The average age of Buick buyers has dropped to 57, from 64 five years ago. “And that’s as the average age for the industry is going up,” said Tony DiSalle, vice president of marketing for Buick and GMC, during an interview in Manhattan after the unveiling of the 2014 LaCrosse and Regal. The two revised sedans were revealed at a press event ahead of their public debut at the New York International Auto Show.
The Regal, a German-engineered sport sedan from General Motors‘ European Opel brand, is largely responsible for Buick’s more youthful appeal. Its buyers are the youngest in the brand’s small portfolio, with an average age of 43, DiSalle said. Even more telling, almost half of the Regal’s buyers come from import brands. Overall Buick sales are up 20 percent through February, compared with the same period last year.
The 2014 Buick Regal, which goes on sale in the fall, gets minor improvements that will help it better compete with key competitors from Asian and German automakers. The most notable changes are updates to its four-cylinder turbocharged engine, IntelliLink user interface, and the addition of all-wheel drive as an option.
Turbocharged engines are all the rage now because they allow automakers to downsize in pursuit of better efficiency without making a car feel wimpy. The turbocharged four-cylinder in the current Buick Regal has a lot of power, but it lacks the punch of other engines from rivals such as Audi/Volkswagen. With its revised turbo four-cylinder, the Regal delivers more power through a broader range of speeds, Buick says.
In the mid-level Turbo model, the new engine offers 18 percent more power than the engine it replaces, for a total of 259 horsepower and 295 foot-pounds of torque. But interestingly, the new engine represents a slight downgrade—at least on paper—for the Regal GS: it makes 11 hp less than the engine in the top-of-the-line 2013 Regal GS.
Car enthusiasts often overemphasize such specs. How the numbers translate to driving in the real world is a different matter. In that regard, Buick is confident the new turbocharged engine will make a difference for the better, not only feeling more powerful and responsive, but also offering less friction for better efficiency and smoother operation. Fuel-economy estimates have not yet been announced.
The turbocharged engine comes standard on the Regal Turbo and Regal GS, the latter of which has sportier styling and enhanced steering, suspension and braking systems. The GS even offers a six-speed manual transmission, a feature favored by many import sedan buyers that is often lacking on American cars.
The Regal’s base engine is now the turbocharged four-cylinder, Buick says. An optional four-cylinder engine, which was previously the base engine, incorporates GM’s eAssist “mild-hybrid” system, so called because it isn’t as fancy or complicated as full hybrid systems like those in the Chevrolet Volt or Toyota Prius.
The other big news for the 2014 Buick Regal is its revised IntelliLink user interface. It features a larger touchscreen with higher resolution. It also adds swipe and drag capability like on a tablet or smartphone. More importantly, it simplifies the dizzying array of controls on the center console, reducing the number of audio buttons from 17 to seven, for example. A new steering wheel also includes revised controls for audio and other functions.
The layout looks clean, user-friendly and easier to navigate than Cadillac’s rather fussy CUE interface. We’ll see how it stacks up in the real world.
Styling tweaks for the 2014 Buick Regal are minor. One notable change is the LEDs in the headlights and taillights—a flashy feature that is fast becoming a requirement on premium cars these days. The interior also gets subtle changes in trim and upgraded materials.
Buick offers new two-tone interior treatments in the Regal for 2014, including the saddle brown leather and wood pictured here. The instrument panel also gains a small, color digital display. (Credit: Buick)
The optional all-wheel-drive system distributes power between left and right wheels, in addition to front and rear wheels. This not only helps maintain traction in slippery situations, but also gives better grip during spirited driving, even when road conditions are good.
The 2014 Buick Regal gets the latest arsenal of accident detection and avoidance systems, but with a new twist: Lane-Change Alert detects fast approaching vehicles in the next lane.
The Regal’s larger brother, the LaCrosse gets many similar updates for 2014, including the new IntelliLink system, enhanced all-wheel-drive and new safety features. The styling has also been spruced up a bit.
Buick is wedged right between GM’s mass-market Chevrolet brand and upscale Cadillac. The current Buick Regal is priced several thousand dollars below the Cadillac ATS, but a loaded top-of-the-line GS version easily pushes into the Caddie’s territory.
However, the two remain distinct vehicles designed to appeal to different tastes. The one important thing they do have in common is that both are helping to elevate brands that have been stale and struggling for years.
Source: Forbes.com
No comments:
Post a Comment