He would swear at her and yell at her – but she would still serve him with a smile and give him everything he needed. In return Walter willed her $50,000 and a 2000 Buick after he passed away in July. I’m sure the old man had tipped her well in the past – but nothing could beat this one.

Email This To A Friend or Social Bookmark It!

This svelte yet unexciting midsize sedan signals a new direction for the company bolder and better. It happens to be both, compared with previous Buicks. But the cars it replaces were so inferior that even a quantum improvement hasn’t elevated the LaCrosse to Accord and Camry territory, despite Buick executives who say otherwise.

While the Buick LaCrosse’s understated styling doesn’t set any new design standards, it does look classy and is an improvement over the bland Regal and Century models it replaces.

Big, creased fenders combine with elliptical themes in the grille, the chrome-framed window area and the rear of the car for an elegant look. Its upswept haunches are particularly attractive.

The Cardinal Red metallic exterior paint and 17-inch chromed wheels of the CXS model we drove (which starts at $28,335 and had $3,165 in options) dress up the otherwise innocuous design and heighten the LaCrosse’s visual appeal. Buick emphasizes the car’s tight fit and finish in press materials and heralds the styling as a bold, new direction for the company.

Despite improvements over older Buicks, the LaCrosse still doesn’t rival the Accord or Camry for interior refinement. Drivers will be rudely alerted to this fact every time they get in or out of the car and snag their foot on the gangly parking-brake pedal that juts from beneath the dash.

Textured plastics lining the interior feel nice to the touch, but the leather on the seats of our tester was stiff instead of sumptuous. Controls are well placed and for the most part intuitive especially the optional ones on the steering wheel, but the windshield-wiper and turn-signal stalks didn’t feel solid.

Buttons on the center instrument panel often didn’t work on the first try, requiring a firm follow-up press and split-second hold, which is annoying and potentially dangerous in heavy traffic. A row of buttons along the top of the center console operates the onboard computer, calculating miles per gallon, average speed, distances and all sorts of other things. But they aren’t easy to decipher and require consulting the owner’s manual.

Spacewise, the interior is pleasant for drivers and passengers, with ample seating room and an able stereo and climate control system. The trunk is also spacious. The test car’s six-way electronically adjustable driver seat approximated an ideal driving position well enough, though more lumbar support would’ve been welcome. (The front passenger seat on our CXS model was also electronically adjustable, per the $1,150 “Gold Convenience Package.”)

Large potholes, bumps and road irregularities on the highway are all well absorbed. If you don’t care about sporty steering or suspension, the two lesser-trimmed LaCrosses (CX and CXL, starting at $22,835 and $25,335, respectively) might offer even more isolation from rough roads, since they forgo the more aggressive setup on the CXS and have tires with taller sidewalls on 16-inch wheels.

Although the car looks and feels big (after all, it weighs between 3,495 and 3,568 pounds, depending on trim level), it’s not a chore to drive, even on tight city streets, thanks to the precise steering and controlled handling.

It doesn’t lean much in corners like softly sprung Buicks of old, but the LaCrosse does pitch and dive noticeably when braking and accelerating. Drivers who prefer the heavier feel of the steering on a Honda or BMW might find the LaCrosse’s too light, but it’s still predictable and stable at speed.

The two lower-trim levels (CX and CXL) get GM’s 3.8-liter V6 engine generating 200 hp and 230 pound-feet of torque. This engine has been around for a long time and isn’t anything special, but it gets the job done and is reliable and reasonably fuel-efficient, judging by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ratings of 20 mpg for city driving and 29 mpg for the highway.

The CXS model came with GM’s next-generation V6, whose major structure and components are made entirely of aluminum. Though it’s smaller in displacement than the old V-6 3.6 liters versus 3.8 advancements such as variable valve timing help it crank out 240 hp and 225 pound-feet of torque.

Slightly less fuel-efficient compared with the base engine, it’s smooth and refined, with enough power to make passing tractor-trailers or merging onto busy highways a cinch. Acceleration wasn’t overwhelmingly fast but brisk, accompanied by a muted snarl from the V6.

For all its rough edges, the LaCrosse is a leap forward for Buick. If the upcoming all-new Lucerne sedan shows similar improvement over the outgoing LeSabre and Park Avenue, Buick will have gone a long way toward wooing a new generation of drivers.(Forbes)

Email This To A Friend or Social Bookmark It!

The company repeatedly describes the Terraza as a “truck,” and replaces the apparently gauche “minivan” label for both Terraza and Relay with the curious, less-known moniker of “mid-van.”

Hopefully not, even if these photos of GM’s new vans show the company’s efforts to import more styling cues from trucks and sport utilities into its minivans. Patrons of the Los Angeles auto show, which will begin later this month, will greet the minivans as they make their first public appearances.

The Terraza will extend Buick’s new identity, in which upscale trucks are playing more of a role in the brand’s fortunes. Buick’s Rendezvous sport utility turns in a fat profit margin for GM, and the new Buick Rainier sport utility vehicle offers a fancier alternative to the Chevrolet TrailBlazer. GM expects the Terraza to make money because it will “attract the attention of affluent married couples with children.”

The Terraza, like the Saturn Relay, will use a 3.5-liter V-6 engine, which in this application will provide 200 horsepower and 220 lbs.-ft. of torque. Stability control is an option, but more importantly, both vans offer optional four-wheel-drive something that is available on upscale competitors like the Town & Country from DaimlerChrysler’s Chrysler division and Toyota Sienna, but absent from otherwise-excellent minivans like the Honda Odyssey and Nissan Quest.

While the Terraza will try to woo a more affluent clientele with things like leather seats and a steering wheel of wood and leather, the Relay minivan requires a different strategy due to Saturn’s more value-conscious nature.

Their two vans are siblings, but Saturn is hungrier for new products than Buick. Without the Relay, Saturn’s hopes might cling to the Ion coupe and sedan, and the Vue sport utility; the Detroit Free Press reported in November that Saturn is planning to kill its slow-selling L300 sedan and wagon, but GM officials declined to verify the report.

As the first seven-seat Saturn vehicle, the Relay could open a new sort of customer base to Saturn by offering more passenger and cargo utility. The road, however, will be difficult; according to GM, import brands command 40% of the market among first-time minivan buyers (about half of minivan buyers have never bought one before).

While General Motors, like the other American automakers, is a cost-driven brand, it has watched from a distance as Toyota has methodically, year after year, reduced and reduced the amount of waste at its factories and dealerships. GM is working hard to make itself more efficient, and the new minivans are designed to conserve materials.

In a statement about the Relay, Saturn says that new, longer-lasting brake linings in the vehicle “reduce servicing” and will “save the disposal of tens of thousands of brake parts yearly for every model year of production.” The electrical architecture of the vehicle “requires approximately 350 feet less wiring per vehicle and will save tens of thousands of pounds yearly in disposal.”

The wiring of Saturn’s cars is in some ways more sophisticated than that of the average American vehicle. Saturn’s dealers, for example, need to have easy access to their vehicles’ guts so that, in keeping with their mission as industry leaders in service, they can diagnose problems quickly and easily.

Email This To A Friend or Social Bookmark It!

A 4-speed automatic is the sole transmission. Lucernes come with front bucket seats and a center console for five-passenger seating. CX and CXL models seat six with an available front bench. Front side airbags, curtain side airbags, ABS, and OnStar assistance are standard. An antiskid system is standard on the CXS, optional on CXL V8.

Exclusive to CXS is GM’s automatic-adjusting Magnetic Ride Control suspension. Leather upholstery is standard on CXLs and CXS, unavailable on CX. Available features include remote engine start and heated and cooled front seats.

Consumer Guide Automotive places each vehicle into one of 18 classes based on size, price, and market position. Large Cars comprise the biggest passenger sedans and wagons. Large, inside and out, they offer lots of metal for the money and are dominated by domestic brands.

No major near-term changes loom for this reworked version of the once-popular LeSabre. The next few years may see Buick replace the hoary old 3.8 V6 with GM’s 3.6-liter “high feature” engine, but that’s just our guess.

Further out, sources say Lucerne will be replaced for model-year 2010 by a rear-wheel-drive sedan built on the new “Zeta” platform engineered by GM’s Australian branch. Our spies also think the Lucerne name could be dropped for what would be Buick’s first rear-drive car since the 1996 Roadmaster.

Email This To A Friend or Social Bookmark It!

It’s hard to believe that Enclave will become a design icon of the caliber of its creators’ inspirations, but there’s no doubt it’s an attractive and well-balanced design. With thoroughly modern engineering and styling, it’s a confident statement about the future during troubled times for parent company General Motors.

Bold in appearance but not aggressive, the Enclave has a wide, solid stance, sculpted hood and short overhangs. It’s dubbed “SUV-like, not truck-like” by Ed Welburn, vice president of global design, and the close ground clearance, tapering roofline and inward-curved sides bear out his claim.  Attractive detailing includes chrome window surrounds and taillight surrounds. 21-inch, seven-spoke wheels give the vehicle a modern, athletic look.

Three small “portholes” on the trailing edges of each side of the hood and a “waterfall” grille suggest the Enclave’s Buick heritage. Inside, oval air vents and jeweled analog clocks continue the theme.  Inside is a welcoming and tasteful cabin finished in surprisingly high quality materials. Six passengers are accommodated in three rows of two individual seats. Wood trim in the steering wheel, inserts on the door panels and instrument panel, and wood-finish fold-down tables provided for passengers in the second and third rows of seats.

The powertrain is a high-tech 3.6-liter V6 featuring dual overhead cams with variable valve timing mated to a six speed automatic transmission. Unitized body construction, and fully independent suspension complete the picture of vehicle using thoroughly modern production techniques.  While the car on display is officially a concept, Buick executives made it clear that they definitely have plans to put the Enclave into production. Although details may change before the design is finalized, Welburn described it as “close, very close” to the production version.

In practical terms, that probably means the shape, engineering, and look and feel will stay much as you see it today, but that costly or hard-to-build features will be deleted. So don’t count on seeing the half-wood steering wheel, ambient lighting below the door handles and sills, or individual DVD screens (including one that cleverly doubles up as the passenger’s visor mirror) in your local showroom.

Email This To A Friend or Social Bookmark It!

The Lucerne replaces the LeSabre, but shares nothing in common with the older model. While Cadillac is moving toward rear-wheel drive and Ford is moving toward all-wheel drive, the new Lucerne will be front-wheel drive.

The Lucerne will be the first Buick in a decade to offer a V8, however. Two engines will be available, including the optional 4.6-liter V8 that makes 275 horsepower. The standard 3.8-liter, 195-horsepower V6 is EPA rated to deliver 25.3 mpg combined fuel economy. Four-wheel disc brakes and automatic transmissions will be standard.

The Lucerne will become Buick’s most popular car and may account for 75 percent of the brand’s sales. It’s designed to offer reliability and comfort with style and sophistication. It will come in three trim levels and can be ordered with five- or six-passenger seating.

Email This To A Friend or Social Bookmark It!