E2 — The Sentinel at www.cumberlink.com Auto Sunday • January 15, 2012

All About Cars

Buick Regal brings style to sedanThe Buick Regal enjoyed a 31-

year-reign as a classy, quiet, up-scale sedan, ending its produc-tion run in 2004. The Regal came back to North America last year (production and sales have been ongoing in China since 1999) and this year’s edition, within the fifth generation of the line, is highlighted by new front and rear fascia, performance brakes and calipers and a new sport GS trim that includes Buick’s first manual transmission and turbocharger in nearly 20 years.

The midsize luxury sport GS sedan enjoys a sport package and unexpected power, via an Ecotec 2.0-liter turbo engine that charg-es out 270 hp and 295 lbs-ft. of torque, a high output for GM pro-duction engines.

Stepping up in power and design

On the surface, the disappoint-ing thing is that the Regal GS sports a turbo I-4 and not a tur-bo V-6. But GM says this decision was made to keep fuel economy up and weight down, bearing in mind that powering the front wheels with 270 horses is a 50hp increase over last year’s 220 hp.

The 2012 Regal GS also steps up with a more firmly tuned driver-adjustable suspension via its HiP-er Strut front suspension system, driver adjustable steering set-ting, a standard six-speed manual transmission, Brembo four-pis-ton front-caliper brakes, 19-inch standard and 20-inch optional wheels and available Goodyear Eagle summer performance tires.

From a styling perspective, the GS projects a sportier stance with a slightly lower ride height than other Regal models, with wheels at the corners sitting outside the body, and a sculpted sheet metal skin with a sleek centerline. Ad-ditionally, the GS differs from its Regal counterparts with a more open fascia for better air intake, two vertical air intakes at the cor-ners for a more dramatic signa-ture front end, lowered front and rear fascias and new rocker exten-sions along the side for a stable, confident appearance. This also reduces the amount of air that can go underneath the car, which en-hances aerodynamics.

Built in Oshawa, Ontario, Can-ada, the four-door, 5-passenger front-wheel drive midsize sedan was constructed using a steel uni-body frame with front and rear crumple zones, galvanized steel front fenders, hood, roof, door panels, one-piece bodyside out-er panel and thermal plastic ole-fin bumper fascias. Weighing in at a curb weight of 3710 lbs., the 2012 Regal GS measures 190.2 inches long, 73.1 inches wide and

58 inches high on a 107.8-inch wheelbase.

Good speed numbersUnder hood, the cast aluminum

block and cylinder head Ecotec turbo is E85 capable, though pre-mium fuel is recommended, and its Spark Ignition Direct Injection and Variable Valve Timing set-up help make the system a viable one for the sport-minded.

Targeting younger drivers, my test GS left old school Buicks be-hind and turned in an admira-ble 6.9-second zero-to-60mph sprint on the way to a 15.7-second quarter-mile run.

On the highway, acceleration is good, with some slight hesita-tion before the turbo kicks in and puts you in the back of your seat. Buick’s signature quiet ride is still in evidence as is its smooth de-meanor on the road, with most pavement inadequacies handled as is expected of a luxury car. Steering is appropriate from the hydraulic rack-and-pinion steer-ing system, and in quick turns, the GS was nimble, stable and firm, thanks in part to all-speed trac-tion control using engine torque reduction and brake intervention

EPA rated at 19 mpg in city driv-ing and 27 on the highway, my mixed-use tests on premium fuel yielded a solid 24.4mpg average.

Loaded, comfortable interiorThe GS cabin is comfortable

and loaded. With interior seat-ing for five, headroom measured 38.8 in the front row and a tight 36.8 inches in row two; legroom is a roomy 42.1 inches for the first seats and 37.3 for rear seat passen-gers and shoulder room goes 56.7 and 54.4.

The GS lacks little inside as it is equipped with such standard items as a 9-speaker Harman/Kardon 336-watt, 5.1 Matrix Sur-round sound system, AM/FM/XM stereo, single-disc CD and MP3 player, SiriusXM Satellite Radio, steering wheel controls, Bluetooth for phone, leather-appointed seating, 8-way power driver seat with 4-way power lumbar, heated driver and front passenger seats, driver information center, keyless push-button start, dual-zone au-tomatic climate control with in-dividual climate settings for driver

and right-front passenger, air fil-tration system, rear window de-fogger and lots more.

Not skimping on safety, the GS is outfitted with safety and crash-avoidance features

designed to protect occupants before, during and after a crash. They include eight standard air bags comprised of dual-stage frontal and side-impact air bags, rear-seat thorax side-impact air bags and head curtain side-im-pact air bags; air bag passenger

sensing system; StabiliTrak elec-tronic stability control; 4-wheel anti-lock brakes with brake assist and traction control; ultrasonic front and rear parking assist with audible warning and tire pressure monitoring system.

The basic 2012 Buick Regal stickers at $27,530 and my test Regal Turbo GS started at $35,310, with five trims in between. That price includes $860 in destination freight charges. Crystal Red Tin-coat paint added $325 and was ac-

centuated by Ebony leather seats; the power sunroof was steep at $1000; and the audio system with 7-inch touchscreen and naviga-tion added $1145 for a sticker price as tested of $37,780.

–––Mike Blake, former editor of KIT

CAR magazine, joined Carlisle Events as senior automotive jour-nalist in 2004. He’s been a “car guy” since the 1960s and has been writing professionally for about 30 years. </I>

Behind the Wheel

Toyota Camry remains top seller in U.S.By ANN M. JOBFor ThE ASSociATEd PrESS

There are three thrifty reasons why the best-selling car in the United States for the past 10 years is likely to stay on top.

In gasoline-electric hybrid form, the Toyota Camry, re-vamped for 2012, beats all oth-er mid-size hybrid sedans with a combined city/highway fuel economy rating of 43 miles per gallon, according to the federal government. This is up from 33 mpg for the 2011 Camry Hybrid.

The 2012 Camry with V-6 tops all other mid-size, non-hybrid, V-6-powered sedans in fuel economy with a government rating of 21 mpg combined city/highway mileage.

And the 2012 Camry with gas-oline-powered, four-cylinder engine gets better mileage than its predecessor — a combined 25 mpg, per the federal government.

This is up from 22 mpg in the 2011 Camry and means that in the gasoline-powered, non-hybrid, mid-size sedan segment, the four-cylinder, 2012 Camry is sec-ond only to the lower-powered, smaller, 2012 Hyundai Elantra whose mileage rating is 29 mpg.

That’s not all. The five-passen-ger, 2012 Camry has a more up-scale interior, new features and more engine power than its pre-decessor and earns a top rating of five out of five stars in the U.S. government’s overall crash test results.

The four-door Camry also is a recommended buy of Consumer

Reports magazine, which lists its reliability as above average.

Starting manufacturer’s sug-gested retail price, including destination charge, is $22,715 for a 2012 Camry L with 178-horse-power, four-cylinder engine and six-speed automatic transmis-sion. A 2012 Camry with 268-horsepower V-6 and six-speed automatic has a starting retail price of $27,400. Toyota does not offer a manual transmission in the 2012 Camry.

In comparison, the 2012 Ford Fusion sedan has a starting MSRP, including destination charge, of $20,995 with 175-horsepower, four-cylinder engine and manual transmission. A 2012 Ford Fusion with six-speed automatic starts at $21,990. Meantime, the 2012 Honda Accord sedan with 177-horsepower, four-cylinder en-gine and manual transmission has a starting retail price of $22,150. A 2012 Accord sedan with five-speed automatic starts at $22,950.

Camry wrapped up calendar 2011 with the most U.S. sales of any auto — 308,510. But this down 6 percent from the previous year’s 327,804 Camry sales.

Toyota sales declines have been attributed to the earthquake and tsunami in Japan in 2011 that af-fected company operations and supplier parts. But Toyota also has been hurt by tougher competition as well as publicity about sud-denly accelerating Toyota cars, which are making their way into the courts via lawsuits.

The 2012 Camry looks sleeker than its predecessor, even if the

test car, a top-of-the-line XLE with V-6, didn’t get a second look from passersby.

The new exterior deceptively masks the roomy interior, where front seat riders have a gener-ous 41.6 inches of legroom and where back seat passengers get a commendable 38.9 inches of leg-room. In fact, a 6-foot passenger was comfortable in either front or back seat of the test Camry. Note that the Fusion has more front legroom - 42.6 inches. But the Fusion’s back-seat legroom is less, at 37.1 inches.

The inside of the 2012 Camry is freshly redone and looks richer than before, thanks to better ma-terials and a new dashboard de-sign. The top of the dashboard as well as the top plastic ledges near the side windows are soft to the touch, not hard, cheap-feeling plastic.

The test XLE added a touch of luxury with gray leather seats that had contrast stitching that was perfectly aligned. An insert of brown leather in the seats, which tied in with the faux, glossy wood inserts on the dashboard and center console, was an attractive touch.

Seat heaters came on fast, and the 7-inch display in the center dashboard had large enough let-ters and numbers that back-seat riders could read it.

The only thing that didn’t quite fit in this $33,000-plus tester was the ceiling material. It had a tex-ture look to it, but was a bit rough to the touch.

The new Camry test car rode

with an interior quiet and a smoothness that was noticeably fuss-free. This is an easy car to get into and just drive. It doesn’t need a lot of driver attention.

There was no harshness when traveling over road bumps, and body motions only became obvi-ous in very aggressive maneuvers and when driving over major pot-holes.

Steering has a bit more heft in it than in previous Camry ver-sions, which is nice. But drivers still might prefer less isolation from the road and more feedback. Brakes worked great in the tester, which bounded forward eagerly and merged into traffic smoothly.

The 2.5-liter, twin-cam four-cylinder base engine for the Camry has peak torque of 170-foot-pounds at 4,100 rpm, while torque peaks at a heartier 248 foot-pounds at 4,700 rpm in the uplevel 3.5-liter, double overhead cam V-6.

With the latter, the test XLE av-eraged 24.4 mpg when most driv-ing was done on highways. But in mostly city driving, the car aver-aged just 20.4 mpg.

Ten standard air bags are in ev-ery Camry. This includes knee air bags for both driver and front passengers to help them stay properly seated during a fron-tal crash. Other standard safety items are curtain air bags, trac-tion control, electronic stability control and antilock brakes.

I just wish a backup camera was standard, too, on every model. It’s an option on all but the Camry XLEs and above.

Passengers get decent views out front over the low cowl. But ev-eryone sits down onto the Cam-ry seats in typical car fashion, so views can be blocked by trucks, sport utility vehicles and vans that are ahead in traffic.

2012 Toyota Camry XLE V-6

BASE PRICE: $21,955 for L; $22,500 for LE; $23,000 for SE with four cylin-der; $24,725 for XLE with four cylinder; $26,640 for SE with V-6; $29,845 for XLE with V-6.

PRICE AS TESTED: $33,372.

TyPE: Front-engine, front-wheel-drive, five-passenger, mid-size sedan.

ENGINE: 3.5-liter, double overhead cam V-6 with dual VVT-i.

MILEAGE: 21 mpg (city), 30 mpg (highway).

TOP SPEED: 143 mph.

LENGTH: 189.2 inches.

WHEELBASE: 109.3 inches.

CURB WEIGHT: 3,395 pounds.

BUILT AT: Georgetown, Ky.

OPTIONS: Premium navigation with Entune and JBL $1,550; blind spot monitor $500; Safety connect $450; carpeted floor mats $130; emergency/assistance kit $70; wheel locks $67.

DESTINATION CHARGE: $760.

In Focus

By Mike Blake

Submitted photo

Top; View from the interior of the Regal, which is equipped with a GS-specific ebony interior ,satin-finish elements on the instrument panel, steering wheel and console.Bottom: Exterior view of the 2012 Buick Regal. The car projects a sportier stance with a slightly lower ride height than other Regal models.

The Sentinel at www.cumberlink.com Auto Sunday • January 15, 2012 — E3

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China sales slow in 2011By ELAINE KURTENBACHAP BuSinESS WriTEr

SHANGHAI — Vehicle sales in China rose a scant 2.5 percent in 2011, the slowest growth in over a decade, as higher prices and traffic controls kept buyers out of showrooms.

The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers reported Thursday that to-tal vehicle sales rose to 18.5 million last year, up from 18 million in 2010, when sales rose 32 percent.

Passenger car sales, which exclude buses and heavy trucks, rose 5.2 percent last year to 14.5 million vehicles, the industry group said.

In contrast, U.S. auto sales jumped 10 percent to 12.8 million vehicles in 2011. China overtook the U.S. as the biggest market by number of new vehicles sold in 2009.

The expiration of tax in-centives and subsidies, along with new restric-tions on car purchases in Beijing, slowed sales, which had grown at a double-digit pace every year since 1999 — apart from in 2008. Sales that year, at the height of the global crisis, rose 6.7 percent.

Car sales in China soared in 2010 after the govern-ment cut sales taxes and of-fered subsidies to spur de-mand, but growth slowed once the incentives ended.

“This data was what we expected,” said Jia X in-guang, managing director of the China Automobile Dealers Association, attrib-uting the slowdown mainly to the end of preferential policies for car purchases.

China’s market is bound to continue to expand, giv-en the relatively low level of vehicle ownership among increasingly affluent fami-lies. But while some ana-lysts are forecasting slightly better prospects for 2012, most do not expect a return to the torrid growth of the past.

The development of Chi-na’s auto industry will be limited not by market de-mand or economic growth, “but by severe traffic con-gestion, air pollution and

energy shortages,” said Jia.The cooling of the hous-

ing market, a key driver of growth for car sales to families that often end up moving to distant suburbs, also is stunting growth, says Zhang Xin, an analyst at Guotai Jun’an Securities, based in Beijing.

CAAM said sales of SUVs climbed 20 percent, to 1.6 million, while sales of se-dans rose 6.6 percent to 10.1 million units.

Sales of vans and mini-vans, which boomed while the subsidies and tax breaks were in effect, have since slumped. Commercial ve-hicle sales fell 6.3 percent last year from a year earlier, to 4.03 million units.

Domestic automakers have been hit hardest as their profit margins have been shrinking due to rising costs and intense competi-tion on prices.

Though they have been counting on faster growth in China and other emerg-ing economies to help make up for slack growth in their traditional markets, Japa-nese, U.S. and European car makers have fared better.

Foreign brand vehicles enjoy a reputation for high-er quality and brand value compared with most local competitors. Automakers are also beginning to sell China-made vehicles else-where, taking advantage of lower costs and proximity to other developing mar-kets.

SA I C - G M -Wu l i n g , a General Motors Co. joint ve n t u re , re c e n t l y a n -nounced plans to assemble autos in Egypt from kits made in China, competing in the same markets target-ed by Chinese domestic car exporters.

GM and Ford Motor Co. earlier reported strong December sales in China though full-year growth fell.

Sales of GM-branded ve-hicles by the company and its Chinese partners rose 8.3 percent in 2011 to a new record of 2.5 million vehi-cles.

Ford’s sales for the year c l i m b e d 7 p e r c e n t t o 519,390 vehicles.

Fiat CEO calls for less production

in Europe

AssoCIATEd pREss

DETROIT — Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne said Wednesday that Europe needs to cut 10 to 20 percent of its auto manufacturing capacity to deal with falling sales in the region.

Pricewaterhouse Coopers estimates Europe sold 13.5 million vehicles last year, down from a peak of 16 mil-lion in 2007. Marchionne said he thinks sales will stay at that depressed level through at least 2014, unless Europe’s governments solve the region’s debt crisis.

“We’re going to have a car industry that will lope along until something’s done,” he said at the Automotive News World Congress, an industry conference. He didn’t detail specific cuts for Fiat. Europe has around 200 auto plants that employ 2.3 million people, accord-

ing to a European auto trade group.

European leaders have a great opportunity to trans-form the region, but must act quickly, Marchionne said.

“The focus on narrow na-tional interests creates the serious risk of destroying the dream of unity and so-lidity upon which the Euro-pean Union was founded,” he said.

Marchionne is also the h ea d o f Fi a t’s p a r t n e r Chrysler Group. He cau-tioned that 2012 sales in the U.S. won’t increase at the astronomical pace that 2011 ones did. Popular new products like the Chrysler 200 sedan and Jeep Grand Cherokee and an acclaimed S u p e r Bowl a d fea t u r-ing rapper Eminem helped boost Chrysler’s sales by 26 percent last year.

“This string, we know, cannot be duplicated,” he said.

But he said he does expect Chrysler’s share of the U.S. market to increase thanks to new products like the Dodge Dart, which was un-veiled this week at the De-troit auto show. Chrysler’s share of new-car sales rose to 10.6 percent in 2011 from 9.4 percent the year before, the biggest jump in the in-dustry.

Higher prices and traffic controls keep buyers out of showrooms. ■

Sergio Marchionne requests Europe to cut 10 to 20 percent of its manufacturing to deal with falling sales.

■

E4 — The Sentinel at www.cumberlink.com Sunday• January 15, 2012

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#D7921

Mon-Thu: Fri: Sat:

#D8113

MSRP: $

Discounts: -$2,296CVM Price: $19,499*

‘12 1500 QUAD CAB SLT‘12 1500 QUAD CAB SLT4x4

MSRP:MSRP:MSRP:MSRP:MSRP:MSRP: $$

Discounts:Discounts:Discounts:Discounts:Discounts:Discounts:Discounts:Discounts:Discounts:Discounts:Discounts: -$$6,9216,9216,9216,9216,9216,9216,921

‘12 1500 QUAD CAB SLT‘12 1500 QUAD CAB SLT

19,49919,499

MSRP: $26,715

MSRP: $22,245Discounts: -$3,746

CVM Price: $18,499*

MSRP: $

Discounts: -$1,956CVM Price: $16,499*

v7346

2011golf tdimsrp 26,990.00

now $25,553

v7494

2012beetlemsrp 21,935.00

now $21,000

v7473

2012jetta Smsrp 17635.00

now $16,910

v7401

2012paSSatmsrp 23695.00

now $22,715

v7310

2011routanmsrp 32590.00

now $26,152

Again this year every major automaker has at least one winner. Subaru remains the

only mAnufActurerwith the distinction of earning awards for

every modelit builds. Subaru picks up five

AwArdSincluding one for the redesigned Impreza.

800-382-1436Open 24/7 @ CumberlandValleySubaru.com

Subaru

2012 subaru

Forester2.5X limited

sell for$27,743

2012 subaru

outback2.5i

sell for$23,888

2011 subaru

tribeca3.6r limited

sell for$35,576

2012 subaru

Legacy2.5i Premium cvT

sell for$24,648

– Insurance Institute for Highway Safety