Fitting for a car loved in China, Buick redistributes Regal's HP wealth: GS loses 11, Turbo gets 39, so both now have 259. And AWD! The addition of the Haldex AWD system is a very nice change especially for the GS, which was known for its shoulder-hating torque steer.
Buick's also updated the face and ass of the car, cleaning up and generally de-fussifying the grille and headlight treatment, and trying out some new Lite-Brite designs on the LED taillights. Inside, there's a nice, big, 8" color touchscreen (that's getting close to the 9" size of the original Macintosh screen) and actually asking human beings for input on the dash control organization.
There's six-speed autos available for both, but happily a manual version is also available on the GS. Though only for the FWD one. Sorry.
The press release touts a digital craplobyte of new safety robots: Rear Cross Traffic Alert, Lane Change Alert, Side Blind Zone Alert, Lane Departure Warning, Forward Collision Alert and Collision Mitigation Braking. Also in the press release is this sentence from Tony DiSalle, Buick's marketing VP:
Nearly half of new Regal buyers are conquests who are new to Buick and they represent the youngest median age among the brand’s lineup.
So, two things here. I guess people under 80 have bought a couple of Regals, and, secondly, the use of the word "conquests." Why does that make me want to shower?
Also, it's made in Canada, so, you know, Maple pride.