MW 1982 Buick Regal Sedan Road Test | Retro Review

[@davidsherrick898]

Things have come a long way from back then. Still watching motorweek today! Long live John Davis! My grandmother had a 1987 Regal coupe, perfect condition! When she passed 20 years later it only had 13,000 miles! Still amazing condition.

[@DavyHoward]

You're right about this, I miss the looks of these nice cars. My parents bought in 88 a 1988 Black Cougar XR-7 5.0 fully loaded Grey interior didn't have leather but the velour seats looked much better but I loved that car sure miss the looks of cars then.

[@sasz2107]

We had a 1981 Buick Century Limited sedan, which is the same car, offered under a different name the year before. It also had the 3.8L V6. We really liked the car. It was quiet and comfortable, especially on long trips. The velour upholstery was really nice and the loose pillow look interior was beautiful. I don't remember the 3.8 V6 being as poor on power as they claim here. In fact, off the line, I remember it being pretty quick. I do remember once you got to 45 mph or so, the engine seemed to run out of steam, and not continue to accelerate as quickly as it did at lower speeds. Despite that, I thought power was acceptable. There were a lot of underpowered cars in this time period because of the fuel economy regulations forcing automakers to put small engines into cars they had already designed. Rear axle ratios were chosen for fuel economy and not power. Also a lot of the emissions controls didn't help power very much. We didn't care about an of that. It was a quiet, comfortable, and classy looking car with plenty of room. We went on a lot of family trips in the car and we enjoyed it for 15 years or so. To be honest, I wish we still had it. I'd buy another one if I could find one.

[@Wasabi9111]

As a kid in the late 80s my friends dad had the Oldsmobile version of this car. The first time I rode in it I thought it was such an ancient car - especially compared to the round cars of the late 80s, eg ford Taurus. I was surprised you couldn’t even roll down the rear windows. I didn’t realize this car is not as old as it looked.

[@Wasabi9111]

I wonder if my kids think cars from a decade ago look as old as I thought of this car.

[@pdennis93]

My dad had one of these. It was a part of my earliest childhood memories and somewhat traumatic. One hot day in the summer of ~ 1985 when I was about 6, my mom was driving us home from the pool and I went to open the wing window. All of a sudden I'm yelling my mom to stop the car. She's like "why?" I say because the wing window fell out of the frame and i'm holding it by the handle as it dangles outside the car!😮 I thought for sure I was going to drop it. I think they had to go back to the dealer to get it put back in. Nice quality control GM.

[@joelakers410]

my favorite car forever

[@flashg67]

We had a 1982 Regal 4 door for a “Family Car” from October 1981 to September 1987. It was the Limited trim, ours had the 4.1 V-6 with a 4 barrel carburetor.

[@jefferysmith3930]

The GM dash of dispair…usually “Limited” to stripper models to remind you of what you were too cheap to buy. Especially unforgivable on this loaded up luxury model. How dissatisfying to gaze upon that blank gauge face day after day. I don’t think any customers were delighted with the fixed rear door glass. I know my grandfather wasn’t in the 78’ Pontiac Lemans wagon he bought for my grandmother to drive. He didn’t even realize this omission until after he bought the car. It was otherwise a nice little wagon. I think their car had a small V8. I doubt many of the diesels of the time were much slower than this V6 Regal. Dark times indeed.

[@kcindc5539]

We bought a new ‘83 Regal and it had that same blank space. It drove me nuts

[@buickguy1]

My parents bought an 83 sedan. I think around 85. Black with grey interior. It was the first car in our family that had power windows and A/C. Oddly the vent windows were not power. It did not have opera lamps as it wasn't a limited model. 3.8V6. I thought it was a good looking car.

[@DCGuy1997]

Looked so much better with the dual headlights on the front. I never liked the fact the rear windows of these models would not roll down.

[@BuickParkAvenue]

I love this car, my favorite G-body car, it's nice that you can still get these 4 door Regals for cheap in good condition despite them being rarer than the 2 door.

[@ce9345]

My grandmother owned a 1981 Buick Century Limited. Basically, it's the same car as the Regal, just with single headlights. It had the 3.8 ltr V6. Not very powerful but reliable.

[@fernandorocha-dx1wv]

Buick Regal and Century 1985-1988 is my favorite

[@vwgolf6487]

...thanks so much for the review of an "older" car than usual!

[@jonathansmith1590]

My late grandmother had one of these 😌

[@rovervitesse1985]

My dad had a 1983 Regal limited Coupe with the v8. God such a great car

[@fernandorocha-dx1wv]

Buick Regal and Century is great and nice cars

[@anibalbabilonia1867]

That same dashboard was used in most GM cars from the 70s all the way through the late 80s!😂

[@devonvictor3210]

I miss luxury cars like this. Cars with long hoods and hood ornaments felt so luxurious! Cars now days have better performance but they are so boring. I had a 81 cutlass and loved it better than any modern car I have ever had. It was so quiet and smooth and fun to drive. I had the V8 model.

[@SuperBooboo02]

i loved my Regal coupe, wish theyd bring back some of these, not another boring suv box

[@blk7gxn]

The 1982-1983-1984 Buick Regal 4 Doors are few and far between, especially 40 years later, yet had such a timeless formal look then and now. Being fortunate enough to own a few of these beautiful 4 doors and one in particular, a very unique 84 most will never encounter or recall seeing. According to a retired GM program director I befriended years ago, only a very few (single digit number) were made exclusively to be executive cars or company cars (however you want to key the terminology) for a handful of "teer one" dealerships at the time to test out and use to promote the sales and options available on the 4 door Regals, because no one was ordering or taking advantage of these options at the time. This special executive package optioned car with its mile long options lists actually had its own truck tag RPO code. The special options were as follows; Leather seating with non-functional center consol- Digital dash-special alloy aluminum sport wheels-all power windows (including rear vent windows), locks, seat, twilight sentential, cruise control, tilt steering wheel, ETC. It strikes many odd that 84 would be the last and final year for the 4 Door, so why would they have done this, many would ask. GM had been in lots of new and exciting projects in the late 70's and 80's, all to turn 180* and cut them for the following year. Sad but true, GM nearly went broke trying to find itself in the 80's, while the EPA was breathing down their throat, GM kept throwing money at new ideas, and as many mentioned here about the rear windows not being functional, which is correct, they're not, it seems like they weren't listening to their customer base as much as perhaps GM brass, to cut corners and charge big for additional available options to offset the EPA's overreaching hand. Options such as leather and cornering lights to mention a few. Makes you scratch your head to be honest, because to sell cars you need to produce what people want. As minuscule as the rear window issue may sound, even 40 years later 80 % of the complaints here were of the rear windows! As much as a diehard GM buff I am, being honest, I truly think GM missed the ball in so many ways. People who purchased 4Door cars were ones with families with kids perhaps, and having rear functional windows is just common sense. Whatever GM saved by not installing functional rear windows, cost them in the end, sadly. Few 4 doors were sold compared to the 2 door Regals, yet I still love these 4 door Regals, and you truly rarely if ever see them on Americas highways anymore, which is sad. Thanks for sharing this video!! LOVE IT!

[@bigheadfred]

1:30 Along with those puny rear door vent windows in lieu of roll-down windows, I hated the blank panel on the right side of the dashboard of my mom's 1980 Buick Century sedan. How much effort would it have required to print a Buick logo in the middle of that space that reminded you that you were too cheap to opt for the analog clock that would stop working within three years?

[@SuperBooboo02]

had a REgal limited coupe...loved it!

[@emeyer6963]

Me too.1984 version.Great car

[@MrMortenST]

Currently own the exact same car, only with a 350 sbc. I love it

[@thebestisyettocome4114]

It's 2024 latar now would be over 40 years old. I own one but don't remember very much about it. I do remember it did not come with a tilt wheel and the position of the steering wheel for me was never quite right.

[@AaronSmith-kr5yf]

This car(and its Olds/Chevy Malibu counterparts) are what gave me such a jaded view of the 1976 Cadillac Seville. I wasn't around to realize what a "revelation" that car was at the time and how every sedan detroit made for the next 15 years or so looked like that box on wheels Cadillac. When I was a kid in the early 90's, everybody had one of these old Regal/Cutlass/Malibu sedans, they were all pretty ratty looking by that time. Or they had the Chrysler k-car version(or some slightly larger variant) that were also equally beat up/falling apart despite being 8-12 years old at time. Those boxy Fords really weren't around in the early 90's except for the big Crown Vics/Grandma's Keys/Town Cars, don't remember very many Fairmonts growing up.

[@pdennis93]

Grandma's keys? 😂😂😂 I think you meant Grand Marquis

[@braddietzmusic2429]

The rear windows don’t roll down?!?!? How did this car pass safety tests???

[@landyachtfan79]

I must stress again how much I LOVE the clean, crisp lines of this Regal & the other A/G-body sedans & wagons. I mean, just look at the thing!!! It really DOES look like a proper luxury car for half the price!! Shame about those fixed rear wndows. GM SAID that it was to save rear shoulder room, but I don't buy that excuse for a minute, ESPECIALLY since the sedans & wagons had those recesses in both rear doors. Surely, they COULD have put a manual window crank or optional power window switch in there. My grandfather had a Jadestone Green 82 LeSabre Custom 4-door sedan with the same 3.8-liter V6 engine, & it had the exact same couldn't-punch-its-way-through-a-wet-Kleenex performance as this car.

[@runoflife87]

It doesn'look a proper luxury car because...well because early 80's GM. It looks just pointless and pimpy for that amount of money.

[@pdennis93]

I believe the recessed area in the rear door was so you could put your elbows there for more hip room abd that took away the space needed inside the door for the window regulator and track.

[@briteidea08]

The ol’Buick 3.8 liter 231 V6 odd fire engine. Had one in my 81 Regal. Wasn’t a fan and many around me who knew were not as well. What kills me on these early MW episodes. Is the test area in on an incline. So some of those numbers could be off.

[@michaelcoonce6694]

I really enjoyed ours . It was attractive dependable and fairly economical

[@glx68]

This powertrain by GM wasn't that bad. At this time, 1982, it had "only" 110 HP but a torque of 190 KP/FT (258 NM) beginning at low rpm (1600 rpm) what was quite good. It was also very reliable, quiet and had also a remarkable good mileage!😊

[@anonlarson2875]

Not in the Electra Limited or Electra Park Avenue trim lol. My parents had an 82 Electra Limited w that same V6.

[@glx68]

​@@anonlarson2875Are you sure? The only V6 avaiable in 1982/83 for the Buick Electra was the 4.1 litre V6 with 125 HP and a torque of 204,5 kp/ft not the 3.8 litre V6. The 3.8 litre was avaiable as a base engine for the Buick Le Sabre these years!

[@5610winston]

My Mom traded a '70 LeSabre hardtop sedan with the 350-4 High Compression for a Regal sedan '83 model. At one point she had to follow me (driving an '85 Omni with automatic) across town. She went that night and traded the Regal for a brand-new '93 Roadmaster which she kept for the rest of her life. The biggest complaint about the Regal was the tilt wheel. Didn't matter what position it was set, there was an audible squeak from the tilt linkage no matter how gentle the steering input. The service department must have shot a whole can of lithium grease into that linkage, eventually removed and replaced it, and it still squeaked a week later. She disliked her '73 Dodge Coronet, but the Regal was worse.

[@malaiseexpert-]

One thing I never liked about this series is how the dislike full-size cars

[@anonlarson2875]

Lol my parents had a Full size, RWD 1982 Buick Electra Limited with that same V6 (Buick's largest car). It would scream like a banshee and go nowhere. It was very luxurious though.

[@trainglen22]

That was a mistake on the GM cars on not to have roll down windows in the rear. Hard to believe that a subcompact today is faster than a mid-eighties mid size car.

[@DCGuy1997]

NBC's Jessica Savitch drowned in the Cutlass wagon model like this in 83. I've always wondered if she might have lived if she could have gotten the windows down. She was in the backseat of a rental car. It's safe to assume she was not familiar with the layout of the car. Doors couldn't open because of mud. But if those windows had been crank windows and actually rolled down she might have been able to escape.

[@ponchoman49]

I suspect these pilot test cars are very low mileage green examples which was noted here. I owned a 1981 Cutlass LS sedan with this same engine and it was relatively peppy and gave quicker times than reported here 0-60 was often around 12 seconds which was still slow but better than many other cars of this time.

[@benjochs]

I can’t believe they got away with rear windows that don’t roll down. I don’t think that would fly today, probably against some kind of safety regulation.

[@jst7714]

Eh, they still have rear window lock outs and child safety latches… which this ride probably didn’t have

[@benjochs]

@@jst7714I think those just prevent the window from going all the way down, no?

[@jst7714]

@@benjochs in my car one switch deactivates all power windows except for the driver’s control

[@DavidSmith-pp9mt]

The reason olds cutlass outsold this car it had a 5.liter V8 and you could also order full lntrusmentation option U.21. Was even avaliabile on the 4.door sedan ..thats why it out sold the other models offer the customer what they want not what the CEO.S WANT THEY FORGET WHERE ALL THAT MONEY GOES INTO THERE ACCOUNTS...

[@mccrackenphillip]

So it is true i status that was the LeSabre we had a 83 Cutlass

[@XmalD73]

Those rear vent windows were the worst! My Dad had a Pontiac Bonneville and it was awful for a kid in the back seat. And the windows would get stuck if opened to far (they were power). Never understood that design choice.

[@johnnymason2460]

The V8 would be better for this Regal. That's what it was for.

[@johnnymason3265]

This would make an excellent first car for me. I would prefer a V8-powered sedan or wagon.

[@weegeemike]

Im a GM guy and really like their cars from this era but one thing that summarizes GM's miscues in the 80s, is the fact they made SEVERAL models, including higher end Olds and Buicks like this without rear windows that could go down. Thats just sad and lazy. Fast forward a couple years and they remedied the issue with the rear windows that went down only half way 😂

[@Doobie1975]

I don't get why the 305 V8 wasn't offered on these cars yet they were on the other GM RWD cars.

[@michaelstokley6796]

82 was a weird one for gm the grand prix also offered no v8 gas for 82 and I'm not sure about the olds and Chevrolet but the v8s did return for 83

[@Doobie1975]

The Olds had the 307 V8.@@michaelstokley6796

[@JTKels]

Wow they were honest about the poor reliability

[@RaymondHaley-r7r]

A midsize Park Ave, but no V8 option😂

[@gen4gbody]

I put a V8 in a 1984 Regal Limited that's basically this one

[@TraveladvRajanSRai]

Add 50hp to the net. Was measired dodf. Made 160hp not 110

[@thewiseguy3529]

Looks like a century

[@sjb2471]

What was the rationale for a fixed rear window? I can’t work it out

[@mzrzfxr]

It was cheaper…. GM was in a cost cutting campaign at the time

[@BuickParkAvenue]

I've noticed that some G body cars have operable rear windows, must have been an option, although I've only seen them in power window cars, I've never seen a G body with crank rear windows.

[@LearnAboutFlow]

It was done in a stupid attempt to save fuel-yet another pennywise, pound foolish tack by GM. By saving weight of power/roll down windows, GM thought it would improve fuel economy. Truly an idiotic move, proven by the fact no other manufacturer did it.

[@scottwagner3214]

I believe the "official" reason was to recover some hip room lost from the 1978 downsizing of the GM intermediate cars. Without a window crank mechanism the door armrests could be placed in-board of the door card. My grandma had an '83 Cutlass, which was passed down to my mom and then to me and my sister.

[@DonJuanSeville]

I HAD A 1983 BUICK REGAL.... LIMITED....HATED THE ENGINE....BUT CLASSIC CAR

[@Doobie1975]

Me I would love to stuff a 350 V8 underneath the hood so I can give it the performance that it truly deserves.

[@SJSharkWannabe]

1:56 📯 😂

[@milfordcivic6755]

That 3.8 was a slug

[@RaymondHaley-lv2mo]

Midsize luxury, fuel efficient V6 weren't that economical it's very sluggish, elegant styling and Park avenue interior, The only engine that was capable of hauling the heft was the rwd dieselV6 engines.

[@severinjohn]

They never did provide a 0-60 time or the engine's horsepower. I'm guessing 15 seconds/105 hp. What a terrible year to buy a car.

[@PSTXFL]

The 2 door Regal was much better.

[@The_R-n-I_Guy]

People think every car needs to be a race car that can hold 10 people and a full set of luggage. That's why modern vehicles are so ugly and have a horribly rough ride. Among other things

[@Marc816]

Brick.

[@scottenser464]

So what this episode is saying is this car sucks .

[@new2000car]

Yes, and it was a ton of money at the time. Also gm loved to charge a fortune, and still rub it in your face with things you don’t get, like the empty clock guage, fixed rear windows, transmission that doesn’t downshift except after a 4 second delay, a horn that’s tough to activate. If they took the time to make these things nice, people wouldn’t have migrated to imports. I remember the fixed rear glass as a kid, and their reasoning for this may have made sense to the bureaucrats and bean counters, but it was unpleasant for the rear passengers, just knowing that if for some reason the rear doors wouldn’t open , you’re stuck.

[@chrisxa1222]

One of the better cars of its time

[@exxusdrugstore300]

Ironic that the Fairmont ended up being the better car with much more potential, given how plain and starchy it was. The Citation almost looks athletic by comparison. What a sad time to be alive lol.