German Car Zone

PRESS RELEASE

BUICK TRANSFORMATION CONTINUES WITH THE 2010 LACROSSE LUXURY SEDAN

* Sculpted styling defines Buick's modern global design
* Luxurious interior crafted of premium materials with cool blue ambient lighting
* Intelligent personal technologies enhance the driving experience
* Responsive performance via efficient. direct injection dual overhead cam engines paired with six-speed automatic transmissions

DETROIT – Redesigned from the ground up, the 2010 Buick LaCrosse luxury sedan makes its world debut at the 2009 North American International Auto Show in Detroit on Jan. 12. The LaCrosse offers all wheel drive, a suite of advanced intelligent personal technologies and safety features, and a choice of two fuel-saving V-6 engines.

"The new LaCrosse was created with great attention to detail, craftsmanship and advanced technology," said Susan Docherty, Buick-Pontiac-GMC vice president. "It builds on the success of Enclave as the next step in Buick's revitalization. And, as with Enclave, our goal is to attract a whole new buyer to our dealerships for LaCrosse."

Sculpted design

Buick's long heritage of leading designs, such as the Y-Job Concept, the Roadmaster and the Riviera, helped define American automobile design through the years, according to Ed Welburn, vice president of GM Global Design. Today, Buick design is a product of a global team and resources. Creative collaboration between designers in the United States and China, in partnership with the Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center (PATAC) as well as chassis and body engineers in Europe, resulted in the first General Motors vehicle to be created on three continents.

"The new LaCrosse is intended to represent modern elegance," said Welburn. "Throughout the design, you experience a balance of contrasts. Both the interior and exterior have been designed with harmony in mind. The exterior balances taut, sculpted lines with sensuous accents and surfaces. Inside, smoked chrome accents, warm wood, first-class leather and materials combine with cool blue ambient lighting to create an inviting environment."

The exterior design is faithful to the Buick Invicta show car introduced at the 2008 Beijing Auto Show.

"It is instantly recognizable as a Buick, with its signature 'sweep spear' body-side styling, portholes inside the character line on the hood, and waterfall grille," added Welburn.

Luxurious interior experience

Inside, the two-tone interior is defined by a flowing, uninterrupted design theme that wraps around the instrument and door panels. Attention to detail is evident throughout the interior, including the analog instrument cluster, chrome offset by dark wood accents, and the contrasting thread and French stitching on the instrument panel.

Buick's signature QuietTuning – an engineering process to reduce, block and absorb interior noise – provides a distraction-free passenger environment.

An unexpected, inviting touch is the cool blue ambient lighting throughout the cabin from the center console, instrument panel and door panels.

Intelligent personal technologies

The contemporary atmosphere of the cabin includes the digital connectivity and personal technology offered in the new LaCrosse. That includes features such as in-dash navigation, Bluetooth connectivity, an auxiliary audio input and a USB port. For rear-seat passengers, a power rear-window sunshade and a DVD entertainment system, with two display screens integrated into the seatbacks, is available.

LaCrosse's intelligent technologies also work to deliver a 360-degree field of vision behind the steering wheel, for a greater feeling of comfort, security and safety. It starts with the available head-up display in the windshield, allowing the driver to monitor speed while keeping his or her eyes on the road. At night, the available adaptive lighting package can direct the high-intensity discharge headlight beams up to 15 degrees for enhanced illumination of the road and its curves.

LaCrosse offers Side Blind Zone alert that notifies the driver if a vehicle in adjacent lanes is traveling in the driver's blind spot. The LaCrosse is also available with a rear view camera, with the display integrated into the navigation system screen.

The technology available on LaCrosse enhances a suite of standard safety features that is designed to meet the criteria for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) 20 Star Safety Rating. Highlights include front-, side- and roof-mounted head-curtain air bags, StabiliTrak stability- and traction-control system. The safety and security of OnStar is also included for the first year of ownership.

Responsive performance

LaCrosse's stiff body structure serves as the foundation for precise suspension tuning, safety and a quiet ride. Buyers can choose from a family of efficient, direct-injection six-cylinder engines and a fuel-conserving six-speed automatic transmission with tap-up/tap-down control.

The direct injection engines in the LaCrosse create more power with less fuel and reduce vehicle emissions through greater combustion control – particularly cold-start emissions that are reduced by up to 25 percent.

The 2010 LaCrosse will be offered in three models - CX, CXL and CXS:

* CX – equipped with a new 3.0L direct injection V-6, premium cloth seats and 17-inch wheels. The 3.0L engine generates an estimated 255 horsepower (190 kW) and 211 lb.-ft. of torque (286 Nm) and is mated to a six-speed automatic transmission.
* CXL – also equipped with the new 3.0L direct injection V-6, adds leather-appointed heated seats, dual-zone automatic climate control, fog lamps, outside rearview mirror with LED turn indicators and puddle lamps, and 18-inch wheels. Intelligent AWD is available.
* CXS – equipped with a 3.6L direct injection V-6; real-time active-dampening suspension; perforated, leather-appointed, heated and cooled seats, and chrome-plated 18-inch wheels (19-inch optional). The 3.6L engine, mated to a six-speed automatic transmission, generates an estimated 280 horsepower (209 kW) and 261 lb.-ft. of torque (354 Nm).

LaCrosse production will begin this summer at the Fairfax Assembly facility in Kansas City, Kan.


Full Specs and Writeup: 2010 Buick LaCrosse Unveiled





For a Buick this car is borderline hot. It sure beats the hell out of the ridiculous looking Lexus ES350!


M

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Looks too much like a re-badged Insigna

That looks nice indeed,well done

Rear wheel arch is E classish

^Yep which in turn is Bentley-ish

In a meeting in Detroit, two Buick executives discuss the new strategy for Buick finally to become a worthy opponent against Lexus:

Buick fatcat 2: "Our cars are no match for Lexus and because of that we are losing sales and our asses are on the line."
Buick fatcat 1: "Yeah... I know. So what do you suggest then?"
Buick fatcat 2: "Why not merger with them?"
Buick fatcat 1: "You have got to be kidding me, right?! Lexus ain't that stupid!"
Buick fatcat 2: "True that... ah what the hell... you know what?"
Buick fatcat 1: "What?"
Buick fatcat 2: "I will tell the design department to just copy their design."
Buick fatcat 1: "Awesome!"

So in order to beat the Lexus ES350, their only alternative was to make the new LaCrosse to look like a Lexus. And guess what? They succeeded!
Because from rear-quarters, you could be forgiven thinking that Lexus revised the GS with a pair of LS460 taillights. Right up the moment you find out it's actually a new Buick.

I'm not saying it's ugly. It's far better looking than all of the other Buick models sold in North-America. It's just that for me, the similarity in looks with the Lexus GS is just uncanny.

Not bad. I too can recognize some Insignia in there and perhaps also slight similarities with Pontiac G8. Definitely the best Buick right now.

So they're no longer building cars (just) for grandpas! For some reasons... she still looks boring to me!

I take it you mean ES, not GS.


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