2010 Buick Allure (LaCrosse) in person

[!!!TED!!!]

GM is having a test drive event at the annual CHIN International Picnic in Toronto.

One of the cars featured is the new 2010 Buick Allure (aka LaCrosse).

I checked it out on Friday (the event wasn't open, so there was no one there, and no driving).

VIDEO:

*NEW*

INTERIOR VIDEO:

ALLURE AND CTS WAGON VIDEO:

PICS:

[!!!TED!!!]

[!!!TED!!!]

[FAPTurbo]

Now that's everything a Buick in 2009 should be. Nice pictures!

[!!!TED!!!]

Now that's everything a Buick in 2009 should be. Nice pictures!

Thanks!

Its interesting to note they chose to do hidden exhaust instead of the cool chrome ports as shown earlier.

[Oracle of Delphi]

Psssst, I'll let you in on a secret, don't tell Camino, but I love EP IIs ...

[ZL-1]

Why did Buick do a car I like? Where do I take my 'geriatric-mobile' prejudice now?

[A Horse With No Name]

Personally I like everything but the dashboard....

I do really like what they did at the front of the car with the foglights.

Chris

[Lucerne06]

I am sure this is an old old question but....... Why did they choose to name the car one thing in Canada and another in the US?

[ZL-1]

I am sure this is an old old question but....... Why did they choose to name the car one thing in Canada and another in the US?

Because IIRC in Canada (or in some parts of Canada, not sure) 'lacrosse' is a slang term for masturbation.

[cire]

Because IIRC in Canada (or in some parts of Canada, not sure) 'lacrosse' is a slang term for masturbation.

You think that fact alone would have convinced GM to drop the LaCrosse name for this car. I would have simply resurrected the "LeSabre" name for this car (although using the "Invicta" name from the concept version would have been totally acceptable and logical too).

I'm a little disappointed that the exhaust ports have gone away. They made a beautiful car look even cooler.

Nice pictures! Thanks for posting them.

[Oracle of Delphi]

Because IIRC in Canada (or in some parts of Canada, not sure) 'lacrosse' is a slang term for masturbation.

See, I think that sounds very masculine, so GM should have used it on a GMC model, behold the GMC Masturbater ...

[vonVeezelsnider]

The Plood in that car is no better than the Plood in a W-Impala. The DTS plood from 2008+ outclasses that.

[ZL-1]

You think that fact alone would have convinced GM to drop the LaCrosse name for this car. I would have simply resurrected the "LeSabre" name for this car (although using the "Invicta" name from the concept version would have been totally acceptable and logical too).

I would have picked Invicta.

See, I think that sounds very masculine, so GM should have used it on a GMC model, behold the GMC Masturbater ...

Having a GMC and only using it to drive to and from the office is enough penis-extension/masturbation.

[regfootball]

cheap

interior

plastic

[pow]

It looks so porky and contrived next to that sleek silver CTS.

[!!!TED!!!]

cheap

interior

plastic

not

even

true

I sat in it just a few minutes ago! GM has a mall tour, and was at Sherway Gardens (big local mall) today. No test drive event, but they had a (base?) silver Allure, red CTS wagon (!!!) and a Traverse.

They were just wrapping up, and the cars were locked, but the rep let me take a peek. He said the CTS wagon was being shown for the first time in Toronto, and before 3 days ago, he had never seen one in person.

INTERIOR VIDEO:

ALLURE AND CTS WAGON VIDEO:

Interior is soft touch and very well put together!

PICS:

[pow]

Okay, I hope we get the Insignia. OPC, especially.

[ocnblu]

Ted, I have to ask because this is just the first in a loooong line of Epsilon II-platform cars: how does it look proportionally? It appears to give a high and narrow vibe in the photos, as opposed to low and narrow in the case of the Epsilon Malibu. Does it have a nice stance?

[smk4565]

It does look like it has some cheap interior plastic. I am not a fan of the center console, it is too angled and too many layers stacked on top of each other. Plus the wood looks fake. The Taurus is nicer.

[longtooth]

Engine blocks, heads, wheels. Where does all of that aluminum come from?

[ocnblu]

beer cans

[Intrepidation]

Hey look at me, I can also make judgments on materials without actually sitting inside.

[regfootball]

how many million of that same steering wheel will we see? at least its nice.

well, we'll have to make final judgment upon sitting in one, but the pictures seem to indicate shiny less than beautiful plastics, as i recall seeing of this car at the autoshow.

smk is right, the new taurus, may end up being better inside. i sat in a new 010 taurus limited a couple weeks ago and the bar is very high. its really nice inside. i hope the material quality doesn't let down the design.....as is very frequent in GM cars.

[regfootball]

by the way are those wheelcovers on it or those cheesy steel wheels GM is trying to foist on all their cars now?

[!!!TED!!!]

Ted, I have to ask because this is just the first in a loooong line of Epsilon II-platform cars: how does it look proportionally? It appears to give a high and narrow vibe in the photos, as opposed to low and narrow in the case of the Epsilon Malibu. Does it have a nice stance?

High and narrow would be my verdict too.

The details are cool, but only when viewed from certain angles.

For instance, the front of the car looks menacing and sleek when seen from above:

...but rather bloated and plain from a lower angle:

From the side, and maybe because of the relatively short front overhang, it looks rather fat. The beltline is essentially the sweepspear. The body to greenhouse proportions are very skewed. The body appears very massive compared to the upper area.:

My favorite angle is a lower 3/4 shot from behind. Its such a shame that the exhaust outlets have been deleted. They would have broken up some of that rather plain bumper:

I get what the designers were going for. A fat-cat big Buick. And if you follow that logic, they succeeded.

[Intrepidation]

My favorite angle is a lower 3/4 shot from behind. Its such a shame that the exhaust outlets have been deleted. They would have broken up some of that rather plain bumper:

My thoughts exactly. Is that just for Allures or do LaCrosses suffer from that too?

[!!!TED!!!]

It does look like it has some cheap interior plastic. I am not a fan of the center console, it is too angled and too many layers stacked on top of each other. Plus the wood looks fake. The Taurus is nicer.

I'v yet to sit in a 2010 Taurus, so I can't compare.

The whole upper dash is cut and sew, and soft to the touch (see the vid where I press down on the dash). Lower areas are plastic, bit its of good quality from my brief experience. Nothing like, say, a Cobalt.

[Intrepidation]

Well they're shown here:

[!!!TED!!!]

by the way are those wheelcovers on it or those cheesy steel wheels GM is trying to foist on all their cars now?

Honest to goodness wheelcovers!

This was a CX model. The first time I have seen wheelcovers on an Allure.

http://www.egmcartech.com/2009/04/29/2010-...-for-canada-eh/

Pricing starts at $32,745 for the 2010 Allure CX FWD

Thats alot of money for hubcaps.

[Intrepidation]

[!!!TED!!!]

All the press photos show the exhaust cuttouts, but every Allure I have seen did not have them. Im not too sure whats going on.

The one shown at the Quebec autoshow in January, a CXL, did not have them either. I had to go back and look through my pics...

Neither did the one in Toronto in February:

Cost cutting?

Oh yeah, BTW...the Allure has amber rear turn signals. They are amber bulbs in white lenses by the reverse lamps. Did not know that. Thought it was interesting in light of the recent NHTSA proposal.

[Satty]

Engine blocks, heads, wheels. Where does all of that aluminum come from?

Aluminum Fairy

[Lucerne06]

Because IIRC in Canada (or in some parts of Canada, not sure) 'lacrosse' is a slang term for masturbation.

Then why not call it Allure in the US???

[PONTIAC06]

I honestly believe there should not be a CX model of this car. The wheel covers look horendous. Also, I think that the radio display looks terrible. They should have put a color display there whether or not it has GPS. The G8 has two different display options that are nicer than that, and it doesn't even offer nav...

And I never noticed the hidden exhaust before...not a deal breaker by any means, but it looked nicer with the integrated exhaust

[!!!TED!!!]

Here are some new videos (from GM) from June 22.

2010 Buick LaCrosse eVent

A must-watch for LaCrosse fans.

New driving footage, and no exhaust ports.

[pow]

At $28K US with wheelcovers and cloth wheels, I think it's going to be a hard sell. For that price you could get a roomier, better looking, and more efficient Taurus SEL.

With the four-cylinder CX model coming, this is looking more like a slightly more premium alternative to the Malibu than a luxury-oriented alternative to the CTS.

[Robert Hall]

Haven't seen one in person, but what I've noticed from the pics, esp. ones with people standing next to it, is how high the front fender top edge is, reminds me of the Ford Five Hundred/Taurus/etc.... I stood beside one of those on a lot, seems quite tall. Definitely quite a departure from lower, longer wider of Buicks of yore.

[regfootball]

i suppose a milan hybrid could be had for a lacrosse+plastic wheelcovers price. i know a fusion sport or loaded SEL fusion, for sure.

a loaded hyundai sonata for like 20 g OTD with big warranty stacks up nicely to this also.

i love domestic brand cars but they are not quite getting it with MSRP pricing anymore lately. i guess that's why they say 'the incentives are built in to the price'.

Edited July 6, 2009 by regfootball

[Camino LS6]

Bloated and japanese-looking, with a dash of Saturn.

Ugly.

[Paolino]

I'm so confused why GM would take a step back. I mean, the 2009 LaCrosse had alloy wheels and dual zone climate control standard... the 2010 does not.

TED, you mentioned you saw a CX... did you sit inside? How was the cloth fabric?

[Robert Hall]

I'm so confused why GM would take a step back. I mean, the 2009 LaCrosse had alloy wheels and dual zone climate control standard... the 2010 does not.

I guess GM decided they needed a cheaper filler model to take the place of the G6 and Aura above the Malibu, maybe for fleets? Buick has to now bridge the gap between Chevy and Buick that Pontiac and Saturn previously filled.

Edited July 6, 2009 by Cubical-aka-Moltar

[smk4565]

Nothing surprises me about where this car is positioned or how it is equipped or priced. Buick relies on the 65+ crowd for sedan sales, and they need a car that isn't too expensive that retirees can afford. The Century filled that role, and base model LeSabre to a degree, then the base LaCrosse from 2005, and now this. They had to keep the car affordable, yet keep it above the Malibu, so $27,000 was the logical price. Thus it is an Avalon, Taurus, Azera competitor, not a luxury car. Once the 4-cylinder LaCrosse arrives, I wouldn't be surprised to see a $25,000 model, which could end up being a fleet queen.

[regfootball]

hard to say you're marketing to youth when you still sell the wheelcovers to the same blue hairs you are trying to pretend you don't want to buy your cars.....

[!!!TED!!!]

TED, you mentioned you saw a CX... did you sit inside? How was the cloth fabric?

The CX was the car at the mall. And yes, I did sit inside that one.

The seats were soft.

->

[Intrepidation]

They should just lower the price of the Lucerne for the old farts to enjoy with it's old tech if they want to be cheap.

[Lucerne06]

They should just lower the price of the Lucerne for the old farts to enjoy with it's old tech if they want to be cheap.

Some day YOU will be an OLD FART!

[pow]

They should just lower the price of the Lucerne for the old farts to enjoy with it's old tech if they want to be cheap.

This LaCrosse replaces the Lucerne as the old farts' car; it'll have a difficult time attracting anyone under 40, IMO.

The new Astra, Insignia, the Buickized VUE Hybrid... those cars may have a better time.

[InvictaMan]

Nothing surprises me about where this car is positioned or how it is equipped or priced.

Considering that Buick currently only has three models to market, and they are all considered to be their top end, it makes good sense for them to market them as "something for everyone" based on content. I think you will see this change when the Regal and compact entry level models come along.

[smk4565]

Considering that Buick currently only has three models to market, and they are all considered to be their top end, it makes good sense for them to market them as "something for everyone" based on content. I think you will see this change when the Regal and compact entry level models come along.

So the Lucerne dies, and a Regal and Delta II sedan come in priced below the $27,000 LaCrosse, and Buick then has three $20 something sedans, and is moving down market from where they are now. But I suppose that opens the door for the coming front drive Cadillacs that will be sold in the $35-40k price range and Cadillac will compete with Lincoln and low end Lexus, Buick will compete with Mercury. So nothing has improved for Buick or Cadillac in the past 15-20 years.

Edited July 6, 2009 by smk4565