(First Posted November 3, 2013) It’s weird. I very much consider myself a Ford man when it comes to the domestics, yet my buying history puts me fairly firmly in the General’s camp. I’m not sure why that is, but every once in a while a GM car comes along that makes an impression on me. And so it was with this one, albeit in a bit of a roundabout way…
For several years after my friend Don moved to Chicago, it became an annual ritual to visit there and go to either the Chicago or Detroit Auto Show. One of the Detroit years, Don had purchased a new (to him) car, a 1997 Buick Regal GS.
Even though I’d had the LeSabre T-Type previously, I didn’t pay much heed to Buick’s newer offerings; however, driving/riding in that car from Chicago to Detroit and back impressed me. The power was plentiful, the comfort level was good and the size was right. Oh, and the heated seats were cozy.
So, several years later while pondering what might be a good car for my long commute, I came across one for myself, this one a 1998 model from the second year of production. The one I found was a one-owner car whose fanatical owner had every receipt, several copies of the brochure, the window sticker and a full set of official GM shop manuals (the three-volume set) even though he went to the dealer for everything…in short, a PERFECT seller!
The car had about 50,000 miles on it, and the price was very reasonable. We met in Palo Alto, between both of our work places, where a deal was struck quickly. We drove to my bank, I had them draw up a cashier’s check, and then we drove back to his house in Morgan Hill (a bit of a trek), where he found the shop manuals and more brochures and insisted on filling the tank (on his dime) before I left with the title and the car.
Finished in Navy Blue (The pic makes it look purple; it was not) with a gray lower section (hey, the same as our old Land Cruiser!), this car boasted a gray-leather interior and the standard GS non-chrome alloys. I find the shape of this fourth-generation Regal body (shared with the Century line) to be very attractive and modern, with styling that wears well to this day. The “Regal” script on the sides is (and was, to be frank) a little passé, but otherwise I have no complaints regarding styling.
These are part of GM’s “W”-body line, and were built in the Oshawa, Ontario plant, which was (is) one of GM’s highest quality plants. At this time Buick was always near the top of the quality charts, in no small part due to this assembly plant. The platform was shared with the Oldsmobile Intrigue, Pontiac Grand Prix, and Chevrolet Impala and Monte Carlo. Of that bunch, I think I would pick the Buick every time.
The “GS” is a storied designation that harkens back to some very memorable Buicks. At least this modern version was not totally neutered for marketing purposes–the engine is based on Buick’s successful 3800 V6, but the GS version also sports a supercharger.
Officially designated as the 3.8L L67 Series II Supercharged, it generates a stout 240 hp and 280 lb-ft of torque; it was no slouch, and could spin its (front) wheels on demand. I suppose it goes without saying that it was equipped with an automatic, a four-speed in this case.
Inside, the GS was pretty much loaded. The aforementioned leather seats are heated, there’s an eight-speaker sound system, dual climate controls and power everything, leaving little to be desired. The engine sounded good, and the supercharger whine was just-enough there to let you know the engine was a bit different. The interior, while a little plasticky, is fairly competitive for the times and attractively styled.
Driving across the Bay Area in this every morning and evening was peaceful. Very comfortable on the freeway, but still fairly competent in the corners, it was a good high-speed commuter that also was painless when the traffic stopped. As a bonus, a Buick Regal is pretty much invisible to the police, especially around San Francisco, which is filled with much fatter ticket-bait.
I started hanging out on the Buick Regal GS forum and realized that the car could be made even better. It turns out that there is a handling package available for the Impala and since it is the same chassis, is a direct bolt-on for the Buick.
I decided to order it from Flow Chevrolet, one of the larger GM dealers with an internet presence that sells a lot of factory performance add-ons, and could not believe that for under $200, you got a kit with front chassis braces as well as thicker swaybars delivered. These prices are a far cry from what you’d be paying for any import’s parts, with which I was more familiar. The kit sat in my garage on a shelf waiting for “that day with the spare time…”
Since I was driving a fair bit, it eventually came time to buy tires, and I decided to keep it American. What could be more American than a nice set of B.F.Goodrich Radial TA’s? The Tire Rack delivered them quickly and my neighborhood tire shop put them on. They looked wider than what was on the car before even though the size was the same and were all-around good tires for the price, which was very competitive.
For July 4th of that year, I took the week off and we (myself, my wife and daughter) decided to go on a road trip. We headed up to Mendocino County, where we spent the first night, then headed north to Ferndale where we spent another night. We then drove through a Redwood tree (it fit!) After that we drove up the Oregon Coast, stopping in several little towns along with taking a tour of the Tillamook Cheese Factory.
Eventually we got to Astoria at the mouth of the Columbia River where we stayed at a great little boutique hotel named the Cannery Pier Hotel that as the name implies was built on the old cannery pier right next to the River. (I highly recommend a stay if you are in the area, the hotel is extremely nice). I was quite surprised to wake up in the morning and look out to see a giant container ship passing by what seemed like only several feet away from the window!
We crossed the river and eventually made it to Seattle, long one of our favorite cities and once again had a wonderful time there, this time with our daughter. After a couple of days, we’d had our fill and decided to take I-5 back home with a stop in Portland. By mid-day of the second day we were back home.
The Buick was great the entire time except on the last day the turn-signal stalk stopped working but intermittently. It was a weird issue, sometimes the signal would work, sometimes just nothing. Obviously either a contact or a wiring issue within the stalk, I suppose.
By this time the Buick had over 80,000 miles on it and the day after we got back I decided to try placing an ad on Craigslist for a price higher than I had paid for it just to see if there was interest. Sure enough, I quickly got a call from a guy who was thrilled to find it in the condition it was in, even with the wonky turn-signal stalk.
He ended up paying me a couple of thousand more than I had paid the year before so it worked out great for me and he was thrilled to have the car. I still look at the Regal GS whenever I see one with fond memories; great car, good times (except for the miserable commute), but just what I needed at the time. The formula was set for my next car.
It’s got a very Vauxhall/Opel look about it.Looks nice and comfortable and should be plenty fast enough for sensible people
In my opinion this is one of the few purely American cars that would not be completely out of place in the UK or on the continent, dynamically speaking.
The 1992-and later Cadillac Seville was another one.
At first glance (first picture) I thought this CC Buick was the last model Opel Omega. Same platform ?
Yep, the Seville would work…
No, different platform. This is FWD. Size is quite similar though, maybe a touch narrower.
Thanks.
I’ve read several Seville (Euro-) tests and reviews. The drivers liked the looks and the handling and they praised the, for those days, state-of-the-art Northstar V8 and its power. It was the last Cadillac model that you could actually see in action on the roads back then.
And now, years later, I only read absolute horror stories about the Northstar on US forums. Was it really that bad ? Or was it more a case of bad maintenance or even no maintenance at all ?
I assume most owners knew that the engine was not a good ol’ DIY Chevy 350.
Was it really that bad?
I think most people at this point agree that the pre-’00 version had poorly spec’d headbolts compared to later versions.
Beyond that, opinions on the Northstar can be a touchy topic and it’s really going to depend on who you talk to and what your expectations about an engine’s performance are.
The good news for people that are willing to give them a shot is that they are very affordable on the used market.
______________
Here’s a giant thread on the Northstar if you want to spend all day reading:
http://www.cadillacforums.com/forums/northstar-engines-system-technical-discussion/122898-northstar-headgasket-cracked-block-bolt-failure.html
Thanks for the link. I see, 32 pages, should be some nice reading on a rainy day…
That would be the Cadillac Cetara,a Vauxhall/Opel Omega in drag
The 1992- Seville does appear to have be a fairly popular model in Europe, as I spotted many in Sweden this year. The second-generation CTS appears to have been fairly popular in Europe too, though; I saw several sedans and also several wagons in Sweden as well. In one instance I saw a Seville and a CTS parked together, and of course I had to photograph them:
They don’t look out of place at all.
The Seville was certainly sleeker and easier on the eyes than the Mercedes W140 (“Der Dicke” ~ “Der Kathedral”).
The Chrysler 300C was another US sedan that did pretty well, certainly the one with the Mercedes V6 diesel.
surprisingly this isn’t Opel ‘based’ unlike the current Regal that is a rebadged Opel Insignia!
I love the pictures. Going through northern California and up the Oregon coast is my idea of a road trip! Since I grew up in southwest Washington and my grandparents lived in Bay City (just a bit north of Tillamook) I’ve been over that bridge many times. I’m even old enough to remember before that bridge was built, when you still had to take a ferry across that stretch of water. That supercharged Buick sounds like the perfect car for that type of trip. Even though winter is fast approaching, I’m really itching for a good road trip right now.
It was a great car on the trip – quick, roomy, good on gas. And yes the north west coast is fun to drive up or down, much less crowded than the Southern end and tons to see and do.
We detoured through Bay City one day on the way back home from Long Beach – the wind and high tides were causing some of the roads and streets to flood. It added a bit of unusual fun to the trip.
I’m glad to hear you had such a good experience with your GS. The styling was a little too conservative for me — but dark blue would be perfect on this car.
Back in ’99 or ’00, a car pool member traded her ’94 Cougar for a new Regal in this same color. She loved its comfort and power, saying she would never have another type of car. At the time, we were all in our late 20’s.
Thanks for this as I had forgotten about her Buick.
Funny, I sold these and took an 87 Cougar XR7 5.0 litre in on trade for one of these from an older couple, they loved the Regal. These were really nice cars, I liked the Grand Prix GTP a little more, especially since there was a coupe versions(I owned one for 11 years), but there Regal GS was my second favorite.
I sold a black one of these to an 89 year old man believe it or not, he had had an early 90’s Regal that was totaled in a rear ender, I tried to show him a Century or LeSabre, which I assumed would have been more his speed, but he would have none of it, he wanted a black Regal with tan leather.
What a beauty! I would love to find one of these here, but all seem to have too many miles or look like they have been through a demolition derby.
The turn signal stalk in my ’95 used to act strange in the summer. You would have to hold it at a certain point to get the signals to flash. It seems to have righted itself.
They do seem to be able to rack up a lot of miles. Soon after I sold mine they started to become a donk candidate with the huge wheels in certain neighborhoods.
I don’t know if this is the same as the bonneville but it has the same running gear. My son made a believer out of me when he bought his wife a bonneville. The blower exploded at about 98k and he had a 100k warranty. Changed out for free and he ran it for several thousand more. He seems to have good luck with cars and she has been driving a Honda ridgeline for almost that long.
I had owned a couple 231s with spotty luck. Obviously when they became a 3.8 or 3800 there was more done than just a name change. The blower was obvious and a winner. That was a good car and all I hear about them is good. My 77 starfire and 82 cutlass supreme were not. Guess I would try them again but I am now on my second 4.3 with (hopefully) no reason to change.
The Bonneville was an H-body, or really after 2000, more of a modified Aurora/Riviera G-body, which was new and improved stiffer GM FWD Large Car platform that pretty much went under everything from the Bonneville to the DeVille/DTS in early 2000’s. The Regal was part of the W-body family.
It is no fun working on a W-body car – everything is mashed up against the firewall. Good luck trying to get to an O2 sensor or the rear plugs.
If you are going to work on it yourself, get the H-body – there is plenty-o’-space all around the engine and it is probably one of the easiest-to-work-on FWD vehicles ever built.
I liked these Buicks. The W-body’s best expression in terms of comfort and utility. Between this and a Grand Prix GTP (same drivetrain), I’d have the GTP, but this would be a close second.
Reconsider. The powertrain is same, yes, and awesome. I had a GP and it had so many typical GP problems. Key wouldn’t work in ignition, car wouldn’t shift out of park, headlights randomly turning off, wipers stopping working, windows won’t go up, SES light constantly on, rusted rockers, squeaks, leaks, rattles, clunks, it was always something with that car! Smooth driving car though, rode great low to the ground, excellent in snow, and 29mpg usually. Buick is definitely better built though!
Most of the problems you mention are with common components shared throughout the W-body platform. GM quality was pretty hit-or-miss throughout the late Nineties – regardless of the badge on it, you either got a good one, or you didn’t.
I really liked these GSes. Owned two of them, even briefly at the same time – a 1997½ in black (like so many were), and a 2000 in white, both with grey leather interior. The latter was even a GSE… merely a marketing ploy, but it made it slightly more unique.
Their curvy body style was kind of a turn-off to me. But being as both were scooped up for around $1000 each, with between 120-140K miles, and each needing minor body work, I was willing to let that slide. They also had kind of a ‘hiding in plain sight’ sleeper appeal. Transmissions were, of course, their weak point. I suspect that’s what does most of them in in the end.
In the earlier years (up to 2001?), you could always tell a GS by its charcoal lower cladding and blacked-out trim. Typical of GM, though, in the Regal’s last few years they began giving the GS trim treatment to plain old LSes as well – so if you see six-spoke wheels, better check the rear badge too (or pop the hood to be sure).
Too bad all the cheap examples now are kid-beaten… looks like I got in at the bottom of the market for well-kept ones back in 2010-11. Still, if the right one came along, I’d own another.
The woman that handles my personal car insurance drives a lovely latter-year GS, an Abboud edition in the package’s unique brown color scheme. I’ve seen a handful of them over the years, and though I’d want to remove the extra badges, those colors really suit it well.
Yes, the Abbouds were nice. I guess I’m not a fashionista if I have to look up the name of virtually every designer who has a car named after them – such as the Joseph Abboud or more recently the John Varvatos Chrysler 300 – Although now I own a pair of John Varvatos Converse All-Stars so I guess it worked out for him rather than Chrysler as I do not see a 300 in my near future….
I’m re-reading these comments and made myself lol – guess what car I eventually bought 14 months after I left that particular comment… 🙂 See COAL #44.
Nice enough car I’d prefer a Holden with the same engine, they were available supercharged and went well but of course with proper RWD.
The turn signal stalk issue was common on the W Body cars starting in 1988 up until about 2000. On some of them the defective stalk would cause the headlights to have issues since the high beam were activated using the stalk. Once it was replaced the car was as good as new and did not have the issue again.
I like the Regal GS but never liked how they merged the Century and Regal lines(so to speak) instead of making them look different. I think it hastened the demise of both the lines since now the Century was competing with the Regal.
Good to know re: the stalk, thanks. I agree with the merge of lines, I suppose it helped the Century but hurt the Regal. I wonder though if the improved combined volume of common components helped anything, I’m sure that’s what the original thought was.
I want to say the big differences between the 97-2005 Century and the 97-2004 Regal was that the Century only got a column mounted shifter and 3.1l V6 where as the regal got the console mounted shifter and the 3800 V6(in SC and non SC guises) and the Grill on the Century was shiny and fake chrome like while the Regal was painted body color.
Oddly enough the century was offered in Japan as a Regal since Toyota sold a large luxo-barge limo called Century since the 1960’s and owned the trademark
The Century was available with buckets, but seldom ordered.
Must have been a lemon. I guess GM slips up once in a very great while and throws together a car that won’t leave you stranded.
Just enough for some to keep the faith I guess! I hear the same of VW, Saab, etc… 🙂
Odd. I’ve driven nothing but GM and have never once been stranded. Please try again later.
HA! I have a 2007 silverado with 873,xxx miles on it, not troubles out of it at all.
I have always liked the styling of this generation of Regal – the cars looked like Buicks. Regular non-GS models were everywhere around the midwest, favorites of the retiree set.
One of these with the supercharged 3.8 would have some appeal to me. I have never really paid attention to these, and had forgotten about the GS variant.
If you run across a good one they really are quite nice to drive, you should give one a try if you can. There are some with very impressive mileages on them as well, they seem very durable. http://www.RegalGS.org is the place to go for all of the knowledge.
GM had at least one honest-to-God conquest sale with this generation of the Regal: the CEO of the building materials company I worked at in the early 2000s traded in a gorgeous Lexus LS400 on a new 2003 Regal GS Supercharged. He loved the car.
I believe my 2004 Grand Am was painted this same shade of Navy Blue. It was quite possibly my favorite color of any car I’ve owned – amazingly prismatic for a single-stage metallic, though a bit shallow in depth.
Nice car Jim. I was in high school when the GS debuted and well remember the “Supercharged Family” commercials that got a lot of air time here in the Midwest.
I thought they were awfully sporty and modern for a Buick–in a good way, of course! But I’d still rather have a ’98 Riv 🙂
You’d rather have a ’98 Riv…until the day that you have to secure a small child into a Britax in the back seat. When you get back from your Chiropractor you will be looking through more car brochures to find something to replace that Riv with with 🙂
As you said, they were sporty and modern (for a Buick). And looked mature which I think is important. No wings, stickers, garish colors or other gee-gaws. Nice and understated.
I do like me some Buick 3800 and if Supercharged, even better!
One of the ladies at my office has an emerald green Supercharged Riviera that, despite a bit of peeling paint, still looks quite sharp. It has the factory chrome wheels and tan leather interior.
It’s funny, I am not married and have no kids, yet I drive a Volvo station wagon…
You just have good taste.
+1
We had a ’95 Riv. Nice driver, beautiful styling. Zero problem up to about 75K miles, then it seemed it was the problem of the week. Supercharger snout bearings, overheated, electrical issues… I miss the cat- it was our last big coupe. Don’t miss the issues though.
We had a ’95 Riv. Nice driver, beautiful styling. Zero problem up to about 75K miles, then it seemed it was the problem of the week. Supercharger snout bearings, overheated, electrical issues… I miss the car- it was our last big coupe. Don’t miss the issues though.
It’s interesting to see that we share yet another automotive taste, in addition to the 1995.5 Audi S6, old refrigerator-white American station wagons, and motorcycles. I too have long thought that a Buick sedan would make an excellent everyday car with maximum comfort and reliability, although so far I have not acted on that thought. The Park Avenue Ultra, with the same powerplant, would be my personal preference; the Jaguar XJ-inspired styling was quite striking, especially in its final generation. Even the portholes added in the last several years looked right, since a full size Buick is one of the only cars on which portholes actually belong!
The question that is on my mind is if you enjoyed the car so much, why did you sell it?
Before I bought my Alero last year a dealer showed me a Regal LS in the same color as yours and with the same interior. The car was loaded and it drove great! The heated leather seats felt wonderful, the stereo made wonderful sounds and the sunroof was nice. Sadly during the test drive, the typical GM electronic gremlins reared their ugly heads, and between all the lights flashing on the dashboard, and the gauges and digital readouts shutting off completely, I decided to walk away from it, especially when the salesman never offered to have them taken care of if I was to buy the car. It’s too bad that those electronics were a letdown on an otherwise well built, comfortable and stylish car.
My partner and I still own an ’03 Regal LS. It has approximately 80,000 miles and is a pleasure to drive, but I like my ’95 98 Regency Elite better!
We bought a new 98 GS in Phoenix, AZ back in 98 from a dealership with 14 miles on it. White with pewter belly band. We had a spoiler put on, wood grain dash accents and tinted windows done. That car still runs like new with 164,000 on it. She has been garaged the entire time we have had it and is still immaculate. I have never owned a classier or sportier car as this GS. She has treated us well and I drive it every day to and from work. The grey leather is still like new in the back seat area and the front seats have a few light creases. Never been smoked in either. This car is our baby. I know it isn’t worth much on the market so that is why we will not part with her. Still a head turner. Thanks Buick for a winning style.
It would be interesting to drive one of these. In ’98, I rented the base Century version of this car, and found it to be comfortable and accommodating to my then small family of three. But, it was VERY floaty on the road – much more so than even the ’87 Mercury Grand Marquis that I had traded on the ’95 Chrysler Concorde that I had at home. The other car at home was the good handling ’89 Thunderbird. The ride and handling in the Century was a complete turn-off for me.
It makes you wonder if Buick needed to make the Regal GS underpinnings the standard for their mid-size entry.
My Aunt Teresa, who had a fondness for fast cars, owned one of these Regals and really loved it. She lived in upstate New York and was the terror of her area as she loved “racing around” at 20-25 mph over the speed limit. It should be noted that Aunt Teresa was in her 70s when she owned her Regal.
Partly to slow her down and partly because her daughter felt she needed a car with AWD the Regal was traded for a Subaru Outback.
Good choice. JD powers, back around the year 2000 did a top 100 engines of the last 100 years and the 3.8 was in the top 10! I have had a couple of grand prix GTPs, had a shot at a clean GS, but the pontiac looks much better, and you can’t get an HUD on the GS. Also the pontiac was a bit lighter.
The turn signal stalk is just the beginning, the tip of the iceberg, so to say. You must remember this is a GM car. From their dark times.
While it was not the top end GS, I just recently parted ways with my 2002 Regal LS as I relocated back to Alberta and it simply did not make sense to bring it along, given the cost of the handful of repairs it would have needed to pass it’s inspection.
I really liked it a lot, one of my favourite cars in the vast list of those I’ve owned. It was comfortable, more than capable (even with just the naturally aspirated 3800), looked good and had a great sound system, too!
I definitely will miss it, after reading this, even more so.
Hard to beat a 3800. I prefer one size bigger (a C or H body) but a friend has had an Intrigue for the last decade or so, and I could live with one of those or a Buick.
What I really wish they had built would be a 1st generation Aurora with a supercharged 3800 instead of the Northstar.
Nice story.
When I was replacing my mother’s 1982 Buick Regal in 2003, the choice narrowed down between the Buick Century and Regal LS. She preferred the Century for the column mounted transmission shifter and the bench seat. I preferred the Regal with the 3.8 engine and the tachometer-equipped instrument panel and bucket seats.
Ended up buying the Century. The Century is a comfortable riding car and engine seemed relaxed at all speeds.
Never had trouble with the turn signal stalk, but had to replace the intake manifold and window regulators on all four doors over the years. Window regulator problems seems to be a recurring issue.
This one lives here. No idea on year, but it’s a GS.
My Dad (who turns 80 today, BTW – Happy Birthday Dad!) had a ’98 just like this one (only red over silver) while I still had my ’97 T-Bird. He had a habit of giving the cars he was done with to my sister, but after one drive in it, I told him, “Dad, PLEASE don’t give this one to my sister; when you’re done with it, I’ll buy it from you!”
I traded my ’97 T-Bird in on a slightly used ’97 Pontiac GTP Coupe (same drive train) in 2000. In 2002 or thereabouts, he was done with the Regal GS and I bought it (for a substantial family discount… Thanks Dad!).
Years later, when the Grand Prix was done as a daily driver (2008), I traded in on my 2007 Mustang. I still had the Regal GS.
While I liked the handling better in the Pontiac, the Buick was a really nice car on a trip due to better comfort. I wish I could find a picture of it, or the two of them together to share, but in the screen grab below, you can see the Regal GS peeking out from behind the (then new) Mustang. The Grand Prix is pictured at my old house, but sadly, the GS was not home that day to be in the shot….
This is the generation W-body that GM got very right for the most part. The rear brake issue was history. So was the odd fiberglass rear leaf spring that clunked with high mileage due to the rubber bushing going bad. The Series II 3800 was on display here as was the SC version of that engine. The styling was so much better than the 1988-96 versions of these cars and the interiors, ride and handling and reliability improved greatly.
Trouble areas were of course the upper and lower intake gaskets on the NA 3800, the occasional 4T65 trans axle that was abused on the Supercharged cars, the random window regulator and of course the intermediate steering shaft as the miles got high. We have sold thousands of these cars over the years along with the Intrigue, Grand Prix and Lumina. Our mechanic can do the intake gaskets in his sleep along with the ISS replacement and generally when we get a higher mileage example in those items are checked and replaced as needed.
Customers love these cars and warranty return rates are very low when the above items are fixed. The SC cars are still sought after to this day, especially the Grand Prix’s.
Attractive cars, though I always found it a head-scratcher why Buick decided to make two models out of the exact same sheetmetal with just a minor difference in the front clip. (Of course not *quite* as lazy as putting a new grille insert in the ’96 Malibu and calling it the Cutlass Supreme…) I suppose they just couldn’t bear killing off the Century nameplate, which happened anyway at the end of this generation.
Probably went quite nicely with the blower, too. A friend had a ’99 Century, which seemed quite well put-together and could fit six full-sized adults in a pinch without too much discomfort.
How much is the car