Buick Lucerne CXS Review
Of course, Lucerne is a beautiful town, and the Lucerne CXS is a beautiful car. Truth be told, the comely Lucerne is a pastiche of the Audi group’s best sedans– a bit of Audi A8 here (rear three quarter) and a bit of Phaeton there (pillars, rear)– with a healthy dose of Buick’s polarizing Velite concept roadster (front). Fortunately, it works. There’s no question the Lucerne is its own machine; the Buick’s portholes are as authoritative a brand statement as Mister T's mohawk.
The optional Harman-Kardon boombox is the cabin’s saving grace. Play that funky music [white boy] and you unleash both top-notch imaging and skin-tight bass response. The noise is most welcome; the Roadmaster-esque seating rivals memory foam mattresses for sybaritic somnambulism. Mobsters looking for a place to stash rivals heading for the big sleep take note: the Lucerne’s trunk is a thing of beauty. It’s large and accommodating, replete with plastic modesty panels hiding the decklid's dogleg hinges.
Fire up the Lucerne CXS’ Northstar 4.6-liter V8 and the mixed messages continue. Dial-up a few revs and the hunky Lucerne rumbles like an old muscle-bound big-block Buick GSX. (Buick’s “Quiet Tuning” obviously doesn’t apply to Cadillac-sourced powertrains.) Drop the hammer and the de-clawed 275hp Northstar helps the Lucerne slide to sixty in a tick under seven seconds. Yes, but how many front-wheel drive V8-powered luxury cars can you name? And how many have you bought? There’s a reason for that…
But to what end? The big Buick fails to impress one's "land yacht" Ying or "grand touring" Yang. For Type-A personalities, the Northstar's "take-a-number" throttle response, uncommunicative and overboosted steering and lazy four-cog slushbox infuriates. Even with Magna-charged dampers in full suppress mode, mundane Continental rubber, cushy springs and planar seats deny sporting satisfaction. Grab a lower gear for upcoming corners and the flimsy floor-shift quivers in anticipation.
For the Type-B folks, the Lucerne rides comfortably enough on most surfaces, but nails surface imperfections like an economy car chassis, lacking the brick-house swagger of Mercury’s mighty-mighty Marquis. No matter what your tastes, the Lucerne's coarse underpinnings prove GM half baked this auto-culinary treat.
More than that, the Lucerne’s lack of soul proves that Buick is a dead marque dying. One could argue that Electra Waggoner Biggs’ sculpture and the car named after her were tacky– nothing more than American populism with a continental twist. But their unabashed spirit demanded your attention. If the Lucerne is as good as a Buick gets, it’s only a matter of time before the entire brand follows its Swiss namesake into historical irrelevance.
More by Sajeev Mehta
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- Allen Fischer It all started with the 1973 Arab oil embargo. High gas prices made people look to the Japanese for fuel efficiency, then realized the other benefits, like longevity. The Toyota Camry has many times been seen as "the most Ameican made car" in the U.S. I own one and question why "the big three" have not been duplicate this, its just a car. Toyota and Honda have lean business models and know how to "trim the fat". May the lean survive!
- SCE to AUX If Pontiac died by 1000 cuts, this had to be at least 10 of them.
- Bd2 Another excellent article Murilee, I have always admired the engineering, quality and styling of these vehicles and credit their inspiration with the legendary Hyundai Tiburon which can fetch low six figures these days at private auctions.
- Ravenuer Looking forward to it!
- Daniel J I love my mazda 6. It's getting harder and harder to drive it around where I live as municipalities fail to repair roads. SUVs are just easier to drive with all of the potholes.
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ponchoman49 : I applaud your comments, but some of them are actually detrimental to GM and Buick in particular. 1. That's your opinion, and people actually seem to like the new Camry. (for some reason) 2. I have yet to see anyone outside of GM PR events get excited about OnStar. 3. Tough sell when you consider this market's driving habits and the Toyota's super plush ride. 4. Tough sell to most folks these days. And the Northstar isn't exactly the pillar of long term durability. 5. Agreed, but I still like the 6-speed better when you mash the gas. 6. That's not gonna swipe any market share from the imports, sorry. 7. The Camry's JBL system isn't much far behind, seriously. 8. If you believe in JD Power's short term results, I think you should buy some GM stock juding by their Q3 report in 2005. It's a GREAT buy!!! 9. And it has longer overhangs that are (tragically) out of fashion these days. Just ask people with Panther Chassis cars. 10. The base line Lucerne is an abomination. It never did and never will appeal to Toyota buyers and spits in the face of the V8 CXS. Pure rental car.
Well I guess it's been a couple of years now since GM had to buy back our Lucerne CXS and I have to say I don't miss it and all of it's problems one bit. We ended up buying a Lincoln Towncar Signiture L series. I'll tell you, we both really like it. And it's bullet proof. Just get in and drive.