Mar 19th, 2010 by Liz Opsitnik
Buick revealed its new 2011 Regal Thursday at a media event at the Fort Lauderdale International Auto Show in Florida. The Regal has been around for decades and the newest version is definitely not your grandparents’ old Regal.
“Many of you have been asking us, ‘When is Buick going to have a sports sedan? No really, a true, authentic sports sedan?’ Christopher Ayotte, Buick national marketing manager, said. “And we think the answer is the 2011 Buick Regal.”
Ayotte said the entire Buick brand has been transforming itself to appeal to a broader spectrum of buyers with the new models’ styling and features.
“The average buyer of a Buick Regal in China is 32 years old,” he said. “So it is definitely attracting a younger buyer and we certainly feel that this car will continue to conquest and attract a younger buyer to Buick.”
The 2011 Regal is based on the Opel Insignia and features a 2.4 liter, four-cylinder Ecotec engine. The Regal will get 182-hp and 30 mpg on the highway.
The interior of the four-door sedan has features that most people wouldn’t expect a Buick to have.
“In the interior, it’s very driver-focused,” Ayotte said. “It can accommodate a family of five very comfortably, but it really has the driver in mind.”
The Regal features an XM satellite radio, USB port, iPod input jack, Bluetooth, OnStar, voice activated navigation system, 10 GB hard drive for music files and a “time shift radio”, where you can pause and play the radio like a DVR on your TV.
The Regal will start at $26,995, Ayotte said. Incentives may include low auto loan rates, customer loyalty incentives and competitive lease offers.
The Regal was actually pulled ahead a year from its original launch date, he added. Buick also has other new models in the works.
“We’ll soon have a premium compact sedan that will be positioned below Regal that will fare well in the marketplace,” Ayotte said.
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Top and bottom images via GM. Middle image copyright © 2010 PriceWheels.com.
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