Could a Grand National Be On the Docket?
At a recent dinner with Buick executives, we were regaled with the typical marketing jibber-jabber about the “incredible” stuff that’s coming next, and when we asked specifically about performance-oriented Buick models, we saw sparkles in their eyes and got one of those typical “just wait ’til you see what’s coming next” lines that usually prompts a collective rolling of the eyes. But with the Regal redux looking like a real possibility, it would seem quite natural for Buick to bring back the vaunted Grand National (or Grand Sport) name, too—powered by, say, a turbocharged V-6, just like the beloved original that was sold in the mid-1980s. Of course, rear-wheel drive would be out of the question and a front-drive GN would be absolute heresy, but all-wheel drive could perhaps prove a somewhat amicable compromise. On one point, however, we will not give ground: it must be all black.