Buick unveils 2011 Regal; new midsize sedan aimed at sporty Acuras, Volvos

November 11, 7:41 PMDC Car ExaminerBrady Holt

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The 2011 Buick Regal will be positioned as an upscale sports sedan when it goes on sale next spring. See more photos of the Regal in today's slideshow. (photos by Buick)

When General Motors first announced it would be bringing over a Buick smaller than the brand's redesigned 2010 LaCrosse, the logical explanation seemed to be that the LaCrosse's new premium aspirations left a void in the brand for a mainstream competitor to take on the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry. 

However, when GM unveiled its Opel-sourced 2011 Buick Regal today, it said this midsize sedan would be targeted at upscale sports sedans; namely, the Acura TSX and Volvo S60. 

Although pricing for the new Regal hasn't been announced, those competitors cost about as much as the larger LaCrosse, which targets the non-sporting Lexus ES350 and Lincoln MKZ. Therefore, Buick's plan seems to be to target different types of customers within the same price range, rather than to expand the brand's reach to the mainstream segment of the market in which it fairly recently thrived. 

The new Regal will be powered by a choice of 4-cylinder engines: a 182-horsepower 2.4-liter shared with the cheapest LaCrosse and a turbocharged 2.0-liter with 220 horsepower, both mated to 6-speed automatic transmissions. 

Buick estimates the former will return an EPA-estimated 20 miles per gallon in the city and 30 on the highway using regular fuel and that the latter will see 18 city / 20 highway with a recommendation of premium. 

The Regal is largely identical to the Opel Insignia sold in Europe, which was first branded as a Buick for the Chinese market. 

GM has made several efforts to sell its overseas products in the U.S. in recent years but has consistently failed to collect market acceptance; the Cadillac Catera, Pontiac GTO and G8, and Saturn Astra all failed to win over American consumers. 

But the Regal's success will come down to how it drives -- whether it is sporty enough to distinguish itself from a LaCrosse that seems to be competing for similar consumers. Unless Buick issues a surprise with the Regal's pricing and lets this car compete with the Accord and Camry after all. 

The new Regal goes on sale in the spring.