In the market for a new Buick Regal or Verano? The brand introduced a new pair of base models aimed at the entry-level luxury market for consideration.
The Buick Regal 1SV and Verano 1SV begin at $27,990 and $21,990 respectively, knocking off $2,295 and $2,315 from the prices of the next models in line (Regal Turbo and Verano) in so doing, CarsDirect reports. The prices are meant to help the two sedans compete in the entry-level luxury market against the likes of the Mercedes CLA, Acura ILX, Audi A3 and BMW 320.
What does one get for saving a couple of thousand? For the Regal, a 2.4-liter Ecotec four-pot from the now-defunct fleet version of the sedan, which lacks stop-start and pumps out 182 horses to the front. Meanwhile, the Verano makes do with only an AM/FM radio instead of one with satellite radio included.
Whether or not the Regal and Verano 1SV models will help the brand fight alongside the Encore subcompact crossover against the downstream current of falling sales remains to be seen. Low-end models such as these usually are excluded from incentives General Motors offers for other models, a decision not likely to help the brand in the long run should this latest move fizzle.
Further, dealers may not be too thrilled to have more than a handful of Verano 1SVs on the lot at a time, while $28,000 may be too much to pay for a Regal with leather and 4G yet little power under the hood. Of course, one could wait a year until the first 1SVs hit the used lot for 32 percent off the original sticker, but only if power isn’t an issue on the used lot, as well.
[Source: Buick]
Looks like the rental companies wanted to cut costs a bit. If you want one of these, the place to find it will be your local Hertz or Enterprise lot in about a year.
Buick is about 13% fleet these days.
What city is that in the background?
My old Kentucky home, Louisville. :)
From left to right, as best as I can recall: Second Street Bridge; KFC Yum Center; Louisville Gas & Electric; Waterfront Plaza; Fifth Third Bank; AEGON Center; Galt House Hotel; Belvedere/Riverfront Plaza; PNC Tower; Humana; Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts; and the Muhammad Ali Center.
I-64 crosses in front/under the structures listed, while the Ohio River separates the Verano from the skyline.
Finally, the Verano is in Southern Indiana; the Ohio is also the state boundary between Kentucky and Indiana.
Thanks! Aha, the Ohio River!
Louisville
Yep…Louisville. My home up until about a week ago.
For realsies?! Where are you now?
Does anyone outside of GM marketing believe that Buick is a luxury brand? Buick is just re-branded Opel cars sold next to GMC re-branded Chevrolet trucks.
Given that GM marketing is struggling to get folks to seriously consider Cadillac in the luxury stakes, the idea of Buick as a luxury brand probably comes from the same crack pipe.
Apparently some even here do (check out the hilarious discussion in the QOTD Buick article). For anyone thinking of tolerating that thought for a moment, please look at that picture above again of the Corolla in front a Louisville skyline and ask yourself if that somehow recalls the word “luxurious” for you.
Oh wait, that’s not a 2010 Corolla, it’s Buick’s compact car! My bad.
Rentals? I assume both will continue to have lack of backseat legroom standard. I`d hate to be stuck back there for any length of time.
According to Alex Dykes, the Regal has good rear seat leg room for the class, but poor head room. I’ve never sat in one, though.
Alex is wrong. The Regal might not be cramped next to the TSX or CLA, but it’s utterly pointless compared to, eg, a Hyundai Sonata, Honda Accord or Ford Fusion, all of which are about as nice, go faster and cost much less.
And there, in a nutshell, is Buick’s problem.
Everything Buick makes can be had somewhere else with more space, more power and less money. Near-lux is dead segment.
The Regal is most certainly cramped next to the TSX. My wife’s 5’0″ grandma could barely fit in the back of our rental Regal. It looks like a 1992 Mercury Mystique back there.
Near-lux can be done – look at Acura, Infiniti, even Volvo. It’s competitive, but it can be done.
Problem is failing at near-lux is failing at TWO things. As you mentioned, when a Hyundai Sonata is a better buy, you’re not just failing at near-lux. You’re failing at making a competitive car in any category.
Hell, look at that picture. The Verano looks like a 2010 Corolla. Green-lighting this in the first place means someone was smoking some heavy marijuana. Having the gall to call it “near-lux” means someone must have been on PCP.
Alex has great reviews – and he tries to project for taller drivers than himself – but looking at the numbers the real problem with the Regal’s back seat isn’t legroom, it’s headroom.
This means taller rear passengers have to slide down, taking up legroom and making for a pretty uncomfortable ride.
It’s headroom and kneeroom. It’s tight back there.
A turbo-less Regal? I got no problem with that. Are they going to limit the colors and options, too?
Me neither, but mine’s a Malibu :-)
What else is missing from the Verano other than Satellite radio? Seems there has to be other stuff missing.
A compelling deletion is Bluetooth, such as on the base Versa and Mirage. What is that? 75 cents?
The high trim models with mucho cash on the hood is the way to go.
Chief Pontiac is alive and well.
What else can they leave off the Verano to lower the price? I shopped Verano a few months ago when an L.A. dealer was selling them for $5K off sticker for the base model. The base had no electric seats, no heated seats, no availabilty for the cross traffic monitor and I think it also deleted the auto dimming mirror. It did have blue tooth and a back up camera.
It also had the out of date 2.4 liter engine with very mediocre EPA mileage numbers. The used lots were no cheaper than a discounted new one. The concept of a stripper luxury car seems to be an oxymoron. If you want a cheaped out Buick, why not buy the Cruze and at least get the 1.4 turbo with decent mileage? The dealer was also starting to get in the Terrain S, a decontented model of the base SLE-1.
Who is the target for these stripper “near luxury” models with thirsty drive trains?? At this price point you can save more $$ at the gas pump than at the Buick/GMC dealer. In L.A. today regular is $3.89 per gallon.
“Who is the target for these stripper “near luxury” models with thirsty drive trains??”
GM, or rather, their production lines. These cars exist because they’re not yet able to eat the costs of killing them.
I would imagine that the point of these is just to get a lower MSRP to advertise to get people onto the lots and upsell them to the higher margin trims that already exist and that dealers will actually stock.
I would think so. But a base Regal Turbo is pretty decently equipped, and with cash on the hood is going to cost the same as this thing.
It’s not about actually selling cheaper cars. It’s about being able to advertise a lower MSRP to get people to think of the Buick who might not otherwise consider it by getting the advertised price to be more competitive. Most of the reduction in MSRP in these models comes from reducing the margin between invoice and MSRP compared to the trim level one higher; the feature difference is almost nonexistent.
There’s no real incentive for dealers to actually stock this model. If they move in any kind of volume it will be fleet sales for sure. Dealers will just get people in the door asking about it and say “sorry we don’t have the 1SV, but we have a Regal Turbo with $x in incentives” etc.
And, as mentioned above, fleet specials.
Fleet, lease specials, but also I imagine to utilize excess production capacity.
Agreed. I own a Cruze Diesel (which I like a lot), and in April I rented a fleet-spec Verano. The two cars use the same platform, but a high (or mid) trim level Cruze is a much nicer car than a low trim level Verano. I’d take an LT or Diesel Cruze over a 1SV Verano any day.
Jesus. Too early to start the Buick Deathwatch?
Things must not be going well for Buick when they start trying to steal sales from Chevrolet with a decontented Buick. Why didn’t they just call it the Buick Special and be done with it. Maybe it’s time to start the Buick deathwatch.
The Chinese like them too much to kill. Only reason they still exist. But I agree with you.Buick should probably go. GM should be Chevy/Cadillac. Buick,Opel, Holden, Vauxhall should all die.
I don’t get it. These cars already get deeply discounted to move them anyway. A few months ago, the Buick dealer around the corner selling Regals for $12000-15000 below sticker to move them. Why does it need a budget version? So they can sell them for $16k? Buick clearly needs something. Cheaper cars is not the answer. Better cars, better advertisement. Say, a Regal with a V6.And better seats. The Regal seats suck. A Verano with the 2 liter Turbo. And you know…a ATS based Grand National.
The Verano also loses fog lamps and the oversized 18″ wheels and instead has more suitable 17″ alloys. One of the biggest complaints I hear about these types of cars today is how lousy the tires are in bad weather followed by how noisy they get after wearing in and the cost of replacement. A car as small as the Verano does not need huge tires on the basic model so this is a good move. Switching to the inferior 2.4 on the Regal when Chevy has the superior more efficient 2.5 is not!
Why does Buick not have a version of the Caprice/SS to sell. Everyone that wants a BIG Buick does not want a crossover. Buick was known for big comfortable sedans, update that concept to something that is premium like the Enclave is premium without trying to out Euro the Europeans. Make it proudly American like the 300 and BAM! The rear wheel drive part of this segment is owned by Chrysler and Dodge. This would also justify building the Caprice platform in the USA?