Another New Buick to Love: 2012 Buick Regal GS Announced for Columbia, SC

2012 Buick Regal GS sedan, available soon in Columbia, SC (GM Media)

If you love Buick Regal's styling but wanted something a little more potent than the standard CXL's 2.4L engine, your ship has come in!  Buick has announced the new 2012 Buick Regal GS, which will arrive in the second half of 2011 to Columbia, South Carolina.

When it arrives, the Regal GS will deliver an estimated 255 HP and 295 lb-ft of torque, all run through a six-speed manual gearbox; a six-speed automatic transmission with paddle shifters will be available later on.  The new Regal GS also receives exclusive race-inspired exterior styling and interior appointments. Furthering the Buick styling tradition, the four-cylinder Regal GS has two portholes on each side; Buick models equipped with V6 and V8 engines historically received three and four respectively.

Unlike the Regal GS show car, the production model will only be available in front-wheel drive.  Columbia drivers will experience the well-received HiPerStrut suspension system, seen on uplevel models like the Buick LaCrosse and Saab 9-5, which serves to reduce torque steer under acceleration commonly found in front-wheel-drive performance sedans.  Regal’s class-exclusive Interactive Drive Control System will also be standard equipment, providing Columbia Buick drivers with pushbutton control over the Regal GS’ suspension and steering settings.

Pricing has not been announced, but the 2012 Buick Regal GS will be for sale in Columbia, South Carolina in the second half of 2011.  When it does, you can bet that your Buick dealer in Columbia will be among the first to get a hold of this Buick performance sedan!

Does Columbia Love a smaller Buick?

Buick Verano teaser from GM

If you're like many Columbia Buick lovers, you probably remember Buick's last run in the compact car segment: the Buick Skylark.  Last produced in 1998, the Skylark's demise left Buick buyers forced to choose a bigger entry-level sedan (first the Century, then the LaCrosse, then most recently the new Regal).

All that is due to change soon, as General Motors has announced a $145-million investment in their Orion Assembly Center last used to build the Pontiac G6.  Once retooled, the plant will create a new small car for Chevrolet and, more important to those that love a Buick in Columbia, an all-new Buick compact sedan dubbed the Verano.  Buick has released just one teaser image of the Verano, seen at the right, but hopefully more information will leak out soon enough.  (Sources are reporting that the Verano should share a platform with the just-released Chevrolet Cruze.)

What do you think?  Is it time for something smaller than a Buick Regal in Columbia?