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Automotive News & Views The Rebirth of Buick.........
420 messages, Last post on Nov 27, 2009 at 9:47 AM
You are in the Automotive News & Views Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & claires
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Replying to: lemko (Sep 25, 2008 9:49 am) |
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Replying to: lemko (Sep 25, 2008 9:49 am) I, like steve, had a Lacrosse as a rental. I begged them for something smaller (which was what my reservation called for), but they said it was all they had left. I found it to be exactly as the rep led me to believe: somewhat plusher than say your average Accord, a rolling sofa in every sense of the word, almost totally disconnected from the road. I would be willing to bet this car has stolen more than a few Camry V-6 sales. But Camry is certainly NOT a premium car, Toyota is not a premium brand, and Lacrosse is holding back Buick from its future IMO. Oh and BTW, why would anyone who dislikes the Lacrosse own one? (Funny how the people bashing the LaCrosse don't even drive one)  I avoid large cars as much as possible, but even if I didn't I have had better drives in the current Taurus and Charger (although the Charger is IMPOSSIBLY cheap inside) than that Lacrosse. The Avalon is pretty nice too, although in that one I have only been a passenger, not a driver. I don't rent very often, but I imagine one of these days I will get an Impala for a straight-across comparison between two of GM's large cars.
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Replying to: nippononly (Sep 25, 2008 8:14 am) The current Audi A8 has an aluminum frame, which should make it lighter weight. But the A8 weighs 4300+ lbs, is smaller than the DTS, which weighs 4000 lbs. |
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Replying to: nippononly (Sep 25, 2008 10:06 am) |
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Replying to: nippononly (Sep 24, 2008 6:21 pm) 750 lbs of extra weight isn't a positive, it's a byproduct of being able to fit 6 adults comfortably instead of 5, and having an extra 2.5 cubic feet of luggage space, and the bigger engine to lug it around. My point is that in relation to other cars, the fuel economy is comparable. |
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What got me to start this thread was the comments seen in an autoblog story: http://www.autoblog.com/2008/09/19/spy-shotss-2010-buick-lacrosse-little-camo-pl- - us-interior/ Check out some of the comments, as this is probably 95% of what we'll see in a year when it goes on sale. Compare these comments to what we are saying about the current Lacrosse. Again, if, IF it is GM's intention to "marry" Buick's styling and engineering with that of the Chinese Buick, much in the way they have done with Opel and Saturn, and Holden and Pontiac, AND the comments on the finished product are as positive as they were with the CTS and Malibu, then COULD we be seeing the rebirth of Buick???? |
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| They are extremely comfortable and quiet. I paid 25% of original sticker for the used one I have now, back when it was 8 yrs old. I've driven it 80,000 miles in a little over 4 years. It has never been to anybody for a repair or part except the tire store. It has a few things wrong at 12 years and 168k miles, but It remains so solid and dependable. Great agility for 3650 lb car. Once I had to instantly swap lanes at 60 mph and it's agility really suprised me. The doors are 5' long and weigh 300 lbs each. Tough to reach out to grab them to close them. I couldn't believe it when I read that the new Camaro with a smaller 3.5 V6 would be 50 lbs heavier. Hard to imagine a '95 designed 3800 pushrod can even compete in '08. | |
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Replying to: cooterbfd (Sep 25, 2008 4:05 pm) Well OK, but I was responding to your comment that you took 2 adults and 2 kids (1 pre-teen) on a comfortable trip. That's a total of 4, not all adults. I was kinda saying that the Accord or any other midsize car would have served mostly as well without the extra weight. But I am curious: is this the market Buick is chasing? How many folks here have had six adults in their car for a trip of any length more than a half hour in, say, the last year? Ever? If we are hitting the reset then I want to hear from the Buick owners and ardent fans: what IS Buick? What is its mission statement, the thing(s) that set it apart from other car brands, especially other GM brands? Because GM already has Chevy, which is a full line of cars, crossovers, and trucks. It seems to me it doesn't matter how great the next Lacrosse is. The current one is a decent value, yet it doesn't sell well. Buick sells so poorly it is hanging on the edge of the precipice of death. Very few buyers are seeking out Buicks. I have lost all the Buick dealers in a 30-mile radius to bankruptcy in the last ten years - I have to cross two county lines now just to LOOK at a Buick. If it can't set itself apart in a major, significant, easy-to-see way, I don't see how Buick will be reborn. PS wasn't it ALREADY reborn with the arrival at almost the same time of all three models: Enclave, Lacrosse, Lucerne? It was out with the old, in with the new. Yet that accomplished nothing - sales continued to drop.
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Replying to: nippononly (Sep 25, 2008 8:28 pm) 1) The Lacrosse and Lucerne are warmed over versions of old platforms. I think people realize this. Not to mention, look at the criticizims of them-for stodgy old people, looks like a Taurus. 2) Enclave: new model, and all I see driving them are women in there 30's and 40's, not old people. That's a good thing. 3) What is (or should be) Buick?? Understated luxury, just a notch below Cadillac. |
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Replying to: nippononly (Sep 25, 2008 8:28 pm) Interesting observation. In my case, the last time I crammed 6 people into a car, it was my 1989 Gran Fury, so that would put it oh, summer of 1999? It was probably only for like 20-30 mins, though. I guess some people might look at the ability to squeeze 6 adults into a car as an advantage. However, when it comes to being able to hold 6 adults in COMFORT, each of us is going to have our own definitions and standards. And by my standard, no car made has been able to do that since perhaps 1979, when the last mastodon-class car, the Lincoln Continental coupe and sedan, played out their last song. Once cars started downsizing, even if they kept similar dimensions in shoulder room and even managed to improve headroom and legroom, other things changed. Seats often got thinner. The transmission and driveshaft humps got larger. The dashboards started intruding more into the passenger area. Less foot room under the seat for back seat passengers. The rear wheel wells started intruding into the passenger cabin, forcing the back seat to wrap inward at the edges. Plus, once stuff like center armrests and split front seats became popular, they'd often render the center sport useless. My 1985 Silverado has about 65" of shoulder room, which is about as wide inside as any car ever got. I've driven it with 3 people across, and even with that much width, I don't find it that comfortable. Now if a back seat was 65" wide, it wouldn't be so bad for three people, but as a driver, I need more room to be comfortable, and it's hard when I have a center passenger wedged up against me. For 5 passenger seating, I'd say a large-ish FWD car like a Lucerne, DTS, or Taurus/Sable would be your best bet. Even though the Crown Vic has more shoulder room, it also has a huge driveshaft hump, and seats that curve to tip the outboard passengers inward. But now for 6 adults, if you really want everybody to be comfortable, something with a 2+2+2 configuration, like a minivan or SUV, is probably best. Even if the third row in most of them is marginal, it's still better for the long haul, than trying to squeeze in 3 abreast. |
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