Cananopie

That's a good point. However 17" rims coming standard for the CX would be a massive improvement over 16". I don't believe the CX should be rolling around on dubs or anything, one more inch to stay slightly ahead of the competition would be good. Then 18" or 19" rims would be a good standard for the CXL and most CXS's... but the option for 20" rims should come on a sportier Lucerne that should be coming up when it's time for a refresh, like the Lucerne Ultra. Obviously this Lucerne would be a little more sporty than the CXS and people will expect the ride quality to be down some for the added sport. I know that it wasn't long ago that you could easily find 14" rims on your car but larger rims are the in-thing now and many younger people, even if they can't afford it, will respect a vehicle with larger rims. Nobody even uses 15" rims really anymore so leave the 16" and below for base Saturns and Pontiacs and Chevys. They're the cheaper brands and they have to sacrifice on some things like that. Buick shouldn't even offer hubcaps anymore, even a boring bland rim is better than a hubcap. Buick needs its image to be a little more upscale and the wheels alone could bring massive improvement. Buick wouldn't need this so bad if they still weren't trying to attract younger buyers. But they need to make the effort where people will notice.

The thing is almost all of these companies don't have a slipping image with the public. They can get lazy and people will buy them anyway. 16 inch rims only hurt Buick's image now. Rim size alone have brought the look of Nissan current and new looking though they have a lot better design too. Nobody ever wants 16 inch rims for their car so why offer them? They might be cheaper but people need to look twice at Buick again and larger rims ALWAYS get the younger crowds looking.

Yea, it is a good Q&A, Buick should have more of these... and yea, totally, what is in store for Buick- seriously.

A famous person standing by and occasionally driving your car does little to nothing for sales. I have yet to meet the person who says "I'm buy this car because ____ advertises for it" Everyone knows he gets paid ridiculous amounts of money for it. Let him stick to being Nike's sponser and put that advertisement money spent on Tiger in places where people actually care. The Buick website could use a LOT of improvement. So could almost all car websites. As I said- a PICTURE of a car with each color you wouldn't expect to be a huge deal but I have yet to see them. All we see are those lame splash colors thrown on it like it gives an accurate presentation. Advertising on a more variety of stations would be better too.

Can't help but say These would make great Oldsmobiles...

I'm glad he responded, that's really cool! But aside from him mentioning we're ahead of Audi twice the article does come across as written by one of my high school students writing a persuasive essay. He doesn't make it sound too convincing and it's not that he can't, it's just that he didn't take the time on the article he should've. If people really wanted to see a combat article of the Times that one seems weak. But at least he did a response. I'm not like genuinely upset at the article, just seeing room for improvement.

Agreed.

Oh boy. No need to go in to this again.

I wish my quotes worked too Dodgefan I honestly don't know why they dont. My point is you can write an article focusing on the negative things, positive things, or be objective about it and giving an opinion at the end. It's more than obvious that Edmunds in the CXL review took the car and looked at it in a negative form. There are plenty of reasons for this car to exist considering the LeSabre was the best selling fullsize sedan for X years running, I don't know exactly the amount of years... but obviously what Buick makes there are thousands of people who want it. The sales are already proving this article wrong and many other reviewers have PRAISED the CXL V8 and actually call it a deal... the fact is this article makes no mention of anything positive about this car and if they do they keep it to 1 sentence long... that is just poor journalism. Objective and respectable points of view are what people expect to see. This was a Buick mocking session and it is most definitely undeserved.

I have thought about this exact thing many times before. I have thought, "Am I just not liking this review because I'm a Buick fan or because they are being completely unfair about this?" I've learned to do this with every article because it's important to know what I'm reacting to. So when I started being upset at this article I thought about why- because I'm a die-hard Buick fan or because this article is really unfair? I determined that the article really had an unfair aspect because: a test drive entails a judgement-free or "fair" look at a vehicle even if the journalist isn't a fan of the company. This is why people test drive vehicles and publish them- if people wanted a magazine or website that wrote comedy about cars they'd go there. People come to Edmunds for a fair objective review. So it is fair to expect a fair and objective reviewer behind the wheel. NOW- it is important to note that a person can still have a pre-disposed feeling on a company and not be a fan of it. Most people do not get in to car testing to review full sized sedans. But just like a teacher still has to grade a child on their work FAIRLY even if the teacher doesn't like the child because of his attitude/whatever a journalist should review a company they don't like but still treat it fairly. A fair objective review entails a look at the positives and a look at the negatives and a final assessment by the journalist where their opinion comes more heavily in to play and even bring in WHY you don't like the company and say why this vehicle doesn't change their prejudice. Now, with this in mind let's look at the title: Okay. Well this might be acceptible if it really is, let's read on. Not only is the title something negative but so is their first sentence about the car is negative... I'm still waiting for the fair and objective part. Oh- plus- They tell you the Lucerne gave them physical pain but they do not tell you HOW until you glance over how Buick is one of the few vehicles that offer both heated and cooled seats and making it a point to almost forget about the cooled part before they compare sitting in the heated seats to an "open flame" while someone asked to "call the burn unit" and finish the section off explaining this is just the tip of the iceburg on whats awful about the car. Objective so far? Hardly. We are still waiting on the first POSITIVE thing to be said about the car while going on far too long about the temperature of the heated seats. The next sections title? Well that looks objective to me... oh yea... also that should be the #1 thing you're looking for in a full sized family sedan. Only we don't get in to the awful performance until our title has its answer- A completely rebodied Cadillac DTS with a few grand shaved off. They go as far to say it's basically from a late 90s Deville. Yea- it rides on the same platform but this is a moot point when any other company shares platforms and they don't look anymore different than the DTS and the Lucerne. Dodge Charger gets an almost identical look to the 300C and they put "Editors Most Wanted" on that... as opposed to a title stating "Dodge essentially rebuilds Chrysler 300" That should never be a title. So what- they use the same playform and ergo share some of the same parts... like ALL companies. Now Buick gets the Northstar and all of a sudden it's Mind you we are still waiting for the first compliment of the vehicle as all articles should have. Also they continue to throw mocking tones in with the article as well: Okay Okay! Finally! Something that finally might be considered a compliment! Perhaps they stopped mocking the car for a second! Hey! That almost sounded objective! Too bad in order to be objective you shouldn't throw a "but" after some of the things you truly like about the vehicle... Remember- we're talking about a fullsized family sedan here. Nobody is expecting a Buick Corvette when they buy this car but... ...Um... who was leading us in that direction? The Lucerne, being a fullsized family sedan is expected to be powerful, yea, because it needs to carry a family, vacation supplies, and its own large frame. Is it supposed to win on the dragstrip on Friday nights? No. Sorry Edmunds, Buick made this car for families... not for hot-rod bankers? This is an unfair statement to the 3800 engine. It picks up very quick, once again, it's not a sport coupe but a family sedan. The 0-60 times for the 3800 are not shameful but, once again, they're not for the dragstrip... families shouldn't be getting in drag races Edmunds, they have important family business to attend to. But I suppose we have to let you run your course of bashing before you go on to whats actually important. In the video they explain how they tested the speed and agility of the Hyundai Azera and how it was so much better than the Lucerne. Of course they decided not to take in to account that the vehicle is almost a foot longer than it! And MAGICALLY you skimmed the article until you found the ONE decent thing said about the car without any "buts" to say how it hardly compares to another vehicle. Yea- you got it. They said 1 thing nice... that is well on our way to STARTING an objective opinion. However that does not constitute this whole article of bashing which continues that I don't think I need to do to prove my point. Like I said if people wanted to read a joke magazine or website thats where they'd go, but Edmunds CLAIMS to be objective and fair but this article is, beyond a doubt, a "hating on" of Buick. The things they do enjoy they go in to NO depth about them while things like the seat warmers we get to hear a couple paragraphs about. In conclusion it's very easy to skew an article so it looks objective but it isn't. And sometimes it might confuse people in to thinking it is and I can understand where your confusion came in because Edmunds SHOULD be a reliable source for information and Edmunds did say a couple of nice things about the car. However when you label your titles negatively, your sub-headings negatively, and spend most of your time thinking of creative ways to say how horrible something is then it isn't an objective article.

You dug this topic out of the grave to say that??

An aftermarket DVD player can only come that way. You know it doesn't have to stay open all the time and you can close it and it folds in the the dash once you're all set with it, right? It only stays sticking out for as long as you want it to be so it really isn't that inconvenient. Obviously one built in to the dash would be nicer but unless you can figure out a way to reconstruct the dash getting that multimedia option is the only way. My brother has one in his Park Avenue and it definitely looks really cool to see a TV screen come folding up and out of the dash and it's never been inconvenient for him either.

I think it looks great and will give Buick a lot more credibility at being not so old-man-ish. Edmunds ALMOST went the full article without throwing a low blow in there, but they had to get the last word in.

That is a very attractive Bonne

I just realized I've been a part of C%G since about 2 site crashes ago and I've never once posted pictures of my car except for in an older signature. This is my 2000 Buick Regal LSE... It is 2 items away from being the Regal I'd be completely happy with. #1 is the color is green instead of the preferred black and #2 is that it is alas an LSE as opposed to the GSE. That supercharged Buick engine is something I've always dreamed of being able to afford. Considering I'm a 22 y/o broke as Hell college student (well that is until May 4th when I finally graduate!) I am quite pleased with it. Also my last car was a 2-door 1997 Buick Skylark Limited that I was very happy with owning aside from the 3100 engine. The 3100 engine does not have the same reliability as the 3800 considering 2 seperate engines started leaking within the short few years I owned this car... but I still loved it. My brothers old LeSabre and my old Skylark posing in a brotherly photo: I hope there weren't too many pictures, I didn't know which ones to get rid of.

Honestly there is something I agree with there. I enjoy driving my Regal because I know that it really is a different car to notice on the road. It is unique enough that it isn't something most people will see twice in a day, especially a Regal with a spoiler and the chrome rims which look miles better than the Regals with the hubcaps and no spoiler that resemble the Century all too well. But Buick is on the balancing beam of being a large enough company to be selling in high volume so celebration for more Buick's out there is totally necessary. I honestly can look at my car and feel I got something unique which is a big deal to me. I felt the same with my 2 door '97 Skylark which was just one of 4,000 which compared to the Skylark sedan (yuck!) was 53,000. Uniqueness in a vehicle is something I definitely look for when I buy. But I don't think we need to be concerned about Buick getting as popular as the Camry anytime soon.

Real professional and objective Edmunds. Exactly how I like my articles.

Yea, no kidding. I'm not trying to sound too cocky here but they pay that guy millions (right?) to stand by this car and carry a Buick bag and once and a while drive a car... and really I personally could make Buick a lot more noticeable and looked at with that money. It's like advertising is such a game that they don't think what makes most sense. Yea- the Buick Open is a good idea... but if you need younger buyers you need your commercials on football games and hockey games too because that is where the younger viewers are. You don't need a celebrity for a spokesperson, it is perfectable able to have people like your product without someone famous standing around or using your product. It's opening up to all different audiences. It's finding the newest and most innovative ways to advertise that get people engaged and interested. Simple things like on the website even having actual pictures of cars with all available colors... with millions of dollars you could make this possible very easily with all the perfect lighting and everything. Or even a picture of it at night and at noon and at dusk or dawn. And they'd be one of the first (maybe only) companies to do that. Everybody hates seeing the fake color on the standardize car. All of the lighting, stances, and photographs could be taken from the exact same as the previous car so that each car would be as real as possible. What would be even better is if they had real pictures of each color in all those stances with each of the different sets of rims offered that year. Sure- it'd be a pretty big undertaking but it shouldn't take more than a week and a few grand. You only need the cars for some photographs then they can be sold. This turned in to something way longer than I thought it would and it's pretty off-topic but I just don't understand how they can justify spending the money they do on Tiger. He's a good guy and all but... come on... that money could be spent so much better.

Good call BuickEight Though this article hits on a few key points it seems to be missing the point... This tailspin didn't necessarily come from the lack of styling and quality within Buick or other GM brands (considering the quality of Buick is higher than the quality of Toyota, totally see my signature for that one). It simply came when the gas shortage hit and GM and the other domestic brands were not prepared for that to happen... this gave the edge to the foreign gas-sipping brands while these unwieldy American behemoths tried their damndest to create the same thing. But it took time for them to do it and hence they started eating up more of the market. So having a handful of brands became harder to sell because the freedom wasn't there anymore. GM could never had forseen them to lose so much market in about 50 years time and those who are collecting retirement off of GM's most prosperous years are sucking GM dry... despite their product. It's not necessarily any brand, person, or departments fault. Surely it could have been handled better but hindsight is always 20/20. And I'm willing to call bull$h! on Buick STILL having the oldest brand out there. The average buyer being 69 has to be almost 5 years old now because the average age can't be stagnant year after year, it's got to either go up or down and in 2000 I can see the average Buick buyer being old considering they only sold 4 4-door sedans. The Rendezvous has probably crushed the average age down at LEAST a decade and the fact that this article doesn't even mention the extremely successful SUV is obnoxious. It's like this article should've been written about 4 or 5 years ago when Buick really didn't have any serious changes or positive aspects in mind. Also I enjoy how the article says Buick isn't relevant without actually coming out and saying it by quoting a GM official saying Buick is still "relevant" in quotes as that was necessary. If they want to pick on a brand that isn't relevant anymore they might want to go looking in Mercury's direction. Mercury is a luxury package option of Ford vehicles. It is arguable that Buick has far more relevance within GM than Pontiac seeing that Saturn is in encroaching on its territory. This article seems to put a lot of GM's problems on the shoulders of Buick. It's fairly obvious that the person who wrote this article didn't really research Buick too in depth. It failed to mention the Rendezvous or the Rainier while mentioning the Terraza like it was even Buick's decision to pick up the cookie-cutter minivan dished out by GM. However it did touch on the fact that Buick needs to make more exciting product so people will look at the brand again and i can't disagree with that. Hopefully this is starting out with the LaCrosse Super and hopefully there will be a Lucerne Super and REALLY hopefully there will be a flagship that conveys luxury, sport, and elegant design without 4 doors for once.

Right- exactly... like I said- I wouldn't expect it to happen but it'd be cool. Like even the 2 door LeSabres they offered in the late 80s and (maybe) early 90s were really nice compared to the 4 door ones. But the days of doing 2 door large vehicles are pretty much over.

I'd kill for a 2 door Lucerne with a more powerful engine. But nobody likes large 2 door vehicles anymore. I'd probably be the only one in line to get it.

It's not that I don't agree with you, because I do believe Pontiac is slowly being swept under the rug but... listen to what you're saying. It sounds like you want Pontiac to be the "import fighter" in the sense that you want GM to make a youth oriented brand that is competable with modern day popular youth oriented brands, something like Scion or even Mistubishi or Honda since all the vehicles are to be so small. But what was Saturn's job for the last decade? What was Oldsmobile's job before they went under? If GM wants to be fully prepared to make a TRUE youth-oriented division that is fully competable with the current popular youth-oriented brands (and with a brand like Scion with the xB I know there can be improvement on style and sport since their engines would probably have a hard time powering a Shop-Vac) but GM needs to be prepared to put a LOT of money in to changing Pontiac's image to something way more sportier and youth-y than it already is. The Solstice is a great start but GM does not have the funds to keep up things like that considering their massive debt they're trying to recover from. I agree Pontiac needs to do something to survive because Saturn is totally overshadowing it. It's now become clear Buick NA and Buick China are going to streamline to save costs... and the idea that was said earlier about how it is almost essential to cut one of GM's big brands because they've lost too much of the market I am finding it harder and harder to find a place for Pontiac.

Just like the Rendezvous Ultra I think they'll keep the exterior styling changes limited to the LaCrosse Super... until the sales really start to decline, then they'll open the floodgates to the lower trim models to help boost sales temporarily. This is what they did with the Rendezvous Ultra how it was monocolored while all the lower trims had to have the tupperware along the bottom and near the end of its run (now) all Rendezvous trim levels can have a solid exterior color.

If the Chinese LaCrosse came over as the LaCrosse Super I'd never be able to defend it against its dull exterior design for a SUPER. The LaCrosse Super better DAMN well be more aggressive than the Maxima/Five-hundred that vehicle is trying to pull off. The LaCrosse Super needs to have a styling that is more unique than the LaCrosse in both America and in China. We are talking about a $35,000 vehicle here and I do NOT want Buick to go the way of Hyundai where the emulate other vehicle styles to get their sales up. It might be possible to make some half assed claim that the current LaCrosse is totally styled after Lexus because of the lights or something, but it's definitely it's own vehicle, albeit conservatively styled and lacking the proper excitement that hopefully the Super will instill. The reviews on the Chinese LaCrosse, if it were sold in America would be a merciless mocking of lack of innovation in style. It's not just conservative in its styling it's also a copy-cat of other vehicles. The only thing that is definitely outstanding about the Chinese LaCrosse is the interior which does supercede the American LaCrosse.

What was the Lucerne Super like Stoops? And you got to give some credit to this article because this comes right from the Buick spokesperson so it does make it more official than our past surmising. And even though the year it'll be released is still shady we can pretty much surmise that the year is 07. The point is the car is official. I hope the interior excedes the Chinese LaCrosse.