I guess this thread / rant occurred to me because I'm looking to pick up a grand national for a project car and it struck me how incredibly boring Buick is nowadays.

We all know what the fate of Oldsmobile is going to be and when you look at what came out of that stable - it's kinda not surprsing. When I look at today's Buick I see the same problem... boring, uninspired styling that doesn't seem to attract new (or younger) buyers - just maybe keeps the established ones comming back. Newsflash: they're gonna pass away someday!! Tiger woods alone isn't going to be enough in the long run.

Buick needs to bring back the exitement of the GNX to give the brand some sparkle again. Chevy has the vette. Pontiac is getting the GTO. Caddy has the CTS-V. Every brand needs a little bit of flash. Sure they have that Supercharged RegalGS, but it's pretty tepid and looks as bland all of their lineup.

So Buick - give us another Grand Nat... make sure it looks as initmidtaing as the GNX of old and has the ***** to back up the styling. I know that the true musclecar years are gone... but it seems like with the growing renaisance in performance, and the small but significant interest in turbos among the domestic brands again, that there's room for a car like a new GNX. Surely GM could find a suitable platform to bulld it on from amongst the upcomming new platforms.

And if it looked right, the gangsta rap crowd would be queing up in droves to buy one to park next to their 'dubbed-up' Escalades .

 

Buick does need to spice up its lineup, but I don't think (as much as I want to) a GNX is the answer. I think we would have our own Marauder on our hands where it would be a nice car with a good idea, but with the Buick label meaning luxury and not performance, it would be very hard to pull off. The Bengal convertable would give a classier halo car to the Buick lineup. Have no fear, thought, for Buick. They have a great future planned starting with the upcoming Ranier. The next gen Regal ,which will also replace the Century, will feature some excellent styling cues that are very Jaguarish(according to my sources). Also, the use of V8's in future Buicks will help them in the future to gain the reputation as a true American luxury competitor. Remember, GM wants Buick to take over for the old Cadillac, along with Lexus like quality. Sounds like a plan to me.

 

They need an all new Riviera.

 

every kid i talk too would love a grand national even if they are import lovers they still want it

 

IMport guys love them because its their kind of engine tech..V6 turbo. But they think the car itself is ugly...which I think is just plain silly.

Nothing more sinister looking than a GNX.

Got into a conversation the other day with the neighbor kid. He's like 17 and has a 96 Mustang V6 he drag races. We got to talking about the GN for some reason and I was telling him how easy it was to go fast...just turn up the boost. I said easy 12's and he said "That would beat a GT, right?" I just started laughing.."hell yea it will beat the crap out of a GT."

Anyway, I think Buick is ripe for another muslce project. But it needs to wait until they get some rear drive cars back in the lineup. You can buy a superchared 3800 series Regal now but its just not the same as a real GN.

 

a superchared 3800 series Regal would due if it was RWD or had a tranny that could handle some more power

 

I always thought the GN's were boringly styled. They looked almost like any other Buick (A Regal) back then. The styling wasn't no 3gen f-bod or vette. It was blocky, and near-identical to the bland Regals of that time. What made them special was the 3.8T and the black on black treatment.

But...todays Buicks are even more boringly styled. Anyone with a decent pulse and under 100 (exaggeration) would shy away from them.

Fix the styling before going after the performance.

 

I wouldn't call the current supercharged Buick Regal GS tepid, and the Grand National's intimidating appearence is nothing more than black paint (the car was nothing more than a run of the mill Buick Regal with a set of wheels & a hood blister).

The only thing Buick needs like Z28x said is a RWD vehicle with the supercharged engine they already have. The Grand Prix people are doing some unbelievable things with that engine in a front wheel drive car, so imagine the hot rodding potential if it was put into a RWD car, and the image boost to Buick.

At the same time, like Turbo Grand Prix pointed out, GNX or another Grand National isn't the way Buick should go. Every car division should have a theme, and Buick isn't interested in creating another drag racer. Bringing back a version of the Turbo Regal (in this case, a supercharged coupe instead of a turbo one) would bring a bit of excitement without going into territory that Pontiac's marking out for themselves. Afterall, the Grand National was nothing more than a up market Regal Turbo.

 

And that my friend is why they were so frickin' cool!

If they had the styling of a Camaro or Vette, folks would have bought a Camaro or Vette.

People that bought GN's bought them because while they looked like grandma cars, they smoked just about everything else on the road.

 

I think GM needs to dump Buick like Olds.

 

THen what will old people drive?

 

Buick should dust off the Grand National name. It is another popular unique car like fiero which GM continues to ignore. It would bring younger buyers into Buick dealerships-unless they plan to continue targeting the Geritol crowd. Buick's lineup is too limited- Bengal and LaCrosse would also be good additions. At the 2001 Milw auto show, more people were checking out the retractable top Cielo concept than were looking at the soon to be released Thunderbird.

 

Buick is doing what they need to do. Focusing on quality and bringing new models to the plate. Smooth ride is more important than handling to a Buick customer. Passing power and fuel economy are important to a Buick customer, not 0-60 times. Just take a look at the demographics of a Buick customer. Add a little styling flare and some smooth V8's, and this is your future for Buick. Because if Buick trys to become something they are not known for, like Olds did, Buick will surely follow the same demise. We will likely never see another GN/GNX or a GSX again. Be happy that we have a Regal GS and an Ultra. They are a complete car for those who desire a little more than the average Buick, with the same modding potential as a GTP or Monte SS s/c. If you want out of the box performance, GM says buy a Pontiac or a Chevy, and so do I, even though I'd love to see it from Buick as much as all of you.

 

IMO, GM can keep it's "tape and sticker" specialty cars, which is likely what a modern iteration of the GN and turbo Regals would be.
I'm sure they'd be real creative. A blacked out FWD Regal with the same, 8 year old, transverse mounted, blown 3.8 in it...same as a '97 GTP.
If they want to bring back a RWD, forced induction V6 comparible to the original model, that's another story.
S.

 

Buick doesn't want another Grand National type car, and aren't trying to attract youth at all. That's not their target market. They are aiming at mid-aged or older moderately high income conservative individuals who would otherwise buy a Lexus.