1976 Electra Limited...special 'independence Package"...rare on 2040-cars

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Junkyard Gem: 2000 Buick Regal GSE

Except for a break from 2005 through 2010, and an indefinite break after this year, The General has been selling the Buick Regal since the 1973 model year. From 1988 to 2005, the Regal rode on the same GM W-Body front-wheel-drive platform as the Chevy Impala and Pontiac Grand Prix, and some of the more interesting W Regals came with ever-hairier versions of GM's supercharged Buick V6 engine. These Eaton-blown Regals were big, comfortable and quick, but they've nearly disappeared from roads by now. I found this 2000 GSE, the kingliest Regal of that year, in a Colorado self-service yard last month. Some junkyard shopper had already grabbed the Eaton M90 blower from this car by the time I got here, because everyone wants a blower or nine stashed in the garage (I have five at the moment). If you're looking to junkyard-supercharge your AMC Pacer wagon race car and use a Soviet truck carburetor for fuel delivery, the Eaton M90 is about the easiest to remove from the junkyard and the easiest to rig up on the car. This engine made 240 horsepower when new, giving the Regal GSE quarter-mile times below the 15-second mark. The price of the 2000 Regal GSE started at $25,300, or about $38,640 in 2020 dollars. You could get the same engine engine and chassis with the Pontiac Grand Prix GTP sedan for $24,610, giving you near-identical performance and a sportier (but less dignified) look. Buick didn't bother making a manual transmission available in any North American W-Body Regal after the 1993 model year. This reduced the fun level in these cars, but probably spared owners a lot of broken axles, CV joints, and hubs. This car has the optional Monsoon speaker system, also found in some Volkswagens of the same era. Apparently Monsoon systems for home computers were all the rage during the early 2000s. Did the Oshawa plant lift that "One grade only and that the best" slogan from the Canadian Corps in Passchendaele in '17? It sounds like a Commonwealth slogan of an earlier era. This car looks pretty good inside and out, but most Colorado buyers seeking a powerful used four-door these days seek out trucks. It doesn't take much of a mechanical problem (or accumulation of parking tickets) to doom a car like today's Junkyard Gem. So many features!

How to hack a Buick Regal with CarKnow

If you own an Apple iPhone or Android device, perhaps you've been tempted to jailbreak or root it. This process gives you access to the the software's code, and can be used to make minor or drastic changes to its operating system. CarKnow, a company in Boston, is working applying a similar concept to the automobile.
Translogic recently took a look inside CarKnow to see just how it can tweak the computers inside a car and what sort of things can be done. As our transportation tech sister site explains, CarKnow basically created a digital duplicate of their Buick Regal in the cloud, while harvesting data generated to create custom apps and infiltrate the deepest function of their test car.
And before you freak out about people maliciously taking over your car, CarKnow's founder, Josh Siegel, stresses that it isn't quite so easy as driving up alongside someone. Take a look at the full video below to see just what it's like to jailbreak a car.

PSA's purchase of Opel from GM is expected to be finalized soon

PSA's purchase of the Opel/Vauxhall division from General Motors is expected to be officially announced on Monday, according to The New York Times. PSA, the parent company of European automakers Peugeot and Citroen, will reportedly hold a joint press conference with GM in Paris to announce the deal. GM has worked as part of an alliance with PSA in Europe since 2012. The deal could be a big boon for both companies. For PSA, the addition of Opel and Vauxhall into its fold would catapult the automaker into second place behind Volkswagen for European marketshare, and would allow the company to spend research and development costs across a greater number of vehicles. And GM, which has struggled in recent years to turn a profit with its European division, would be able to focus more squarely on the areas where it's most profitable and to invest in future technologies like automation. But the deal isn't without its potential pitfalls, primarily for PSA. GM hasn't been able to make a success of Opel and Vauxhall, and it's not a sure bet that PSA will, either. What's more, the addition of Opel and Vauxhall doesn't expand PSA's reach any further into new markets, like China or India. The NYT cites data from Ferdinand Dudenhoffer, a professor at the University of Duisburg-Essen in Germany, showing that 70 percent of PSA and Opel business is done in Europe, a market that has been shrinking since 1999. We'll have to wait a few days to see exactly how the deal between PSA and GM will be structured. We're also curious to see how the loss of Opel may affect GM's lineup in the States, especially for Buick, since the company's Regal sedan is based on the European Opel Insignia. In other words, stay tuned. Related Video: