AUTO RED BOOK REVIEW: 2012 BUICK REGAL GS

On The Cover Review: 2012 Buick Regal GS

Buick recently passed through a crossroads. Right now, they are willingly abandoning virtually their entire customer base to bring in a younger, sportier crowd. Buick doesn’t cater to the blue-hairs anymore. Frankly, they cater to the Chinese market, where they sell more cars than they do in the U.S. And they seem to be a clearing house for vehicles that may have been Pontiacs or Saturns before those divisions were shuttered. The overseas Opel Insignia-based Regal was destined to be a Saturn before it got the tri-shield attached to the grill. Of course, there is some precedent for smaller, sportier Regals. Who can forget the legendary Regal Grand National of the mid-1980s? Continuing with the tradition of adding a turbo to a racy Buick, the new Regal GS gets a 255-hp, 2.0-liter four-cylinder fitted with the familiar whistle of a turbo. It also gets special ground effects, larger wheels, and bigger brakes. The Regal GS is a far cry from the Electra 225’s of distant yore, or even the Lucernes of recent yore. But it is more indicative of the new direction of Buick. Whether you like it or not, they’re too far down this path to turn back. So their challenge will be to convince people to follow them down this new road. And so far, people are slowly starting to program their GPS’s to Buick.