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Cut all of the GS--call the next turbo Buick a Gran Sport

Buick Regal Forum - So I'm crawling into work one hazy morning as traffic really begins to snarl on Detroit's west side. As the cars inch along, I notice a black, last-generation Buick LaCrosse inching forward in the lane to my left. Actually it was a 'Crosse; the “La” was lost at some point. It wore the CX trim level.

Despite the phonetic connotations of the name, there's nothing sexy about that car. Letters mean very little in the car world most of the time. And that is why the Buick Regal GS--the potent turbo sedan just confirmed for production--must be called the Gran Sport. Don't abbreviate it. It sounds better spelled out. It sounds vibrant and alluring. And most of all, it sounds desirable. If Buick has a wish list, those are all virtues it should seek.

Gran Sport. Those two words mean something to enthusiasts with memory or a sense of history. The moniker was worn on Buicks when the brand really had cache in the 1960s and '70s. Two generations later, it's still trying to rekindle that spark, and small steps like the right name can have dramatic results.

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