2008 Buick LaCrosse Super

Three seasons back, for the 2005 model year, Buick launched the LaCrosse midsize sedan. Edging aside the long-lived LeSabre, the front-wheel-drive LaCrosse came with a choice of two V-6 engines. Aimed at reasonably well-off families, not unlike Buicks of the distant past, the LaCrosse was the first of several models meant to establish a new direction for the century-old company.

Styling

Now, for 2008, the nearly forgotten Super badge returns after 50 years—on a V-8 version of the LaCrosse. Eschewing the family-sedan aura, Buick calls it a "high-end luxury performance car." The new 5.3-liter V-8 produces 300 horsepower at 5600 rpm, and 323 pound-feet of torque at 4400 rpm. Regular LaCrosse V-6 engines generate no more than 240 horsepower.


The Super name first appeared in 1940, on a moderately priced model positioned just above the "entry level" Special. It was never a high-performance Buick. No Super model has been offered since 1958.


Despite its recent reputation as an older person's automobile, Buick has issued high-performance offshoots of its regular models before. During the 1950s, the Century series combined the Roadmaster's big V-8 engine with the lighter-weight Special body. Burly Buicks turned up at dealerships during the musclecar era of the 1960s and early '70s. Even in the 1980s and '90s, an occasional performance-focused Buick tempted enthusiasts.


Buick claims the fastest 0-60 mph acceleration since the company's Grand National and GNX models of the 1980s. Specifically, the LaCrosse Super reaches 60 mph from a standstill in 5.9 seconds, and achieves a quarter-mile run in 14.4 seconds. GM says this is the first small-block V-8 engine developed specifically for a front-drive model. Fuel economy is part of the picture, too. Active Fuel Management technology boosts fuel efficiency up to 12 percent, according to Buick, by automatically deactivating half of the engine's cylinders when cruising lightly or stopped.