Like you I had a 78 Regal, v8 with buckets, gauges, and console shift. Looked good and drove fantastic. But I've always been a die hard Pontiac guy. Buick really lost me some time around 2k when their designs became so completely indistinguishable from everything else on the road they became the incognito of automobiles. The only distinguishing feature they currently have is the port holes and I've seen after market port holes stuck on everything from fiestas to semi's so that's not much of an styling clue.
GM killed off it's two most identifiable brands, Olds and Pontiac, The next time you drive down the highway, see how long it takes to identify a make of car. The Olds, Pontiac split grill was easy to see and identify from as much as half a mile away or more, some modern Chevy's and Dodges I can decipher at maybe a 1/10th of a mile or so. Buick on the other hand, I've stood in parking lots 5' away from their cars and won't know it was a gm product if I couldn't see a Buick badge somewhere on the car. Most embarrassing for GM has to be when recently I was standing on one of their car lots, and I couldn't tell a new Buick from a used Hyundai, a used Mercury, or even a used Kia. The grills and tail lights all look identical. GM will never build a brand identity with a product that is so bland that it's the equivalent of military camouflage.
