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Since we already have an earlier Garage thread on the possibility of a future Regal wagon next year, I wasn't sure whether to just tack this article on to it or start a new thread. I decided on a new thread because this article deals with two other issues as well.......a 5-door hatchback and the dropping of the Regal sedan altogether in the American market. A shame, IMO, since I would probably have considered a next-generation Regal sedan myself .........but there is no denying the usefulness of the wagon body style. Still, it is more difficult to make wagons ride as quietly as sedans, because the open area behind the rear seats, even with good wheel-well insulation and quiet tires, tends to amplify what noise you DO have like a drum.
If they give the new wagon AWD (which is currently available on today's Regals), it might be a good (if slightly lower-ground-clearance) competitor to the Audi All-Road, Volvo VX-70, and top versions of the Subaru Outback. having owned an Outback myself once, I WOULD probably take a look at the AWD wagon.
http://www.autonews.com/article/20170314/OEM04/170319949/1657
Buick expected to replace Regal sedan with 5-door hatch, wagon
March 14, 2017 @ 11:00 am
Michael Wayland
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The new Regal models are expected to be rebadged versions of Opel's Insignia Grand Sport hatchback, pictured, and Insignia Sports Tourer wagon, which were showcased last week at the Geneva auto show. Photo credit: RICHARD TRUETTPHOTO GALLERY: Opel Insignia Grand Sport hatchback
PHOTO GALLERY >>
Send us a LetterHave an opinion about this story? Click here to submit a Letter to the Editor, and we may publish it in print.
General Motors plans to replace the Buick Regal sedan in the United States with a sedan-styled 5-door hatchback and Buick’s first wagon in two decades, according to two auto forecast firms.
The new Regal models are expected to be rebadged versions of Opel’s Insignia Grand Sport hatchback and Insignia Sports Tourer wagon, which were showcased last week at the Geneva auto show.
Cutting the Regal sedan is an aggressive move for Buick, but not surprising given the market’s shift from cars to higher-riding and more spacious crossovers and SUVs.
U.S. sales of midsize sedans have dropped for 2 consecutive years, and the segment is off 20 percent in the 1st 2 months of 2017.
The redesigned Opel Insiginia, with the rear hatch open, at the Geneva auto show. Photo credit: RICHARD TRUETT
A hatchback provides the styling of a sedan but some of the storage capacity and flexibility of a crossover, which accounted for nearly two-thirds of Buick’s 229,631 U.S. sales in 2016.
GM most recently hinted at plans to develop a hatchback with sedan styling when it introduced the 5-door Cadillac Escala concept car in August.
The 2018 Buick Regal is scheduled to make its global debut on April 4 at GM’s Warren Technical Center in suburban Detroit, a week ahead of its first auto show appearance in New York alongside the redesigned Buick Enclave crossover.
Buick spokesman Stuart Fowle declined to comment on the body types planned for the next-generation Regal, which has been a midsize sedan since the automaker resurrected the nameplate in 2010.
LMC Automotive and AutoForecast Solutions expect the hatchback and wagon versions of the Regal to be built at Opel’s Ruesselsheim factory in Germany and imported to the U.S.
Opel's Insignia Sports Tourer.
A sedan version of the next-gen Regal is expected to be produced in China for that market but not exported to the U.S. or Europe. It is expected to be introduced in April at the Shanghai auto show. Leaked photos of the car show hood lines compared to the hatchback’s that align with the large glass window.
Current production of the Regal for the U.S. is expected to end at GM’s Oshawa, Ontario, assembly plant this year.The Regal wagon would be Buick’s first entry in the segment since production of the Century and Roadmaster ended in the mid-1990s.
The next-generation Regal could be the last produced by Opel, after GM last week agreed to sell the operations along with its Vauxhall unit to French automaker PSA Group for $2.3 billion.
If they give the new wagon AWD (which is currently available on today's Regals), it might be a good (if slightly lower-ground-clearance) competitor to the Audi All-Road, Volvo VX-70, and top versions of the Subaru Outback. having owned an Outback myself once, I WOULD probably take a look at the AWD wagon.
http://www.autonews.com/article/20170314/OEM04/170319949/1657
Buick expected to replace Regal sedan with 5-door hatch, wagon
March 14, 2017 @ 11:00 am
Michael Wayland
0
Shares
The new Regal models are expected to be rebadged versions of Opel's Insignia Grand Sport hatchback, pictured, and Insignia Sports Tourer wagon, which were showcased last week at the Geneva auto show. Photo credit: RICHARD TRUETTPHOTO GALLERY: Opel Insignia Grand Sport hatchback
PHOTO GALLERY >>
Send us a LetterHave an opinion about this story? Click here to submit a Letter to the Editor, and we may publish it in print.
General Motors plans to replace the Buick Regal sedan in the United States with a sedan-styled 5-door hatchback and Buick’s first wagon in two decades, according to two auto forecast firms.
The new Regal models are expected to be rebadged versions of Opel’s Insignia Grand Sport hatchback and Insignia Sports Tourer wagon, which were showcased last week at the Geneva auto show.
Cutting the Regal sedan is an aggressive move for Buick, but not surprising given the market’s shift from cars to higher-riding and more spacious crossovers and SUVs.
U.S. sales of midsize sedans have dropped for 2 consecutive years, and the segment is off 20 percent in the 1st 2 months of 2017.
The redesigned Opel Insiginia, with the rear hatch open, at the Geneva auto show. Photo credit: RICHARD TRUETT
A hatchback provides the styling of a sedan but some of the storage capacity and flexibility of a crossover, which accounted for nearly two-thirds of Buick’s 229,631 U.S. sales in 2016.
GM most recently hinted at plans to develop a hatchback with sedan styling when it introduced the 5-door Cadillac Escala concept car in August.
The 2018 Buick Regal is scheduled to make its global debut on April 4 at GM’s Warren Technical Center in suburban Detroit, a week ahead of its first auto show appearance in New York alongside the redesigned Buick Enclave crossover.
Buick spokesman Stuart Fowle declined to comment on the body types planned for the next-generation Regal, which has been a midsize sedan since the automaker resurrected the nameplate in 2010.
LMC Automotive and AutoForecast Solutions expect the hatchback and wagon versions of the Regal to be built at Opel’s Ruesselsheim factory in Germany and imported to the U.S.
Opel's Insignia Sports Tourer.
A sedan version of the next-gen Regal is expected to be produced in China for that market but not exported to the U.S. or Europe. It is expected to be introduced in April at the Shanghai auto show. Leaked photos of the car show hood lines compared to the hatchback’s that align with the large glass window.
Current production of the Regal for the U.S. is expected to end at GM’s Oshawa, Ontario, assembly plant this year.The Regal wagon would be Buick’s first entry in the segment since production of the Century and Roadmaster ended in the mid-1990s.
The next-generation Regal could be the last produced by Opel, after GM last week agreed to sell the operations along with its Vauxhall unit to French automaker PSA Group for $2.3 billion.
