OK, guys......save the laughing and jeering. I went and looked at this car for a reason. After posting a thread last week from an article in AUTOWEEK comparing this car to the Toyota Avalon and Lexus ES300, and getting mixed feelings and reactions about it from CL members, I said then that I would withhold my own comments ( not having had seen or driven the car ) until I had a chance to evaluate the car myself. Well, today I had that chance....and I also had a couple of requests from fellow CL members wanting my opinion of this car and my review of it. Yes, I KNOW.....this car, ( or at least the car it replaces )...... as much as I don't believe in stereotypes, DOES have a reputation as a rolling Geritol bottle....a Grandpa / Grandma-mobile. But, as always, I did not that stereotype or bias influence me at all. I evaluated this car, as I usually do, strictly on its merits....and demerits. I also wanted to see this car for myself because Bob Lutz, GM CEO and a person I generally think highly of, has announced that he is giving up his chauffer-driven Cadillac for a new Lucerne.

http://www.buick.com/lucerne/index.jsp#top

Models examined:
2006 Lucerne CX, MSRP $26,990
2006 Luverne CXL MSRP $28,990
2006 Lucerne CXS MSRP $35,990

Model tested: 2006 Lucerne CXS, price as tested $39,235.

The Lucerne CX comes with GM's age-old push-rod 3.8L V6 ( an engine I grew up with in the 1960's ); the CXL with the choice of that engine or a Cadillac-Northstar-derived V8, and the CXS strictly with the V8. All versions have a 4-speed front-drive automatic....the basic design of which goes back to the early 1980's.

PLUSSES:

Smooth, quiet, torquey V8

Soft, comfortable, sink-down-into-them cloth seats ( in base CX version )

Quiet and fairly smooth ride.........not quite as smooth as previous big Buicks....without any floating.

Firm-feel brake pedal

Lots of trunk space

Good heating / AC in the GM tradition

Well-designed, easy-to-use manual climate controls with big knobs in base model.

Power steering has some road feel.........not as numb and feathery as in past Buicks

Pop-out spring-loaded rear coat hooks are a good idea.

Exterior chrome not as cheap-looking as previous models.


MINUSES:

STILL a cheap-looking and cheap-feeling interior...especially for a Buick Flagship. In fact, I think the dash plastic and fake wood trim inside is a step DOWN from the last car, not UP.

Creak-O-Matic body structure needs improvement....it does not feel or sound solid. ( What was that you were saying, flip, about Buick frame damage in accidents? )

So-so exterior fit-and-finish, with wide panel gaps and second-rate paint job.

Steering wheel too large...felt like something out of the late 1940's.

Too-loud turn signals

Brake pedal too high......requires an awkward lift of your foot, and your foot can get caught under it.

Leather seats in CXL uncomfortable.....seams press into your back.....and the leather seats in the top-level CXS are as slippery as ice.

CXS too pricey for its quality level, in spite of what you get.

This car replaces the former Park Avenue and Ultra in the marketplace. Well, right off the bat, my first impression of this car was disappointing at best. Given Bob Lutz's public hawking of this car, it being his first choice, and the high opinion of AUTOWEEK.......I defintely expected better. While the car DOES have its good points, in general, I do not share that high opinion. I first sat in the entry-level CX, with its cheap plastic interior, flimsy glovebox, awkward column-shifter and foot-pedal parking brake, cheap-looking and cheap-feeling trim, and was immediately turned off. Yet it was the ONLY version of the three whose seats I actually liked.....reminded me of the big, soft, comfortable seats of the Buicks I grew up with.The leather seats in the upmarket CXL were definitely not as comfortable....and the seams were poorly designed and pressed into your back and buns uncomfortably....but the CXL's trim was noticeably better done than the base CXL, and it had a console and console shifter.....and fake-wood trim ( awful, shiny stuff ) on the console as well. The top-level CXS, not surprisingly, had the glitziest and best-looking interior with the most features....but it was not REAL quality. Like the Chrysler 300C, it was cheap materials with just a little glitz on top of them......and I would choose the 300C's interior over any of the 3 Lucerne models.
All three models had plenty of space in the trunk, and the trunk was well-finished....better in some ways than in the cabin where people ride.

On the road, ( CXS version ) the Northstar-derived engine had plenty of power, though, as a luxury car, it was not designed as a drag-racer but for smooth, quiet power flow. The body structure was just like in past Buicks.....creaky and with minor rattles over bumps, even in a brand-new car. The power steering appears to have been reworked for slightly better road feel than past versions ( which still isn't saying much ) and the Cream-of-Wheat suspension has a little less Cream to it this year. Otherwise not a huge difference from past big Buicks...still the same library-quiet noise level. Brakes, surprisingly ( and a BIG difference from GM trucks ) are firm and effective, although the brake pedal is much too high off the floor and is way above the gas-pedal level, requiring an awkward lift-up that can trap a big, size-15 shoe like mine.

The 4 speeds in the automatic transmission, of course, are less efficient than more modern 5, 6, and even Mercedes 7-speed units, but with the quiet drivetrain, abundant torque, and cruising nature of this car you don't notice it most of the time.

Handling, while not sports-car-like by any means, is a slight step up from the previous model, although it is obvious that this car is not designed for the mountain twisties. The 50-series 18" tires on the CXS model probably give it a little edge in the handling department over the 16" 60-series tires on the base CX.....but at the expense of a little ride comfort. And, of course, ride comfort would generally not be a problem in any of the 3 versions.

Another GM strong point is good climate control. Here, like in the past, the new Buick certainly doesn't disappoint. The A/C will treat you like a penguin in a hurry. The base CX models with manual climate control have superb, easy-to use round knobs.....the CXL and CXS automatic units somewhat less so.

The steering wheel is WAY too large for my tastes.....perhaps in a concession to the older people with arthiritic arms and shoulders who often buy this type of car. A larger wheel usually means not only less effort in turning but a shorter reach as well. Perhaps that is the reason for the loud click-click turn signals, too...aging ears, although I noticed the same thing in the not-so-Grandpa Dodge Magnum Hemi.

So....there you have it. This is car primarily designed for comfort but with disappointing ( and in some cases VERY dissapointing ) interior trim and hardware quality. It has an engine ( in CXS and some CXL trims ) that will easily get the car out of its own way and brakes that will stop it with a firm feel. It is not the best car for the twisties but will relax you at the end of a hard day.

Would I buy one? No. I say that NOT because of an anti-GM or an anti-Grandpa / Grandma bias, and I, for one, LIKE a smooth ride like this one. But Buick management has publically targeted Lexus as its goal for fit-and-finish and this car, to be frank, is a LONG way from a Lexus. IMO it had numerous disappointments and I just feel that there are better foreign and domestic-nameplate vehicles out there in the same price range competing for your automotive dollar. I honestly don't think that this car is a particularly good value for the money. The Lexus ES330 with its quality, smooth ride and superb interior and comfort, the Lincoln Zephyr with its classy trim, and even the Chrysler 300C with its Mercedes-derived chassis and transmission make a better overall car for the money, even though the ES330 and Zephyr do not have the Northstar V8 option that the Buick has.