You can fit a turbo V6 in the existing platform. You can also do AWD... both of those are in the OPC. The reason we didn't get those two things in the Regal GS was because they claimed they couldn't get the 2.8L V6 to meet US emissions without cutting power and AWD was cut to save weight and help fuel economy.

Perhaps if you were to make a more limited production Regal performance model (whatever you would want to call it) you could reinstate the AWD and perhaps you could even cram a US spec turbo V6 into it. We have heard about a turbo V6s from GM for a while in the rumor-mill. I think they will come to fruition soon. The move to the integrated exhaust manifolds in the head casting of the V6s is probably an indication of that.

I'm sure some would QQ about the lack of RWD in a performance car, but Audi gets away with basically FWD / AWD and for Buick's positioning FWD / AWD architectures make the most sense.

 

As I stated, I don't have a degree in ID, or anything else for that matter, so that's a moot point. I would love to sketch the next generation regal. Does that mean I would get a first glance from someone at GM? Not hardly. I won't ever get to do the real work. It's just a sketch. While you get to see the inner workings perhaps on your way to your office or whatever, I won't ever even get to that point.

I wrote to several people I know of who work for GM and Ford asking to be able to see the design studios at both companies. If I was able to get a tour of the design studios, I would have went on a 3-4 day trip with my family. I always wanted to be a designer, those design studios are my Graceland. But they said no for confidentiality reasons...... It's not like anyone who works for either company actually pays attention or would pay attention to anything I do, so really I don't understand where the "confidentiality" concern comes from. But that's what happened. So, this is what I have left, a Cintiq tablet thanks to my wife, and 3 year old sketch software.

If I sketched up a concept for the next regal, and it was on the level of an ideation sketch from a real car designer, it would have oversized wheels and super small green house, so it would be ridiculed for that.

As for your suggestion that the designers are forced to design cars that are boring, is that why they look boring? When I look at the 2012 Focus, it is a very nice looking car. Maybe it's all in their heads.

As for me, I appreciate the input on how I will improve the feasibility of my sketches....... but I am realistic enough to know and experienced in life enough to know: that won't happen to me.

I will be lucky if I can save up enough to buy the tools I need to build my 1979 Suzuki GS425 the way I designed it.

 

like I said here,
http://www.yosax.com/chevrolet-cruze-sketches

 

You are talented as a automotive artist, so don't be so negative. Often, an idea a person posts is a lame photoshop that took little to no effort or talent to (let alone a decent idea) to create. Drawing actually takes time, and at least your ideas were based on reality. I have always had far more respect for someone with a pencil than someone with a computer program.

My 2 cents was (hopefully) to perhaps have you use the talent you have and think as if you were actually going to sell that idea to a GM planning comittee, and come up with some really powerful ideas that might get attention.

I'd really like to see what you can do creating a Buick design based on the Camaro or CTS structure and proportions. The idea of taking a Regal, turning it into a coupe, and an expensive redoing of the chassis simply isn't using your artitistic talent to the level it could be.

Your ideas and drawings can IMHO easily wind up on websites and car mags, either as your own ideas or as an artist for their stories. Trust me, that isn't farfetched in the least. It's just a matter of getting noticed.

Although you might downplay your potential (let alone any advice I might give), very good ideas and talent do wind up noticed.