You knew it was coming, because it was just too good to last. The Buick Regal, which includes the Regal Sportback, Regal GS and the beloved Regal TourX wagon, are dead in the United States and Canada and after the 2020 model year. Pour one out for the classic American family car.
The reason, of course, is because of the popularity of SUVs and crossovers. I am Jack’s complete lack of surprise. Buick’s official statement on the matter confirms this:
“Buick continues to be ahead of the consumer shift toward SUVs. In fact, nearly 90 percent of Buick sales to date this year have been crossovers and sales have outpaced key competitors including Lincoln, Acura and Infiniti.
Our lineup of premium SUVs will expand in the coming months when the Encore GX will become the fourth SUV in our portfolio, joining well-established nameplates such as Encore, Envision and Enclave. Combined, these four premium SUVs give customers a great range of size, performance and innovative technologies in the industry’s largest and fastest-growing segments, all connected by the strong design statement core to the Buick brand.”
The Regal, despite the GS version being very good, just never sold very well here. Last year’s best sellers were, disgustingly, trucks, SUVs, and crossovers. The Regal and the TourX wagon only sold about 6,000 units in 2018, according to Motor Authority.
The outlet also succinctly points out:
The latest generation of the Regal debuted for the 2018 model year, right around the time that General Motors sold Opel, the German automaker that developed and builds the Regal, to France’s PSA Group. GM has since had to pay Opel to build the car. Opel sells its own version of the Regal badged an Insignia, which Opel has just updated.
The whole thing sounds like a mess.
Anyway, per General Motors, the Regal will keep on being be sold in China, where people still like sedans.
So long, TourX wagon. You had a good run, earned yourself some loyal followers. But it wasn’t enough.