Buick Verano Cannibalizing Regal Sales

The introduction of the Buick Verano Turbo is right around the corner, and that could spell doom for the Buick Regal, which has seen sales plunge by 37 percent this year. While Buick claims that the Verano's high conquest rate is proof that their is little risk of it cannibalizing its big brother, data from Edmunds obtained by Automotive News shows that cross-shopping between the two nameplates is among the highest in the industry. One possiblity is that lower-end Regal sales are being hurt by the cheaper Verano; 60 percent of Regal sales are now made up of turbocharged models, including the high-performance GS variant. But the Verano Turbo is half a second faster to 60 mph than Buick's quoted figure for the high performance Regal GS, though Buick claims that the GS offers better steering and handling. Despite the product overlap, we are fortunate to live in an era where Buick has not one but two high performance turbocharged sedans available with manual transmissions, even if they are "wrong-wheel drive". If the Regal GS is a pseudo-Insignia OPC for significantly more money, then the Verano Turbo is a more upscale Cobalt SS Cruze, and a Trifecta Tune away from being the ultimate sleeper. Kudos to Buick for having one of the more interesting product mixes in the industry. Hey, they have more manual transmissions than Ferrari. from The Truth About Cars http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com

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