My new daily driver: 2014 Regal GS!

[Dan@Adams]

Hey gang, I know I haven't been on the forum much lately, but I'm hoping to change that again.  I'm warning you now that this will be a long post, so I'll throw a lot of pictures in between my babbling

 

Last Friday, I said goodbye to a truly great friend, my 2008 Trailblazer SS...

 

 

It went home to a good friend of mine who purchased it from the dealership for the same price I traded it in for.  I absolutely loved the TBSS, but I felt it was time to change things up some and get more of an adult car, even if it really is a 'pretend' adult car that happens to be an incredibly fun sport sedan too! This ain't your grandpa's Buick...

 

 

2014 Buick Regal GS.  I'm not sure how many people know about this car, so if you don't, it's essentially an Opel Insignia - built in Germany the first two years of production and now they're being built in Canada. White Diamond Tricoat finish, 2.0 Ecotec turbo, 259hp and 295ft-lbs, all wheel drive, 20" wheels with Pirelli summer-only 255's, Brembo brakes, and just about any feature you can imagine. The car is fully loaded with the exception of one option - $140 all weather rubber floor mats, lol. Driver Confidence 1 and 2 packages add things like blind spot detection, lane departure warnings, and something that really freaked me out at first but now I'm really starting to like it - adaptive cruise control. I got over $6k off MSRP, then $15k trade-in for the TBSS, so I ended up financing $25k at 1.9%...not bad at all.

My friend picking up his new TBSS, in his G8 GT:

 

 

I've never been in a car with adaptive cruise control before, so this thing put me in awe, lol...it can do all of the braking and acceleration for you, so basically all you have to do is steer! Heated steering wheel and seats, moonroof, and the awesome new 8" LCD configurable gauge cluster, very similar to the C7 Corvette. It even has a G-meter and lots of other cool screen options. Putting the car into GS mode firms up the shock valving, tightens the response on the awesome steering wheel, and also plays around with the fuel mapping and shift algorithms. The turbo can make up to 24psi of boost from the factory, and the all wheel drive system can put up to 95% of the torque to the rear wheels when it needs it.

 

 

I absolutely love this thing. It's going to make a great, fun daily driver. For all of you scifi nerds out there like me, 42 miles at purchase, no joke.

 

 

 

 

Build quality has a very Euro, bmw-like feel to it, which I think is a very good thing Panel fitment is tight, no rattles, and very little hard plastics. The touch-controls for the HVAC and heated seats are very modern and cool to me, but I guess some car mags don't like them. I've never owned anything this premium feeling. I sure miss the TBSS, but I do not regret this purchase one bit!

 

 

Love the design of these massive 20" wheels and nice wide tires

 

 

The Brembos. 60-0 stopping is supposed to be about 104 feet...I wouldn't argue that one bit! Holy brakes Batman...especially for a 4,000 pound car.

 

 

LED Daytime Running Lights are pretty sweet, and the HID's are fantastic.

 

 

LED tail lights too, with a redesign for 2014.

 

 

For a daily driver, ideally I wanted something classy that I wouldn't be embarrassed to take a woman out on a first date without making her go deaf or smell like raw fuel like my other two rides I wanted comfort, style, all wheel drive, decent gas mileage, geek toys, decent power, and awesome handling and braking - and I knew it would be hard to find all of those things in a new vehicle for a decent price. A BMW 3-series or an Audi A4 could have given me all of that as well, but for much more money for a similar feature set, and who am I kidding, I'm a GM guy and always will be!

Edited September 6, 2014 by psu goat

[Dan@Adams]

My dealership knows how particular I am with my GTO and was with the TBSS (in fact they told me that the TBSS was the cleanest black vehicle they've ever received on a trade...I told them that was sorta my goal), never letting them wash either.  They said they at least had to wash the GS for me to look it over, so I told them only to wash it the night before - no wax or junky shiny stuff inside, and that I would take care of the car myself since like all of you, I'm obsessed with detailing cars to perfection. They put some tire shine on as well that flung all over, but I'll remedy that with SVRT.

 

I already started to claybar the car, polish it with Paint Finishing Polish with the Cyclo and white pads (didn't need Paint Correcting Polish, as there were only a few very fine swirl marks in the clear in a few spots), seal it with Liquid Paint Sealant, then Brilliant Glaze, and finally Patriot Wax. The hood and entire driver side are done so far. I've detailed dozens of vehicles now, and it always amazes me how much dirt and rail dust gets pulled out with the claybar, even with a brand new car.

 

This was from just claying the hood.

 

 

 

Lookin pretty all alone as I like it, at the Arby's parking lot at lunch yesterday

 

 

And finished the hood off with the good stuff last night.

 

 

Tonight I got the trunk clayed, polished, and sealed.  I'll move onto the passenger side, roof, and bumpers on Sunday, as tomorrow I'm detailing a friend's BMW and his wife's Acura!  I'll get better pictures once the whole car is complete.

 

Oh, and I'm already looking into the Trifecta tune, Weathertech floormats, and some winter wheels and tires, lol. As always, thanks for looking!

[AusTroy]

Very nice car!! 

[BRZN]

Nice ride Dan, I'm looking forward to seeing it in person.

[Team Adam's]

So awesome DT, thanks for sharing with us.

 

Absolutely LOVE those cars, it certainly doesn't seem like it should wear a "Buick" badge!

[JHL88]

Its a very nice car for sure.  IMO though, for it to wear a GS badge I think it needs more power.  

[Natch02]

That there is a nice car. I like the instrument panel.

[zxgto06]

That's awesome Dan! Love that car!

[Dan@Adams]

Very nice car!! 

 

Thank you much!

 

So awesome DT, thanks for sharing with us.

 

Absolutely LOVE those cars, it certainly doesn't seem like it should wear a "Buick" badge!

 

Thanks bud!  I do plan to be around on here a lot more often now...I'll find time somehow   I was thinking about getting the Opel badges for it, but with the big Buick badge up front, it has the built-in radar and I'm not sure if the Opel grill works the same way.

 

Its a very nice car for sure.  IMO though, for it to wear a GS badge I think it needs more power.  

 

Thanks.  I agree somewhat.  Just shy of 300ft-lbs of torque is impressive to me, and when this car came out, it was GM's highest horsepower per liter engine they had ever built up to that point. The Grand National and GNX were always above the GS anyway, and a Trifecta tune should bump this bad boy up 70hp to around 350hp out of a 2.0 liter turbo

 

That there is a nice car. I like the instrument panel.

 

Thanks, the IP is one of my favorite things about the car too.

 

That's awesome Dan! Love that car!

 

Thanks buddy!  How have you been man?

[egott_91]

"That's not a Buick!"

 

"That's what I told him!"

 

Lol.

 

I test drove a '13 GS and liked it. I think it had been sitting on the lot for a little while as the tranny seemed sluggish, or maybe I'm just used to my SS with the line pressure turned up. But overall a really nice feel.

 

I like the look of the '14s gauge cluster way more than the '13, but I'm not sure I could justify paying $45k+ on a Buick.

 

Also, if a girl doesn't like loud cars and the smell of raw fuel, you're picking up the wrong type of girl! Lol. I guess I'm lucky enough that my girlfriend likes loud cars and the smell of my SS's exhaust. (It runs slightly rich).

[camaro2ssblack]

Good choice

[IrishCurse]

Congratulations!

[Chris@Adams]

Nice ride Dan!

[Marylander]

Slick! I had no idea those Regals could be optioned with all those very cool features. Great purchase.

[zxgto06]

Thank you much!

 

 

 

Thanks bud!  I do plan to be around on here a lot more often now...I'll find time somehow   I was thinking about getting the Opel badges for it, but with the big Buick badge up front, it has the built-in radar and I'm not sure if the Opel grill works the same way.

 

 

 

Thanks.  I agree somewhat.  Just shy of 300ft-lbs of torque is impressive to me, and when this car came out, it was GM's highest horsepower per liter engine they had ever built up to that point. The Grand National and GNX were always above the GS anyway, and a Trifecta tune should bump this bad boy up 70hp to around 350hp out of a 2.0 liter turbo

 

 

 

Thanks, the IP is one of my favorite things about the car too.

 

 

 

Thanks buddy!  How have you been man?

I have been good, congrats on your rally win too! I was out your way a couple weeks ago on my bike, we gotta get together before the weather takes a turn.

[Dan@Adams]

Thanks, the rally was incredible to say the least, and to take 1st place on the last day, in a truck that the build was literally less than a week old...let's just say it felt awesome to prove everyone wrong that said I was crazy or that the truck wouldn't make it across the country and back.  When I have time I'll make a thread about it on here

[Dan@Adams]

"That's not a Buick!"

 

"That's what I told him!"

 

Lol.

 

I test drove a '13 GS and liked it. I think it had been sitting on the lot for a little while as the tranny seemed sluggish, or maybe I'm just used to my SS with the line pressure turned up. But overall a really nice feel.

 

I like the look of the '14s gauge cluster way more than the '13, but I'm not sure I could justify paying $45k+ on a Buick.

 

Also, if a girl doesn't like loud cars and the smell of raw fuel, you're picking up the wrong type of girl! Lol. I guess I'm lucky enough that my girlfriend likes loud cars and the smell of my SS's exhaust. (It runs slightly rich).

 

Yeah, the transmission is a little bit lazy, but I'm guessing that is just the factory tune and torque management.  In manual mode it upshifts pretty hard!  This one stickered at $45,475 since it was fully loaded.  If I were to order one, I wouldn't have picked all of those options, but this one was on the lot for 3 months, where I did recon work spying on it, and it kept saying "buy me..."  I waited for the right deal to come up and got over just over $6k off with a GMS certificate and the current rebates, plus another $15k trade-in on the TBSS, so that helped me justify it some

 

And yeah absolutely the girl would have to like cars and tolerate the loud exhaust and raw fuel, but I wanted a "normal" car too, haha.  I usually don't even tell women about the GTO or the racetruck until later on.

 

Good choice

 

Thanks, I think so too!

 

Congratulations!

 

Woohoo! lol

 

Nice ride Dan!

 

Thanks buddy!  I'll try to keep it clean to your standards

 

Slick! I had no idea those Regals could be optioned with all those very cool features. Great purchase.

 

Yeah, I did my homework for many months between the GS, the Chevy SS, ATS, A4, S3, 3series, etc.

Edited September 7, 2014 by psu goat

[Maxcustody]

Nice addition, Congrats

[Michael@Adams]

Looks great! They are really stepping up the game in the looks department in recent years.

[Ricky Bobby]

Gorgeous car, to be honest I never though of the GS too much.

 

I'd debadge it, about 20% window tint would look amazing with the white car, its VERY sporty looking as is and you're right the 20" wheels are very muscular.

 

 

Can you get one in a 6MT???

[egott_91]

Gorgeous car, to be honest I never though of the GS too much.

 

I'd debadge it, about 20% window tint would look amazing with the white car, its VERY sporty looking as is and you're right the 20" wheels are very muscular.

 

 

Can you get one in a 6MT???

You could get them in a manual in 2012 and early 2013, but I think they've gone to strictly shiftable autos.

[Ricky Bobby]

You could get them in a manual in 2012 and early 2013, but I think they've gone to strictly shiftable autos.

 

 

:banghead:

[Dan@Adams]

You could get them in a manual in 2012 and early 2013, but I think they've gone to strictly shiftable autos.

Incorrect actually. You can still get them in a 6 speed manual, no cost option, but only for the front wheel drive GS, not the all wheel drive. GM doesn't seem to like manual transmissions on their awd cars

 

Edit: When the GS first came out, it was ONLY available as a manual transmission for the first 6 months or so...pretty cool I thought

Edited September 9, 2014 by psu goat

[egott_91]

Incorrect actually. You can still get them in a 6 speed manual, no cost option, but only for the front wheel drive GS, not the all wheel drive. GM doesn't seem to like manual transmissions on their awd cars

 

Edit: When the GS first came out, it was ONLY available as a manual transmission for the first 6 months or so...pretty cool I thought

Aaaah. I never looked into the FWD 2014's. All of the ones I've looked at were AWD ones.

[SSJ455]

_{Congrats!!  I have a 2013 Silvermist GS with the 19s.  I traded a 2006 GP GXP last year for it.  I really enjoy it and this past July I bought a 2011 Camaro 2LT/RS.  Both cars could not be more different.  I thought the Buick had a firm ride in GS mode until I drove the Camaro.  The Buick feels like a luxury car in comparison but I think it handles better than the Camaro.  The paint is in great shape on my GS, I use Buttery Wax, and I plan to put a polish on it followed by Adam's Liquid Paint Sealant and then the Buttery Wax this weekend.} 

Edited September 10, 2014 by SSJ455