Despite its carefully cultivated conservative image, Buick has a long history of building performance cars. But understand this: Buick builds performance cars on its own terms. Back in the '60s, the Buick Skylark GS was the silkiest, quietest, most refined muscle car ever to chase down a Pontiac GTO.

You might call today's Regal GS the spiritual heir to those big-muscle Skylarks, especially as it can match Pontiac's nifty Grand Prix GTP stride for stride, sprinting from 0 to 60 mph in about 6.5 seconds. That's quick acceleration by any measure and particularly for a conservative-looking mid-size family sedan. Yet Regal sacrifices none of the virtues that make Buicks "Premium American Motorcars." Those virtues include roominess, a smooth ride quality and a long list of features.