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For all of you (ourselves included) who have lusted after the Opel Insignia, it looks like we'll finally have the chance to see what the fuss is all about. As part of General Motors' strategy to build up the Buick brand beyond its LaCrosse, Enclave, and (aging) Lucerne models, the 2011 Regal will be arriving on our shores next year, available only with four-cylinder engines and front-wheel drive.

Initially, just the naturally aspirated Regal will be available, packing GM's trusty 2.4-liter, direct-injected four which produces 182 horsepower and is good for 30 miles per gallon on the highway. In the late summer of 2010, however, a model with the Ecotec 2.0-liter, 220-horsepower engine will roll out, mated to an all-new Interactive Drive Control System (IDCS) which allows the driver to change the suspension settings between Normal, Tour, and Sport modes. Both engines will be mated to six-speed automatic transmissions.

The Regal will come standard with many premium features, like heated, leather seats, Bluetooth, XM satellite radio, OnStar, and eighteen-inch wheels (or nineteens with the IDCS system). That, combined with the sleek styling of the Euro Insignia, should make the Regal a pretty fierce competitor for upmarket Ford Fusions.

No word on pricing has been released at this time, but we'll keep you posted. Stay tuned for more details when this car makes its official reveal at next month's Los Angeles Auto Show. In the meantime, click through the post to read GM's official press release.

As part of the New General Motors, we know that more work will go into building up the Buick nameplate, all starting with the introduction of the LaCrosse earlier this year. And according to a few reports, GM's Bob Lutz has pretty much confirmed that the European Opel Insignia will be brought over to American soil as a Buick Regal.

The Regal is already on sale in this guise in the Chinese market (pictured above), and we welcome the addition of this award-winning Euro sedan to the United States. As of this writing, there are no details to discuss, but stay tuned.

+ Jalopnik: GM's Lutz Confirms Buick Regal Is Back!

General Motors announced, in a press release this morning that the new 2011 Buick Crossover will come with a plug-in hybrid system.

The unnamed Buick Crossover will be launched in late 2010 according to Tom Stephens, GM Vice Chairman of Product Development, and will have new plug-in hybrid technology. The new crossover will be powered by an Ecotec 2.4-liter, direct-injected four-cylinder engine, and is expected to give 30 miles per gallon on the highway. The Buick plug-in hybrid will use the same manganese-spinel based chemistry and polymer battery cells that are used in the Chevrolet Volt. In addition, the Buick plug-in hybrid's powertrain features two powerful electric motors, sophisticated electronic controls, and battery management systems.

To find out more about the up coming Buick hybrid crossover scroll down and read the press release.

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—Plymouth, Michigan

On several occasions during this bleak period for General Motors, we’ve pointed out that GM has the engineering talent to go toe-to-toe with other high-volume car manufacturers (we already know they can do trucks). Exhibit A is the Cadillac CTS. Now we have Exhibit B: the Buick LaCrosse.

Last week we had the opportunity to drive several versions of the LaCrosse over a variety of roads in southeastern Michigan. The LaCrosse offers three engines, a 3.6-liter V-6 with 280 horsepower, a 3.0-liter V-6 with 255 horsepower, and a 2.4-liter inline-four with 182 horsepower. Normally, these engines power the car through the front wheels, but an AWD system is optional with the 3.0-liter engine. We drove both V-6s and sampled FWD and AWD drivetrains.

We came away from this rather surprised. Frankly, we often look at GM’s top efforts and think "almost." Usually, the exterior looks great, but the interior is a letdown. Or the engine is great, but the transmission is clunky. Or the drivetrain is good, but the handling is insipid. The LaCrosse isn’t like that. There is essentially nothing significantly wrong with this car, if it is viewed through the eyes of the target customer. In other words, the LaCrosse is fully competitive with the Lexus ES350 and Acura TL. No excuses, no "almost." Whether the LaCrosse is better than an ES or a TL is a matter for another article, but the significant point is that anyone shopping for an ES or a TL could legitimately cross-shop the LaCrosse.

CLICK HERE to continue reading this review.

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General Motors is going through a metamorphosis, as you know. Actually, this isn’t the first time. GM 1.0 was the emergent GM—a collection of disparate and dysfunctional brands (Chevrolet, Oakland/Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Buick and Cadillac) and parts makers assembled before and immediately after WWI by William Durant and others. GM 2.0 is the professional GM created by Alfred Sloan, starting in 1923. Sloan and his successors created an organizational structure focused on distinct market segments bolstered by a culture of strong styling and R&D. GM 2.0 worked from the ‘20s through the ‘60s and generally is viewed as GM’s best incarnation. GM 3.0 is the cancerous GM beset by bad labor contracts, difficulty coping with international competition and excess capacity. GM 3.0 begins roughly with the oil crisis of 1973 and extends to 2009. GM 4.0 is the post-bankruptcy GM. This is part three in a series that covers issues with the direction of GM 4.0.

Oddly enough, some of the most perplexing questions I get asked by normal people as editor of an automotive publication involve Buick. Most of them are along the lines of “Why did GM keep Buick?” and “What the heck is a Buick anyway?” Not a great place to be, if you’re GM. GM knows it has an issue here in the U.S. (Buick, remember, is a hot brand in China) and it is attacking the problem. Buick recently announced the new 2010 Buick LaCrosse, a car that gives us a chance to think about how GM is and should be thinking of the future of the brand.

As I suggested in my last blog, with the off-loading of Saturn, Pontiac, Hummer, and Opel, GM has a cleaner brand lineup. Buick clearly needs to fall between Chevrolet at the low end and Cadillac at the high end in the new tripartite GM (I am assuming GMC remains and Chevy trucks are sold elsewhere).  If Chevys are priced between $15 and $30k, and Cadillacs between $35 and $60k, Buicks should logically cost between $25 and $45k. These numbers aren’t exact; they represent the meat of the cars that will roll off dealer’s lots.

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According to GM Inside News, Buick will be picking up the Astra from Saturn, which General Motors recently announced it would axe. This news is no surprise, as we have already seen a baby Buick mule running around.

If this is true, Buick may be picking up the Opel models for which Saturn was, until recently, supposed to be the American outlet.

No word yet as to what the Buick model will be called, or which versions will be produced (three- or five-door).

Click through the gallery above to see what may be Buick’s version of the Astra, or scroll down for the source of this rumor.

+ GM Inside News: Buick Astra Approved, Coming in 2011; Opel Update

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Buick introduced its Business MPV concept at the Shanghai Auto Show yesterday. Developed in China, the Business MPV is a collaboration between General Motors and Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation, and features GM’s next-generation hybrid system.

The Business MPV brings business class to the road in a vehicle geared toward workaholics. The power central console, which can move up and down between the second and third rows, features a deployable tablet for writing or holding a laptop computer. The second row seats swivel 225 degrees, making it easier for passengers to hold meetings within the vehicle.

View the Buick Business MPV in the gallery above, or scroll down for the press release.

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Take a close look. That little thing is (probably) a Buick.

This small front-wheel drive sedan will share a platform with the Chevrolet Cruze and the Opel Astra. It should head to the U.S. and China in 2012, with a possibility of entering the European market, as it may be built in Germany.

The small Buick sedan marks an important step in the automaker becoming a more global brand.

Our spy shooter also mentions rumors of the possibility of the Buick getting the Chevy Volt technology.

Click through the gallery above, or scroll down for the photographer’s comments.

Due to rising development costs, the folks at General Motors are having to delay a number of models that were originally scheduled to launch within the next couple of years, namely the Cadillac CTS Coupe, Buick LaCrosse, Chevrolet Cruze, Saab 9-5, and Saab 9-4X.

The Cruze was set to replace the Chevrolet Cobalt and delaying it now puts GM behind the small car trend. The Cruze is a very important car for the General, but GM is determined to have the Cruze released in the U.S. by 2010. The CTS Coupe and LaCrosse aren't expected to be high-volume cars anyway, so delaying these models shouldn't hurt too much. As for the Saabs, the 9-5 is an old car riding on an old platform and is in desperate need of a refresh replacement, while the 9-4X is still in final development at this time.

In the meantime, GM is expanding its development in other areas -- namely plug-in hybrids. The Chevrolet Volt is currently in the works, but we're told that other plug-ins could be arriving within the next few years.

+ Motor Authority: GM confirms delays for Cruze, CTS Coupe and Saab models

Perhaps because their Darth Vader appearance and epic performance came with the unlikeliest of badges, we have always had a soft spot for the Buick Regal GNX. But that isn’t what you’re looking at.

According to the folks at Diesel Power, what you’re actually drooling over is a GM Duramax diesel-powered 1981 Oldsmobile. Sort of. As the story goes, owner David Morad loved his Duramax-equipped truck, but he wanted to swap the monstrous 6.6-liter turbodiesel into something lighter. Enter the Buick Regal.