Spy Shots: 2010 Buick LaCrosse caught completely uncovered
by John Neff on Aug 8th 2008 at 4:26PM 
Though the newish Buick Enclave has received plenty of accolades, it's the right vehicle at the wrong time for GM's smallest brand. The other two vehicles in Buick's lineup – the LaCrosse mid-size sedan and Lucerne large sedan – might better appeal to gas-conscious buyers than a large CUV, but they're far from leaders in their segment. A new LaCrosse, however, will reportedly be arriving as a 2010 model. Car and Driver just published these spy shots of a pre-production model caught with its camouflage pants down, and they reveal its design will borrow heavily from the Invicta Concept that was revealed at this year's Beijing Motor Show. That's not a bad thing, as the Invicta is a fetching sedan that went over well with the Chinese crowds. And while we could be mislead by the grainy quality of these spy shots, we swear there are two rows of portholes on the hood.The '10 LaCrosse will likely arrive atop GM's Epsilon II platform that also underpins the upcoming Insignia and will next find its way to the '11 Saturn Aura and '12 Chevy Malibu. Engine choices are anyone's guess, but don't expect another V8 Super model. We guess the next-gen LaCrosse will get a smattering of four- and six-cylinder engines, the smaller of which could employ turbocharging and direct injection. Also check out C&D's pics of the new LaCrosse interior, which looks like a smaller version of a Cadillac CTS interior. Since we know have pictorial evidence of preproduction prototypes this far along, it's safe to assume that Buick will debut the 2010 LaCrosse during the upcoming auto show season. Our bet's on January debut at the Detroit Auto Show.
Gallery: Beijing '08: Buick Invicta Concept
[Source: Caranddriver.com via Jalopnik]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
TurboCharged 4:34PM (8/08/2008)
Interior looks great!, but unfortunately the exterior is still pretty dull, but still a 100% improvement!
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Victor 4:49PM (8/08/2008)
And to think that the interior is Chinese designed (GM Shanghai studio) while the exterior is American designed (GM Detroit design studio)
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/114/open_features-made-in-china.html
"After an intense internal competition that pitted Shyr and his team against their U.S. counterparts, they will have complete authority over the interior design--driven by Qiu's insights. The exterior is being handled in the United States, but with a great deal of input from China."
Victor 4:49PM (8/08/2008)
And to think that the interior is Chinese designed (GM Shanghai studio) while the exterior is American designed (GM Detroit design studio)
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/114/open_features-made-in-china.html
"After an intense internal competition that pitted Shyr and his team against their U.S. counterparts, they will have complete authority over the interior design--driven by Qiu's insights. The exterior is being handled in the United States, but with a great deal of input from China."
MemphisNET 4:34PM (8/08/2008)
Wow, I'm surprised at how close this Allure is to the concept - the interior however looks like its straight from the CTS - not a bad thing, but shouldn't Buick work their own interior design language?
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Andre 4:37PM (8/08/2008)
WTF!?! The concept was 10x better than this actual production model. Honestly looks like a Hyundai in the front, a Lexus GS or Camryish look in the back, The concept they had was simply beautiful but this actual production model is ugh so so generic and once again it's a grandma car..
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racer01 4:41PM (8/08/2008)
You'd think they would have taken a good look at the Chrysler Sebring and how well that has sold. Wow is this thing blah.
Torrent 4:50PM (8/08/2008)
At least it looks attractive. Not all concepts are an exact projection of the production version.
Phillip 5:09PM (8/08/2008)
Compare the pic of the car and the concept side by side. Truly, the grandma wheels and tire combo are what KILL the car. Given, if you put on the concept's 20s, and lowered it a hair it would improve the car drastically.
Remember how we all hated the pre-production Camaro and some of it's details, but have fallen for the production car? It's still in the tweaking stage.
jgp 4:39PM (8/08/2008)
Wow. It looks exactly like the fugly new Sentra.
GM really screwed the pooch on this one.
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Ian 4:46PM (8/08/2008)
This doesn't look right, dimension wise. The depth of the windows seems way to short for the height of the bodywork. Makes the cabin view seem all wrong IMHO.
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apearlman 4:43PM (8/08/2008)
Stubby trunklid strikes again.
Doesn't anyone notice that when the trunk opening gets smaller, it's harder to put big things in the trunk?
Nice looking car, but I bet it would look just as nice with a slightly more upright rear window.
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Torrent 4:52PM (8/08/2008)
They're probably going for the 4 door coupe styling like the Lexus GS and Mercedes CLS not to mention the Passat CC.
UH2L 5:01PM (8/08/2008)
What you say is true. Might as well go with a hatchback..
http://uh2l.blogs.com/realitydriven/2007/04/automotive_iron.html
Read the third bullet.
220v 4:58PM (8/08/2008)
Buick Invicta concept: HOT
2010 Buick Lacrosse : NOT
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Dondonel 5:13PM (8/08/2008)
I agree, and it's really sad. The concept looked so promising, and GM had a (recent) history of keeping the production vehicles close to the concept (see Camaro). Too bad, I had high hopes for this vehicle.
Michael D. 4:53PM (8/08/2008)
The shots are grainy and low-res, and it is too early to tell. These are not the shots of the next LaCrosse in all it's glory. The hood appears to be not all the way closed, either. The wheels even appear small - this may not be the top-trim edition. All this aside, I'm sure when we see official shots and live premiere shots, and at more dramatic angles, it'll appear more elegant and closer to the Invicta concept.
The only thing that bums me out is the possible lack of a "Super" V8. I would think that it would have the same 3.6L from the CTS with some 300hp, which is equal to the LS V8 in the current LaCrosse Super, but with lesser torque. I hope I'm not being too optimistic, but maybe the Lucerne replacement, if Zeta-based (there have been flip-flopping, conflicting reports) would fill that void and be a more elegant, luxury edition of the Pontiac G8.
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Alex 4:52PM (8/08/2008)
Massive step forward for the LaCrosse or any Buick sedan so good work there but overall it really lost the excitment of the concept. Almost as if they took the skin of the invicta and stretched it over a Camry. Those small wheel openings dumbed down front end really kill it.
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Jonathon 4:57PM (8/08/2008)
I'm actually shocked at the responses here. You are looking at a very capable ES/GS competitor, and talking about how it looks like a Sentra???
Would I buy the LaCrosse? No, I'm a poor 21 year old college student. Will it compete effectively in it's respective market? Absolutely. This is proof that GM is serious about turning Buick into a Lexus competitor, and I think they hit the nail on the head. Try to remember who their target market is and that these are grainy photos from a relatively unflattering angle.
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zamafir 6:02PM (8/08/2008)
do you know of anyone who has gone from a lexis to a buick? Lexis competes with Audi and bmw and merc- this does not, hyundai sure but the genisis looks better thought out, this is bad.
BOB 6:48PM (8/08/2008)
Johnaton --
You would be right if the car were introduced 2 years ago.
Buick is never coming back in a meaningful way in the US until it once again has fresh styling with a strong Buick flavor. Old Lexi with Buick grilles are nice, BUT-- the Lucerne is a big Passat, the Park Avenue and LaCrosse were Jaguars, and so on.
In every year that Buick was close its sales peak, you could tell the cars were Buicks from the front, the rear, and the sides, not just from toothy grilles.
THAT IS WHAT MAKES AN AMERICAN CAR -- not borrowed, blending world car looks with American cues tacked on.