A new look.
A new structure.
New direct-injection engines.
And the security of available all-wheel drive.

Buick LaCrosse is all new for 2010. With its introduction, the Buick line-up is fresh since 2006, giving the brand among the youngest lines in the industry.


Penned by some of Buick's youngest designers, who signed up, in surprising numbers, for a chance to work with the bold, artistic imagery of GM's most storied brand, LaCrosse's balance of sculpted lines and sensuous accents and surfaces builds on the success of Buick Enclave.

LaCrosse takes Buick's modern global design a step further, with a contemporary look that could only be Buick's, in its signature sweep spear body-side styling, waterfall grille, and portholes atop its hood.

Inside, smoked chrome accents, warm wood, and leather create a flowing, inviting two-tone environment, illuminated throughout in ice-blue ambient highlights. Writes Car and Driver, "Buick has managed to find common ground between conservative and contemporary interior design."


All LaCrosse models promise the confident driving experience of a chassis and suspension designed to cope with the challenging roads of Europe. Complementing this is Buick's signature QuietTuning, an engineering process that reduces, blocks, and absorbs interior noise to provide a distraction-free environment.


Bluetooth phone connectivity, an audio input port, and a USB port are standard, as are six airbags (including head-curtain airbags). Naturally, the safety and security of OnStar is included for the first year of ownership.

LaCrosse's intelligent technologies work to deliver a 360-degree field of vision behind the steering-wheel, for enhanced comfort and security. This begins with the available head-up display in the windshield, keeping the driver's eyes focused on the road. At night, an optional adaptive lighting package can direct the high-intensity discharge beams up to 15 degrees, for enhanced illumination of the road and its curves.

LaCrosse additionally offers Side Blind Zone alert, notifying the driver if a vehicle in adjacent lanes is traveling in the driver's blind spot. When reversing, a rear-view camera provides a display through the available in-dash navigation.

Base price for the 2010 LaCrosse CX is $27,835, a good bit less than the Acura TSX ($29,160); Lincoln MKZ ($32,695), and Lexus ES350 ($34,320).

In the $30,395 CXL, you'll find heated leather seats; dual-zone climate control, and 18-inch alloy rims. Driving lights, LED turn indicators embedded in the outer rear-view mirrors, and puddle lamps are, additionally, standard on CXL.


CX and CXL are powered by a 255-horsepower 3-liter direct-injected V6, putting out 217 foot-pounds of torque (294 newton-meters) through a 6-speed automatic transmission.

At $33,765, LaCrosse CXS offers a 3.6-liter version of the DI V6 engine, with 280 horsepower and 261 foot-pounds of torque (354 newton-meters). CXS includes heated and cooled leather seats, and chrome-plated 18-inch wheels. 19-inch wheels are optional.

In a conventional port fuel injected engine, air and fuel are mixed before they enter the combustion chamber.

With LaCrosse's direct-injection engines, fuel is sprayed directly into the cylinder, like a diesel, where it is mixed with air. This allows the engine to breathe more air for greater torque and horsepower.

As the piston approaches top-dead center, the mixture is ignited by the spark plug. When the fuel vaporizes in the cylinder, the air/ fuel mixture is cooled. This enables the use of a higher compression ratio in the combustion chamber.

In addition to increasing the compression ratio, for improved performance and economy, direct injection makes for greater combustion control, which is easier on both your wallet and the environment. Direct injection can create a richer air/fuel mixture around the spark plug during cold starts, making the mixture easier to ignite in a cold engine. This results in smoother operation, and lower emissions, during the cold start and warm-up, when most harmful tail-pipe emissions are typically created. Indeed, direct-injection technology reduces cold-start emissions (in particular) by up to 25%.


For added reassurance in inclement weather, CXL is available with all-wheel drive, starting at $32,570. A fully automatic, intelligent all-wheel drive system - the first in a Buick car - works in tandem with StabiliTrak stability control and ABS to deliver sure-footed traction.


Options include a real-time damping suspension system; high-intensity discharge headlamps with adaptive forward lighting; side blind-zone alert; an 8-inch touch-screen with navigation; power rear-window sunshade, and rear-seat DVD entertainment, via two display screens integrated into the seat-backs.


Production begins in June 2009, at the Fairfax Assembly facility in Kansas City, Kansas.

They used to say that the Buick was the automobile of those possessed of "uncommon good sense" ... (more)

They used to say that the Buick was the automobile of those possessed of "uncommon good sense" ... (more)