Dumb Buick question

"WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe" (wesbarton89) 10/25/2014 at 15:53 • Filed to: twoick buick, platform sharing

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Why did they have TWO vehicles on the same platform at the same time? I'm talking of course, about the Buick Century and Buick Regal, the ones produced from the mid-late 90s through the early 2000s.

The Regal:

The Century:

I assume one is sportier/more luxurious/whatever than the other, but they are aesthetically nearly identical. I know that there are minor differences in appearance, but I don't get the point. Why not just make them both as the same model, and make one a trim or sub-option of the other? Seems like it would make more sense.

gmctavish needs more space > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe 10/25/2014 at 15:57

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I can only assume for the same reason my dash is held together with bolts, screws, and allen bolts, all the same size. Because GM. :p

carcrasher88 > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe 10/25/2014 at 16:05

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Not the first time that the Regal and Century were closely related.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buick_Reg…

AMC/Renauledge > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe 10/25/2014 at 16:24

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Regal used to be the top level Century trim line from 1973-77. From 1978-81, the Century and Regal had different bodies on the same A/G platform.

The 1997-05 Century served as the softer, less luxurious, more basic midsize Buick. It came only with the 3100 V6 and was Buick's cheapest model. Many of them went to rental fleets.

The 1998-04 Regal came only with the 3800 and 3800 SC. It had a firmer suspension, more luxury features, and was aimed more at upscale retail buyers.

Steve in Manhattan > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe 10/25/2014 at 16:24

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I am old enough to remember when a Chevy Biscayne was a Bel Air was an Impala was a Caprice, and those cars were also a Pontiac Bonneville, an Oldsmobile Dynamic 88, a Buick LeSabre, and a Cadillac Sedan DeVille. David E. Davis (I think) called it "badge engineering - the underpinnings were similar if not identical and GM just put different body panels on. GM did this for a long time, and for me it's part of the reason they almost went out of business. No one believed they'd reformed their ways.

Oh, and my '81 POS Skylark was a Chevy Citation, a Pontiac Phoenix, and an Olds Omega.

WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe > Steve in Manhattan 10/25/2014 at 16:36

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Believe me, I am all too familiar with badge engineering. I didn't realize that David E. Davis coined the term though. Makes sense though. I had a '98 Cutlass, which was that generation's twin to the Malibu. I've also driven the same-gen Malibu, so so similar.

Steve in Manhattan > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe 10/25/2014 at 16:48

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I think David E. coined the term, but I suppose it could have been Bedard, Sherman, any of the writers of the period. The 80s was a long time ago. So glad my high school got C&D and Road & Track.

Tuned-Port-Injected-Rage > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe 10/25/2014 at 17:10

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Yeah, Regal was more luxurious/sporty. Century was the more base model of the two. I think Regal had the 3800 Series II, while the Century had a 3.1L, too. What you said makes more sense, though. There really wasn't much of explanation for having two separate models.