LaCrosse named "Most Satisfying Car"

[buickguy]

Money Magazine survey puts Lacrosse at tops in "premium mid-size category," tied with the Nissan Altima.

[Flybrian]

Altima's not really a 'premium' midsize car if you ask me. Maxima, yes, but not a car you can order with a 4-cyl and cloth seats.

[Satty]

w00t! I get to make the first, I am always satisfied with lacrosse joke.

[HarleyEarl]

I never think of the Altima as a premium anything.

[turbo200]

Nice for Buick, but it should NEVER fall in the same class as the Altima. And that is exactly what is wrong with Buick these days. If they have anything in the 20k range it should be a Volvo S40 type car, where the premium-ness of the car justifies that price tag. There's just nothing special about Buick these days, and there hasn't been for too long. Drop-dead gorgeous designs and interiors would go a long way to remedy this.

[ocnblu]

The LaCrosse is proven and comfortable. Safe and familiar. The 3800 engine is evergreen, smooth, efficient, powerful. Overall it has an appealing design, if derivative. A styling update with Velite/Lucerne front end cues is all it really needs.

[wildcat]

buickguy: Thanks for this information. I hope that GM stresses things like this in their advertising, along with Buick's quality awards.

[HarleyEarl]

Buick and GM have to get back to slick, sophisticated lifestyle advertising and media campaigns. I open the paper and what do I see, GM firesale ads screaming at me....you look at say Lexus and may others, a quiet luxury marketing. Buick has some good products, they are not marketed the way they should be.

[caddycruiser]

Buick and GM have to get back to slick, sophisticated lifestyle advertising and media campaigns.  I open the paper and what do I see, GM firesale ads screaming at me....you look at say Lexus and may others, a quiet luxury marketing.  Buick has some good products, they are not marketed the way they should be.

[post="14895"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

:bowdown: :bowdown: :bowdown:

[pow]

Buick and GM have to get back to slick, sophisticated lifestyle advertising and media campaigns.  I open the paper and what do I see, GM firesale ads screaming at me....you look at say Lexus and may others, a quiet luxury marketing.  Buick has some good products, they are not marketed the way they should be.

[post="14895"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

Are they from GM or the dealers?

[Flybrian]

The downright best Buick television ad I recollect (and probably my all-time favorite of any I've seen) was the 90-second debut ad for its 'Isn't It Time For a Real Car?' campaign.

For those who do not remember, it began in an urban cityscape with light, jazzy music. It showed a Jeep driving around with the voiceover, "Is that a car? That ain't no car." then a minivan "Is that a car? Not a real car." followed by beautiful shots of the Riviera, Park Avenue, et al driving through the city with the voiceover "Now that's a car...an easy-ridin', smooth-glidin', THAT kind of car."

Some may have thought it was lame or nonsensical, but I thought it showed what Buick was always about - cool, sedate sophistication. No aires of pretentiousness like choice Lexus ads, no hard sells screaming discounts and 0% financing like GM ads now, no mention of 5-star safety ratings or how so-and-so is better than so-and-so according to some magazine, no stupid tree and creek like Infiniti's debut spot. Just the cars. Plain and simple.

And you can say what you want about the Buicks of the mid-90s to a few years ago. You can deride the fake wood, the then-gauche chrome grilles, and bench seats, but you can't dispute those cars were all unmistakably Buick. Even in those years of Zarella and brand fragmentation, there was no mistaking that 4-sedan-1-coupe lineup as Buick.

Contrast that to the inane and cartoonish Tiger Woods ads and the existing Buick line of one sedan and three whatevers.

Buick doesn't need to follow Lexus or be Lexus or even care about Lexus; Buick has volumes more history than Lexus will ever have. It just needs to realize it. And, God, as a Buick fan, I hope it realizes it soon.

[Jazzhead]

Buick's in transition, but once the Lucy's out it will have two competitive products that can win sales from the large traditionalist audience that is receptive to solid, well made, comfortable and powerful motorcars. All Buick really needs is a Sigma-platform RWD model, that can sell for about $35,000 well equipped.

[Cremazie]

I am proud of the Lacrosse/Allure. There are more Allures on the road than all the 300s, 500s and Chargers combined. (from my eyes)

[Cananopie]

Some may have thought it was lame or nonsensical, but I thought it showed what Buick was always about - cool, sedate sophistication. No aires of pretentiousness like choice Lexus ads, no hard sells screaming discounts and 0% financing like GM ads now, no mention of 5-star safety ratings or how so-and-so is better than so-and-so according to some magazine, no stupid tree and creek like Infiniti's debut spot. Just the cars. Plain and simple.

[post="14936"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

You're right Flybrian. It's plain and simple. GM needs to give its subdivisions more air to breathe and allow them to get themselves a personality. Something unique that isn't what the other GM brands or other competitive car brands are doing. All of GM needs to do this.

[Cremazie]

You're right Flybrian. It's plain and simple. GM needs to give its subdivisions more air to breathe and allow them to get themselves a personality. Something unique that isn't what the other GM brands or other competitive car brands are doing. All of GM needs to do this.

[post="15308"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

That's why the 60's were so great, All divisions were allowed to do as they pleased, they need to borrow from those years!

[razoredge]

Lacrosse at tops in "premium mid-size category,"

Whats the problem with that ?......so Altima made it into that catagory too. Its midsize premium catagory, not Luxury catagory

One minute the Lacrosse is in trouble for not being sporty, the next its in trouble for not being top Luxury, next its in trouble for its competitive selling point. Geeze!!!!!!!!

Look some publication likes the Lacrosse - live with it !

Myself Id still rather have a 96 GS, but hey, styling had to change.

I like Blu's review myself

The LaCrosse is proven and comfortable. Safe and familiar. The 3800 engine is evergreen, smooth, efficient, powerful. Overall it has an appealing design, if derivative. A styling update with Velite/Lucerne front end cues is all it really needs.

Id like to see them make the dual headlights even more pronounced, change the grill, shorten the overhang and drop the air dam 2". I dot see the Lacrosse as a car that blends in with the crowd, it might not be state of the art but it stands alone and its a Buick damn-it !

Interior is kinda cool BTW, I suppose it would be cooler if it looked like a Acura or Infinity but it doesnt it looks like a Buick - praise the Lord !

[BuickEight]

[quote name='Flybrian' date='Sep 15 2005, 10:30 PM']
The downright best Buick television ad I recollect (and probably my all-time favorite of any I've seen) was the 90-second debut ad for its 'Isn't It Time For a Real Car?' campaign.

My favorite was 'The Great American Road Belongs to Buick' campaign of the late 80's. The ads were very good and the tune was catchy. I sure do miss those days when Buick had a full lineup. I miss the really luxurious interiors that came in tan, grey, blue, red, and sometimes green. I also miss how a Buick could be sporty on the outside with a sport suspension, but all Buick on the inside. Damn it! What the hell happened? Where is Ed Mertz?

[Dsuupr]

The LaCrosse, like the Grand Prix, is much nicer than the press has made them out to be.

[Flybrian]

The LaCrosse, like the Grand Prix, is much nicer than the press has made them out to be.

[post="15664"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

I'll agree but say the criticism about the GP's rear seat is all too true. Its flat, benchy, and skimps on the headroom too much. I wouldn't care, though, since I'd be driving.

[ponchoman49]

I'll agree but say the criticism about the GP's rear seat is all too true. Its flat, benchy, and skimps on the headroom too much. I wouldn't care, though, since I'd be driving.

[post="15800"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

The GP's rear seat is an atrocity! With the front seat back more than half way there is little room left. The seat almost touches the floor leaving no room for toes. The afterthought add-on cupholder is just passable. The seatback is painfully hard and there is no fold down center armrest as in the Impala/LaCrosse. The lower cusion makes you feel like your sitting on the floor and even with this my head still touches the ceiling. Pontiac should be ashamed of themselves on this one and be condemed to a month locked up in the back seat of this car with 2 fellow engineers. :rolleyes:

[Sixty8panther]

Altima's not really a 'premium' midsize car if you ask me. Maxima, yes, but not a car you can order with a 4-cyl and cloth seats.

[post="14784"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

Exactly. This is a pleasant surprise for me. I love Buick but always thought the LaCrosse a lame duck. Styling wise it's tepid.

[ocnblu]

To me, if I squint hard enough, the LaCrosse front end is an evolution of the current LeSabre front end. The Lesabre has quad element headlights, but they're within one lens. LaCrosse just separates the elements into separate lenses. Too bad it came out so mindful of a Taurus/Sable. It's like it was stuck in limbo between old school and new school (Lucerne/Velite) and it was too late to change that part of the car. Still, it's a pleasant piece.

One of the British car mags out now has an article on American cars being imported to the UK. A sidebar has a "Bring it/Ban it" theme. Buick is on the "ban" list. The reason? "Everything since the '87 Grand National has been crap." Boy, they don't pull any punches, do they? I had to chuckle at that one. Edited September 18, 2005 by ocnblu

[Mule Bakersdozen LS]

Nice for Buick, but it should NEVER fall in the same class as the Altima. And that is exactly what is wrong with Buick these days. If they have anything in the 20k range it should be a Volvo S40 type car, where the premium-ness of the car justifies that price tag. There's just nothing special about Buick these days, and there hasn't been for too long. Drop-dead gorgeous designs and interiors would go a long way to remedy this.

[post="14873"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

I agree with you 100%. It has to be done right-both actually-a front and a rear-drive car, which I would respectively name Skyhawk and Skylark. And LaCrosse hardly excites me in any way shape or form (the only things about the car that excite me are that it has real cloth upholstery and a front split bench seat on some models-though I can get it standard-and for much less and slightly larger on the similar Chevy Impala). I just want the Century name to be revived on a truly styled LaCrosse replacement that still starts with real cloth or velour upholstery front split bench seats, with, of course, leather and/or bucket seats options (standard on CXS-type levels) on the way up. Edited September 19, 2005 by Mule Bakersdozen LS