QUIKAG

As I mentioned quickly in another thread, I picked up a brand new Buick LaCrosse CXS (top trim level) with a whopping 15 miles on it as a rental car yesterday. I have it for the week up here in beautiful New Jersey (not).

Anyway, I am very surprised as to the apparent quality in this car. It stickers for about $29k, but with incentives and discounts, you can pick one up for low 20's. It has the 240hp 3.6L DOHC VVT motor, dual zone climate control, heated leather seats, 17 inch wheels and a very, very quiet interior. The ride is a tad firm, but I believe that is because the 3.6L motor comes teamed with the sport suspension. Of course, it's not THAT sporty.

Anyway, car is rock solid, interior is nicely laid out, motor pulls great and sounds good too. Exterior looks nice, though I'm not sure about the E class esqe front end.

Really, the only big downside I see in this car is the 4-speed automatic. It could use a nice 5 or 6 speed automatic to exploit the full powerband of this high revving motor. Either way, it still pulls good and gets 29mpg on the highway.

It's sad that GM is actually making some pretty nice cars now, but a lot of people wouldn't give them a second glance.

kadeshpa

Eaaaaasssssy with the New Jersey jokes buddy.

QUIKAG

Oops, thought I was posting this in the North Texas forum.

Too much snow in Jersey right now, though I will admit that parts of NJ are gorgeous. I'm next door to the GW bridge right now, so it's not exactly the prettiest part of NJ.

Chris Stack

What's wrong with that car?

A) Image
and
B) the name LaCrosse, in French-Canadian, means "to do the five knuckle shuffle"


My 78 y/o grandfather thinks Buicks are for old men. He drives a Grand Marquis.

Saki GT

I've got a Pontiac G6 for a rental tis week - its very nice, with a good sound system, nice heated seats, good ergonomics. The only down sides are the ridiculous torque steer and the huge cheap plastic dash, but its a nice car. GM has about 20 years of crappie product to work through though, which is why its rep is still tarnished. At least its making decent cars again though.

kadeshpa

Yeah but Chris, you've got to see this car in person. I saw it on the road and must say it has quite a presence. It looks good. I know they have a bad stereotype to get over, but with more cars like this, it shouldn't be too difficult.

And yes, get rid of the name, give it an Alpha-numeric designation instead.

Chris Stack

[QUOTE=kadeshpa,Feb 14 2006, 07:49 AM]Yeah but Chris, you've got to see this car in person.

QUIKAG

I completely agree, chris.. If you can get past the brand image, Buick is making some great cars now. The Enclave looks to be one of the nicest crossovers concepts period. They need to get that model to production fast. The Lucerne looks okay, the LaCrosse is pretty nice looking and as previously mentioned, drives great.

I just turned 29 and I'm outside of the demographic, but in a few years, I could probably care less if I had to buy a family sedan, I would certainly give Buick a shot to get my business, especially if I could get a LaCrosse CXS for similiar money to a loaded 4 banger version of the Camry or Accord.

Chris Stack

Problem is, GM can't survive selling entry-level luxury cars that sticker for $30k for 4cyl Accord prices.

It may be a good deal for us, but it isn't for GM and they can't continue doing business like that.

QUIKAG

Good point. I guess if I had to pay close to the $30k asking price, I'd have a fairly hard time taking it over an Accord EX V6, new 260+hp Camry V6, etc.