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GLEN ARBOR, MI – At Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, a sprawling U.S. nature preserve tucked into the northwest tip of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula, visitors strain to climb a famous 260-ft. (79-m) sand dune, a vestige of Michigan’s last Ice Age.
Their reward for scrambling up the 20-degree pitch is an unrivaled view of crystal lakes and rolling forests.
Buick completes a climb of its own with the new-for-’12 Regal GS, a rollicking sport sedan with a punchy 270-hp engine and drum-tight handling sure to make tonier competitors in the segment take notice.
Buick is indeed back.
In the U.S., where executives believed recession-weary consumers hung over from binging on over-the-top luxury would embrace an upscale brand without the bling, sales so far this year are up 25.1%, WardsAuto data shows.
Buick also is gaining ground in historically weak markets for the brand, such as the U.S. West and Southeast, General Motors says.
In China, where GM has built the brand into a premium powerhouse, Buick sales have exceeded 3 million units from a 13-year-old joint venture and since 2008 have risen by 100,000 units annually.
However, the road back has not been easy for Buick. Many industry experts thought the 108-year-old brand should have been scrapped alongside Pontiac and Saturn during GM’s 2009 bankruptcy.
