Topic: 2011 Buick Regal CXL; Day 1

[tpl]

Is this infinitely boring Buick really worth 105 posts?      Now if this James' test was of the turbo'd model then maybe but this overpriced, overweight underpowered car?   

[Baron von Raschke]

Is this infinitely boring Buick really worth 105 posts?      Now if this James' test was of the turbo'd model then maybe but this overpriced, overweight underpowered car?   

Couldn't have said it better myself.  Don't think this car is worth all the flaming and fuss.  Can't we all just get along?

[CatsEye68]

Is this infinitely boring Buick really worth 105 posts?      Now if this James' test was of the turbo'd model then maybe but this overpriced, overweight underpowered car?   

Well, it IS a GM car. In general, threads on this site dealing with GM cars generate much traffic from the usual brigade of anti-GM types who hang out here. When presented with a GM thread they seem to feel the need to jump up and down and chant tired old slogans. Many threads end up being locked as a result.

Then you have Jaeger who has made 16 posts saying the same thing, so the total is actually under 90. Still a large number but less than at first glance.

[Baron von Raschke]

Well the other half drove the car wednesday to do the groceries.  Today we went to the mall got on the highway and was annoyed at the old lady doing 60 in front of me so I punch it to move over and get to 100 fast and say "Wow this thing is SLOW!"  And she says "Yes it is very slow, I felt like I was going to get hit from behind the other day when I tried to get out of the way of someone."

This is from a NEW driver that drives SLOW and at the speed limit, she thinks it's slow... OUCH.

If you think this is lethargic, I wouldn't want to drive the LaCrosse CX 2.4L which has essentially the same engine but is 225lbs+ heavier.  Saw a base one at the dealer the other day while getting my car serviced and the light grey seats could be best described as mouse fur.

Anyways, this about the Regal but thought my observation would be relevant.

[Jaeger]

Well the other half drove the car wednesday to do the groceries.  Today we went to the mall got on the highway and was annoyed at the old lady doing 60 in front of me so I punch it to move over and get to 100 fast and say "Wow this thing is SLOW!"  And she says "Yes it is very slow, I felt like I was going to get hit from behind the other day when I tried to get out of the way of someone."

This is from a NEW driver that drives SLOW and at the speed limit, she thinks it's slow... OUCH.

If you think this is lethargic, I wouldn't want to drive the LaCrosse CX 2.4L which has essentially the same engine but is 225lbs+ heavier.  Saw a base one at the dealer the other day while getting my car serviced and the light grey seats could be best described as mouse fur.

Anyways, this about the Regal but thought my observation would be relevant.

Ouch - you're not kidding - that must really crawl.

Jaeger

[toolatecrew]

Well, it IS a GM car. In general, threads on this site dealing with GM cars generate much traffic from the usual brigade of anti-GM types who hang out here.

Its just too bad they don't generate the same amount of showroom traffic.

[bikenut]

jaegur , you cracked me up ,did i say your posts were lame ? ha,ha
that was so funny i didn't even stop to read the rest of the posts after yours

i think there are guys in their 50's and 60's that might like the regal , if it had more go ,
they still enjoy sporty driving , their reflexes haven't slowed down to require a not so responsive car
i just know some 24 yr old isen't going to run out and get it

i must apologize for allowing rrocket to bait me , are you the one with the 650 suzuki ? i suppose you never did appreciate my email on your bike .
everyone is intitled to their view ,
reminds me of the desiderata , -- Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even to the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story. - not refering to anyone in particular ha,ha , just kidding

i have no qualms about opposing views to mine , but on the odd occasion i feel its just done not to encourage dialoque but more to antagonize , when i feel this is the case i get angry ,
you see , here , people can say whatever they like because no arm can reach through their screen and grab them by the throat , and ,at times , i feel people take advantage of this sometimes
 i am used to seeing people hit for less the way some of you carry on . i might be guilty of this myself somewhat - but then i never claimed to have stellar social skills , quite frankly ,i'm a little less cilivized and would have hit 3 or 4 people already if they were on my door step .
  i've been pepper sprayed by the cops and pretty much have done what i pleased my whole life -- of course i've paid a price for it but its been well worth it to me . i am a little out of my element here
-- still don't know how to do that paste thing here for quotes

most of you here are very good , and i enjoy reading your posts , but then there are some jerk offs too , i'm just more on the intolerant side , so excuse me
 

[rrocket]

i must apologize for allowing rrocket to bait me
 

What did I do now?

[toolatecrew]

jaegur , you cracked me up ,did i say your posts were lame ? ha,ha
that was so funny i didn't even stop to read the rest of the posts after yours

i think there are guys in their 50's and 60's that might like the regal , if it had more go ,
they still enjoy sporty driving , their reflexes haven't slowed down to require a not so responsive car
i just know some 24 yr old isen't going to run out and get it

i must apologize for allowing rrocket to bait me , are you the one with the 650 suzuki ? i suppose you never did appreciate my email on your bike .
everyone is intitled to their view ,
reminds me of the desiderata , -- Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even to the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story. - not refering to anyone in particular ha,ha , just kidding

i have no qualms about opposing views to mine , but on the odd occasion i feel its just done not to encourage dialoque but more to antagonize , when i feel this is the case i get angry ,
you see , here , people can say whatever they like because no arm can reach through their screen and grab them by the throat , and ,at times , i feel people take advantage of this sometimes
 i am used to seeing people hit for less the way some of you carry on . i might be guilty of this myself somewhat - but then i never claimed to have stellar social skills , quite frankly ,i'm a little less cilivized and would have hit 3 or 4 people already if they were on my door step .
  i've been pepper sprayed by the cops and pretty much have done what i pleased my whole life -- of course i've paid a price for it but its been well worth it to me . i am a little out of my element here
-- still don't know how to do that paste thing here for quotes

most of you here are very good , and i enjoy reading your posts , but then there are some jerk offs too , i'm just more on the intolerant side , so excuse me
 

Back to proper capitalization. The button directly below the Caps Lock is a button called the “Shift” key. This key must be pretty important because there are TWO of them (notice the use of all Capital Letters for added emphasis) on the keyboard. Additional proof of the importance of the Shift key is that there is no clutch necessary before shifting on a keyboard.




The guy who invented the keyboard did everything he could possibly do to make it easy to use the Shift key, its even bigger than most of the other keys to help you find it even if you are slightly vision impaired.


I have highlighted the Shift Keys to help you locate them.




When you press the shift key and hold it as you press a letter, the Capital Letter appears, releasing the shift key disengages the Capital Letters and you are back to lower case letters. Again, no clutch is necessary to make this shift.




It isn't difficult to master the proper use of the Shift key. With experience and a minimal level of skill one can become proficient enough that use of the Caps Lock, will be relegated to place currently occupied by pacifiers, diapers and training wheels.

Here are some diagnosis tips to assist you in learning to proper use of the Caps Lock and Shift keys as well as Capitalization in general.

http://knol.google.com/k/how-to-correctly-use-the-shift-and-caps-lock-keys#

[Jaeger]

toolatecrew - commendable efforts to assist on your part.  But our friend isn't interested in capilization, punctuation, spelling, or making sense.  He considers those who bother with such trivialities to be "anal" - to use his precise term.

Careener - that is a safe prediction.  Discounts are the only way this car can hope to be competitive.  Of course, a more realisting pricing structure right out of the gate would have been preferable - but it's too late for that.

Jaeger

[Vanstar]

This car seems a solid effort for GM and really represents a gamble for them. I do wonder, however, if GM might have been better off marketing it as a Chevrolet rather than a Buick. For a supposedly upmarket car, it could be a tough sell to get buyers in this class to take a four cylinder when V-6 models are available from other makers at a similar price, or more advanced DI four cylinder models with significantly more power. For this reason it may have been easier to sell it as a Caprice or Caprice replacement, in my opinion anyway. Buick buyers are not exactly four cylinder fans in my experience and I doubt any young buyer considering another import (and the Regal is an import) would want a Buick.

The previous poster mentioned discounts. I would wager that GM will have to discount this car very significantly to get it to move after the initial buzz is over. The design is in mid-cycle now and will be competing with new designs in the very near future.

There is something that posters are missing here: In the next few years, we are going to see the car business in North America go upside down with the new CAFE rules and the 250g/mile CO2 fleet regulation that is now being phased in and is fully in effect in 2016. This is the reason the Regal has no V-6, and the Sonata for that matter.

[dirtyjeffer]

There is something that posters are missing here: In the next few years, we are going to see the car business in North America go upside down with the new CAFE rules and the 250g/mile CO2 fleet regulation that is now being phased in and is fully in effect in 2016. This is the reason the Regal has no V-6, and the Sonata for that matter.

but the thing is, the 2.4L in the Sonata has as much or more power than their V6 model of a couple of years ago...it also has more power and is lighter than the Regal, so it already seems set to be great out the gate...it is also priced well and comes well equipped...the Turbo Sonata coming soon will again beat the Turbo used in the regal in terms of power, fuel economy and the fact it can run on regular gas (i think the regal will require Premium fuel)...i don't see how the Regal is competitive at all, to be honest...$40k for a Regal Turbo is basically the same price as a C300 Mercedes, which (IMO) is a much nicer car.

[Jaeger]

The previous poster mentioned discounts. I would wager that GM will have to discount this car very significantly to get it to move after the initial buzz is over. The design is in mid-cycle now and will be competing with new designs in the very near future.

And the problem is - by NOT leading with the Turbo model, they have significantly diminished any real "buzz" that the new Regal might have generated.  Yes, it is presenting as a genuine "solid effort" from GM.  But "solid effort" is not likely enough to import intenders to the dealership, and as you correctly point out, 4 cylinders isn't going to get the Buick faithful too very excited.

Jaeger

[wing]

Too bad I don't have a car next week, this thread will be beaten to death for the next week...

[MKII]

Is the new Sonata better value then the Acura TSX?

[diceman]

It floors me that this car is almost 6 grand cheaper in the U.S. i think the turb should be the standard engine but will reserve judgement until I drive one.o

[CatsEye68]

There is something that posters are missing here: In the next few years, we are going to see the car business in North America go upside down with the new CAFE rules and the 250g/mile CO2 fleet regulation that is now being phased in and is fully in effect in 2016. This is the reason the Regal has no V-6, and the Sonata for that matter.

but the thing is, the 2.4L in the Sonata has as much or more power than their V6 model of a couple of years ago...it also has more power and is lighter than the Regal, so it already seems set to be great out the gate...it is also priced well and comes well equipped...the Turbo Sonata coming soon will again beat the Turbo used in the regal in terms of power, fuel economy and the fact it can run on regular gas (i think the regal will require Premium fuel)...i don't see how the Regal is competitive at all, to be honest...$40k for a Regal Turbo is basically the same price as a C300 Mercedes, which (IMO) is a much nicer car.

In that case, what makes the Benz worth so much more than the Sonata?

A rhetorical question.

The point being that, if we all bought cars based on spec sheets alone, the roadways would look much different than they do in reality. You cannot buy based on the numbers shown on a piece of paper. You must evaluate all sorts of factors that do not translate well to paper: refinement, perceived quality, appearance... one can go on and on. One does not always buy the fastest or most economical or best-handling or lowest-priced car in a given class. Yet that is what the arguments here are based upon.

[Jaeger]

The point being that, if we all bought cars based on spec sheets alone, the roadways would look much different than they do in reality. You cannot buy based on the numbers shown on a piece of paper. You must evaluate all sorts of factors that do not translate well to paper: refinement, perceived quality, appearance... one can go on and on. One does not always buy the fastest or most economical or best-handling or lowest-priced car in a given class. Yet that is what the arguments here are based upon.

Well, if you were buying the Regal, you'd be in no real danger of buying the fastest, most economical, best-handling or lowest-priced car in its class, so you'd better hope for a truckload of really impressive intangibles.

This "you can't buy based on a spec sheet" point is a real cop-out in the context of this thread.  James didn't give us a bunch of cold stats - he gave us driving impressions based on a week behind the wheel.  Tell me, what secret virtues of the Regal failed to "translate" to a reviewer who had, I assume, far more seat time than you did?

Jaeger

[Sir Osis of Liver]

The Regal is quicker than the current Legacy, and I don't remember this amount of whining and bitching when it came out.

My Outback is about a second slower to 100, and I couldn't care less. Cars like this will never be about 0-100 times. If they were, the Avalon would be the sales king in the segment, instead of lagging in the basement.

[Sir Osis of Liver]

Here are a few 4 cylinder midsize 0-60 times, all from Car and Driver.

Accord SE 9.1 (est)
Legacy 8.8
Regal 8.7
Sonata 7.8
Camry SE 8.1
Mazda 6 8.0
Fusion 8.0

The vast majority won't be able to tell the difference, and enthusiasts are already looking elsewhere.

edit: added the 2011 Accord SE, which gets better mileage, but moderately slower than before.