Will the Opel Insignia Become the Buick Regal?

The General Motors saga is constantly evolving, requiring followers to keep a scorecard to track all of the changes. Certainly, the automaker’s problems date back a number of years, but its current woes seem to have been worsened by last year’s oil price fiasco and subsequent stock market collapse.

I first mentioned in October 2006 that Opel and Saturn would share a number of models and followed that up with numerous articles explaining the European origin of the Aura and Astra as well as the Saturn Sky making its way across the pond as Opels. Later, GM announced that by model year 2014 the two brands would be virtually seamless with most products shared (save for the Saturn Outlook crossover).

Opel’s Future Is In Doubt

Now that GM has apparently decided to kill off or sell Saturn, those plans have been canceled. Moreover, with GM looking to spin Opel off (or at least a share of its European brand), Opel’s future is in question as well.

Naturally, much of what is being aired as “news” lately is based on speculation, some of it coming from industry analysts with a healthy dose being suggested by GM itself: Better to make the news yourself than have the press constantly define your company by suggesting its impending demise.

Opel and Buick, Perfect Together?

The rumor du jour is that Buick and Opel will now begin to share some products, beginning as early as this year when the Opel Insignia hits our shores — not as the next generation Saturn Aura as was originally planned but as the revived Buick Regal. That shouldn’t come as much of a surprise as GM needs to fill its Buick-Pontiac-GMC stable with fresh models, something Opel can help do for it.

Buick is in the midst of a radical overhaul which began when the beautiful Enclave crossover was added to the fleet last year. Its LaCrosse sedan, the smaller of two sedans (the aged Lucerne being the other model) will be updated and replaced by a model now being sold in China, the brand’s largest market. The Regal would occupy the slot directly below the LaCrosse.

Opel isn’t likely to supply the Lucerne replacement as that car is much larger than anything the German brand now builds. Sharing the platform which powers the Cadillac DTS, the Buick Lucerne will most likely get a detuned version of the model GM says will replace both the Cadillac STS and DTS. The last we heard about that is GM is planning a front wheel drive model for it sometime around 2011 (why they won’t stretch the popular CTS’ platform to create this model is a mystery to me).

Orphaned Saturn To Buick Too?

If Saturn isn’t sold and their current product line with it, what will happen to its models? Well, the Aura and Astra would die as they are Opel transplants while the Sky would probably be discontinued as GM has no plans to continue with it or its sibling the Pontiac Solstice. The Outlook is already being sold as the GMC Acadia and Buick Enclave so unless GM loses its minds and decides that it should become a Pontiac, then we can kiss that model good-bye too.

That leaves the VUE which could be the perfect entry level crossover for Buick. With the Enclave serving on the upper end and the Vue on the lower end, Buick would have the two crossover models it needs going forward. As far as sedans go, the Lucerne, LaCrosse and Regal would fill out the Buick line as we know that going forward those two body styles will power the fleet.

Of course, coupe enthusiasts such as yours truly are imagining that the Buick Grand National could one day make its return, a two door sport coupe sitting on the Insignia-Regal platform.

Dream on!