Buick Lucerne: A home run?

[Jesda]

http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/...-lucerne_x.htm

[FSU_Noles]

Saw a CXS model on the road the other day and was quite impressed. It really does look better in person. As for looking better than the DTS, I guess that is a matter of opinion but I would definitely jump in one of these Buick's before looking at a Toyota.

This writer must be an outcast, or will be soon, as he has spoke ill of the holy grail car manufacturer that Toyota has seem to have become -- next someone will say something bad about Honda

To properly regard Lucerne, we need to address three prejudices.
• Detroit models have inferior quality.
Get over that one, folks, especially in this case. Buick outscores Toyota, Honda and some other highly regarded brands in J.D. Power and Associates' surveys.
Power's 2005 tally of things gone wrong the first 90 days of ownership showed the Buick brand was fourth, behind Lexus, Jaguar and BMW and ahead of Cadillac, Mercedes-Benz and Toyota.
Buick also places fourth in Power's 2005 study of problems with 3-year-old vehicles behind Lexus, Porsche and Lincoln.


• Toyota can do no wrong.
Get over that one, too. The 2005 Avalon was recalled last year, its first on the market, because somebody forgot to weld the steering mechanism together on some cars, meaning the driver might not be able to steer, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The auto industry, in its frenzy of cost-cutting that's become corner-cutting, has sunk back into the first-year bugs of the old days, so Lucerne could have some teething problems, too. So far, though, NHTSA files show no complaints, investigations or recalls involving Lucerne, on sale since October.

[Elvis]

Very nice article. Good to read something positive about ANY GM model.

I like the Lucerne a little better every time I see one. If I were in the market for a sedan right now, that would be my first visit. I'd much rather have a Lucerne than a CTS or STS. But I'd probably buy a leftover 2005 DeVille.

[Caddy Man]

Lucerne looks great!...and for the price, you CANT go wrong!

[bobkat]

Yeah the Lucerne is a real looker, that's for sure. I was impressed the first time I saw one. However, early reports say it is destined to become Buick's "chick-mobile" -- so watch out guys !!!

[nickc50310]

Looks nice but I would much rather have my CTS.

[Night Wolf]

Nice.

Look at the pictures... it really is a sweet car.

And, it still way cool to see the 3800 living on as the base engine... I thought GM was killing it... long live the 3800!

[slk230mb]

I like them. Seeing them on the road, they look much more appealing. Glad to see GM got one model right.

[noahsdad]

Hooray for James Healy and USA Today! It's about time the American press recognized that quality is no longer exclusive to the Japanese.

Go drive a Lucerne - it's a masterpiece.

[elwesso]

You know what comes to mind... Back when this forum was just starting, Sal posted an article that said that Buick was trying to compete against Lexus.. I said, sal your crazy... I think they are really doing a great job..

Last summer I drove a lacrosse, and damn, that was a nice car for the money.. We drove a decently equipped one and it was cheaper than the grand prix we had just bought...

For the money, I would rather have a buick lucerne than a G35 sedan, Lexus GS, and so on... Of course the fanboys will be brand loyal, but the general public is not stupid, if a car is really good people will want it..... The G35 is what saved Infiniti, IMO.

Putting in the V8 was a great idea, because it offers power that no one else in the segment has... What GM needs to do, is go for a 5 speed auto, and not the old 4 speed, granted, a bulletproof trans.

[Zorb750]

Originally Posted by Night Wolf

Nice.

Look at the pictures... it really is a sweet car.

And, it still way cool to see the 3800 living on as the base engine... I thought GM was killing it... long live the 3800!

Long live - until 2007. Why they designed a car using an engine destined to be discontinued... Why they didn't just put the 3.6 in it...

The 3.8 is a decent engine, definitely more refined and powerful than that POS 3.4 GM uses so much now. Noisy snarly piece of junk.

[I~LUV~Caddys8792]

I definetly think it's a big improvement over the Park Avenues, which were really, pretty good cars also. While it's not as solid as the last V8 powered Buick (Roadmaster) it's much more modern, and refined. It's got almost all of the accessories and goodies that the DTS has at $10,000 less.

Even though it's got the N*, it's still not as quick to 60 as the V6 powered Passat, Avalon and its just about as quick as the new Hyundai Azera. I'm confused about that. It's got just as much hp, and more torque than any of those those others. Does it weigh a lot more? It should be noticeably quicker.
And I'm not diggin that front end design too much, but those are my only two complaints

I think it is a home run!

[Night Wolf]

Originally Posted by elwesso

You know what comes to mind... Back when this forum was just starting, Sal posted an article that said that Buick was trying to compete against Lexus.. I said, sal your crazy... I think they are really doing a great job..

Last summer I drove a lacrosse, and damn, that was a nice car for the money.. We drove a decently equipped one and it was cheaper than the grand prix we had just bought...

For the money, I would rather have a buick lucerne than a G35 sedan, Lexus GS, and so on... Of course the fanboys will be brand loyal, but the general public is not stupid, if a car is really good people will want it..... The G35 is what saved Infiniti, IMO.

Putting in the V8 was a great idea, because it offers power that no one else in the segment has... What GM needs to do, is go for a 5 speed auto, and not the old 4 speed, granted, a bulletproof trans.

The Lacrosse scored "average" on all the car and driver stuff.... go figure.... Plus they compared it to the Avalon when it is a whole lot less..

the Lucrene OTOH... now its a nice car.

[Night Wolf]

http://www.car.ee/galleries/buick-lucerne/ee/

Now imagine if Oldsmobile was still around and got a version of this...

[I~LUV~Caddys8792]

Originally Posted by Night Wolf

Now imagine if Oldsmobile was still around and got a version of this...

I like to think of this as Buick's late version of the Aurora.