2011 Buick Regal 6 speed manual
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The all new Insignia based Regal will be available with a 6 speed manual option “sometime after launch”.
And It will probably be an option on the 2.0 Turbo version only.
I think it is good news and will go a long way in trying to establish Buick as an attractive option for a younger audience.
Good news…
From Buick? Well that was unexpected.
And when they move production to the North America after a few years, the manual will disappear due to lack of sales.
I don't see a manual transmission as being attractive a younger audience. They are too lazy to shift and too shiftless to work. Hell, they pout if they can't text while they drive mommy and daddy's car.
The manual is for purists, who are few and far between in America today. European friends of mine still don't understand why.
It's 2009 and I'm in my first automatic car since 1980. Why? So my 84-year-old mother could borrow the car if she should need it. But she used to shuttle us around in a 1966 Ford Galaxie 500 three-on-the-tree (back in the day, as we "old folks" say).
After the Ford Fusion wins Motor Trend car of the year….good call GM, you need the help. People still want to shift for themselves. When was the last time a buick had a stick? The base Skylark?
I drove a manual for about 17 years and I like them. But seriously, how many of these do they expect to sell? I can see the GS when it comes out…..but not this.
Hey Buick, do us a favor when you produce the Regal GS, produce it WITHOUT the 2.8l v6 turbo…Instead put the 304hp 3.6. d.i. v6 in it please. It's a waaayy better engine and will probably be cheaper production cost wise. At least put a turbo on the new 3.0l d.i. v6, but please, lose the 2.8.
The take rate is going to be LESS than 2%. This is going to sit on dealers lots for months.
Why even bother on the non-OPC model???
A manual will be good for the turbo, at least you will be able to rev over the turbo lag before dropping the clutch.
It's not the youth, as some Anon said upthread, but this U.S. market as a whole. Americans, I theorize, aren't concerned with enthusiastic driving on twisty roads, so much as a commute to work where they can "safely" enjoy their cup of coffee in the middle of gridlocked freeways and/or keeping the fuss to a minimum when taxiing kids who already drive them nuts. It's all convenience all the time these days. That's where the sticks have given way to slushboxes and where 2-doors have ceded the market to 4-doors. Moments of kick*ss fun driving are an afterthought for most consumers, which is why the Camry is a top seller here. Sad, really, but it's the simple truth.
I hope the rumors about GM bringing the Opel Insignia OPC here as the Buick Regal GS are true. If General Motors can do that than maybe they can really pull it off with the Buick brand after all.
Moments of kick*ss fun driving are an afterthought for most consumers, which is why the Camry is a top seller here. Sad, really, but it's the simple truth.
There's nothing sad about it. If they're happy with what they drive, so be it. Now if their driving habits dictate what the rest of us gearheads can buy, well, that's another story! 😉
RE: Stuffghettopeoplelike…
Chevy tried to build a car as frumpy and as lousy driving as the Camry, the last generation Malibu. It was every bit as reliable as the Camry and it failed miserably. The Camry is like the Cutlass in the 70s and 80s, a terrible vehicle but newer ones have lots of latent brand loyalty for one reason or another. There are simply too many great alternatives, like the current Malibu, that are going to really hurt the Camry's demand if they don't improve substantially. I hope so anyway. I doubt that a 6 speed Regal will sell very well. But it's an easy image builder that Buick really needs to get rid of the grandpa stigma.
too bad no one will buy them.
I think there's a difference in how we buy cars in Europe (or at least way up North in Scandinavia) and the U.S.
We pretty much ONLY buy built-to-order.
We don't go to a dealers and pick one from the lot of pre-configured cars, but the dealers might have a couple of each cars (one low-end and one middle/higher end). They rarely get "stuck" with lots full of cars people don't want.
Cars are very expensive here (3-4 times the price of the same car in the US) so when I buy one, I want to tailor every little bit to my desires
Also, driving a Manual stick (instead of Automatic) forces You to concentrate and focus more on driving as opposed to letting the car drive You.
…the last generation Malibu…was every bit as reliable as the Camry…
Proof please.
The Camry is a perfectly fine car you mindless brats. This "Buick" will cost you a fortune when it breaks down just like all newer Opels.
"The Camry is a perfectly fine car you mindless brats."
Yeah right. You must appreciate the sound of a sludged engine. There is too much competition these days to have to consider a "perfectly fine" vanilla car like the Camry. And if you checked long-term dependability studies before shooting your mouth off, you're see that Buick ranks higher than Toyota. And has for years.
Zip ties rule!!!
Nothing out-lasts a Camry you stupid runt…Not even these over-priced Opels.
…the last generation Malibu…was every bit as reliable as the Camry…
Not much of a benchmark. I think ANYTHING built in the last 5 years is as reliable as a Camery. Not that Toyota's break down every 5 minutes; but neither do Chevys, Hondas, Fords or Dodges. You're talking 1 flaw per million parts -vs- 3 flaws per million. 3 X 0 is about the same as 1 x 0. "reliability" is more in your head than in the car these days — no matter WHAT you drive!
Saab lives-on!!!!!
"Anonymous said…
…the last generation Malibu…was every bit as reliable as the Camry…
Proof please.
November 21, 2009 2:35 AM"
I'd like some proof as well.
Not a chance. There are literally THOUSANDS of 80's Camrys running around on the road.
See how many Buicks there are.
"Anonymous said…
"The Camry is a perfectly fine car you mindless brats."
Yeah right. You must appreciate the sound of a sludged engine. There is too much competition these days to have to consider a "perfectly fine" vanilla car like the Camry. And if you checked long-term dependability studies before shooting your mouth off, you're see that Buick ranks higher than Toyota. And has for years.
Zip ties rule!!!
November 22, 2009 1:21 PM"
PROOOOOOF PLEASE!
You are WRONG.
The Camry is $5K cheaper…Why is it even mentioned here?
"PROOOOOOF PLEASE!
You are WRONG."
Um, I believe the post above is referencing the well known engine sludge issues in Toyota and Lexus vehicles that they refused to own-up to. And the zip tie comment is referencing the ghetto style fix for the defective floor mats that caused the fiery accidents and deaths of several people in their vehicles. The proof is out there and everyone knows about it. Go fetch.
"Not a chance. There are literally THOUSANDS of 80's Camrys running around on the road. See how many Buicks there are. "
This is a funny comment. Really? THOUSANDS??? Literally? How many thousand do you figure? I really don't see any of those square things around anymore, but I guess there are a couple thousand sputtering around. I have a feeling that there are THOUSANDS of beater Buicks from the 80s as well. But I don't know really. Whatever, this post is on the new REGAL and not Buicks from twenty years ago. And even though the current Malibu (which is highly ranked in almost every survey you can find) is a beauty queen compared to the Camry, I think this is better looking than anything from either Chevy or Toyota.
The sludge probem is sooo friggin minor…Less that 1% of all engines built so it was a user problem not a design problem.
It's a friggin floormat under the pedal…ALL friggin cars have that same problem.
My neighbor still drives his '58 Buick. And another has a '72 Buick Electra. Another has a kid who has a '87 Camry (it doesn't run, but he says it will in another 14 months and as soon as he can afford some more parts.) TO EACH HIS OWN!