Buick Regal
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The Buick Regal was a mid-sized automobile produced by Buick in the United States between the 1973 and 2004 model years. During this period, Buick also used the Century name on mid-size models and the two frequently shared bodies and powertrains.
Buick-Regal-'82.jpg
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Personal luxury roots
Buick had been the first GM division to bring a personal luxury car to market with its full-size 1963 Riviera. Nevertheless, it was slow to react to the developing mid-size personal luxury market, which Pontiac had created with its 1969 Grand Prix. Until 1973, it had no entry there. The Regal, which was technically an upmarket Century, was created to be that entry.
A highly-trimmed, notchback coupe, the first Century Regal shared its front and rear styling with the Century series but its greenhouse (window area) with the Grand Prix, Chevrolet Monte Carlo, and Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme. The Regal, like its corporate cousins, featured the newly fashionable opera windows, small fixed rear side windows surrounded by sheet metal, instead of the traditional roll-down windows. This first Regal lasted five years, with a substantial facelift in 1976, which incorporated the recently legalized square headlights. It was commonly powered by GM's corporate 350 in³ (5.7 L) V-8, although a few V-6's were produced. The Century designation was quietly dropped around 1975.
Downsizing, racing & repositioning
A downsized Regal appeared for 1978, and with it a surprising new powerplant, a turbocharged version of Buick's venerable 231 in³ (3.8 L) V-6. This car and engine would run for 9 years, and eventually give the Regal something it had never had before--a reputation for performance. Nevertheless, the smaller personal luxury market was the car's real target, and it competed well there not only against its GM stablemates but against downsized versions of the Chrysler Cordoba and Ford Thunderbird.
Regal developments came thick and fast in the 80s. A facelift in 1981 produced a much more aerodynamic profile and made it possible for the car to compete on the NASCAR racing circuit, where it enjoyed several decent seasons. V-8's for street use were still around, but had shrunk to 265 in³ (4.3 L), and V-6's were rapidly gaining ground. In 1982, a new Century appeared on a front-drive chassis, but the former rear-drive Century sedan and wagon were not discontinued. These models were were simply rebadged as Regals, and for the first time the name appeared on a full model lineup.
Grand National and GNX
Buick-Grand-National-'87.jpg
T-Type Regal coupes, aimed at the performance market, appeared at this time, but the real news came in 1982, when the Regal Grand National appeared. Named for the NASCAR Grand National racing series, this car incorporated a much improved 200 hp (150 kW) version of the turbo V6 and cost just US$18,000. This powerplant would continue to be refined and strengthened in 1986 to 235 hp (175 kW) and finally 245 hp (182 kW) in 1987.
1987 also offered a lightweight WE4 (Turbo T) option which is extremely rare today. Only 1,547 of this variant were produced. The only differences between a WE4 and the base Grand National were interior trim package, rims, exterior badging, and aluminum bumper mounts. The rear spoiler was only available as a dealer installed option.
By 1985, the Grand National was acquiring a reputation as modern muscle car, but the days of the G-body were numbered. For the final year, 1987, Buick introduced the GNX at a US$11,000 premium. Produced by McLaren/ASC, Buick boasted 275 hp and a very substantial 360 lbf.ft (488 Nm) of torque. Changes made included a special Garrett ceramic-impeller turbocharger connected by a ceramic-coated pipe to a better intercooler. A special computer chip, low-restriction exhaust, and reprogrammed Turbo Hydramatic 200-4R transmission with a custom torque converter and transmission fluid cooler completed the drivetrain modifications. Exterior styling changes include vents located on each front fender, 16 inch black mesh style wheels with VR speed rated tires, and deletion of the hood and fender emblems. The interior changes of the GNX included a serial number on the dash plaque and a revised instrument cluster providing analog Stewart-Warner gauges including an analog turbo boost gauge.
Performance of the GNX outpaced the factory's power claims: 0-60 mph (97 km/h) took just 5.3 s with a 13.3 s/104 mph (167 km/h) quarter-mile. According to contemporary sources, these numbers made the GNX the fastest production sedan ever built. This claim is somewhat controversial—the car had two doors but its interior volume and structure made it a sedan rather than a coupe, and just 547 examples were built. GNX #001 is currently owned by Buick Motor Division and sometimes makes appearances at car shows around the US. Although many quicker cars have been built, including a number of quicker modern sedans, its performance was truly impressive for the time. A contemporary Lotus Esprit or Porsche 911 matched the GNX to 60, but the Buick reached the quarter mile nearly a second quicker than either. The muscle cars of the 1960s had the power to beat the GNX, but the tires of the time could not transform this into speed.
Famously painted in all black, the Grand Nationals and GNX's were ferocious drag strip competitors and are highly collectible today. The Grand National returned briefly to the headlines in 2003, when actor Sean Penn's was stolen with several guns inside.
Front drive & four doors
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A new Regal appeared in 1988 on the GM W platform. This version both departed from and returned to Regal tradition. It was a departure in being the first front-drive model, and in having no serious performance option or edition; there was no V-8 and the V-6 no longer offered a turbocharger. It did return to the original concept, however, in being offered as a coupe only, aimed once again squarely at the personal luxury buyer. The decline in that market, though, was becoming noticeable to all the manufacturers, and in 1990 the Regal again got a four-door sedan version (as did the Grand Prix the same year). This generation ran with few changes for nine years.
In 1997, Century and Regal became simply versions of the same car, sitting on a revised W chassis that was shared with the Oldsmobile Intrigue. A four-door was the only model offered, and differences were mostly cosmetic. As the upmarket version, the Regal offered larger engines and fancier trim, and once again boasted an optional performance version of the eternal 231 V-6. This was now supercharged instead of turbocharged and produced a very respectable 240 hp (179 kW). Few changes occurred during this version's seven-year run.
Engines:
Regal flees abroad
All Buick Regal's were assembled in Oshawa, Ontario Canada. The Regal was the fourth model chosen to be assembled in China by Shanghai GM, beginning on December 26, 2002, after the Century, GL8 minivan, and Sail. It has generated considerable sales in that market as a large, relatively luxurious model, despite being more expensive than the US version. It replaced the Century in Buick's Chinese line-up and has slightly different frontal sheetmetal from the US models. Engine choices are also very different: a 2.0 litre four and a 2.5 V6 power the Chinese Regal.
The domestic car has been less fortunate and will be replaced in 2005 by the Buick LaCrosse, although news reports indicate that the Regal chassis will actually live on beneath the new body. The final 2004 Buick Regal rolled off the assembly line on June 1, 2004.
Summing up
The Regal name will be remembered for an exceptionally long and diverse career. In a three-decade continuous production run, it evolved from a luxury model into a full-blown racer and classic performance car, and then made an astonishing leap to Asian success. Few models in the global industry can claim more.
External links
- Article on a first generation Regal (http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/250-12102003-210877.html)
- The NASCAR Regals (http://home.flash.net/~rjgeorge/nascar.htm)
- History of the performance Regals (http://home.flash.net/~rjgeorge/index.htm)
- An owner of three Turbo Regals! (http://members.tripod.com/%7eedchapman/cars.html)
- Muscle Car Club Grand National page (http://www.musclecarclub.com/musclecars/buick-grandnational/buick-grandnational.shtml)
- Recent GNX article (http://autoweek.com/article.cms?articleId=6995)
- Grand National scale model (http://www.toysandhobbies.com/store/hbtoys/GMP8201.html)
- A nice Regal pix page, but on a slow server (http://regalman0.tripod.com/regalmania2001/id1.html)
- Consumer Guide on the last Regals (http://auto.consumerguide.com/auto/used/reviews/full/index.cfm/id/2288)
- Buick's official page (http://www.buick.com)
- Buick in China (http://www.buick.com.cn/)
- RegalGS.org (http://www.regalgs.org/)
- High Resolution 1987 Buick Grand National Pictures (http://www.nextpctech.com/cars/Buick%20Grand%20National/index.html)