2010 Buick LaCrosse to Debut at 2008 L.A. Auto Show

We’ll be honest — there’s not a whole lot to get excited about here. Sure, the image above is the first official glimpse of the 2010 Buick LaCrosse, and we’ve learned that it will debut at the L.A. auto show this November. But big deal. So it’ll be the first GM car sold in the U.S. on its newest global sedan platform. So what. No one cares about that.

What they’ll maybe care about is that this will be Buick’s smallest sedan offering, it most likely won’t drive like a boat and it will inherit some styling from the Invicta concept car that was shown off earlier this year. OK, it’s a little exciting, even if it is a Buick. Oh, and GM, this is the perfect time to get rid of the name LaCrosse. Thanks.

Comments

I remember reading an article stating that LaCrosse means something else in the French speaking part of Canada, thus making the automaker refrain from using that name in Canada altogether.

J,
That's true. I think it's just a crummy name despite that.

Also, it means a sport in America.

What will be next? Golf? Haha!

I too hoped they would have stuck with the concept car's name: Invicta.

And Dave, why all the hate? Review the car when it comes out and then bash it but man, ease up...it's one partial image of the grille.

I sort of like the name... besides I don't want American car companies to fall into the same old habit of bringing out a new name for every new model.

Can it really be considered a teaser shot when you can replicate it by photographing the cars they already make?

I never liked the name LaCrosse either. What was wrong with the name Regal?

I don't care for the name either. LaCrosse and Lucerne just seem odd. Well, part of the reason is that Lucerne was also a name for a dairy line at the grocery store for years. I think of sour cream, not Buicks when I hear Lucerne. The names from the past were much better ... why didn't they just leave this model as the LeSabre which was the top selling full-sized car for many years in the US. While you're at it Buick, bring back the Riviera, make it a world class premium personal luxury coupe. But make sure it doesn't look like a big, metal turd like the last attempt.

What a poor and amateurish example of journalism. The author has absolutely no material to comment on regarding the new LaCrosse, so why start off by bashing it? This is worthless bloviating and only serves to diminish the credibility of this forum.

I am no GM fan, but the new Malibu, Outlook and other new models show that GM is serious about producing better quality and desirable models. Perhaps waiting for a test drive before commenting vacuously would have been more prudent.

It's called "Allure" in Canada. I don't know if "Invicta" sounds so great either??!! Since the car will be much smaller they shoulda changed the name!

Dave,

I understood where you were coming from...and going with this review. GM always find a way to pork up a new model. The name as to go and why in the heck would they release a new platform on slow selling Buick's? Unless Buick brings back the likes of the Regal and Rivera they may go the way of Oldsmobile. Why not bring back the old Electra 225 "Deuce and a Quarter" to compete with the Chrysler 300 and others in this segment?

Al,
Welcome to KickingTires. Hopefully, most of the readers understood my playful nature in the post. It was intentional.
We're pretty fair around here. And the fact is we only comment on confirmed reports, so indeed there isn't much more to say. It also was a play on the fact that manufacturers only release a teaser image of their new model, to tease us and not give out much useful information to inform consumers. Shame on them!

Seriously though. We apologize for the misunderstanding on our use of shoddy journalism.

GR: Sour cream! that's hilarious.

i think LaCrosse means "to jerk off" or atleast thats what i read.

I'm not to fond of the LaCrosse name either. And I don't care for the Lucerne. I hope Buick changes the LaCrosse name to the concept name, Invicta. Though I kinda agree with GR, Buick should bring back some of the well known, classic names like Regal and Riviera.

And why was the car named after a sport? And can Buick ever think of interesting names?(excluding Enclave, which has been the best Buick of this decade since its debut in my opinion.) Last thing GM needs is to have Buick go the way of Oldsmobile.

Buick has been the senior's brand for GM for a while except the last generation which seems to be the for no one brand. Having known enough older people that owned LeSabre's and Century's and loved them it seems they turned their back on their most loyal customer base. I understand trying to find your new base but either you are all in or all out. The senior crowd use to count on them being affordable, very comfortable and reliable. My Dad has had a Toyota and then 3 LeSabre's in a row with Buick dumping the LeSabre he does not plan on another Buick. All they successfully did was alienate their faithFul crowd who has now been forced to moved on to Camry's and Avalon's. When we shopped nothing in their lineup made any price/value sense, not sure who they are hoping to sell to. Nice work... The Olds plan looks to be the plan, they seemed to have went out fighting better then this.

who cares about the name? Why are only domestic cars criticized for their names? Would "camry" or "maxima" or "galant" be a better name?

Also, it would be helpful if Invicta were spelled correctly in the post above. If GM changed the name people would be saying they should stick to the same names, but if they leave the name unchanged people say Lacrosse is stupid. Its just like folks who criticized the name Cobalt and now they criticize GM for changing the name.

Dave - you don't bloviate, do you?

sheth,
thanks for the typo check on Invicta. Invicta is actually a Buick name of old so it would make some sense to use.

Cory,
Yeah, I think we were all trying to avoid putting that into print in our comments and were dancing around that, but yes, that's what I understand it means.

DonB,
Had to look that word up! I hope I don't bloviate too much.

OK, Dave, all is forgiven!
I do agree on the subject of GM's poor choice of names though. I don't understand how the branding value of heritage and familiarity eludes them.
Almost every new Camry or Accord model shares little with their immediate predecessors but everyone knows Camry and Accord are have a solid reputation (notwithstanding the current delinquent Camry) dating from way back when. They have become sub-brands themselves.
GM and Ford invent and discard names with such frequency, there's no continuity of reputation or sense of familiarity.
They should go back to using the names from the glorious 60's - and keep them alive for a while.

AI - your point about Accord and Camry becoming their own sub-brands is largely correct, I think. However, each successive generation does build on the one before, at least with Hondas. I just traded in a '98 Accord on a new '08 Accord, and while nearly everything about it is different, the interior still has a largely familiar feel to it. The controls are similar and similarly placed in most cases. I can't speak for Camry, I'm a Honda customer. But this is one thing that helps these cars build a fan base and a "heritage," if that is the right word.

DonB, I agree. I used to buy Toyotas repeatedly over a period of 20 years because they had a consistent "feel" and familiarity, until I was badly burned by a really horribly built, bug-infested 2005 Avalon, "backed" by a company who really didn't care.
That turned me onto Honda and I am about to get another Pilot for my wife (as ugly as it is) and an Accord V6 for myself.

AI- I had a similar Ford experience. After 2 great cars, I had one that was a complete disaster. Over fifty pages of warranty repairs. Because it was always something different going wrong, it didn't meet the "lemon law" standard. One day I left for work, had another problem, drove straight to a Honda dealer and bought an Accord. That was about 13 years ago, and I've driven Accords since. The cars have been great, and the dealers have treated me well. There will never be another Ford in my garage. Probably nothing besides more Hondas. Mr. Mulally, this is why Ford is failing and Honda is thriving. Take note!

Dave T.

See thats exactly what GM does, they dance around building a good product.

Cory,
To be fair, all the automakers do these teaser images now because of the rabid online enthusiast following.

DonB and Al,
I've said before I've owned multiple fords and never had a problem with them. It can be very anecdotal to have issues like you had, you have to check dependability claims on a whole as well. Of course Honda and Toyota do outperform Ford on those as well. But Ford has made tremendous gains as of late.

The most unreliable cars I've had, have been Dodges(and Chryslers). GM products interiors always fall apart, and Fords are usually reliable until something fatal happens :/ I've had old Toyotas that have been good, but the best cars I've had have been Hondas and I've owned Hondas and Acuras ever since. It's interesting when I talk to people I rarely hear about Honda buyers migrating to Toyota, but I hear often about former Toyota buyers running into Honda dealerships. Of the domestics the only one I'm interested in is Ford mainly because of the new Euro products to come. I can't wait to see the Fiesta, and see how the US Fiesta compares with the US Honda Fit.

I think they should use "Insignia", the new Opel Vectra's name!!

Dave, your point is well-taken, and as a writer you cover the industry from a higher level. You look at market segments makes and models as groups. You don't write about individual production units. But I can assure you that when you are the owner of one of these "anecdotal cars" and deal with it every day, quality gains can't come soon enough!!

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