GM has revealed prices in the US for the 2011 Buick Regal
GM has announced prices for the US for the 2011 Buick Regal – the US version of the Insignia. Prices start at $26,995 and deliveries start in March 2010.
I know, we almost certainly won’t get the Buick Regal in the UK. After all, we get the Vauxhall Insignia which is, to all intents and purposes, the same car. Perhaps if GM had off-loaded Opel and Vauxhall as originally planned we would get the Regal, but with GM back in business in Europe it seems highly unlikely. But never say never.
Still, it’s more than a little interesting to see what Buick wants for the Regal in the US. Starting price is $26,995 (£16,750). That’s for the CXL trim with the 2.0 litre Ecotec four-pot with 182bhp. Opt for turbo 2.0 litre with 220bhp and the price goes up to $29,495 (£18,250). Both of which seem cheap, but that’s the equivalent of our net (no VAT) prices. And cars are just plain cheaper in the US.
So what about the other Regals in the range, I hear you ask? Well, you can’t have anything other than the Regal CXL. At least for a while. And that’s probably because GM are having to make the Regal at the Russelsheim plant in Germany alongside the Insignia. Which is not the cheapest place on the planet to build cars. So they’re not going to produce the range in full until the Regal is being built on home turf.
So buyers who want the entry-level Regal CX – or the Insignia VXR/OPC equivalent, the Regal GS – will have to wait until 2011 (by which time, the US being the US, they will be called a 2012 car) when production of the Regal finally starts in North America (Canada, actually).
First customer cars are planned to hit the US in March 2010. And it’s going to be very interesting to see how the Americans take to a mid-size Euro car, even if it does have an American name and grill.
But they should love it.
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