This is a test, and only a test, of the Curbside Classic Classification System. Normal CC programming will resume as soon as this test is over.
(First published March 1, 2011) The qualifications for admittance into that three-ring CC tent are pretty loose: it needs to be of some interest to me or you, preferably both. A car’s age isn’t really a hard and fast issue; I did a CC on the original 2000 Prius. I’ve had requests for newer cars, American ones specifically. And I really did spontaneously stop to shoot this Regal GS (I’m not sure about that year, though), because it caught my eye when it first came out in 1988. The question is, should I have sat on these shots for ten years or so, or is it ready now?
This is not a car I have much personal experience with, which applies to quite a bit of more recent American cars other than as rentals. I briefly considered whether this qualifies as a GM Deadly Sin. Hardly, despite still suffering a bit of overly strong family kinship issue that the all-too similar 1986 Riviera/Somerset Regal identical twins had (GM DS #1, and coming back here for an encore very soon).
Although the new for-1988 Regal coupe has that distinct family resemblance to them, it was a pretty substantial jump forward stylistically otherwise; gone was the ubiquitous perfectly vertical rear window, at last. In fact, GM’s DS #1 was fresh in their minds, because they made a very concerted effort to differentiate these new mid-sized W-Platform cars, which included the Grand Prix and Cutlass Supreme. The threesome arrived strictly as coupes, a rather odd decision since it left the always popular four doors moldering along on the long-in tooth A-Body platform. It took three years for GM to introduce the technically almost identical Regal sedan. That decision was a deadly little sin. And after a while, those add(ed) up.
There’s no question in my mind that the new Regal coupe was by far the best looking of the three. The GP was too busy and disjointed, and the Cutlass was clean enough, but just didn’t turn…my neck. The Regal did. I was a lover of the clean smooth aero-look school at the time, which had in part led me into the embrace of a 1986 W124 MB 300E. Admittedly, that was part of my problem at the time; I was a car snob. Nothing could touch my perfect new Benz in any criteria whatsoever, blah, blah, blah…
But I still played the field with my eyes, and the Buick caught them regularly. The fact that it sat on the un-shortened 107.5″ wheelbase of the yet-distant sedan was a curious choice, given how far back those rear wheels were. That didn’t work for me on the other two variants, but it somehow did on the Regal coupe. I’m still not sure exactly why; intuitively, it shouldn’t have. GM’s laziness somehow worked this time. When I finally figure out how to use my recently acquired Photoshop program, I’d like to change the wheel base on this car and see how that strikes me. I’ve got a whole bunch of cars I want to do that with, but it’s an intimidating hurdle to jump.
Update: Thanks to a comment by geozinger, he reminded me of the car that the set-back rear wheels of the Regal Coupe reminded me of, but I couldn’t put my finger on: The Javelin. And it was presumably for the same exact reason. The Javelin underpinnings/platform were heavily borrowed from the American/Hornet sedans, and since it was shortened once already for the two-passenger AMX, it was undoubtedly expedient to leave it as. Or maybe Dick Teague just liked that long rear quarter look.
Like most products of GM’s not-so golden era, the Regal got a lot better. It started out looking a bit less clean than this very slick later version, but it was what was out of sight that really improved the most. The Regal started out with a distinct lack of regalia under the hood, the 2.8 60-degree V6 packing 125 hp. After almost ten years since its debut in the X-Bodies, one would have hoped for more, like the more Buick-worthy 3800 V6. Just wait a few years; the usual GM mantra…mañana…who’s in a hurry…everything is just fine…you’ll love that little 2.8 motor.
When the 3800 did come along, it was in very decent form too; the 170 hp Series I. We knew you could do it GM, eventually. Just one minor problem; er, more like GM’s most recurring Deadly Sin: by that time, the buzz was off, and the Regal coupe ended up being a consistently disappointing seller from day one, and never recuperated. Maybe that alone qualifies the GS version on account of its rarity; it never sold more than four digits per year, typically around 4-6k annually.
Yes, the 38oo’s fat torque curve combined with the four-speed automatic made a terrific American style drive train. No doubt the Regal could probably beat my 177 hp 300E out of the gates, but not for long. And that combo has a rep for delivering surprisingly good real-world fuel economy numbers.
Handling? Well, that’s a bit out of my comfort zone, but I do seem to remember W-Body rentals that were, well, better than the previous GM front-drivers. The front end didn’t seem to have the mind of its own like the X and early A Bodies. And I suspect with the GS tuned suspension, it might have been a fairly decent affair. The ride with the new fully independent rear suspension was comfy indeed, and four wheel disc brakes were standard from the first year.
Now we get to that very dangerous area of quality. There seems to be plenty of strong feelings on that subject of GMs of this vintage, and they run to the polar extremes at times. I think the best thing I can do is to just throw that subject out there like a bone and see who bites. I was dealing with my own quality issues with a Jeep Cherokee and a Dodge Caravan, so I have nothing to draw on.
It’s ironic that there’s no clue to me about the exact year of this Regal, given that its maker invented the annual styling change and planned obsolescence. I should have read the VIN, and if I’m going to do more newer cars like this, I will have to. Even the Peugeot 404 has enough external cues to pin its year down. Help me out, please…
I’m pretty sure that’s a 1995. I did a quick Google search and it seems to me that the 95 and later coupes lose the fog lights just below the regular headlamp cluster.
The one thing that many people forget about GMs is that they do improve their cars every year. I’ve witnessed this with several of my cars from GM. Additionally, the higher trim levels are worth the money, IMO. The issue is, if you only ever get your impressions of the car from the cheapo rentals, you’d never know how nice the uplevel ones are. I’d be willing to be that this GS would be an excellent competitor to the Benz you mentioned, but rarely are they cross shopped. Myself, I’ve stopped buying the cheapest version of the car on the lot and go for the mid level or better, depending upon money at the time.
I liked this version of the GS when it came out, I think it still holds up well today. You called it anodyne when you posted it the first time. Did you really think it was numbing? Or did you mean aerodyne, generically a heavier than air ship? In silver it has some blimp like qualities.
The odd styling thing is the amount of quarter panel past the back of the door, if it were shortened up, it would have a more classic pony car look. The way it is now, it reminds me somewhat of the 2nd generation Javelins, which also had a long quarter panel past the door, but it was a RWD car, which made it even stranger.
Nice car, not seen much. Glad you caught it.
Yes, the Javelin; that’s what that rear quarter panel reminds me off. I knew it was something. And the Javelin had it for the same reason: AMC used the Hornet platform, and probably felt they couldn’t cut it shorter twic (one for the AMX).
Thanks, I’m going to add a Javelin pic.
I’m a big fan of the Javelin, I’d love to see a couple more good pix of them. Maybe that’s why I’m fond of this generation of W-body coupes?
There’s a Javelin parked in my neighborhood which seems to be in use as a daily driver. I can get pics if you have any use for them.
You are right about higher trim levels. About a decade ago, I traveled a lot and had status with Avis. I was rather accustomed to an upgrade every week.
Once I got a Cobalt. “Eww!” I thought. A week in a damn Cobalt.
But this was no ordinary Cobalt. This was a Cobalt LTZ. It was decked out. Sunroof, leather, great stereo. It was a blast to drive and felt great. Felt expensive. I’ve never seen another one.
The car seems to be in perfect condition? I don’t know about overall quality, but for a GM car, it seems to have perfect fit and finish. All panel gaps are evenly aligned. Is this unusual, or an unusual GM highpoint throughout those years?
That Regal badge seems to be askew! Seriously, panel gaps are tight, GM cars were getting much better in that regard, and this car had been in production some eight years already. That alone helps. If I find an 1988 version, I’ll take shots of the gaps and compare.
I shouldn’t bother, but you opened the door to the obvious thought that came to my small mind about the long quarter panels: They’re there for the back windows to roll down, at least in my fantasy world. Also, your photo of the badging above the “quality” comment: yeah, the “Regal” is crooked. I see that ‘way too often on car badging. All Camrys follow the slight angle along the tail light top edge, but it isn’t right – it needs to be straight. To me, that’s a quality issue, albeit a minor one that no one cares about except me! The Regal coupes were always pretty clean in appearance. It never ceases to amaze me that, for the most part, the most premium cars have the cleanest lines, and the lesser cars make up for it by being over-styled. The Ford Taurus being a prime example. My rant is over!
Love it. As a high schooler during these years (1995 graduate) I lusted after these. A guy here in town has one in deep maroon, GS package, leather interior, tinted windows, black wall tires (although I’d prefer raised white letter), and honestly I think it’s awesome. Put some dual pipes on the 3800, set the cruise at a bout 85mph and point the hood at the horizon. Wicked. Personal Luxury as it should be.
I think these cars are beautiful, and I wouldn’t change a line or proportion on them. I generally find Buicks in general attractive, with simple elegant grilles and understated detailing. It’s American car interiors from this period and earlier which usually put me off the idea of buying one. Although this one looks livable.
In the early 1990s, a co-worker had one of the early versions of this car in GS form. I carpooled to work with her, and remember the car as being a rather nice package. The ride was firm but not rough, and it was quiet at speed. The tires and wheels that came with the GS trim level made the car look good, too. There were two sticking points with the car – the goofy dashboard (which was different from the one in this car, but Honda, ironically, copied it for the early 1990s Prelude!) and the door-mounted seat belts.
I still preferred the Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme version, until Olds ruined the front end in the early 1990s.
I always liked this style. I like the idea of including cars such as this. The more the merrier. When they came out I much preferred the boy racer looks of the Grand Prix, Today this looks much better put together. The earlier 1988-89 Limited Regal had a decent interior dash, and I always liked the clear lens taillight on those. Those were very rare too, and I could never understand why. Wonder what the price premium was for the Limited.
The W-body Regal coupes were okay, but they were no Trofeo.
I had a 1989 Trofeo that I had for all of two months. I always considered it My Grand Am, in a tuxedo. I seriously loved the style of The Loaded Silver model I had. I hope to see Curbside Classics of The Trofeo, as well as earlier midels of Toronado. The ashtray was huge & it always felt to me as a bit of a Man’s Man car.
drove a 90 Trof for 3 years, and the VIC even worked the first year. great handling, and Lear Sigler seats!
I definitely approve of the idea of more recent Curbside Classics. The cars of the early-mid 90s were the first ones that I followed as a young auto enthusiast. I collected all of the brochures, read the reviews, kept track of the changes each year. The interior of this particular CC was supposed to be a big deal at the time… a huge step forward. Looking back, the old interior seems a lot more interesting. This one just seems boring.
I’m starting to think the mid-late 90s were the low point of auto interiors. Everyone started getting rid of fake wood, but nothing had come along to take its place. At the same time, the quality of the plastic was decreasing. The end result was a sea of monotone cheap plastic, usually in some sort of organic (blob) shape.
Ah, the simultaneously loved and maligned GM 3800/four speed drive train. Maligned in later years by the automotive press for being antiquated – pushrods? Only a four-speed? How quaint. But the old pushrod 2 valver had a lot of torque, and didn’t really require more cogs. It could loaf down the highway at 65 mph, moving a 3600 pound car along quite nicely while turning only 1800 rpm. Old tech by the standards of today, but continuously developed since the sixties and actually quite refined, IMHO. I’ve had three of these, my current daily driver being Oldsmobile’s last gasp Intrigue, the final iteration (for Oldsmobile, anyway) of the W body. 27 miles per gallon in everyday use, and 32 on a long highway trip. Eight year old orphaned Intrigues in good shape can be had all day long for $3000 or less – just like their Buick Century and Regal cousins.
Hey Paul, thanks for the mention and pix of the Javelin. You managed to find an excellent example of a 1st gen Jav that illustrated my point even better than I imagined it would. What’s amusing to me, is that the same proportions exist on my daily driver Sunfire (and the contemporary Cavalier), and I never considered it, thinking of the Javelin first.
This is worthy of of classification as a Curbside Classic. Every car is a Curbside Classic to someone. No matter what the featured car, and although not everyone will agree, there will always be a commenter or lurking reader that loves it, used to own one, or has fond memories of the cars featured here. Keep it up Mr. Niedermeyer!
Yes Paul, you can cover such a car now and then again in several years time.
This Buick Regal GS design really captured the appeal of a personal luxury coupe.
Always did think that they looked sort of funny. years later, discovered that the looks came from the Cadillac’s in-house design team’s proposal for what would become the Allante. Management instead went with Pininfarina’s take on said car. Consolation prize for State-side team? Details in a past issue of Collectible Automobile.
I recently purchased a 1995 Buick Gran Sport 3.8. Although it is an older car, it still gives me what I needed: a smaller V-6 from a big V8, a 4dr for our family, a huge trunk
for all the groceries, electric seats that slide back enough for my long legs. Not to mention the savings on insurance. I have relatives and friends that own Buicks, and they are very happy with them. So far I am very satisfied.
it’s a 1995 i have one with 39000 miles took off the molding that was the ugliest thing to this car
I’d definitely class it as a CC, the first-generation GM10s are all long-extinct in road salt areas.
I would finely split any Deadly Sin designation; the GM10 development program was, the resulting W-body cars were not. They should’ve been content-rich, bases-loaded-home-run segment leaders for the amount of money GM spent on their development which they decidedly weren’t, but they did the job for their owners – even if the first ones were all too often hardcore GM loyalists along with fleet managers and other discount shoppers – and the company got long service from the platform so that it wasn’t a case of finally getting it right just before pulling the plug as was so often the case for GM.
Yes from personal experience its worthy. I had a 94 regal custom sedan with the 3800 from 06-2011 75k-200k miles and it was a great car. RELIABLE (no major problems, minor things few and far between and cheap to fix) fuel efficent (up to 33 mpg highway) awesome performer (0-60 in 8 seconds but off the line it was a neck snapper,,,snappier than my 2015 accord exl v6 and about as quick 0-40). It was a great car. In the end getting rear ended is what did it in.
But i got this used. It was an awesome used car. In 94 when it was new didn it compete wity imports like the acura ledgend? Sadly no…. and thwts thebprob with gm from thwt era. They just didnt stand up to the competition.
Someone needs to do a thorough examination of the GM-10 program. From what I recall they dramatically changed direction design-wise near the end of the program to better respond to the Taurus. This late change was further complicated by major changes in GM’s internal organization during the platform’s development. What did the initial designs look like? I have never come across anything of consequence to show what they were originally intended look like. The most fascinating aspects of an automobile’s development, to me, are the decisions made in the design process. Knowing about “the road not taken” helps me better understand what I see on the actual road. BTW I appreciate that Regal much more today than I did at the time and the 3800/four speed is a (very?) positive example of “GM adequate” which otherwise was a little sin committed endlessly collectively constituting GM’s Deadliest Sin of all.
I did in the post linked below, but not so much the design elements. I focused more on the GM-10 programs absurd sales expectations by GM management and its huge financial losses. By some reckonings, the GM-10 program was GM’s Deadliest Sin ever, in terms of its huge losses.
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics-american/curbside-classic-1991-chevrolet-lumina-euro-gms-deadly-sin-18-wheres-the-light/
GMs passenger car business died before the W bodies hit the stores. Chevrolet never rebounded from the early 80s recession, and the other brands had a dead cat bounce back to all time records then flatlined before 1988.
I have not seen a Javelin in ages, but the photo above made me recall how difficult it seemed to me to be, to tell a Javelin from an AMX. It seemed to come down to the space from the rear of the door to the wheel well, for easiest visual identification.
I once had an unfortunate collision with a Javelin, after he cut me off and I ran into his rear quarter panel as he attempted to execute an ill advised U turn, his car was flung into a 360 turn, while my car was straight as an arrow, and no worse for wear. Everyone was OK, except the Javelin. Oh and he didn’t have any insurance either, poor guy. He was charged and I was free to go on my way.
As for the Regal, I see this as a misguided reuse of the GS moniker, which went so well on the pavement ripping performance car of 1970, and was such a misfit on this 1990s car, all of 3.8 liters. They should have stopped at just calling it a Regal. My buddy who had a 1970 with a 350 in it, would have taken one look at the 95 and proclaimed it GS unworthy.
95 is when they updated the interior to a design that didnt date from the 70s….but went super cheap on materials. Take a step forward and 2 steps back. Gm interiors are still the worst today.
The 4 doors hadn’t been perpetually popular before the W coupes. The volume and the money had been in personal lux coupes, which is where the Regal was targeted. The 4 doors were the poor relations. That market flipped in the mid 80s immediately before the W coupes were released. The Taurus, Japanese, and European sedans made 4 doors relatively glamorous, not dumb family buses.
Buick week here at CC is rubbing off in my town. On a brief shopping outing this afternoon, I saw about half a dozen older FWD Buick sedans (no LaCrosse, or Opel/Regal, true CC stuff) including a nice A Body Century and a not-so-nice white LeSabre with gold badging and a tan, faux convertible top, also with gold accents. But no Regal coupes.
Stay tuned… I’m finishing up a CC on a ‘78 Regal for later this month. I guess we can call December Regal Month!
I wouldn’t classify this one as a Deadly Sin–it’s too reliable and too good looking. I really did have an admiration for these Regal coupes–especially in the GS trim. It has been ages since I last saw one in the wild plying the roadways.
These are maddening to me. I think it’s a pretty handsome car, and with the 3800, desirable to me in its day….except it couldn’t carry all the baggage GM piled in/on it. I wonder how much freedom Buick Division had in deciding interior quality and price point. I believe I could have afforded one back in 1995, but GM was off my consideration list because of quality and depreciation concerns so I never priced them. Instead, I bought another Acura Integra, because I knew I’d have few headaches and lose little money when I sold it.
Having said that, that Acura was my last because they cheated out on their interiors…. and so they fell off my radar too… so it wasn’t just a “I hate GM thing”.
Always loved these. My cousin had one in 1995, so at worst, it was 7 years old. While visiting her in Tampa, we had to rent a car to go 45 minutes to Disney because she didn’t trust it. Her husband had an Fairmont that didn’t run at all. They both drive WV now.
I realize this is 8 years later, but thank you for the near-perfect profile shot.
The weren’t bad looking cars, but they were very forgettable. GM needed to field a set of strong sedans, not coupes. I didn’t understand why they did that backwards. The Olds had those sharp little rectangular headlights and that classic Cutlass tail design – and they were pretty popular around Chicagoland.
I like a little bit of each coupe in each division, it’s just that none of them were what the Market wanted. They wanted Taurus sedans. They wanted Sable sedans. They wanted Camry sedans. Few were wanting a big-door coupe with a low belt-line.
Then there were the interiors. Those interiors were bad. While they did not try to copy from Ford/Toyota/Honda – what GM came up with was awful. It would have been better to copy the popular IP design found in the popular cars. Instead, GM went weird. Those IP panels were low, wide, flat, and sickening gray plastic. Those buttons were cheap. The mouse-hair velour and carpeting was cheap. The “automatic” seat belts weren’t automatic. The steering wheels were too small. There was ZERO leg room for drivers. GM completely blew the interiors of these cars.
I worked for a Rental Car corporation during the run of these cars, and I was happy that my corporation carried Lincoln, Mercury and Mazda. When I had to drive one of these GM vehicles, I was always extremely disappointed.
A pile of these cars were sold at our Southern car dealership right up until the past couple of years where good clean examples seem to be drying up. The 90-96 years were the best with the 3.1 and 3800 engines with the major two items of bother being the rear brake calipers and the upper and lower intake manifold gaskets on the 1996 on up Series II 3800 and the 1994 on up 3100’s. The general rule of thumb with these cars was if they had near or over 100K and the intake looked damp or wet it automatically got a new gasket and the pre 93 cars got updated caliper grease and new slides. Otherwise these cars were generally quite reliable and 200-300k examples were quite common. The interiors may have looked and felt cheap but I don’t remember it actually being an issue with most of the cars we sold. If anything the cloth seated versions actually seemed to hold up great, even with high mileage and there was rarely ever any broken pieces.
The best of the bunch is a 1996 GS coupe which was upgraded to the 205 Hp 3800 and retained the 3.06 axle which made for a 7.5 second 0-60 car which was pretty quick back in the 90’s and early 00’s.
My Dad’s youngest Brother had one of these for some time in the 2000’s. Seemed like a nice car. He always bought used cars from the same place in his hometown, most of them seemed to be Mopars, but a couple of GM cars here and there…this was one of the here and there. I think his had the digital dash…and a cloth interior…it was a nice light blue color.
Well, I guess my Dad also had W body having owned two Chevy Impalas in a row (a 2001 and a 2006, which my Mother still drives). I really never thought of them as being on the same platform as the Regal until now.
My Dad passed away almost 4 years ago now, only a month later his younger (by 14 years) brother, and 6 months later the middle (3 years younger than my Dad) brother…everyone gone in a very short time. But it is a nice memory thinking of my Uncle when I saw this 2 door Buick.
I want this car so bad