Regal Discontinued After 2020

Not surprising given current trends but still disappointing. The Tour X looks better than every CUV they sell IMO. Should at least keep that but I know that won’t happen either because Americans hate that naughty little word “wagon”. 

Sad to see the demise of a long running brand name....so Buick is going to be the rounded generic CUVs and GMC the squared generic CUVs at the same dealer....yawn.  Nothing remotely interesting left of the Buick brand in NA. 

No less 'generic' than every other CUV on the market.

Figured that was coming especially with GM not having Opel anymore.  

32 minutes ago, smk4565 said:

Figured that was coming especially with GM not having Opel anymore.  

Opel has little to nothing to do with CUV demand in the US. Besides, those sedans will continue in China where they sell very well, without Opel.

Sucks, because I like the Regal.

Will miss it and the Tour X when it it gone ...

Was going to happen sooner or later, not like Buick would be getting the next gen Insignia to rebadge again.   I guess with Opel doing a midcycle refresh for 2020 was a good a time as any to pull the plug.

😢 Sad, but there is always hope.

🤔 Maybe a Grand National CUV? 🤷‍♂️

2 minutes ago, dfelt said:

😢 Sad, but there is always hope.

🤔 Maybe a Grand National CUV? 🤷‍♂️

With 1.3 twin turbo!

2 minutes ago, Robert Hall said:

With 1.3 twin turbo!

Might as well make it a 1.3 Triple Turbo motor, that way each cylinder does not feel neglected.  

Triple the turbo lag.  

21 minutes ago, dfelt said:

😢 Sad, but there is always hope.

🤔 Maybe a Grand National CUV? 🤷‍♂️

Dear god NO!

50 minutes ago, Robert Hall said:

With 1.3 twin turbo!

No the Grand National gets a 1.6 turbo!

14 minutes ago, smk4565 said:

No the Grand National gets a 1.6 turbo!

1.9L and a 1/2 turbo!    oh, and only 2 wheels. lol  

Wouldn't shock me if GM's only car post 2025 is the Corvette.  I could see them killing Cadillac's sedans and most of the Chevy's too.

Maybe FCAPSA will sell this in Chrysler showrooms 🧐

”CHRYSLER LHS wagon”

1 minute ago, regfootball said:

Maybe FCAPSA will sell this in Chrysler showrooms 🧐

”CHRYSLER LHS wagon”

A version w/ woodgrain side trim and white walls would be a nice 'Town & Country' wagon...

15 hours ago, riviera74 said:

 What is your new next sedan purchase within the next eighteen months?

Remember: Money talks.  You know the rest.

Chrysler 300?

17 hours ago, riviera74 said:

Mary Barra is NOT the problem.  Neither are federal regulations.  The issue is simple: most people are simply NOT buying new cars (with a few exceptions) ANYMORE.  The Market is saturated with CUVs, SUVs, and pickup trucks because that is what the market wants.  Period End of Story.  Buick as a CUV-only brand almost guarantees its survival in the USA.  GMC as a SUV/CUV brand (pickups too) guarantees its survival.  The only thing that would make NEW CAR buyers switch back to sedans is $5 a gallon of gas happens again and that it last for at least two years (CA: $6.50 and up!)  Everyone who is shedding a tear for the lack of sedans should ask themselves one question:  What is your new next sedan purchase within the next eighteen months?

Remember: Money talks.  You know the rest.

I know for a fact that for my family, it WILL NOT be a sedan.

17 hours ago, riviera74 said:

  Everyone who is shedding a tear for the lack of sedans should ask themselves one question:  What is your new next sedan purchase within the next eighteen months?

Remember: Money talks.  You know the rest.

I'm not likely to purchase anything within the next 3-5 years, since my Jeep has less than 50k miles--- but hypothetically if I were to get a new sedan about the only domestic ones I'd consider would be the Chrysler 300 or Charger....or maybe lease a sports sedan like a Giulia, 3 series,  Q50, or G70...one of those would be nice...have thought about doing something like that.

I'd rather go CPO than new, though, an off-lease CT5 or CT6 with low miles could be a good buy...

5 minutes ago, Robert Hall said:

I'm not likely to purchase anything within the next 3-5 years, since my Jeep has less than 50k miles--- but hypothetically if I were to get a new sedan about the only domestic ones I'd consider would be the Chrysler 300 or Charger....or maybe lease a sports sedan like a Giulia, 3 series,  Q50, or G70...one of those would be nice...have thought about doing something like that.

I'd rather go CPO than new, though, an off-lease CT5 or CT6 with low miles could be a good buy...

CT6 Blackwing would be a good CPO. Too bad short sighted planning by GM is killing all the good stuff.

1 minute ago, dfelt said:

CT6 Blackwing would be a good CPO. Too bad short sighted planning by GM is killing all the good stuff.

Yeah, but those will probably stay high in price...aren't they only building like 1000 of them? 

8 minutes ago, dfelt said:

CT6 Blackwing would be a good CPO. Too bad short sighted planning by GM is killing all the good stuff.

Instant collectible... if you can even find one. 

19 hours ago, riviera74 said:

Mary Barra is NOT the problem.  Neither are federal regulations.  The issue is simple: most people are simply NOT buying new cars (with a few exceptions) ANYMORE.  The Market is saturated with CUVs, SUVs, and pickup trucks because that is what the market wants.  Period End of Story.  Buick as a CUV-only brand almost guarantees its survival in the USA.  GMC as a SUV/CUV brand (pickups too) guarantees its survival.  The only thing that would make NEW CAR buyers switch back to sedans is $5 a gallon of gas happens again and that it last for at least two years (CA: $6.50 and up!)  Everyone who is shedding a tear for the lack of sedans should ask themselves one question:  What is your new next sedan purchase within the next eighteen months?

Remember: Money talks.  You know the rest.

no she is the problem if all that is being offered to the market is 1.3 litre subcompact crossovers.

i have no problem with the market switch from sedans to crossovers, my beef is the regulations and side agendas that force the auto industry to offer smaller and smaller vehicles with tiny buzz bomb engines as the norm, and if you don't buy that, you get killed with a huge upcharge, just if you want a v6, good acceleration, and some elbow room.

cadillac is a great example.  absolutely cadillac took a sales hit on their sedans because of their size.  I can't tell you how many times i heard people at auto shows looking at cadillacs say (regarding the CTS and ATS) too small, not big enough, uncomfortable. etc.  Part of luxury is ample accommodations.  Of course you are going to pick an XT5 if you are dropping 50-60k when the ATS is unlivable for a lot of people and the CTS is even cramped for many.  

One reason I love our Pacifica van is there is no shortage of space, and it was not overpriced as such with all the room and a v6.  

I also did have a Malibu, 2016 nice car.  Saw a new Altima AWD on the road today.  A relative just got a Sonata.  Some folks will still buy sedans but they need to have better powertrain options at a reasonable cost than just the EPA compliance special.  I would have looked at another Malibu but you can only get the 2.0 with the Premier, which ends up being 10 grand more for a turbo four.  That turbo four should be an alacarte 1500 dollar option.  Let me decide if i want the fuel economy of the base motor.

@regfootball Sadly cost and the lack of many 3rd world places that cannot afford large engines plus China moving to EV focus will dictate what you get in an auto. The US is no longer the worlds biggest market and growth is not here anymore. Poor leadership is a problem. You can blame it on Mary at GM for going after profits and keeping the lights on or you can blame the silent generation and younger generations for instant gratification that has moved to debt loaded life's where they cannot afford to buy an auto anymore. Blame the political lack of leadership. Many things to blame, but sadly the time has come for change and that change will move many into uncomfortable choices because change is the hardest for humanity to take when it affects a passion of theirs.

BTW, this means that the Camry is the last mid-size family car to offer a 6-cylinder.  Even the Legacy has dropped its 6 in favor of a Turbo-4.

On 12/6/2019 at 8:09 AM, dfelt said:

@regfootball Sadly cost and the lack of many 3rd world places that cannot afford large engines plus China moving to EV focus will dictate what you get in an auto. The US is no longer the worlds biggest market and growth is not here anymore. Poor leadership is a problem. You can blame it on Mary at GM for going after profits and keeping the lights on or you can blame the silent generation and younger generations for instant gratification that has moved to debt loaded life's where they cannot afford to buy an auto anymore. Blame the political lack of leadership. Many things to blame, but sadly the time has come for change and that change will move many into uncomfortable choices because change is the hardest for humanity to take when it affects a passion of theirs.

we don't need to settle for the choices being offered if the choices being offered are market reasons.

Some dipshit at Buick an in interview said they were dropping the higher power 1.4 in the Encore because it wasn't selling (no demand).  No, it wasn't selling because you didn't package it correctly.  you made someone upgrade packages to get it, and most likely that drove a huge price increase.  And, you simply didn't make it available.  So, had they made it a standalone and offered it on all trims or even simply made the higher power motor the base motor, they acted like typical GM.

but maybe they saved a tenth of mpg on CAFE by doing it.......why?  not because of demand but because of regulations.

I'll use that Malibu as an example again.  the price of the larger motor (which is just simply a larger version of the same thing....4 pistons, same number of valves, etc. just physically a bit bigger.  package it up so you cannot find one without buying a fully loaded version thats 10k more or so than the base.  Purposely youre doing that as GM to discourage anyone from buying the larger motor because what you really want to do is cave to the feds and keep your CAFE low.  You figure 10 grand or so is enough of a penalty to the consumer for wanting power and the smart consumer knows there is a tradeoff between power and FE, you should let them make the choice.  I'm assuming the powertrain cost different is not much so offer the choice to the market and let them decide apples to apples.

Stand alone option? What is this; 1995??

There's a dipshit at every corporation 'forcing' this. In order to get a 2.0T in a sonata, you jump -guess what- $10K to the top-tier Limited (over the base sedan). I would love for GM to do ala carte options, but that industry ship sailed 2 decades ago, so it makes no sense to me to get outraged about it.

I knew this would happen at least a year ago.  All one needed to do is go into the Buick showroom when their car is being serviced and see the now lone LaCrosse and Regal over in a corner, or maybe just one of them.  When the LaCrosse was on the chopping block, I knew the Regal would be, too.

It's weird because, from the dim days where even Buicks had marginal build quality, the brand had come a long ways.  At this point, ALL of General Motors will be offering only ONE passenger car that is mid- to full-sized and mid-priced, and that's the Malibu.  Would I have thought this was possible as a teen or in my 20s?  No.  This is just sad.

I am now wondering if GM will recant along the way and start expanding their sedan or coupe line in the future because some customers will want them, even though the Asians and the Europeans seem to be content to address North America's demand for sedans.

Interesting analogy ... sort of.

Oldsmobile offers up the Intrigue, an instantly popular sedan that the public embraced, and GM drops the division a few years later.

Buick offers up a sports sedan that's made in GERMANY, and, one by one, they drop their car lines, with this foreign Regal being the last passenger car they have on the market.

SMH.

On 12/4/2019 at 10:05 PM, riviera74 said:

Mary Barra is NOT the problem.  Neither are federal regulations.  The issue is simple: most people are simply NOT buying new cars (with a few exceptions) ANYMORE.  The Market is saturated with CUVs, SUVs, and pickup trucks because that is what the market wants.  Period End of Story.  Buick as a CUV-only brand almost guarantees its survival in the USA.  GMC as a SUV/CUV brand (pickups too) guarantees its survival.  The only thing that would make NEW CAR buyers switch back to sedans is $5 a gallon of gas happens again and that it last for at least two years (CA: $6.50 and up!)  Everyone who is shedding a tear for the lack of sedans should ask themselves one question:  What is your new next sedan purchase within the next eighteen months?

Remember: Money talks.  You know the rest.

I see your point and I know they've penciled all this out.  If people want a sedan, they now need to look to the Japanese, Koreans, and Europeans.  It won't be within 18 months, but, for my next purchase, I intend to again get a sedan.  I like the way passenger cars look.  I've sat in Acadias in showrooms every now and then and think, "Hmm ... nice," but not to buy.  Also, with SUVs and CUVs, the price goes way, way up if you want a quality one, and so does the price of repairs and maintenance for tires, AWD, electronics, etc.

This whole shift is sort of strange when single occupant households in America are increasing.  Also, people are living longer, and there is expected to be an upward swell in senior Americans.  Those two things would point to at least keeping the demand for conventional passenger cars going.

- - - - -

At any rate, I'm posting because I was going through photos and found a "Sicilian" Regal in wagon form.

Obviously, it's an Opel Insignia wagon. 

I had an econobox during this trip but had one of these Opels before (as a result of an upgrade because there were no automatic econoboxes) and it drove damn near flawlessly.