Motor Trend First Drive: 2008 Buick LaCrosse Super

[wildcat]

Motor Trend today shared its initial impressions about the 2008 Buick LaCrosse Super. Buick fans might be especially happy with the last line of Motor Trend's report, which states, "Way more to the point, at $32,605, it's a whole lot of Buick for $1980 less than a Lexus ES350." To read the entire "First Drive," click here.

[big blue]

The only bad thing is, it still has the front end only a mother could love and the interior while much nicer than the standard version, doesn't look like its worth the money. Personally with the Super's price point, it may be a grand or so cheaper than an ES, but its also right around the price point of the CTS, a far superior car in every way. Maybe the NG LaCrosse will be the one that truly defines the Super brand, if it has the right combo of style it can potentially be a great alternative to the CTS' crisp lines and more performance oriented tuning.

[regfootball]

i like the front end. saw one recently and thought it was nice.

[gm4life]

The new front is great...

[Cory Wolfe]

The new front only tries to put lipstick on a pig.

[Chevy Nick]

Maybe it's just me, but that paint looks really good.

Edited February 16, 2008 by Chevy Nick

[balthazar]

In general the LaC Super front end really 'butches' up the LaC, but that slight point on the bottom center always catches & directs my eye- the grille looks good but would look better sectioned 1-2 inches.

[big blue]

Well the main problem I have with the LaCrosse is the quad headlights. It kinda makes the front look like an aquatic animal. The new grille does help it but its not good enough for me.

[cyclonic]

Looks like a damn Ford Taurus.... Sorry, really ugly.

[2QuickZ's]

You know, I really didn't like the new front end either until I saw it in person. Then I thought it wasn't too bad. I checked one of these out at the Buick dealership. With GMS and $2500 or $3000 in rebates (I don't remember which it was), I thought it might not be a bad buy. I've always liked cars that were "sleepers", which this car clearly is, so I seriously considered getting one.

It came down to the fact that overall they won't sell in big numbers, and most people don't know what they are and won't be looking for one on the used car market. That means low residual value, low, low trade-in value and a lot of difficulties selling it on my own. Kind of like my Saab 9-2x I'm selling except at least that is basically a highly desirable Subaru WRX and has name recognition within that community.

[Blake Noble]

Well the main problem I have with the LaCrosse is the quad headlights. It kinda makes the front look like an alien fish from an episode of the X-Files.

My thoughts.

[regfootball]

You know, I really didn't like the new front end either until I saw it in person. Then I thought it wasn't too bad.

yeah, it really caught my eye when it drove by me for the first time and i did a double take and said, 'that's the lacrosse'?

[GMTruckGuy74]

I gotta say, I really liked the Red Jewel Tintcoat colored LaCrosse Super that was on display at the recent Philly Auto Show (not so crazy about the brown-colored one next to it though). I was not a fan of the new front/grille, but for some reason I don't mind it as much on the LaCrosse Super. Here are three pictures I took of the red one:

Now the real question is would I buy a Buick LaCrosse Super over a Pontiac G8 GT? I really don't think so.

[vonVeezelsnider]

I love it in Cocoa, not many other colors do it justice IMO. Would I buy it over a G8? You bet your ass.

[jpstax]

I gotta say, I really liked the Red Jewel Tintcoat colored LaCrosse Super that was on display at the recent Philly Auto Show (not so crazy about the brown-colored one next to it though). I was not a fan of the new front/grille, but for some reason I don't mind it as much on the LaCrosse Super. Here are three pictures I took of the red one:

Now the real question is would I buy a Buick LaCrosse Super over a Pontiac G8 GT? I really don't think so.

Thanks for posting. It looks exactly like the one I bought last August. In fact, I had the ONLY one in the state of IL at the time, so I got a lot of stares whenever I parked it at grocery stores or restaurants. I'm 64 years old and have owned one true musclecar, a '66 Nova SS (with the L-79 engine), in my life. I can't say my Super is a true musclecar (FWD), although its 0-60 and 1/4 mile times are a little quicker than my Nova's. My son wants to buy a 2008 Pontiac G8 GT. I told him I liked the G8 GT (except for its dull exhaust note), but it's not really an older guy's car.

[jpstax]

Motor Trend today shared its initial impressions about the 2008 Buick LaCrosse Super. Buick fans might be especially happy with the last line of Motor Trend's report, which states, "Way more to the point, at $32,605, it's a whole lot of Buick for $1980 less than a Lexus ES350." To read the entire "First Drive," click here.

"The 5.3-liter small-block V-8's exhaust roar has been muted, at the expense of three horsepower (for an even 300)." No problem! I gained that 3 hp back by first removing the totally useless resonator (and installing a straight pipe in its place) and then having the two stock mufflers replaced with universal Dynomax Super Turbo mufflers (part no. 17734). The exhaust sound is mellow at idle and aggressive at acceleration.

[Blake Noble]

The addition of a V8 and a new grille on this car is akin to putting lotion on a crocodile.

[regfootball]

Here's a PEACH LaCrosse super available for purchase...less than 30k miles.

 

http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtml?endYear=2017&zip=55379&listingType=used&listingTypes=used&showcaseListingId=0&mmt=%5BBUICK%5BLACROSSE%5B%5D%5D%5B%5D%5D&modelCode1=LACROSSE&sortBy=derivedpriceASC&showcaseOwnerId=0&startYear=1981&makeCode1=BUICK&firstRecord=0&maxMileage=30000&numRecords=100&searchRadius=0&listingId=431490675&Log=0

[El Kabong]

I remember building these things. Torque-steer central with that LS4. The Grand Prix version at least had the tires to try and balance the handling out. But the transaxles were basically being set up for failure.

Old GM: where the great and the goofy would collide at breakneck speed.

[Drew Dowdell]

That 5.3 thooo.... As long as you weren't trying to race it and just wanted the feel of a V8, I'm sure it was just the ticket.

 

FWIW, even my 3.4 DOHC with 215 lb-ft of torque would torque steer, but even that car was fun and went like snot.

[hyperv6]

The Transmission even with no racing were very limited. GM did suffer many failures in all the FWD 5.3 models. 

The only thing that made them live as long as they did was the engine managment. This really cut the true performance of the car. 

I know people who had the transmissions rebuilt and up graded to take more punishment and removed some of the engine management and these things could really run. Too bad it was FWD and struggled to hook up.