General Motors officially announced today that the name of Buick’s next mid-size sport sedan will be the Regal. Even though the Detroit automaker did not hand out any photos other than a cropped image of the sedan, chances are that the US-spec model will be identical to the Chinese market Buick Regal which in turn is based on the European Opel Insignia. These two models differ only in some details such as the styling of the front grille, the shape of the front fog lights and the exterior mirrors.

“The transformation of Buick began with our luxury crossover, the Buick Enclave and continued this year with the launch of the 2010 LaCrosse premium sedan,” said Susan Docherty, Buick GMC General Manager. “We’re thrilled to announce that the Regal will be the next member of the Buick family.”

GM said that even though the Regal name has been out of the market for the past six years it continues to be one of the top Buick nameplates recalled by consumers.

Before entering bankruptcy and the decision to either sell or close its Saturn business (GM recently announced the death of the brand after negotiations broke down with Penske Automotive), the Detroit automaker had planned to replace the Aura with the Insignia.

General Motors did not say when the Regal will go on sale in the States, but buyers should expect to see the sleek sedan arriving at dealerships sometime towards the end of 2010 or early 2011. Engine options will most likely include 4-cylinder turbocharged units as well as a V6.

And what’s that we hear you say about a Buick Regal GNX? Well, your guess is as good as ours, but the recent introduction of the European Opel Insignia OPC that packs an all-wheel drive system and a 325HP 2.8-liter turbocharged V6 means that a sporty GNX model is completely feasible.

The Opel Insignia is also offered in Europe as a five-door liftback and a sleek-looking station wagon called Sports Tourer, but we wouldn’t hold our breath for an American release for neither mode

While these aren’t the first photos of the all-new Astra, they are certainly the best we’ve seen up until now, revealing Opel’s (Vauxhall in the UK) new subcompact hatch in all its glory ahead of its scheduled world premiere at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September. Clearly influenced by the Insignia, the sixth generation Astra hatch is based on GM’s new Delta platform that also underpins the Chevy Volt and Cruze models and it comes with a new set of engines including 1.4-liter and 1.6-liter turbocharged petrol units.

Unlike VW’s rivaling Golf VI with its stale design language that keeps evolving from previous generation models, the new Astra features a new design and from what we reckon by looking at the photos, it will be a head turner. Its up to date and clean looks combine a sleek and sporty shape with the latest Opel styling cues such as the characteristic scalloped side blades and the Insignia-inspired headlights.

Opel has not disclosed any photos of the new Astra’s interior yet, but thanks to our spy photographers, we have a few shots of the hatchback’s dashboard that borrows heavily in design from the Insignia. Highlights include the four deeply positioned instrument dials in front of the driver and the swoopy central console with an elevated lower section.

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General Motors may be on life support, but the European operations at Opel and Vauxhall are still showing a 325-horsepower pulse. The latest signs of life come in the form of the hotted up Insignia variant shown above. In right-hand drive Vauxhall form, the super Insignia is badged as the VXR, while the left-hand steered continental version gets an OPC suffix. Regardless of the steering wheel position, all of the important Nürburgring-tuned bits are the same, and in this case, it appears to be another derivative of the technology that first appeared last year in the Saab 9-3 Turbo-X.

That means there is a turbocharged 2.8-liter V6 under hood, now with power boosted to 325 horsepower (from the 300 hp in the Saab and the Cadillac SRX). The 295 lb-ft of torque is fed through a six-speed manual gearbox, and out to all four wheels through a Haldex system with an electronic rear limited-slip differential. According to the automaker, acceleration to 62 mph comes up in 5.8 seconds, while an adaptive damping system and retuned suspension that sits 10 mm lower help the Insignia carry the speed through corners. Check out the high-res gallery below and the press release after the jump.

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For the first time in 22 years, a General Motors vehicle has been voted ‘Car of the Year’ (COTY) in Europe. The brand-new Opel insignia gathered a total of 321 points beating the second Ford Fiesta by the narrowest possible margin – a solitary point. The Insignia is the third Opel / Vauxhall model to be awarded with the COTY after the Kadett (Vauxhall Astra in the UK) scooped the award in 1985 with the Omega (Vauxhall Carlton) following in 1987. The COTY jury, which is made up of 59 senior motoring journalists from 23 European countries gave the VW Golf VI a total of 223 points placing it third of the contest’s seven finalists.

“This is the closest COTY competition for years,” comments Ray Hutton, president of the 59-strong jury of senior motoring journalists. “Car of the Year has often been decided narrowly, but it is eight years since another Ford, the Mondeo, was beaten by a single point by Alfa Romeo’s 147.” To underscore the closeness of the 46-year-old competition, the Vauxhall/Opel Insignia received most votes from 20 of the international jurors, while the Fiesta was placed first by 19 of them.

Points allotted by journalists to the other COTY finalists were Citroen C5 198, Alfa Romeo MiTo 148, Skoda Superb 144 and Renault Megane 121 points.

For the record, the competition’s first stage was in October, when jurors chose seven finalists from a total of 37 contenders. In order to be eligible for COTY, a car must be launched within the past 12 months and has to be available in at least five European countries – which is why the Toyota iQ didn’t take part in this year’s competition as European sales start in January 2009.

The countdown has began for the announcement of the European ‘Car of the Year 2009′ winner as the organizers released the shortlist with the seven finalists. The cars that made it to the final round of the 2009 COTY are: Alfa Romeo MiTo, Citroen C5, Ford Fiesta, Opel/Vauxhall Insignia, Renault Megane, Skoda Superb and Volkswagen Golf VI. The COTY jury, which is made up of 59 senior motoring journalists from 23 countries around Europe will reveal the winner on November 19.

The COTY’s organizing committee also released a statement in concern of recent news stories that gave the result of a ‘European Car of the Year’. According to the committee, this contest was a national one staged by the Italian Motor Journalists Association and had no connection whatsoever with the ‘Car of the Year’.

COTY PREVIOUS WINNERS

• 2008 — FIAT 500
• 2007– FORD S-MAX
• 2006 — RENAULT CLIO
• 2005 — TOYOTA PRIUS
• 2004 — FIAT PANDA
• 2003 — RENAULT MÉGANE
• 2002 — PEUGEOT 307
• 2001 — ALFA ROMEO 147
• 2000 — TOYOTA YARIS
• 1999 — FORD FOCUS
• 1998 — ALFA ROMEO 156
• 1997 — RENAULT MÉGANE SCENIC
• 1996 — FIAT BRAVO / BRAVA
• 1995 — FIAT PUNTO