Well it's been a while since I've been on here. Been working a lot lately.

But the ideas still keep coming. This idea is based upon the 2011 Regal. Using the same platform with new front and rear aluminum subframes mounting a longitudinally mounted 2.0 i4 or 3.4 V6 mounted to a manual 6 speed or auto DSG trans, the new T-ype with a 290hp 2.0L FMIC turbo 4 would mount an attack against the import rwd sports cars. The GN with a turbo 6 and over 450 hp would stack up well against the M3, Mustang GT, etc. The new subframe would allow the front wheels to be moved forward. Basically it would be akin to the tubular steel subframe Ford used to mount the IRS system in the 99-04 Cobra, except in cast aluminum. If I can get some BIW pics of the regal, I might design the subframes also.

Yes it looks like the BMW M3. the basics of the regal lend itself to that, very little was changed from a 2011 Regal Underlay.

 

way to much like the BMW..change it up a bit with some buick GN cues..even that might not change the bimmers look.

 

Nice drawing, it looks like a really clean design. Maybe a little better than Opels own redition of a 2 door Insignia( Calibra ). You should do some shading to show some texture and surfacing.

 

Looks bombizzy to me. But I'll reserve complete judgment until I see a real life model.

 

Looks promising!

BTW...stick with the "T-type" name. "Grand National" is owned by someone, and I don't think GM wants to pay what they want for it. Something like that, anyway.

 

The side panels look too much like the new Charger, which I like btw, however Buick shouldn't play copycat.

 

I don't think they were thinking let's copy the Charger's side panels honestly.

 

There are a heap of problems with your idea (going far beyond the fact that the body you drew is identical to the current BMW M series coupe).

Here's the (otherwise) most obvious ones:

1. The Grand National name is owned by someone else. Buick (like Pontiac with the Trans Am) had to pay someone else for using the name. Something that GM simply isn't going to do anymore. They don't even have an agreement with Warner Bros. to use their cartoons (especially Taz) to sell Chevy mainvans and certain cars anymore.

2. Buick flatly and bluntly isn't going against BMW, and isn't being marketed as such... and nor should they. Buick is positioning itself against Lexus. Comfortable highway cars that are well made, with a demographic that is decidedly 40 and 50ish. If you want something that's going up against BMWs, then Cadillac is the place.

3. Building unique front and rear sub frames for the Regal's Espilon platform is impractical and a complete waste of money on at least 3 fronts:

a) For the amount of money the development and certification (both GM's and goverment rules) of these structures is high enough and it's usage would be low enough (what else would you use these RWD subframes on?) that it becomes a almost pointless waste of money for a company that doesn't exactly have a bottomless well of cash.

b) GM already has 2 (and soon will have 3) volume RWD platforms already with absolutely no need to essentially gerryrig one out of a platform engineered as FWD/AWD.

c) Turning the Espilon into a RWD vehicle involves more than simply a front and rear subframe. GM did a couple of concepts about 20 years ago where they turned a couple of Buick FWD cars into RWD turbo V6s. The reason they never saw a production line is because the cost of modifying the floorpans (in addition to the front and rear structures) cost as much (and was somewhat inferior) than simply doing an all new structure.

3. Finally, the car you propose (essentially a competitor to a BMW 3 series, performance vehicle) IS already in the pipeline. It's called the Cadillac ATS, and will be in showrooms in less than 24 months.

The only way something you propose would be practical is to simply rebody the upcoming ATS (there's going to be an ATS coupe unless GM decides otherwise) as a Buick competitor to the Infiniti G37 coupe. A Cadillac ATSv would be a far more likely competitor to a BMW M3.

The thing we need to keep in mind is that GM has 3 separate divisions that cater to 3 separate markets. Chevrolet is the division for everything like Ford and Toyota. Buick is "near-luxury" like Infiniti, Acura, and Lexus. And it's Cadillac that's getting the firepower to compete against the world's best cars like BMW and Mercedes.

GM also has 3 volume RWD chassis. The Sigma, the Zeta, and the soon to be released Alpha. Being realistic, with the choice of RWD chassis already available at GM, the idea of creating a RWD out of an Espilon wouldn't make it out of the cubicle of the person who thought about it, let alone convincing anyone in product planning.

Better bet?

Create a new Riviera off of the Camaro version of Zeta.

At least you'd stand a plausable chance based on the fact that the US currently has no homegrown near-luxury RWD coupes.

 

Well, it sure is cool to think about.

 

Now yer talking! I'd love to see that.

 

I like it.
Maybe just a little something different different with the quarter window. I wouldn't be afraid of doing something a little more angular back there.

And why would the GN have so much more HP than the T-type?
The T-type & GN were the same cars. One only came in black and the other came in all colors. That's it.

 

GunionM

Thanks a lot. Just in case I was severely delusional enough to believe one of two completely insane scenarios:

a.) I would get a message from a GM employee with the pull and the position to make a project of this scope happen, and he would call me and try to get some sort of partnership set up.
b.) Alternatively I would get a call from a shop that has the capability to build such a car, but not the direction, and they would wish to build it with my help.

You step in just in time to save me from myself and remind me that I am a loser making 11 dollars an hour who can only dream about the many things I would love to really design and build.

Not that I actually ever believe one of those things would happen to me, I just posted a sketch and put some thought into it. Yes, if I was rich or well connected I could make it happen, but I'm neither so I have to make do with a creative mind. Seriously, I know I am not working for GM nor will I ever since I don't have an industrial design degree, does that mean that I should never share my ideas?

 

BAN HIM!!! I liked your drawing..but not for the reason..

 

Keep up the imagination and your skills will start to mesh with what can happen, and you may be working for GM one day after all.

 

5thGen, I can tell you first hand that creative styling sketches are done at GM Design all the time. 99.999 never get off the paper but a lot of times stylists will do just what you did. Creativity can't be forced and nobody knows what a potential theme sketch could lead to. And while everyone who has ever walked through the doors at Design Staff wants to be the next Corvette or Camaro stylist unfortunetly someone has to pen the new Mailbu, Silverado and Sonic. As you can imagine despite the glamour jobs the bread and butter vehicles pay the bills and so their priority is first. And so as I saw several times a daydreaming stylist will drift off to something more fun like a Regal T-Type for example before having to get refocused on the GMT-123 IP they are tasked with before Mgt. or the bean counters schedule the next design integration meeting.....

One thing I will say is if your going to sketch you'll need to reach further. As you probably know vehicle design is done at the begining of the vehicles development. By the time a car like the new Regal is in showrooms the work has usually been done for things like a 2 door or in your case a T-Type. The real work is the next Regal and what that might look like.