Buick Regal

The car being modelled is the first generation Buick Regal produced from 1973 to 1977. It is described as a lower-priced mid-sized personal luxury car - how nuanced must the US car market have been in the early 70s? The line continues at the time of writing (2022) the current 6th generation Buick Regal being a re-badged Vauxhall/Opel Insignia. As a model the Corgi is not brilliant, It is in 1:36 scale and just feels a bit numb somehow.

Kojak's Buick Regal (290) was first released in July 1976 and remained in the range until it was deleted in 1980. This car would have had a plastic Kojak figure with it when new and the figures can be found both with and without hats. It was resurrected a couple of times in the post-Mettoy era and the later cars are much more detailed and better finished (1999 and 2002). They also lack the Crocker figure hanging out of the window and the clicker wheel set into the rear bumper of this car which is supposed to simulate gunfire. The 1999 re-release has a white metal standing Kojak figure, the 2002 release does not have the figure.

The next Regal to be released is the Police Cruiser (416). It differs from the Superman car - the City of Metropolis Police Car - in a number of details. This car has a white tampo reading: 'Police' on the bonnet, the Metropolis car has a large shield sticker with a City of Metropolis coat of arms, this one has a blue roof, the Metropolis car has a white roof and a double beacon. The Police Cruiser was released in April 1977 and deleted in 1979. There are no listed variations.

in January 1979 it returns as a City of Metropolis Police car, part of a series of models on the Superman theme. Metropolis is where Superman has his home. There are no significant variations to the model, it is always metallic blue with a white top, however it has been seen without the bonnet sticker and the box can vary in detail. The association with the Superman franchise keeps values high. The Metropolis Buick (260) remained in the range until being withdrawn in 1981.