vonVeezelsnider

I've always loved the business coupe bodystyle but usually you see Chevys, Fords, and Plymouths. Cheers for an original survivor.

Less foglamps, more cornering lamps please. The fogs on the Regal are aimed really high so they do next to no good.

Up here their marketing campaign has been non-existent. Pretty much limited to a one inch picture of one in newspaper ads for Chrysler Dealers and a sign in front of Eastside Dodge that says "Welcome Fiat!". Maybe that has something to do with why I've only seen two on the streets ever.

This is the real deal.

What's funny is my first thought was "rental car" as well.

This is all kinds of awesome...

Seems there was an early change in the interior configuration on the Verano from as it appeared on this early production version (for the better IMHO). I managed to finally track one down in a showroom so that I could evaluate the interior, it was equipped just like the early-build one pictured above except with the forged painted wheels (same black interior 1SL model). Except the center insert on the dash was the medium gray in colour instead of all black. Maybe they realized there wasn't enough contrast with just the one colour and have decided to shake things up. I can't say I'm complaining. Other Observations: -Switchgear is really an improvement over the Cruze and previous Buicks, all the buttons feel very substantial and turn with a reassuring and heavy "click". The buttons are more rigidly set and don't flop about sideways as you move your hand over them sideways. -Dash and front door materials are good, but not quite to the level of those on the Regal. Like the Regal, the rear doors are finished with less trim and in less appealing plastic (about the same grade as the Cruze) than the front doors, but everyone is doing stuff like this these days so I can't really single Buick out for this. Have to give them points for at least throwing a little trim and still having the nice stitched armrests even on the rear doors. They have paid attention to the lower IP as well, it would seem; the plastics on the glove compartment door and lower door panels are almost as good as the stuff on the upper IP of the Cruze. -Rear seats were a surprise to me in a good way. I was expecting more tight accommodations than I found. As a guy of about 5'11 of more or less average build, adjusting the seats and steering wheel to my driving position I found there was ample room for someone even maybe three inches taller than me to be quite comfortable in the back. It's like a good midsize car. While the back seat of my Impala is clearly wider and can seat three across more comfortably and realistically, I found these seats to be actually more accommodating for a few reasons. One is that while the Impala has more knee, leg and hip room, the big PITA sitting in the back is that you can't get your feet under the seat in front of you which along with a small door opening makes ingress/egress a big pain. The Verano has the underside of the seats cut out deeply so my feet just slid in comfortably a-la the Epsilon and H/G-Body Cars. The other main problem with the Impala's back seat is that the seat cushion is too low and meets the seat-back at a strange angle which I found not to be present here. -Front seats are also a big improvement over the Regal. I assumed my frame would probably fit them better by looking at them but after a little adjustment I would have no problem driving long distances in that seat. The seat cushions don't have the more aggressive bolstering of the Cruze or Orlando but I don't take corners too fast so that doesn't really fuss me. Next step is a test drive.

As noted on another forum the entry point for the Azera is now thousands more than the LaCrosse.

Looking forward to this Camino, best of luck!

That's increasingly my takeaway from this... The 2.5L would be in high demand just to cover the high volume models alone- namely the Malibu and Equinox, as well as the lower volume vehicles like the Regal, Terrain, LaCrosse, Verano, Orlando, and ATS.

...and the time before that ...and the time decades before that

As much as I appreciate the offer, I'm not quite there yet LOL... Maybe once I have my CFA.

The 220 hp Regal costs as much or more than cars with 260-280 hp though. And it isn't like the Regal interior or feature content is amazing to compensate. For example, a 280 hp V6 Passat is about $29k. The Regal is just sort of a yawn car, and a wow price. The mainstream Turbo I think is going to get upped to around 250HP soon for what it's worth. I think the Verano 2.0T will have like 250 as well.

Seattle's great, wouldn't mind relocating there myself as I have been to the PacNW a lot in the traveling sense. If I get into Aviation as an industry it would be cool to work for Boeing for that matter, let alone all the tech companies. There's just the small matter of visas and that eventual big earthquake LOL

I think the thing kind of being lost in translation here is that there is some lament that amongst young people, the car hobby is becoming less and less mainstream and fewer people are getting involved. I'm not as much talking about fewer teens driving, I'm talking about fewer and fewer of them being interested in cars. I think that's what a lot of people are getting at here. Not that you should drive everywhere or that we shouldn't have a transit system, but that it's sad that a lot of the values and more favorable things and the dare I say "romanticism" we associate with the car hobby is being somehow supplanted by more interest in things that some here view to have less of an air of permanency and staying power, more disposable etc... That's certainly how I am approaching this at least.

The water pump is responsible for moving coolant through the system; there's coolant running through it all the time so it's a common point to look to when you have coolant loss. The Dealership wasn't doing any favours by covering it now, according to the warranty sleeve I referred to in my car, it should be covered to 160km, unless they cheaped out on what they cover between 2007 and now (entirely possible). These things sometimes fail, the water pump in my old Cavalier failed at 80'000km although realistically it should last twice as long as that.

It's overstyled from the B-Pillar back... from B-Pillar Forward it looks okay. Not sure about the interior, it's not really that inviting.

If I'm correct the heat wouldn't be at full strength as a direct result of the car being low on coolant... Depends on where the leak is I guess if its covered. Many cooling hoses and the heater core aren't covered under the powertrain warranty but the water pump, head gasket, intake, etc... are covered under the powertrain warranty. Are there any other symptoms- is it down on power? Any sign of the coolant leaking out under the car? What does the oil look like? Is it milky? Check the inside of the oil cap.

Kind of surprised they haven't worked the e-assist into the 2.5L motor yet- maybe for 2014. Nonetheless the economy is nice and is a nice move to make some consistency in the Buick lineup with a little more power too although I don't care too much for e-assist myself and would prefer not to purchase a car with yet more weight and a giant battery in the trunk that will eventually need to be replaced. I suppose that's why they retain the frankly sweet 2.0 Turbo setup, which would be my choice if I was going to shell out for a Regal. My hope is that the e-assist doesn't get forced on the Verano just yet as I am hoping that 2013 will bring the 2.5L I4 base engine sans e-assist for me to buy. If not I might be forced to buy a leftover 2012 at the end of the year in self defence. As an aside, here is the Cloth/Leatherette seats we get as the base Regal here which I suspect might be extended to the US as well as part of the move:

I was having just this same conversation with my dad maybe a month ago. It's interesting how priorities and hobbies change with generations... It is plain to see for me as I observe my peers. Many people around my age (21-23) don't drive period, the ones that do seem to prefer appliances like the Civic or Corolla (if they have money it's the ubiquitous base model Silver 3-Series, White C-Class or Black A4) to anything interesting, be it American, German, Korean or Japanese . Then again lots of folks my age seem to me to lack the situational awareness that would make them safe drivers (perhaps this is also related in some way to phones, texting, technology replacing common sense- I could go on and on forever on this one). I would agree that it's not connecting any more. I used to think think that I one of the things that made me an "old soul" was my taste in big american cars, but it has been becoming more and more apparent to me lately that it's maybe because I am into cars period. From where I sit my generation is, though in the presence of exceptions, becoming a subset of drones who are cripplingly beholden to societal 'norms', social trends, and blending in at all costs, lest, god forbid, someone realize you are a living breathing individual. /rant

Not bad. Comfy and efficient, and black. Not to mention I feel much better about myself now that someone else on this site has one LOL. Moral support I guess

One more from Washington State: Rainier

I also seem to recall either a Palm Beach or South Beach trim level on the Grand Marquis as well.

I don't seem to recall those nice chrome/polished wheels on our option list up here, must be an America-only thing I guess. I do agree with 'blu, I don't care much for the Metallic Black over the traditional Onyx Black.

I've only seen one Prius V in Calgary and it was a fresh, new taxicab believe it or not. This was last week and I thought it was a normal Prius at first but then realized it wasn't. The Prius, Escape, and Impala are the staples of our taxi fleet nowadays. I haven't seen either a Leaf or Volt here as yet, although in the space of two weeks around Christmas I saw maybe three Leaves and two Volts along with a Prius V in the parking garage of a single upscale mall in Scottsdale. Must be becoming more of a status symbol in wealthy areas where the weather is nice. It's weird as I know the Volt and Leaf are available for order in Canada and have been for some time but I haven't even seen one at a Dealer except the demo one Nissan dealer has been advertising for test drives in the paper.