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Buick Expects TourX To Account For as Much as Half of Regal Sales

Some say the station wagon is almost dead, and looking at the sales figures of crossovers and SUVs, they’re not wrong. But automakers such as Volvo beg to differ with the Vxx series of longroofs. Buick is the most surprising of culprits for introducing the Regal TourX in one of the most wagon-unfriendly markets in the world: the United States of America.
2018 Buick Regal TourX 30 photos
Photo: Buick
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The TourX, as you may already know, is the more practical body style of the 2018 Buick Regal. Coming as standard in Sportback flavor (as in liftback sedan), the Regal starts at $24,990. Moving up to the family-oriented TourX brings the starting price up to $29,070 before destination.

Isn’t it crazy for Buick to charge more than $4,000 for the additional room and standard all-wheel-drive? Some might say it is, but there’s something crazier to be highlighted about the TourX. According to Automotive News, the higher-ups expect the TourX to “account for as much as 50 percent of Regal sales.” That’s 20 percent more than initially predicted.

Speaking to Automotive News, vice president of marketing for Buick and GMC, Phil Brook, declared: “We're pretty realistic about where the car market's at, but we're getting some pretty good feedback on it.” Reading between the lines, General Motors expects sedan sales to contract in 2018, and this is where the hip-looking TourX enters the scene as the alternative.

With plastic body cladding and all-road capability, the TourX isn’t your old-man longroof. To the point, Buick wants to grab a piece of the pie that’s split between the likes of Subaru, Volvo, and Audi in the U.S. of A.

Manufactured in Germany by Opel on the assembly line that also handles the Insignia Sports Tourer and Insignia Country Tourer, the Regal TourX is described by its maker as “a crossover in the truest sense of the word.” Say what you will, but Buick defends this choice of words with the “drive dynamics of a car and the versatility of an SUV.” Makes sense, right?
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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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