Rumorpile: Buick Shows Off A Regal Wagon To Their Dealers

Verano did sell well for awhile.  Regal wagon would really just be niche but may provide needed attention for the brand.

A Regal wagon would sell so few units, I don't know if they'd recoup the cost of certifying it.  The Regal sells about 15-20,000 cars a year  at a 5% take rate for the wagon you are looking at less than 1,000 units a year.   They just cut the Verano due to poor sales, when it outsells the Regal like 3 to 1.  I wonder how much longer the Regal sedan has on the market, let alone adding a wagon.

Edited July 17, 20169 yr by smk4565

Verano was simply surpassed by newer vehicles.   The new Astra could have easily moved up market above the Cruze.  I still don't know what GM is thinking there... 30k sales is better than 0k sales on a vehicle that is already completely developed and just has to be shipped to dealerships. Even if they dropped the base trims and shipped them over from Europe.... 

I really like the Regal wagon idea.  The fits in nicely with Buicks "Fill the white space" mantra.... finding niches that no one else is doing right now and then find something in the GM portfolio worthy of filling it.  Thats what Encore was, that's what Cascada is (still), and thats what this Regal Wagon would be.   The ONLY other option in the semi-premium realm is the Volvo V60 with a base price of $36,150. The V60 Cross Country is $41k. As nice as the V60 is, it is old and in many ways outdated.  

It appears Audi doesn't make an A4 Avant anymore, only the All-Road which bases at $42k.  The only Benz wagon is the E-Class at $59k. The BMW 3-series wagon is $42k.

A Regal Estate starting at $35k and a TourX starting at $38k would fill some white space.  I'd advice against pricing it directly against the Volvo... but putting it just a K or so under would be fine.

The Volvo V60 and V60 cross country combined sell like 350 a month.  Even if Buick steals half of Volvo's wagon sales they are maybe getting 200 Regal wagons a month sold.  The Subaru Outback is the only wagon that sells well because it is not that much like a wagon and Subaru has a bit of a cult following.  And the Outback starts at $25,000, I don't think Buick is going to price a Regal Wagon like that.  This is a really small niche market, and it isn't a high margin niche.

I am not against wagons either, they have the cargo capacity of a crossover, but still drive like a car.  But the market place doesn't buy wagons.

Edited July 18, 20169 yr by smk4565

Verano was simply surpassed by newer vehicles.   The new Astra could have easily moved up market above the Cruze.  I still don't know what GM is thinking there... 30k sales is better than 0k sales on a vehicle that is already completely developed and just has to be shipped to dealerships. Even if they dropped the base trims and shipped them over from Europe.... 

 

I really like the Regal wagon idea.  The fits in nicely with Buicks "Fill the white space" mantra.... finding niches that no one else is doing right now and then find something in the GM portfolio worthy of filling it.  Thats what Encore was, that's what Cascada is (still), and thats what this Regal Wagon would be.   The ONLY other option in the semi-premium realm is the Volvo V60 with a base price of $36,150. The V60 Cross Country is $41k. As nice as the V60 is, it is old and in many ways outdated.  

 

It appears Audi doesn't make an A4 Avant anymore, only the All-Road which bases at $42k.  The only Benz wagon is the E-Class at $59k. The BMW 3-series wagon is $42k.

 

A Regal Estate starting at $35k and a TourX starting at $38k would fill some white space.  I'd advice against pricing it directly against the Volvo... but putting it just a K or so under would be fine.

Was going to type mine, realize Drew and I are along the same train of thought here...

Station wagon would be a niche market item here in the US, probably do better in Europe where they like their wagons compared to our CUVs.

Station wagon would be a niche market item here in the US, probably do better in Europe where they like their wagons compared to our CUVs.

Even in Europe, CUVs are beginning to overtake wagons. 

In 2015 SUV was the #1 selling body style in Europe at 22.5%.  Subcompact car was 22%, compact car was 20.6%, and MPV was 4th with 10.5%.  MPV would be your B-class, Ford S-max, Fiat 500L, VW Golf Sportvan, etc.  So those are close to crossovers, sort of Europe's minivan.

Mid-size sedan and station wagon are 9% of European car sales, and most of that is sedan, so the wagon market in Europe is even pretty dead at this point.  

i want my 83 regal wagon back!!!! hehe