Craig Bierley, product marketing director for Buick, introduced a group of journalists to the 2011 Regal today. Built on the same platform as the European Opel Insignia, the Regal will be built in Germany at first but production shifts to a GM plant in Oshawa, Ontario, early next year.

Two engines will be offered, a base 2.4-liter I-4 producing 182 horsepower and a 2-liter turbocharged I-4 rated at 220 horsepower. Both get a 6-speed automatic though the turbo engine will offer a 6-speed manual at a later date. The turbo version of the Regal will also be available with a new Interactive Drive Control System featuring driver-selectable suspension settings and automatic driver suspension setting adaptability. Bierley said that on-board yaw sensors will be able to monitor driver inputs and adjust settings on the fly.

“Make no mistake,” he noted, “this is a true European sports sedan.”

All Regals will include four-wheel disc brakes with four-channel anti-lock braking system, brake assist and electronic parking brake, StabiliTrak stability control system and full-function traction control and standard dual-stage frontal air bags and side-curtain air bags.

The Regal, and to some extent the LaCrosse, move Buick in a new direction and away from its traditional buyers. Bierley said that one-third of LaCrosse buyers are under 55 and it is likely that the Regal will skew the demographics younger still. Even so, Bierley said that dealers report fairly positive reactions from existing customers and it seems that Buick believes that it can hang on to those older, traditional buyers even as it aims for a more youthful target.

--M.D.