Article Comments - 2010 Buick LaCrosse CXS vs. 2009 Lexus ES 350

5 messages, Last post on Sep 10, 2009 at 2:12 PM

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What is this discussion about? Buick LaCrosse, Lexus ES 350, Car Comparisons, Sedan

2010 Buick LaCrosse CXS vs. 2009 Lexus ES 350 - Anyone who doubts the LaCrosse's mission is to compete with the ES 350 need only scan the lengthy standard equipment list and drive one a couple hundred yards. (more)

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#1 of 5 Article Comments - 2010 Buick LaCrosse CXS vs. 2009 Lexus ES 350 by KarenS HOST Sep 03, 2009 (7:06 am)
If you do your part to forget about your (grand)father's Buick, we'll do ours to refrain from picking the low-hanging fruit when it comes to smart remarks in this comparison test of the 2010 Buick LaCrosse CXS and the 2009 Lexus ES 350. There will be no references to forgotten left-turn signals or Murder She Wrote. Instead we'll ensure our focus remains on how well each car fulfills its promise of entry-level luxury. 2010 Buick LaCrosse CXS vs. 2009 Lexus ES 350
#2 of 5 Buick's problem by legacygt Sep 04, 2009 (11:37 am)
I'm glad to see Buick putting out another quality vehicle. On the heels of the Enclave this is another strong showing and hopefully a sign of things to come. BUT, there are two major obstacles here: 1- The Buick is all new and the ES has been around for a few years. It is due to be refreshed and if Lexus does its homework the next model will likely leapfrog the Buick leaving the Buick to flounder for several years before it receives an update. 2- The luxury market is as much about perception as it is about reality. Lexus has a great brand and a great reputation in the target market. The ES is a ho-hum car that is buoyed by its association with the rest of the Lexus lineup. Buick is a tarnished brand that barely registers in the target market. The LaCrosse will be sandbagged by its association with other Buicks past and present. Buick has a big hole to climb out of and it will take a strong combination of product and marketing and luck to succeed. I've posted before here and on other sites about GMs failure with Opel. They should have imported Opels to the U.S. as Opels. This way they would be selling a "German" car with none of the brand perception baggage that Buick (or even Cadillac) needs to overcome. Instead they brought Opels to the U.S. as Saturns. American car buyers are willing to pay premium prices for German cars and GM stripped the German badges in order to sell the Astra and Aura under their "value" brand. This is insane. Selling a potentially premium priced car under a value brand is lunacy. They left $$ on the table with every sale. While the Buick strategy may be wiser than the Saturn strategy I still believe they would have a better shot selling the Opel Insignia up against Lexus than they will the Buick LaCrosse.
#3 of 5 ES350 Handling by rcf8000 Sep 10, 2009 (8:54 am)
Edmunds rates the handling of the 2010 ES350 as "poor". But in their test of the 2007 ES350 their handling rating was "good". Something doesn't compute here. Presumably the '07 and '09 cars are essentially identical. Replies to this message: dodgeman07 (Sep 10, 2009 12:33 pm) rcf8000 (Sep 10, 2009 2:12 pm)
#4 of 5 Re: ES350 Handling [rcf8000] by dodgeman07 Sep 10, 2009 (12:33 pm)
Replying to: rcf8000 (Sep 10, 2009 8:54 am) Maybe their standards have gone up. What was "Good" for an '07 is now "Poor" for a '10! Maybe different drivers tested the vehicles; I don't know anyone who would rate the handling of an ES as "Good". It's Average at best. Replies to this message: rcf8000 (Sep 10, 2009 2:12 pm)
#5 of 5 Re: ES350 Handling [dodgeman07] by rcf8000 Sep 10, 2009 (2:12 pm)
Replying to: dodgeman07 (Sep 10, 2009 12:33 pm) Edmunds thinks that the LaCrosse is "good". What is the best handling fwd sedan; anybody have an opinion? (The best I ever owned was a 1986 Audi 5000 Turbo; that car cornered like it was on rails.)