New Buick LaCrosse Gets Four-Cylinder Engine, AWD
Can someone please straighten me out here? What is a Buick? I mean, what’s the point? I’m serious. I don’t get it. The brand’s manager, Susan Docherty, is no bloody help at all. “We’re working hard to change the perception of the brand and to let people know Buick may not be what they think it is,” Ms. Dohery pronounced in a recent web chat. May not be, but might? How do we parse the fact that the brand is sticking a four cylinder engine into its forthcoming sedan? Sure the Honda Accord has one. A mighty fine four pot, in fact. But how does this engine option square with Buick’s “entry level luxury” schtick? AutoWeek is forced to go for the historical angle. “The four-banger is thought to be the first in a Buick since the 1998 Skylark,” AW reports. “It’s from GM’s Ecotec family and makes 182 hp and 172 lb·ft of torque. It’s an inline setup and employs direct injection; look for it to get an estimated 20 mpg in the city and 30 mpg on the highway.” So who’s looking?
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Knowing GM's recent luck this Lacrosse probably won't outsell the current model. GM will have another vastly improved car that won't find buyers. Game Set Match Buick is done.
I remember back in the 50's and 60's when Popular Mechanics magazine would run "owners' reports" on cars. The thing I remember the most about those was that for cars and pickups that offered a 6 and a V8, the reported mileage never varied more than about 2 mpg between the two engines. Of course it's cheaper to put a smaller engine in a car than to totally rethink the engineering of it to cut weight or to make it smoother to push through the atmosphere; and you have all the reasons to add weight: reduce nvh, make the roof and pillars stronger, add twenty or thirty little electric motors; and a 6- or 7-speed automatic tranny must weigh more than a 4-speed, right?
Susan Docherty = Lynn Meyers, another bimbo in charge of what was once Pontiac.