Looks

Enticing younger buyers into Buick showrooms is job No. 1. While the Enclave crossover and the recently redesigned LaCrosse have chipped away at the average age of Buick owners — it's down from 72 to 64 — the curvy Regal should lure in shoppers at least a decade or three younger than that.

The Regal we see in the U.S. is identical to a German GM design called the Opel Insignia. In fact, Buick proudly states that the two are virtually identical, save for the grilles and a few light treatments. That's likely because it would have been hard to complain about the original look. The front is modern and unoffensive, the profile and rear quarter bring BMW to mind, and the rear looks like it came from Acura — from before when that brand forgot what a curve was.

Taken in all at once, the Regal looks like a more expensive car than its $26,245 base price suggests. My hotel room was perched directly above the test fleet of Regals I piloted for this review, and while I worked from my hotel balcony I saw too many joggers and passers-by to count crane their necks to check out the row of sedans. Many even stopped to peek in the windows.

The Regal's look is an elegant one that's hard not to take note of in any of the six typical colors it's currently available in: white, silver, beige, dark gray, dark blue and black. Unfortunately, the dark red that's so attractive on the LaCrosse isn't yet available on the Regal.

    See also:

    Uniform Tire Quality Grading
    Quality grades can be found where applicable on the tire sidewall between tread shoulder and maximum section width. For example: Treadwear 200 Traction AA Temperature A The following information rel ...

    2006 Buick Lucerne Review
    Buick's new full-size sedan, the Lucerne, tackles one of the automaker's key challenges: capturing younger buyers while simultaneously appealing to its core consumers — a group that's been aroun ...

    Braking
    Braking action involves perception time and reaction time. First, you have to decide to push on the brake pedal. That is perception time. Then you have to bring up your foot and do it. That is r ...