The Gran Sport name has been used on several high-performance cars built by General Motors for its Buick brand since 1965.

Opel Insignia Before 2011, the Regal was a humdrum car with a floaty ride and rubbery steering. Buick revitalized the Regal nameplate in 2011, basing the model on Germany's Opel Insignia. As such, it conveys a typically European driving experience, with a taut ride, sporty handling, and excellent fit and finish.

Another enticing trait about this little-known vehicle is that, like the Audi and BMW, it's actually European. The Buick Regal Sportback is made in Germany by Opel, a former GM unit.

Every Regal GS is motivated by a 3.6-liter V-6 that develops 310 horsepower and 282 lb-ft of torque. Its engine pairs with a nine-speed automatic transmission that, oddly, lacks paddle shifters. Instead, manually selecting gears is handled through the center-console-mounted shifter.

It actually stands for Gran Sport, but it could use a little more grandiosity.

Grand Sedan The GS name stands for Grand Sedan. However, some Lexus importers use the backronymic name, Grand Sport. The first generation Lexus GS began sales in the United States, Europe and selected Asian markets in 1993.

Compared with standard Regals, the GS also adds Brembo brakes, and adaptive dampers with the driver's choice of normal, sport and GS driving modes. Choosing the sporty “GS” steering setting only adds weight without adding feel or feedback, however.

Buick is positioned as a premium automobile brand, selling luxury vehicles positioned above Chevrolet, while priced below the flagship luxury Cadillac division. In North America, Buick vehicles are almost always sold alongside GMC (another premium brand) vehicles at multi-brand dealerships.

Buick is an American automaker, but the locations of Buick's manufacturing plants are fairly widespread. Buick cars are manufactured at different production locations throughout the United States, as well as Canada, China, South Korea, and Germany.

For 2011, GM reintroduced the Regal to North America, rebranding the Insignia sedan for North America. For 2018, Buick introduced the second-generation Opel Insignia, sourcing all production from Germany; alongside a first-ever liftback sedan, the Regal TourX was the first Buick station wagon in 22 years.

The GS is motivated by the supercharged edition, with 240 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque. Both engines drive the front wheels through four-speed automatic transmissions, though the GS has a heavy-duty version to handle the extra torque of the supercharged engine.

I was behind the wheel of a Buick Regal GS, which is a rebadged, German-built sports sedan that's sold in Europe as an Opel Insignia.

Originally introduced as a personal luxury coupe, the Regal was later expanded to a full model line. To showcase its success in NASCAR racing, from 1982 to 1987, Buick introduced the Buick Regal Grand National, Regal T-Type, and the limited-production Buick GNX.