Head To Head: Is Buick's Freshly Greenlit GS Better Looking Than The Cadillac CTS

This is probably the best looking modern buick Ive seen in my life. looks extremly sporty and I wonder how it is goin to handle. Its sad when a buick looks better than its cadillac variant and in this case the GS takes the bag IMO. But this car looks promising and Im glad GM is getting back into the performance market with Buick they need it. The last performance buick that i can remember is the Grand National

The insignia/regal is a nice looking car but the CTS is still one of the best looking cars in its class not even sure where thats coming from to say the CTS is an ugly car. As far as a Buick "variant" being better looking than the Cadillac the CTS is NOT a variant of the Regal they couldn't more different they aren't based on the same car lol arent driving the same wheels, arent the same size, and dont share an engine...

they may not be running on the same chassis but the measurements are pretty Damn close to me and this is a regular regal but there is no difference its just the GS has a more potent engine.

Here are the specs:

http://www.edmunds.com/apps/nvc/edmunds/VehicleComparison?styleid=101249102&styleid=101196228&maxvehicles=5&refid=&op=3&tab=specs

Buick is a front wheel drive, CTS is rear wheel drive. It is not a variant.

no one can knock GM on it's interiors anymore.

until you sit in one and feel the bad quality. They've made improvements over the last decade, but I think they'll need half another one to catch up.

I honestly doubt you ever been in a GM car.

uaw_lax,

Sure the CTS/Regal and other recent models are top of the class but GM still builds the Colorado and it has a HORRIBLE interior.

The interior is the place you'll realize how the CTS is the one you'll definitely prefer although the quality of the interiors of both vehicles are still questionable. Still, getting the looks right is always a good thing.

The Colorado is ancient at best and i here it will soon be replaced.

I always knew from the get go I was out numberd on this site ut you have to give credit where credit is due and many of GM's latter designed cars have great interiors and good materials no doubt to that.

They do but it is only vehicles released since the 2nd gen CTS that you can call great, and honestly the Camaro's interior has a poor design IMO.

The Malibu was good (so was Silverado and Tahoe), the Cobalt was non offensive, the G6 got a resounding meh. GM has stepped up its game but be real not all their products are top of the class.

The Regal looked AWESOME in real life with the gorgeous interior, white pearl paint, brembos and 20" wheels.

Interior looked WAY more expensive in person than the CTS-V, FYI.

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Yeah it looked awesome at the auto show this year. The guy up on stage with it wouldn't commit to its release date then, but did say there was a 80 percent chance it'd make it to production. This could be the car that completely wipes out the "old person" stigma of Buicks past.

Very nice, I like it a lot because it look very Classy like the Infiniti G35 coupe.

Lookin fresher than the CTS.......

Would have never believed it but I saw a new Buick the other day and it way quite impressive...

Lutz Saved GM Interiors From Mediocrity
Engines and exterior design have been far easier causes to champion.


By Drew Winter
Ward's AutoWorld, May 1, 2010 12:00 PM
General Motors Vice Chairman Bob Lutz retired May 1 after 10 years, following notable careers at Chrysler, Ford and BMW.

His achievements already have been chronicled by Ward's and other publications, but GM's vehicle interiors owe him a special debt of gratitude.

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Auto makers have been paying lip-service to the importance of vehicle interiors for years, but only recently have most high-volume producers started putting money where their mouths are, and GM is a prime example.

Four years ago, GM had mediocre interiors in quality and overall design. Lutz bemoaned their state during a keynote address at the 2006 Ward's Auto Interiors Conference.

“The last happy hunting ground where a vehicle line executive could claw back the cost is the interior,” Lutz said back then.

Interior design was such an afterthought in GM culture then that it took a while to convince a company executive he was being promoted, not demoted, when he was moved to an interior design leadership slot, he said.

Lutz made it clear in 2006 he was going to force a major change in attitude, because the vehicle's interior “is the last place in the world where you want to advertise the cheapness of your product,” he said.

He even warned suppliers about overusing mold release agents to speed up production of plastic parts because it could cause an ugly sheen.

Today we are seeing the fruits of those labors in every new product rolling out of GM's design studios.

The elegant Chevrolet Equinox won a 2010 Ward's Interior of the Year award in the popular-priced truck segment, and the nostalgic man-cave interior of the Camaro took honors in the sports-car category.

Each vehicle not only features a high-quality, highly crafted look, but also a sense of style that has been lacking in most of GM's vehicle interiors for decades.

GM designers turned to the first-generation '67 Camaro, when the interior was most distinctive, for design inspiration for the newest version of the car.

Even though stylists picked up that generation's design cues, such as a console-mounted gauge package, they still gave it a modern interpretation, one that meshes with the new Camaro's exterior, which also is a fresh reading of a classic shape.

Creating design harmony between the interior and exterior is another promise Lutz made four years ago and has kept.

Now the strategy is paying dividends. The Equinox and Camaro are selling faster than GM's factories can build them. Transaction prices and profit margins are the best the auto maker has seen in recent history.

Whaa? Big 3 wins big in Ward's Interior of the Year Awards
by John Neff (RSS feed) on Jun 7th 2007 at 2:58PM



When did the day come that interiors designed by our own domestic automakers were being celebrated as the best in the biz? After decades of dull designs, cheap materials and poor fit and finish, that day would be today. Ward's Auto has released the results of its 2007 Interior of the Year Competition, in which both its own editors and members of the auto industry at large choose the best inner sanctums in seven vehicle classes ranging from Economy-Priced Car to Premium-Priced Truck. Shocker: Domestics cleaned up, being awarded 11 out of 14 class awards between the editors' choices and the popular vote (and that's not including the Volvo S80's editor award for Premium-Priced Car). The Saturn Aura and Chevy Silverado, in particular, were singled out for their fine furnishings by both judging bodies in their respective classes, just like they were in the North American Car and Truck of the Year Awards last January.

Ward's also awarded prized for Best Brand Expression to the Jeep Wrangler, Best Interior Trim to the Infiniti G35, Best Cup Holder to the Chrysler Sebring and Best Overall Comfort to the Lexus LS 460L. Check out all the award winners after the jump, and pontificate on the state of affairs that led us to this day when domestic interiors are getting props aplenty.

[Source: The Auto Channel]

Kinda looks like a freshened Pontiac G8....I guess that's what they are doing with the left over Pontiac stock...

The average user here amazes me.

I love the looks of it but it is FWD. GM is obsessed with FWD cars; I am not compelled to visit the dealer much less purchase a Buick under these circumstances. CTS is the only GM platform I would shop. Love the CTS-V wagon.

It's OPEL Insignia, it's a completely new platform and has nothing to do with Pontiac!

I like chocolate puddin'.

Its twin, the Opel Insignia, has AWD option so there's always hope.

I said it once, I'll say it again. By keeping so high standart of Buick's models GM's slowly but surely killing Cadillac. In a big automotive corporation like GM there's place only for one luxury brand and GM should make their choice. But since they're making such fresh Buick's models I guess they did already choose the winner.

Good for GM and much better for Buick!

OBSERVER1984 Cadillac has better engine choices than Buick and soon you will see Cadillac go upmarket while GM is just now in my opinion becoming competative with the rest of the world.

Its Opel Insignia with Buick badge, thats it. That said it does look good, as does Opel Insignia.

The Buick looks great. The CTS looks like a cheap Acura.

With that being said, it seems that GM wants Buick to compete with Infinity and Lexus and Caddy to compete with BMW and MB. You know, kind of like better and best.

This is why the Buick is FWD and the Caddy is RWD. Subtle yet distictive.

Which would be fine, except that none of their customers see it that way.

Whoa whoa whoa..."The cadillac looks like a cheap Acura." I respectfully have to disagree.

1. Acuras arent cheap.
2. Cadillac created the sharp edge design it has today Waaaaaaaaay before Acura started putting that new beak on its cars.
3. I still want a Porsche.

hmm ok im confused your saying this new Regal isn't good enough to compete with the TSX??? In Europe the Insignia would compare with the....... Honda Accord for what reason is the Regal not good enough??? The CTS also interior quality wise and in general is a class above the TSX what makes you think that the Regal isnt good enough to compete with a Sonata and TSX but it is good enough to go against a CTS, wow the bias is rediculous that doesnt even make sense.....

Id say you need your head checked!

The new GM interiors have a long way to go? Calm down. Everything from the Malibu all the way up to the CTS-V (as far as NEW products are concerned) feature competitive interiors. Who the hell mentioned the Colorado? You need a time-out. The Camaro (and yes Ive been in one) is the only recent GM interior I dont agree with and that has NOTHING to do with the materials, its the design that is off. Why in the world is the CTS being mentioned with the Regal anyway? That would be like me writing an article (which probably wouldnt get posted) asking if the new Passat is better looking than the A6.

Some of you need to come join the rest of us on planet earth.

For the Average Joe, driving a FWD and a RWD are indistinguishable in daily commutes and road trips. Unless you are pushing the car to 90% of its handling limit on a regular basis, like car magazine editors, what is important to most consumers buying a family sedan are:
1. Price/maintenance cost
2. Reliability
3. Looks
4. Comfort/Interior

The intended competition is not BMW/MB people!

BTW, Audi is doing quite well with its FWD models.