Who Remembers This?

"ranwhenparked" (ranwhenparked)
08/31/2020 at 18:26 • Filed to: None

I parked next to a rusty early ‘00s Regal today, driven by a very elderly man, which featured a bunch of aftermarket chrome accessories (door edge guards, fender trim, door handles, etc), and brand new whitewall tires (so new, the blue protective film was still on the white stripes), and it brought back memories of these commercials that aired during 2002 - h adn’t thought about these at all in 18 years. They must have worked, in a sense, I mean, I’ve never bought a Buick and wouldn’t touch anything they sell now with a barge pole, but at least I remembered them.

DISCUSSION (15)

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > ranwhenparked
08/31/2020 at 18:45

I would own their wagon in a second, of course it’s really an Opel.

SBA Thanks You For All The Fish > ranwhenparked
08/31/2020 at 18:46

The weird thing is... those were probably better cars than any of us gave them credit for. Certain the quietest and best riding GM products . They always got the reliable versions of the V6s after Chevy had the teething pains.

They weren’t exciting (those ads were cringe-inducing) but they actually were solid, dependable cars.

This is what we'll show whenever you publish anything on Kinja: > ranwhenparked
08/31/2020 at 18:52

I remember that. I also remember this:

Chariotoflove > ranwhenparked
08/31/2020 at 19:00

I remember. I also had one of the first of that generation Riv. Good car except for some finish issues with the dash. Engine ran great until it died early on me.

I would absolutely own a Buick of today, but only in the top trim. I feel like below that the touch points are too Chevy-esque. I’m all about the interior when I’m spending my money.

ranwhenparked > SBA Thanks You For All The Fish
08/31/2020 at 19:03

Dependable, certainly. The 3800 V6 is one of the best engines GM has ever made. But, not exactly stylish or exciting. Not ugly either, just, meh.

ranwhenparked > This is what we'll show whenever you publish anything on Kinja:
08/31/2020 at 19:04

There really was a whole fad of sticking dead celebrities in commercials going on then, wasn’t there?

Nissan also used an actor to portray Yutaka Katayama, even though Mr. K was still very much alive at the time.

ranwhenparked > 415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°)
08/31/2020 at 19:06

I actually forgot the Regal Torques still existed, surprised GM hasn’t executed that yet, for the crime of not being sufficiently crossover-like.

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > ranwhenparked
08/31/2020 at 19:08

It is dead, they won’t be bringing more as far as I know, what’s for sale now is it unfortunately . It will be like my Acura wagon, you might see one from time to time.

ttyymmnn > ranwhenparked
08/31/2020 at 19:16

Kinja'd!!!

ranwhenparked > ttyymmnn
08/31/2020 at 19:34

The backstory is that Buick was Harley Earl’s favorite division, since Buick general manager Harlow Curtice was the first division head to actively seek his advice and counsel and cultivate a strong working relationship during the 1930s. Other division managers tended to be more suspicious of GM corporate officers and tried to keep their distance, grudgingly working with Earl when they had to. As a result, it established a lasting arrangement, where Earl would see to it that the corporate design department would often favor Buick with their best work.

SBA Thanks You For All The Fish > ranwhenparked
08/31/2020 at 19:49

I’m always tickled that Mike of Better Call Saul and Breaking Bad generally selected those Buicks-- blah, blend in, nothing memorable. But solid. Like Mike

fintail > ranwhenparked
08/31/2020 at 20:16

I saw a SC Regal GS at an estate sale/auction lately. Around 40K miles, loaded, I think it went for $2600 or $2900. Dexcool would scare me.

phenotyp > ranwhenparked
08/31/2020 at 21:04

I had an instructer at CCS who thought he was goddamn Harley Earl resurrected.

He was the worst. No, actually, the second-worst. But pretty damn bad.

Design isn’t imposing your opinions on everyone. It’s about making what’s right for people. GM fell into the styling-for-the-sake-of-style trap in the 50s, and has never gotten out of it.

ranwhenparked > phenotyp
08/31/2020 at 21:37

I would say they’ve been out of it, for the most part, from the 1980s-onward, with exceptions here and there.

phenotyp > ranwhenparked
08/31/2020 at 21:56

I’d say that the 60s-70s killed them. The 80s were an exercise in cynic ism. There’s a couple bright spots, here and there, but 1980s GM is pretty much the lowest point of design, car-or-otherwise.