Buick, Buick, Buick

Hi All,

It's been a while since I last posted anything car related BUT I'm back in action.

Over the last couple of weeks I've been working with an event planning company for the launch of the new 2011 Buick Regal. Needless to say, the days were extremely long but I definitely had a lot of fun and met some fantastic people. You know who you people are!!

I spent the better part of my time traveling back and forth from Vancouver to Osoyoos/Kelowna and everywhere in between. I even drove through the fire that happened in Peachland. What a smokey mess! So sad. I also put quite a few kilometers on the Buick LaCrosse CXS, a car that I had not previously driven but had a great time in. It's quite the touring vehicle (i.e great on the highway because it's very comfortable) and has quite a bit of pep under the hood thanks to its 3.6L, V6 that produces 280hp and 259 lb-ft of torque. I decided to make a joke and tell people I was on the "LaCrosse Team" since it sounded cool. I guess you have to know my sense of humor. I mean, who doesn't want to be on the LaCrosse team?!

I also had the opportunity of driving around the new Buick Regal (aka the Regal Beagle!!) and really enjoyed it too.

Before my experiences with the Buicks, I'd never really given that much thought to them. Even as a journalist, I hadn't spent much time in them, and didn't really see the appeal to a younger crowd. In my immature opinion, I thought they were old people cars!! Besides, there really isn't a model in their lineup that really has the youth in a tizzy like a Chevrolet Cobalt SS would or the Saturn Ion Redline (may it rest in peace!) But the Buick buyer is getting younger and younger; the average age of the Regal buyer in China is 32! Not too shabby.

The Enclave SUV, which I also spent a fair share of time in, is decent and drives well. I was lucky enough to sit in the third row seats which I really liked! I am so rarely in the back seat of a car, literally, so that was quite the novelty.

The Regal is a great sports sedan with the choice of a 2.4L or 2.0L Turbocharged engine, has a great interior finish and looks quite chic from the outside. It's actually based on the German-engineered, award-winning Opel Insignia from Europe. Handling is ideal and the manual mode on the 6-speed automatic transmission is a definite perk.

Here are my Highlights and Lowlights

Highlights:

1) Super fun to driver with the Turbocharged engine

2) Easy to use GPS (when available) and the standard stereo system is quite good

3) Seats are very comfortable especially for long distance driving

Lowlights:

1) The naturally aspirated 2.4L isn't as much fun as the Turbo

2) Visibility out the rear isn't ideal (BUT there is an available parking assist)

3) No manual transmission option on the 2.4L engine

High five to the Regal.

So what can you expect from the Car Girl in the next little while?? Well, more domestic car reviews. I recently had the Dodge Challenger with the 5.7L, V8 HEMI which was way too fun to drive. I'm planning on doing webisodes and posting them on YouTube. It'll be pretty cool so I hope you'll enjoy that.

Also, I've got some great cars coming into my garage but I'm not going to spoil it... You'll just have to wait and see what's coming.

Until then, have lots of fun in the sun!

xoxo

TCG