2010 Buick LaCrosse Teaser Pic Released

Now that is a good looking Buick. (completely shocked I just typed those words) A complete 180 from the Buick of the last 10 years.

Its sleek, eloquent, and they got rid of those stupid gills on the side. I thought they would remove the gills anyway after it became a fashion statement on every used dented rust paint mexican piece of shit ride on the road these days.

oh fudge, nevermind, they just put the gills on the hood.

Keep in mind the only picture of the LaCrosse is the main photo, there is still hope yet the gills may disappear as the other photos are all of the Invicta Concept...

its an improvement if its has a newer engine than the 3800 with a the 4 speed auto... Buick's current sedan line up is turd... every other GM division has better products.

You know, Buick is GM's secret Jewel right now.

"GASP!" you say "Allen, is that you?! Did you really just say that?!"

Yes, its me, not an impersonator. And yes, I just called Buick, with all the strength I could muster I should add, a jewel.

The thing is, Buick is dead. Its cars look ok, and its reliability has had some good standings of late, but no one in the states really wants one.

And thats exactly why its so good. Tell me, what do young Americans like more than anything else? Why, what other countries young people like of course. That means they still look up to BMW, Audi, and Mercedes, but with the recent spotlight on China, American youth have got a glimpse of something different (And different is good to them).

In China, Buick is a brand of legendary status. You haven't quite arrived driving a Buick the same way you would driving a Lexus, BMW, Mercedes or Audi, but due to its status as a wealthy and powerful man's runabout during more oppressive times, a Buick is seen as the common mans status symbol of choice.

American youth have picked up on this and... they realize the Chinese are completely nutty. Americans know that Buicks have terrible body roll, terrible handling, and terrible nearly everything else.

BUT! Someone else still likes them, meaning that GM has an opening. If they could make a compelling Buick for America, one that actually is a luxury car with rear wheel drive and/or all wheel drive, a good efficient engine and nice interior (and they are not too far off on that mark), then American youth would have the same stomach for Buick's that they have for Toyota, Honda and Mazda. Hey, its not a bunch of luxury car buyers I know, but its still buyers and they'd be willing to pay that entry level luxury premium if they could afford it (many young professionals can).

I have this to say to anyone who says GM should go after older buyers: they've already lost them. Older buyers already believe GM quality is terrible, and their cars are no fun to drive. The baby boomers and Gen X were the generation to first say those things about American cars and they are now old enough to be set in their ways. You may change a few of their minds, but not many by any measure.

And strike now, while Honda and Toyota are weak. Both are considered brands for older people now. If you are young and drive a Honda or Toyota you are a punk who has seen to much of the Fast and the Furious. If you are in your 30's and 40's your a middle management type who has given up hope on life, and if you are older than that well, you are Honda and Toyota's biggest customers.

Strike while the iron is hot. Nothing could be better for GM and Ford than a group of customers without a brand preference, and now that the only cars selling anyway are not SUVs and other high priced, high margin vehicles, they might as well strike out at a new base.

Strike GM, strike.

You know, I hate car designers.

With the exception of insanely expensive ones, Lotus, McLaren, Porsche, ect...

Look at that side profile. LOOK AT IT! Why is that door that tall? Where the's window? It is almost short enough you could get your 32oz Bojangles sweet tea in it from the drive thru. My 04 Corolla irritates me, and this would just down right piss me off.

I love coupes, I love driving with the windows down. I also love having my arm hanging out of the side. And when the window is above my shoulder that really doesn't work. Idiots, it's like they don't even bother to drive the prototype before they build it.

@allen

as such, logical. But GM has too many brands for its size.

Biting the bullit is hard, as deleting brands means re-org of dealerships. There are easier things.

I believe that a good design slapped on a known brand is anyway going to be a 'win'. Why GM makes a Frankenstein Cruse and a nice looking Crosse, beats me.
In Europe that same (buick) design language sticks on Opel. And that brand fights the japs just as much as Chevy does over here.

Having followed the company now for a while, i really believe that Detroit needs to lay-off 60% of its staff, and reorganise the creation around the Daewoo/Opel resource base. Trucks and Utes can be a local phenomenon and satisfied with the remaining States/Australia based resources.

Allen's right for the most part. The younger generation has no brand loyalty. I've had 3 vehicles from 3 different automakers and in a couple of years I'll be looking for my next car. Currently, I'm leaning towards a Scion, Mazda, or Chevy Volt but, seeing how it'll be years until I make a purchase who knows what I'll get.

There's no reason to be loyal to brands anymore. Car companies just think about the making profit. Some do it by cutting corners while others do it by making quality vehicles. I think people nowadays realize this and since they are more informed as to the shortcomings of vehicles and their makers, they choose what fits their lifestyle and what they can afford.

It looks very nice and sleek. Especially without door handles. It would be cool if they made the car without door handles and just had keyless entry remotes to open the doors.
All that being said, I'm pretty sure the "no door handles" is just for the artist's sketch and the real one will have them.

It is doubtful that the final vehicle will look nearly as good as the concept vehicle. GM has this bad habit of taking a great concept vehicle, running it through some mystical process, and transforms it into a conservative dud. Do not forget what the first concept LaCross looked like, and what came off the assembly line was basically a Buick Century with the LaCross name slapped on it. The concept was great, what they built was a old folks ride that looked like somebody mated a Buick LeSabre with a 96 Ford Taurus. Another good example was the Oldsmobile Alero, it looked great as a concept car and when produced was an ordinary average car with oversized tail lights and all the build quality of the then miserable Chevy Malibu.

I'm tired of teaser images. Who cares? Particularly from Buick, my expectations are that the teaser image is probably from the only part of the final product that will contain even a smattering of the concepts spirit.

Show me a whole production car that has some life to it and I'll perk up. A grill close up means nada.

@Allen

'If they could make a compelling Buick for America, one that actually is a luxury car with rear wheel drive and/or all wheel drive, a good efficient engine and nice interior (and they are not too far off on that mark), then American youth would have the same stomach for Buick's that they have for Toyota, Honda and Mazda.'

What you are saying is 'if they make a decent car, kids will like it.' That applies to ALL American car manufacturers, not just Buick.

The concept looks great (and would look even better if it wasn't in boring Buick beige). Hopefully the rest of the car looks very close to the concept (sans hood speed holes).

@ Brian

The reason why doors are higher then they were say 10 years ago is to improve side impacts intrusions. That’s how the market is going all new cars have higher doors because of that reason.

I just saw the 2010 LaCrosse at the Chicago Auto Show and I must say, though I'm a Toyota zealot, I was very impressed with the LaCrosse.