Used Buick Regal: 1997 – 2004
By the end of the 1990’s, the success of Japanese models like Honda Accord, Toyota Camry and Nissan Maxima in the U.S. had become painfully obvious. Being something of a zero sum game, the more the imports sold, the fewer copies of the domestic models sold. With the introduction of the 1997 Buick Regal, Buick was trying to stem the outflow of its buyers.
With the all-new 1997 Regal, for the first time in the history of the model, there was no coupe in the lineup. Regal went to a sedan-only strategy and was simultaneously made more spacious in an attempt to appeal to growing families. The good news is the styling of that sedan was delightfully curvaceous, even evoking comparisons to Jaguar models of the period.
Buick’s product planners also loaded the Regal with all the tech the times would allow; including heated leather seats, a Monsoon eight-speaker surround sound audio system and dual-zone climate control. A supercharged iteration, the Buick Regal GS, boasted 240 horsepower and 280 ft.-lbs. of torque.