lumbar support. This little detail makes a huge difference in comfort on long road trips, something the Regal Turbo would be especially good at whether your route was on interstates or winding back roads.

Even rear seat passengers won’t be disappointed, unless the driver is testing the limits of the Regal’s handling. There’s plenty of room for two adults (three, if the trip is short), but there’s not much lateral support for rear seat passengers. They do get grab handles, and this is the first Buick in recent memory that may require passengers to use them. Despite the sloping roof line, rear seat headroom is good for those under six foot; if you’re much taller than that, be sure to call “shotgun” early. Even rear legroom is decent, but remember that this is currently the smallest Buick. If you really need more room in the rear seat, shop the LaCrosse or Lucerne.

On the road, this is the best Buick I’ve ever driven (and that’s not meant to be damning by faint praise). Steering is nicely weighted with reasonable feedback, and the Regal Turbo’s optional Interactive Drive Control allows the driver to select one of three drive modes: Standard is the default mode, and it aims to provide a balance of both handling and ride comfort. Punch the Sport button and the ride stiffens, the steering gets heavier and throttle response improves. If you want comfort above all else, Tour mode yields the softest suspension, the lightest steering and the least aggressive throttle settings. Perhaps best of all is the system’s adaptive nature; if it senses a sudden change in driving style, it compensates accordingly. A sudden lane change avoidance maneuver, even in Tour mode, shouldn’t produce significant drama.

If there’s another area for improvement, it’s the engine GM chose for duty in the Regal Turbo. On paper, 220 horsepower and 258 ft lb of torque sound good enough for sport sedan duty, but the Regal isn’t a light car. In fact, it weighs in at nearly 3,700 pounds, so acceleration isn’t exactly enough to pin you in your seat. The run from zero to sixty takes nearly eight and a half seconds, and shifts aren’t exactly sport-sedan quick. You’d think that fuel economy would at least be exceptional, but it isn’t; around town, the Regal Turbo is rated at 18 MPG, and that increases to 28 MPG on the highway. I saw an actual combined fuel economy of 21 MPG, which is slightly less than what you’d expect from the Regal’s primary competitor, the Acura TSX.

That aside, the Regal has a lot going for it. The doors close with a solid feel usually reserved for German imports, and the car’s sense of style puts it in a class of one. The suspension means that canyon roads can be sought out, and not avoided as with Buicks of old. The Regal can be equipped with as much technology as your budget allows, including navigation, a Harmon Kardon audio system, the Interactive Drive Control and HID headlights. Best of all, the Regal Turbo gives us an idea of what to expect in the upcoming Buick Regal GS; if the Regal Turbo is good, I expect the Regal GS to be very, very good.

My 2011 Buick Regal CXL Turbo tester had a list price of $29,495, including a destination charge of $750. The sole option on my press fleet car was the $3,695 T06 Option Package (Rear Airbags, Interactive Drive Control, Power Sunroof, 19” Alloy Wheels, HID Headlamps, Harmon Kardon Audio), for a total sticker price of $33,190. By comparison, a comparably equipped Acura TSX would sticker at $30,470, while a comparable Lexus IS 250 would sticker at $34,020. In fairness, the Buick does include amenities not available on the Acura (premium audio, for example, or the Interactive Drive Control) and has a more solid feel to it, but the TSX is a proven commodity. Will the Regal prove to be a worthy adversary? The jury’s still out, but I suspect the answer is “yes”.