Forty years ago, Buick introduced a mid-size luxury car called the Regal , intended for North America. Since then, the car has been produced without interruption across five generations , except for a five-year hiatus from 2008 when it was only available in China.
The Regal name first appeared in 1973 on the Buick Century Regal . The Century Line line of cars was intended for more demanding customers, and it was the Regal that was GM's first attempt in this area. Although the Regal was launched with a 5.7 liter V8 , it soon began to downsize as it faced the oil crisis during the Arab oil embargo of the 1970s .
This forced automakers to use smaller engines , and the Regal was the only US midsize car to switch from a standard V8 to a smaller V6. This trend continued in the following years, so in 1978 Buick decided to go the turbocharging route , which has lasted until today, when models are based on the Opel Insignia . But let's go back to 1973 and look at the individual models of all five generations launched into the automotive world.
First generation: 1973-1977
The main design features of the first Regal were the elongated soft lines and small windows located in the "C" pillar. For that time, it was equipped with a large number of timeless elements. It was thanks to them that the Regal coupe (1973) sold 91,577 units , breaking Buick's sales record set in 1955. The 1975 Buick Regal was the only midsize car offered in the US with a standard V6 engine.
Second generation: 1978-1987
The second generation continued the trend of downsizing the engine volume started by the previous generation and came to the market with a six-cylinder 3.8 liter turbocharged engine . Buick was thus the first automaker to offer a turbocharged engine in the base. This breakthrough paved the way for the Grand National and GNX of the 1980s.
Third generation: 1988-1996
Downsizing in the United States continued, and even the third generation Regal did not escape it. At the same time, a number of technical and design changes came with it, for example the transition from rear-wheel drive to front-wheel drive . Only six-cylinder engines appeared under the hood, including a 3.8 l V6.
Fourth generation: 1997-2004
Like the 1973 model, the Regal also came to market in 1997 with the Buick Century badge . Furthermore, in 1997, the Regal GS model premiered with an all-new turbocharged V6 engine, tuned for 240 horsepower and 379 Nm of torque.
Fifth Generation: 2009–present
After a five-year hiatus between 2008-2013, when the Regal was offered only for the Chinese market , where the fifth generation premiered in 2009, it returned to the American market a year later. The model is based on the Opel Insignia and has not forgotten the improved version of the GS for 2012. This year, the 2014 version is equipped with all-wheel drive for the first time and is equipped with the most powerful engine used in the history of the model, a turbocharged four-cylinder two-liter producing 259 horsepower and straight 400 Nm of torque.
Source: Buick, autowp.ru
