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Grand National GNX Was Designed by AI, Still Looks Better Than Any Real Buick

Today, Buicks are bland, bulky, generally not too attractive, and also very few – at least at home in the United States. That is mostly because all of them are boring crossover SUVs.
Buick Regal GNX CGI AI-designed car for Brian Mello 41 photos
Photo: Brian Mello / YouTube
Buick Regal GNX CGI AI-designed car for Brian MelloKevin Hart’s "Dark Knight" 1987 Buick Grand National T-Top by Salvaggio DesignKevin Hart’s "Dark Knight" 1987 Buick Grand National T-Top by Salvaggio DesignKevin Hart’s "Dark Knight" 1987 Buick Grand National T-Top by Salvaggio DesignKevin Hart’s "Dark Knight" 1987 Buick Grand National T-Top by Salvaggio DesignKevin Hart’s "Dark Knight" 1987 Buick Grand National T-Top by Salvaggio DesignKevin Hart’s "Dark Knight" 1987 Buick Grand National T-Top by Salvaggio DesignKevin Hart’s "Dark Knight" 1987 Buick Grand National T-Top by Salvaggio DesignKevin Hart’s "Dark Knight" 1987 Buick Grand National T-Top by Salvaggio DesignKevin Hart’s "Dark Knight" 1987 Buick Grand National T-Top by Salvaggio DesignKevin Hart’s "Dark Knight" 1987 Buick Grand National T-Top by Salvaggio DesignKevin Hart’s "Dark Knight" 1987 Buick Grand National T-Top by Salvaggio DesignKevin Hart’s "Dark Knight" 1987 Buick Grand National T-Top by Salvaggio DesignKevin Hart’s "Dark Knight" 1987 Buick Grand National T-Top by Salvaggio DesignKevin Hart’s "Dark Knight" 1987 Buick Grand National T-Top by Salvaggio DesignKevin Hart’s "Dark Knight" 1987 Buick Grand National T-Top by Salvaggio DesignKevin Hart’s "Dark Knight" 1987 Buick Grand National T-Top by Salvaggio DesignKevin Hart’s "Dark Knight" 1987 Buick Grand National T-Top by Salvaggio DesignKevin Hart’s "Dark Knight" 1987 Buick Grand National T-Top by Salvaggio DesignKevin Hart’s "Dark Knight" 1987 Buick Grand National T-Top by Salvaggio DesignKevin Hart’s "Dark Knight" 1987 Buick Grand National T-Top by Salvaggio DesignKevin Hart’s "Dark Knight" 1987 Buick Grand National T-Top by Salvaggio DesignKevin Hart’s "Dark Knight" 1987 Buick Grand National T-Top by Salvaggio DesignKevin Hart’s "Dark Knight" 1987 Buick Grand National T-Top by Salvaggio DesignKevin Hart’s "Dark Knight" 1987 Buick Grand National T-Top by Salvaggio DesignKevin Hart’s "Dark Knight" 1987 Buick Grand National T-Top by Salvaggio DesignKevin Hart’s "Dark Knight" 1987 Buick Grand National T-Top by Salvaggio DesignKevin Hart’s "Dark Knight" 1987 Buick Grand National T-Top by Salvaggio DesignKevin Hart’s "Dark Knight" 1987 Buick Grand National T-Top by Salvaggio DesignKevin Hart’s "Dark Knight" 1987 Buick Grand National T-Top by Salvaggio DesignKevin Hart’s "Dark Knight" 1987 Buick Grand National T-Top by Salvaggio DesignKevin Hart’s "Dark Knight" 1987 Buick Grand National T-Top by Salvaggio DesignKevin Hart’s "Dark Knight" 1987 Buick Grand National T-Top by Salvaggio DesignKevin Hart’s "Dark Knight" 1987 Buick Grand National T-Top by Salvaggio DesignKevin Hart’s "Dark Knight" 1987 Buick Grand National T-Top by Salvaggio DesignKevin Hart’s "Dark Knight" 1987 Buick Grand National T-Top by Salvaggio DesignKevin Hart’s "Dark Knight" 1987 Buick Grand National T-Top by Salvaggio DesignKevin Hart’s "Dark Knight" 1987 Buick Grand National T-Top by Salvaggio DesignKevin Hart’s "Dark Knight" 1987 Buick Grand National T-Top by Salvaggio DesignKevin Hart’s "Dark Knight" 1987 Buick Grand National T-Top by Salvaggio Design
The U.S. automaker’s lineup consists of the Encore small SUV, Encore GX, Envision compact SUV, and the Enclave mid-size CUV. And that is all, aside from a feeble attempt to lure in different buyers with the more luxurious Avenir line or the Sport Touring alternate series. No passenger cars, no veritable SUVs, no trucks, nothing. And that is just a little bit sad.

Especially when you consider past nameplates that were extremely successful, such as the long-running Regal line of mid-size cars. Those lived across two different stints in North America (model years 1973 through 2004 and 2011-2020) whereas, currently, it is only still going strong in China since its introduction back in 1999. Initially premiered as an offspring of the Buick Century, the Regal lived across six generations and also expanded from a two-door personal luxury car to include a full model line.

Alas, some of its most famous iterations remained tributary to the two-door coupe body style, such as the Regal T-Type, Regal Turbo-T, or the iconic GNX. The latter was short for Grand National Experimental and was produced alongside McLaren Performance Technologies/ASC. Few examples got the full GNX treatment, and because of its dark and menacing demeanor it quickly went down in popular North American car history as Darth Vader’s car, seeing how GM turned the Grand Nationals to the “Dark Side.”

Anyway, that is not the case here, anymore. It is neither something that we will get to see in real life nor a piece of OEM interest. As such, you might have guessed already that we are dealing with yet another instance of the imaginative realm of virtual artists. Or so we thought. Instead, here is Brian Mello, a YouTube vlogger dedicated to all things General Motors, who has asked a cool yet imperfect AI tool to design a new Buick Regal Grand National GNX. So, actually, there is no pixel master behind all this “new Buick Grand National GNX.”

Mello, who runs a channel “dedicated to bringing you unique General Motors-related news and content every single week! 4k POV test drives utilizing 3D ASMR sound, vehicle walkarounds, #wouldyoubuyone, and breaking news,” usually worked with renowned virtual artist Oscar Vargas (aka wb.artist20 on social media) but now probably thinks Artificial Intelligence can do the same job – and just as well. Well, even though it started with a good base, no, it is not (yet) on par with a real CGI car expert. And that is pretty obvious in the details (such as the wheel treatment), if not the general appearance of the sleek coupe, right?

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Editor's note: Gallery includes a modified Buick regal Grand National for illustration purposes only.

About the author: Aurel Niculescu
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Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution.
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