Buick Regal GS Supercharged
Now here's a boring car that I appreciate; a car that I have a guilty pleasure for. The Buick Regal GS Supercharged, produced from 1997 to 2004. On the outside, it looks like the type of car your grandma might drive to church bingo, but I kind of like the exterior. Smooth, clean lines it has. The Regal GS is a car that is conservatively designed, uninterrupted by fancy paint schemes or body cladding, but looks decent at the same time. It's probably comfy, too, despite its faux-leather seats, common in GM cars marketed towards adults. If my parents bought me this as a first car, I actually wouldn't be too upset about it.
In terms of performance, the Regal GS is what I'd call a "minor-league sleeper". It's slightly faster than it appears, but its performance won't blow you away. Powered by a 3.8L
Series II Supercharged V6, it makes a respectable 240 horsepower. Torque figures aren't too bad, either, at 280 lb-ft, and top speed is approximately 140 mph. 0-60 time is 6.4 seconds. Overall, performance is certainly not bad, especially for a front-wheel-drive American car. Other than the Regal GS, Buick did not offer any cars that possessed at least some sportiness during the late 90's and early 00's.
With some slight modifications, the Regal GS looks less grown-up looking.
As you may know, the Buick Regal has a large number of relatives. The Chevrolet Impala, Monte Carlo, Oldsmobile Intrigue, and Pontiac Grand Prix were built off the same platform as the Regal. Monte Carlo and Grand Prix, just like the regal, had performance versions. The Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS, and the Pontiac Grand Prix GTP, sported the same 3.8L supercharged V6, so performance were almost identical for trio. And they both appeared much "younger" than the Regal GS, having sportier styling, more color choices, body kits, and more. But, I'd choose the more ordinary looking Regal GS over them. By a lot.
Like I mentioned before, body cladding, bright colors, stripes, and higher spoilers are absent from the Regal GS. For the MC and the GTP, all of the above were available, and those cars weren't any faster than the Regal. But, faux sportiness like that is tacky in my book. The cladding, spoilers, and "go-faster" stripes and large SS decals featured on the MC just make the car uglier. It's like they are screaming, "look at me! I'm a sports car!", while the Regal is quiet. And in fact, the MC and GTP appears faster than they really are, while the Regal looks slower than it really is. At least that's what I think. Personally, I would want something subtle like the Regal, and not something too over-the-top like its siblings.