At today's reveal of the 2011 Buick Regal, Marketing Manager, Craig Bierley gave a sneak peek at the next addition to the Buick lineup. He described it as a "small sedan," a size down from the Regal we assume.
There's nothing particularly dramatic about the design as it looks like a shrunken version of the LaCrosse. Expect the real news to come in the way of drivetrains. With the Regal set to arrive with four-cylinder power only, the new compact sedan will likely feature some of GM's smallest and most efficient engines.
Ed Hellwig, Lead Senior Editor, Inside Line
mrryte says:
11:32 AM, 12/ 3/09
"He described it as a "small sedan," a size down from the Regal we assume."
A Buick smaller than the Regal? WHY?
alman08 says:
11:40 AM, 12/ 3/09
^ perhaps the auto trend is "the smaller the better" globally...
xprojected says:
12:44 PM, 12/ 3/09
Insideline already posted a spy shot of this car ("Spy Photos: Buick Excelle Based on Chevy Cruze").
It's due to replace the Excelle in China. Not sure if American customers will warm up to it, though.
At least, I'm assuming this is the same car; the sketch has similar features.
roar02ram says:
02:51 PM, 12/ 3/09
Hmmmmm....I've seen a whole lotta nice Buick and not much Cadillac at all. And these Buicks are reasonably priced, whereas Caddies tend to be a smidge overpriced. Seems to me that someone needs to take a look at Cadillac...
gharry says:
07:50 AM, 12/ 4/09
It looks just like the Cruze. I wish Buick would give up the age-old fake portholes. They look even more ridiculous on the top of the hood, but at least they're mostly out of view from the side. The driver gets to look at them for the whole drive, though.
I'm sure traditionalists will complain loudly about not holding to decades of precedence, but Buick needs to reach a broader audience now it's one of the four remaining brands.
billt9 says:
06:41 PM, 12/ 4/09
We already know it's the 2011 Buick Astra.
http://www.easycarblog.com/wp-content/gallery/14_april_2009-buick-2010-opel-astra/buick-astra-0_1.jpg
Coming out in China first.
As you can see the spypic looks exactly like the sketch. Which means it really doesn't look much like the LaCrosse.
billt9 says:
06:55 PM, 12/ 4/09
You can see the small window in front of the side rear mirrors, the square thingy below the side character line, it's the Astra/Excelle sedan. Which is a good thing.
http://www.opel-europe.com/astra/
http://www.buick.com.cn/excellext/index.html
But of course just like the Ford Fiesta, for some reason the front fascia has to be distinctly American.