http://carscoop.blogspot.com/2009/03...-turbo-v6.html




It looks cool, but I also know that the Saab Turbo X it shares nuts and bolts with is heavy, thirsty, expensive and really not all that fast.

 

looks cool! Would be a good Taurus SHO fighter from a looks/specs standpoint. Don't know if it being a Buick would give it enough exposure to compete though

 

This car is a size class smaller than the Taurus so it wouldn't compete directly. I find it interesting all the things the SHO is being compared to from an S4 (compact premium sports sedan) to a BMW 7 series (large premium sports lux sedan).

 

So is this (a possible variant of) the new Regal - the Insignia is supposedly tagged as a new Regal right? It's smaller than the Lacrosse/Allure IIRC, so I don't think it would directly compete against the Taurus.

T-type, well anything that implies there's a pulse at Buick and gets attention directed at the brand is a good thing - since Buick is a core brand and all. The new Lacrosse looks good too so who knows.... The OPC variant of the Insignia in the photos is pretty cool looking.

Years ago, I remember they said Buick was not about performance, it's about quiet refined motoring so no more GS, T-type or GN vehicles of that ilk would appear as it was un-Buick like. This car is kind of un-Buick like, and that's good I guess.

 

Looks pretty sweet!

Too bad it doesn't come with an arrowhead and a split grille.

 

I think you're correct on all of those. Pass.

That's the AWD problem. You need extra power to counter the extra weight, and then the extra power brings even more weight. Playing that game to its conclusion brings you a car with a gas guzzler tax. So the end is usually a heavier car with similar power that's slower and gets worse gas mileage than a RWD car.

See Saab 9-3X, Audi A4 V6, Acura TL vs BMW 335i, Infiniti G35, Lexus IS350.

The AWD cars are all heavier and slower. I don't recall off-hand whether the RWDs all get better gas mileage than all the AWDs, but I'm confident proclaiming that the average of the RWD group is better than than the AWD group.

 

Just my personal opinion, but I've never sampled a 2wd version (FWD or RWD) of a car vs it's AWD version - and preferred the AWD. That's because you feel the weight and it's effects on dynamics.