2010 Buick LaCrosse Preview

In China, Buick is one of the best-selling automotive brands. European stylists are famous for their sumptuous designs. And, of course, most General Motors engineers and factories are located in the United States. That’s why GM employees from three continents came together to produce the all-new 2010 Buick LaCrosse luxury sedan. Buick says this is the first General Motors vehicle to be developed by its personnel on three continents.

Design

The design is clearly a Buick, with the brand’s signature portholes on the hood and trademark waterfall grille. It was redesigned from the ground-up with the needs of American, Chinese and other buyers from around the world in mind. Most important is attractive styling that retains Buick tradition. In addition, the interior is loaded with features to pamper and perhaps even surprise its owners. High levels of safety features are a key part of vehicle.


Every LaCrosse comes with all-wheel drive. A choice of two engines is available. Both feature direct-into-the-cylinder fuel injection, which provides better fuel economy, reduced emissions on startup and enhanced responsiveness for accelerating into heavy traffic. Standard is a 255-horsepower DOHC 3.0-liter V6, while a 280-horse 3.6-liter DOHC V6 is optional. Both are mated to six-speed automatic transmissions.


The 2010 LaCrosse comes in three trim levels: The base CX, the mid-level CXL and the upscale CXS. A highlight of the CX is its 17-inch-diameter wheels. The mid-grade CXL gets leather-trimmed seats, dual-zone automatic climate control, fog lamps, outside rearview mirrors with LED turn indicators and 18-inch wheels. An enhanced AWD system is available. The top-of-the-line CXS features heated and cooled leather seats and chrome-plated 18-inch wheels. It also comes with shock absorbers that automatically adjust to meet changing road conditions. Optional are 19-inch wheels.

Interior

To show Buick’s commitment to the Chinese market, the exterior design is very similar to the Buick Invicta show car introduced at the 2008 Beijing Auto Show. The interior of the LaCrosse features smoked-chrome and attractive wood accents, as well as top-class leather. In addition, its “cool blue” ambient lighting creates a top-drawer atmosphere. Buick vehicles deliver an amazingly quiet ride, thanks to QuietTuning, an all-encompassing engineering approach aimed at reducing unwanted noise from the vehicle’s cabin. Specific QuietTuning examples include acoustical laminate on the windshield and front door glass, steel laminate on the front-of-dash body area, expanded baffles in the roof pillars, extensive use of melt-on sound deadeners throughout the entire lower body structure, and sound-absorbing material throughout the engine, passenger and cargo compartments.