New Buick LaCrosse GL Concept gets All Dressed up for the LA Auto Show

You have to look far to see what is in the final concept paper based on Buick LaCrosse sedan in 2012 and will be exhibited at the Auto Show in Los Angeles on 16-27 November.

This is due to the concept of GL LaCrosse is the most luxed-up of the standard model than anything else.

David Lyon, executive director of Buick design, explains: "The design elements that have already differentiated production LaCrosse - such as premium leather upholstered seats, ice blue ambient lighting and smooth surfaces - intensified in GL and serve inspiration for future Buick models. "

Outside is the concept of GL wearing a cabernet red paint complimented by a brushed chrome grille and tinted, door handles and trunk lid, and around windows, taillights and headlights. The machine-face wheels of 20 inches with a round satin finish on the exterior enhancements.

Most of the changes taking place inside, where the Buick designers came up with a French-stitched leather surfaces against each other a chocolate brown color and Carmelo chocochino of doors, seats and dashboard.

GL also get house chocochino suede, metal accents on the instrument cluster and controls in the center console and custom wood trim on the steering wheel, dashboard and door panels.

"Every surface is formed of GL hinterland LaCrosse, Buick knowing that customers enjoy the finer things in life, but do not need to flaunt," said Magdalena Kokoszynska, GL LaCrosse creative designer.

PHOTO GALLERY

Read More

Aging Chevy Impala gets standard 302-hp V6 for 2012

General Motors has finally come out and said exactly what kind of power the 2012 Chevrolet Impala will bring to the table when it debuts later this year. In February, we heard that the aging full-size four-door will come with a 3.6-liter V6 under the hood mated to a six-speed automatic transmission, though at the time, The General elected to skip handing out any specifics beyond displacement. According to GMInsideNews, the 2012 Impala will pack a full 302 horsepower and 252 pound-feet of torque in standard trim when it touches down.

The 2012 Buick Lacrosse is set to receive the same updated 3.6-liter V6.

Unfortunately, those impressive numbers are to be the sum total of the updates that GM has planned for the Impala. The model has been on sale in its current configuration since 2006 and a full update isn’t scheduled to land until 2014 at the earliest. Still, as GMInsideNews points out, the refreshed six pot gives the 2012 Impala almost as much power as the old Impala SS – not too shabby.

Read More

2012 Buick LaCrosse eAssist

It’s hard to talk about all of the good things General Motors is doing these days without referencing theChevrolet Volt – it is perhaps the most talked-about car on the scene, green or otherwise. In showing the world that highly efficient, practical cars aren’t so far out of our reach, GM is preparing to launch a slew of fuel-sipping vehicles in the near term.

We’ve already spent time with the honest-to-goodness 42-mile-per-gallon Chevrolet Cruze Eco, but the next chapter of GM’s efficiency story lies in Buick’s eAssist mild hybrid system, coming to both its LaCrosse andRegal sedans later this year.

We recently had the chance to drive the 2012 Buick LaCrosse eAssist on the roads near GM’s proving grounds in Milford, Michigan, and while some hybrid systems vastly change a car’s overall driving experience, we walked away from our time in the Buick feeling as good as we ever have in a LaCrosse. The beauty of eAssist is that it functions in an almost entirely transparent manner, and that’s a very, very good thing.

Read More

2012 Buick LaCrosse dropping trim levels, V6 available as no-cost option

In addition to having eAssist added to its four-cylinder powertrain, the 2012 Buick LaCrosse is undergoing a few other changes. We aren’t talking about styling or content tweaks – instead, General Motors is revising its packaging strategy for the LaCrosse. Buick will be ditching the CX, CXL and CXS trim level designations and simply offer large option packages that encompass all of the available amenities.

For 2012, the 2.4-liter Ecotec engine with eAssist technology will be offered as the “standard” powertrain. We recently had some very limited drive time with an eAssist-equipped LaCrosse (stay tuned for our full impressions), and found the four-cylinder with 182 horsepower and 172 pound-feet of torque to be pleasantly adequate and its highway rating of 37 miles per gallon downright remarkable. eAssist-equipped cars will look no different than other LaCrosses, save the addition of model-specific 17-inch wheels on efficiency-optimized tires and other fuel-saving upgrades not visible from outside the car.

The General’s 280-horsepower direct-injected 3.6-liter V6 will still be made available, complete with the newHiPer Strut front suspension that helps keep torque steer to a minimum, but buyers can now select it as a no-cost option, and also opt for all-wheel drive.

Final pricing information has not been released, but Buick tells us that the entry level LaCrosse will start around $30,000. Currently, the LaCrosse has a base MSRP of $26,995, which suggests the addition of eAssist and its associated fuel-saving parts isn’t cheap. What Buick has effectively done is ditched the “base” LaCrosse model and left two identically priced models for buyers to choose from: one focused on exceptional fuel economy and the other on power.

Production on the 2012 LaCrosse will start this summer with the first round of cars hitting dealerships this Fall.

Read More