Recently, there was a post about the Buick Lucerne written by Thomas, who was ready to defend and recommend it as a winter beater if you think outside the box. What caught my eye was the mention of the Buick LaCrosse, which was minimized to an upgrade on the Epsilon II platform and thus received the 3.6-liter V6 motor dubbed ‘failure-prone.’
Broaching a different take on the GM Hit Or Miss campaign, I am inspired by David’s ownership testimony of a Bimmer once coldly received. This motivates me to craft a response of my own tales with a V6 LaCrosse, and address that engine claim. I’m happy to go further and elaborate on how the second-generation LaCrosse permanently helped Buick shed its old-people image.
[Editor’s Note: Welcome to a guest submission of GM Hit Or Miss. When a Miata owner emailed in claiming that his V6-powered second-generation LaCrosse isn’t a rolling disaster and has proven itself a great daily driver, I raised an eyebrow. Then I read what he wrote, and wow. Color me impressed. Without further ado, take it away, Tyler! —TH]
The Beginnings
Y2K rolled around and Buick had a problem: All of its sedans came from the 1990s. The last time the Century/Regal, Park Avenue, and LeSabre got any sort of reasonable update was around 1997. Technically, the latter got a new generation for 2000, but the G Platform had been in use since the mid-1990s. The world was changing and Buick needed a portfolio refresh. In 2005, this would come.
The Lucerne would ease the transition as the laid-back, bench-seated cruiser, but the Buick LaCrosse came first. Like the LeSabre, the LaCrosse would ride on a modified platform that dates back to several years. This time, it rode on the W-body chassis that supported the Century/Regal twins. It also carried over the tried-and-true 3800 Series V6 that throws back to archaic times. In all, the LaCrosse was an early attempt to modernize an aging sedan lineup that hadn’t caught up with the world yet.
Reviews of it weren’t groundbreaking, but reception was warm enough in the moment. However, the hype quickly wore off. First-year sales of the LaCrosse peaked just shy of 100,000. By 2007, that number was virtually cut in half. The first LaCrosse had a rather short production cycle of a few years before we got a glimpse of what came next, partly because Buick had a very powerful asset.
See, Buick almost didn’t make it out of the Great Recession. If it wasn’t for demand in a certain east Asian country, it would’ve never survived the transition into the 2010s. But thanks to lasting popularity in China, the brand survived the axe faced by Hummer, Saab and Pontiac.
Full Speed Ahead
Now the challenge was to deliver. For Buick, this meant taking the first steps to fight back against the perception that only the elderly population drive them. This meant per the New York Times, the second-gen LaCrosse was to be a “collaboration between designers in the United States and China, in partnership with the Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center.” In other words, it needed overseas appeal from the get-go.
We got a teaser of Buick’s imminent future when it unveiled the Invicta concept in 2008:
As far as concepts go, this was not a radical scope into a vision beyond our lifetime. Rather, the goal was to create something that could be put in production the next day. This is more apparent when you peek inside:
Look at that! A smorgasbord of buttons and switches and a CD player (this is still 2008, mind you) ready to be pushed. The wraparound dashboard was an evolved interpretation of the Opel Insignia, of which it would soon share the same chassis platform.
There was a 10-month gap between the Invicta concept and the second-gen LaCrosse debuting at the North American International Auto Show in January 2009 as a 2010 model. The major styling elements of the prototype carried over to the production car, resulting in a near-perfect copy job. Minimal things like door handles and fog lamps were added, but the transition from turntable to showroom was nearly seamless. In design alone, this car should receive the Most Improved award. I haven’t seen a car make such a marked point of refinement from one generation to the next. Sure, it didn’t have a bench seat like your grandpa’s Buick but when it looks like this, who cares?
That face served grace in a design era before turn signals on bumpers were a thing (looking at you, Hyundai). It was a clean, contemporary take on midsize luxury to ensure buyers would cross-shop the Buick LaCrosse against the Lexus ES.
This new look converted into sales. US popularity soared from 27,818 units sold in 2009 to 61,178 cars in 2010. Numbers would dip slightly in 2011 before rebounding in 2012 with 62,304 sold. It continued to sell in solid numbers in subsequent years, but never to this level again. Some good things happened, though. The first of which was that cross-Pacific design showcased the future of Buick. The second came later when Buick presented a fix to the premium V6 option.
For context, the second-generation LaCrosse debuted with two six-cylinder variants; a 3.0-liter V6 (fine) and 3.6-liter V6 (supposedly less fine). The 2.4-liter Ecotec inline-four base engine arrived soon after. Power ranged from 182 horsepower in base form to 280 horsepower in the top-of-the-line CXS trim (renamed after 2011). Torque would jump from 172 to 259 lb.-ft. The intermediate 3.0-liter V6 was dropped after the first year, leaving just the base engine and the 3.6 available.
The Elephant In The Room
Now it’s time to address the ‘failure-prone V6’ that Thomas was talking about in the Lucerne piece. The Buick LaCrosse indeed rode on the then-new Epsilon II platform, which supported a number of cars such as the Chevrolet Malibu, but also the Saab 9-5 (R.I.P.), Cadillac XTS, and the most recent Impala. It also means the 3.6-liter V6 sold in 2010 and 2011 models was an LLT mill that procured timing chain issues related to stretching. ‘Stretching’ in this case refers to the amount of wear on the chain over time that affects power delivery due to lack of engine compression.
There are other issues, too. Excessive oil burning and faulty camshaft actuators showed up a lot in GM products using the 3.6. Fortunately, the fix for a lot of these shortcomings can be resolved through routine oil changes, which might explain why NewParts calls the engine “quite bulletproof.”
GM took a major step forward to address these issues, with the updated LFX variant of the 3.6 V6 in 2012 going forward. This absolved the timing chain issue, while other troubles simmered. In the Buick, it also resulted in a power bump to 303 horsepower and 264 lb.-ft. of torque. Motor Trend clocked a zero-to-60 mph time of 6.4 seconds in a 2010 LaCrosse. A 2012 model could maybe knock a few tenths off of that.
[Editor’s Note: The 2.4-liter four-cylinder is also a problematic powertrain. A class action lawsuit has been launched in Canada over oil consumption on this engine in Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain crossovers, which claims that faulty piston rings are to blame. In addition, the LFX V6 is subject to a technical service bulletin over rod bearing issues. —TH]
Where My Ownership Foibles Come In
Other downsides of the LaCrosse? Well, transitioning a concept car to production with few changes brings ergonomic flaws. For instance, that massive C-pillar means rear visibility is atrocious with horrible blind spots, and that rounded dashboard can create a cocoon-like feeling inside, which is not ideal in some driving solutions like parking. I know this firsthand because I own a second-generation Buick LaCrosse.
My car is a 2012 sedan painted in White Diamond with the classic tan interior. I can’t tell you which trim level it is with certainty because it was a trade between military families before it fell into my hands. When my parents took possession in 2016, it had just over 40,000 miles. Now in 2023, it’s sitting at a shade over 85,000.
While I am not 100 percent sure on trim, the package that closely fits this LaCrosse is the Premium II. Ticking this nets you — if I follow the brochure here — ventilated seats, heated steering wheel, power rear sunshade, passive entry, and push-button start. It also has some individual options such as blind spot monitoring, a dual-pane sunroof and the Driver Confidence package, which includes xenon headlamps, a color display in the gauge cluster and a heads-up display. I am not sure how it has some features of Premium I — rear park assist sensors, seat memory settings, auto-dimming rearview mirror — but somehow omits the backup camera. Did Buick do a 2012.5 update that I’m not aware of? I dove into the LaCrosse rabbit hole and so far have come up empty.
While I don’t have all of the details, the previous original owner was an elderly gentleman who drove it until he couldn’t anymore. As a result, that’s why the LaCrosse you see here has some permanent curb rash on the left side skirt as well as a minor door rash on the other side. My parents put in some suspension work as a result of it not being driven kindly. All of this occurred years ago.
Now, virtually nothing is wrong with it mechanically. The engine still runs like a dream, the transmission is cooperative, the suspension absorbs road imperfections like a steamroller against a pillow. The AC compressor just got a Freon charge to keep the cabin cool, an ideal move for living in Texas. There are also blemishes here and there on the exterior that come with age but otherwise, my LaCrosse is in perfect running condition.
Greatness Comes With Age
So, back to what prompted me to share this. Well, in talking about the Lucerne, the conclusion was that it was replaced by a LaCrosse that was engine-shamed for inevitably going to fail on you. While initially true, these issues were mostly ironed out by 2012, with Buick claiming it came down to owners not following routine service intervals. Backing this further is Consumer Reports naming the 2012 Buick LaCrosse as one of the 10-year-old sedans to buy. Other names dropped – via GM Authority – are the Toyota Camry, Honda Accord and the Mazda6. That’s very good company to be in.
If the Lucerne marked a turning point for GM in terms of quality, the LaCrosse marked the turning point for Buick in terms of brand direction. In the past, Buick thrived in China as status-symbol cars for various political figures in the 20th century. Later, building cars locally as well in addition to joint collaborations with Chinese car company SAIC cemented its brand popularity there. It was a matter of time before its influence would reach the United States. That’s why we got those commercials of old people seeing a modern Regal and going, ‘That’s not a Buick!”
A CNBC report noted that across the Pacific, China garnered about 80 percent of global sales associated with Buick in 2018. The report also claimed that the average age of a Buick driver in China hovered between 32 and 33. These days, GM Authority says that the average age of a Buick driver in the US is in the mid-50s and reportedly ‘trending downwards.’ The Chinese impact is clear in the lineup that has made it onto American shores. The Envision, for instance, is built over there and exported to us, courtesy of SAIC. That extends to the Encore GX and latest Envista.
As for the traditional Buick sedan? It’s disappeared from American showrooms completely. The Verano – also SAIC-backed – came, and went, to plug a gap in the entry-luxury hole in Buick’s lineup. The LaCrosse got a refresh for 2014 before a third generation arrived in 2017. It never sold more than 30,000 units per year after 2015. Thus, the LaCrosse bowed out of the US in 2019, though it’s still sold in China. American cars are less popular in China these days, and that includes Buick, but the brand clearly has more cachet there than here based on sales numbers.
In fact, there’s a fourth generation now that we can’t have. What we lose in a new LaCrosse, we gained in the ones that came previously. The second-generation sedan brought such an improvement over the first one, had a design that brought greater youth appeal and forever saved a brand that stays with us today, even if we Americans only get SUVs out of it.
Some of you may note that this is not the first time a Buick owner has advocated for sedan greatness, nor I hope it to be the last. But it does mean there is a certain magic with these cars that seems to come out once the newness wears off and the paint loses its shine. As readers and writers of this site have proven, a second or third (or 27th) chance to give TLC to a car initially unloved can bring unprecedented joy, as long as you’re mindful of the impact it can have on your wallet.
So Thomas, that’s three Buicks now we can deem a hit. Now I implore you to get a Lucerne and prove its worth in ownership gold. I’ll log off now and drive my LaCrosse some more.
[Editor’s Note: I concur, the second-generation Buick LaCrosse was a hit. While reliability issues have marred the car’s legacy, it was a giant leap forward for Buick as a brand that helped justify GM’s decision to keep it around. As for my prospects of buying a Lucerne, I just bought something much dumber, so I’m out of the market for a while —TH]
(Photo credits: Buick, Tyler Anderson)
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What about the Buick Park avenue sold in China that’s basically a Chevy PPV, Holden Caprice.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holden_Caprice_(WM)
Also sold in the Middle East as a Chevy and Korea as a Daewoo and finally Germany as a Bitter.
Didn’t Martha Stewart say these were a good thing?
I have zero interest in any variety of SUV. I will buy a van, a sedan, or a station wagon first. The best of late model Buicks, by far, is the TourX, though.
Despite the unfortunate name, this is a wonderful machine. And used examples are still selling for very close to their price as new.
Think about that for a minute. We are constantly told that ‘Americans don’t want station wagons’. But the reality is, that there is a market, albeit a smaller one than SUVs or CUVs, which really wants them.
It is my contention that the problem with GM, is that as soon as they figure out what people want, they stop making it. It’s like someone with ptsd, who subconciously sabotages themselves in relationships, due to a fear of success. I’ve seen it over and over at General Motors.
They should have never stopped making the LaCrosse. They should have never stopped making the TourX. The tooling was paid for. All they needed to do was update drivetrains here and there. Look how Jeep does this. It just works.
Stop trying to sell me various sizes of ungainly, egg-shaped mobile living rooms, Buick. I want a big, relaxing sedan or station wagon, with a hybrid power train.
That’s it. Simple.
I’ve probably only seen 3 Regal TourX wagons
I really liked the Tour X too, as it was very attractive, roomy, powerful, and relatively fuel-efficient; but GM being GM, equipping it with non-defeatable stop/start, an engine recommending premium fuel, and no way to stow a doughnut spare tire (a subwoofer fills the space) makes it a no-go for me and probably many others. Not to mention GM essentially advertised the Tour X as an example of “old Buick” to ignore in its rush to transition Buick into an all-cookie-cutter CUV brand. .
I don’t know what happened to non-luxury wagons. I wished there were at least a few models available for a small but stable market similar to how one can still purchase a minivan from Toyota/Honda/Kia/Chrysler. But instead, everyone basically gave the non-luxury wagon market to Subaru who then turns around, cancels the Legacy wagon, and makes the Outback more SUV-like with each passing generation to the point where the next one will likely be little more than a 2-row Ascent.
Nicely done. Thanks for the little bit deeper dive and for sharing your experience. However, “most improved” generation will always go to the seventh gen Malibu.
My dad had a Lucerne. All I remember about that car was the horrible visibility out back. Blind spots, rear view mirror, side mirrors, it didn’t matter. Backing out of his moderately inclined driveway was an act of faith.
Why I back in every time
Call me crazy – but with EVs taking over, it makes sense that sedans such as this Buick, wagons and hatchbacks, return.
Hear me out:
SUVs/CUVs & Trucks have taller, boxer bodies that make for poor mileage and lesser range. They also generally cost more than most people can pay anymore.
With CAFE going the way of the Dodo, there’s no corporate need to call a hatchback an SUV to get around mileage rules. (even tho certain car makers call their EV offerings an SUV when they’re not. I’m looking at you, Hyundai Ioniq 5)
Sedans, wagons and hatchbacks are lower and sleeker – even the smaller ones – and less costly than their same-platform CUV counterparts.
Because they’re lower and sleeker – they get better range and perform better on the roads that we travel on 95% of the time.
Next up for reconsideration: Big Grilles and Angry Styling….
Say it louder for folks in the back
I just traded in my 2014 Lacrosse Premium 1 AWD. 48,000 miles. I LOVED that car! Had a 2011 prior and did loyalty trade up to a 2014. Very luxury, extremely smooth quiet ride. Had zero mechanical issues as far as engine. Replaced fuel module recently. Woukd have purchased a new one in a heartbeat! Only reason traded it in was heading to further depreciation as sedans are hard for dealerships to sell unless BMW or Mercedes. So it was time. Got an Envision, learning to like it more each day.
Personally, I never worried about dealership value. My family tends to hold onto cars until they konk out (Ex. 2006 Ram 2500 with 200k miles). I’ve got a 2021 Miata as well that holds its fiscal value well but it brings much joy and sentimental value that is more important
I will say that LaCrosse didn’t have the High Feature V6 starting with the 2nd generation; the 1st generation had the option of the even more fragile LY7 3.6 but I Will agree with Buick that the High Feature V6 is an engine that DOES NOT tolerate ANY sort of maintenance neglect, much like the Ford Triton 3V V8s and the pre 2007 Chrysler 2.7 V6s
The Chrysler 2.7 has the oil sludge issues ironed out by ’04. Agreed that maintenance neglect on those engines was a bad look and big problem though.
I remember when the 1st gen lacrosse came out here in Canada. They called it the allure because lacrosse is slang for masturbation in Quebec.
My mother in law just got one of these and it’s nice! The interior is cushy, has a very comfortable ride, probably to satisfy it’s still aged buyer demographic. If you don’t think everything needs to be a sports car it’s quite good.
I’m on our third Regal sedan, a rental car spec 2015 that replaced my 2008 SAAB convertible when the 2.8 turbo engine died. 123,000 miles (bought used at 19,000) and only issue was a failed VVT component that gave warning as it died. I’m keeping this Regal for a long time. Buick should have kept a sedan.
So sad that the SAAB died – that was a surprisingly great car. I never got around to getting a convertible, but have driven 10s of thousands of miles in 93s – definitely the best version of the platform.
That convertible was really my dream car. Turned out the engine was its weak point. The dealer was never able to diagnose what happened other than it got a service and then everything on the dash lit up. They were getting ready to yank the engine out of the car but none of this was warranty work. I cut my losses. I traded it for the 2015 Regal I have now. I’m thinking someone bought the convertible and did their own engine swap, which I had neither the time nor the talent to do.
I tried to hold out for a SAAB 93 Aero but they’re holy grails
I wish they still made them. I’m sad whenever I see a 9-3 running around, but the ones with the all-wheel drive systems are invisible around here in Tennessee. Same with the Aero package.
The 93 FWD is good in the snow, even with the factory tires – you only need the AWD if you are off-pavement a lot. Agree that I wish they still made them.
Too bad GM didn’t bring more of its Chinese Buicks over here. The GL8 is a nice van, especially the Avenir 🙂
That Envista doesn’t look too bad, either.
Anything but SUVs please
I have ridden in many a GL8 during my travels there. They are legit. It was always that or a Passat.
GM really had its sedan game going from 2010 to about 2016. Too bad people were buying vehicles by the pound at that point which meant CUV.
My family was a Buick family going way back. My great-grandfather bought a ‘55, ‘65, and ‘75 Electra 225 (each new), and owned all 3 til his death. My grandparents had a ‘93 Park Avenue (I’m foggy on which myself but that’s what I think it was), and then somewhere along the way our family just kinda stopped buying Buicks. I actually liked the last of the “old guard” Buicks, so the new LaCrosse didn’t impress me much. But there’s no arguing it’s aged well.
Starting in a few months, it looks like I may end up having to regularly drive from Phoenix to LA. This would be a great car for such a journey.
Imagine being a random exec at GM and one day finding out this is a regular column on a massive (and hopefully ever growing!) car site.
Also, that pic of the Buick lineup of yesteryear, you could give me all 6 names of all 6 cars to match up, and the only one I’m certain I could get it Rendezvous. I couldn’t tell you what size, class or differences any car in their lineup had. People hate on the Germans for Russian-nesting-dolling their lineups, but sheesh.
An elderly family member just sold their 2012 Lacrosse eAssist a few months back. It was a surprisingly nice car, and aside from issues with the small hybrid battery, pretty reliable for the 11 years they had it. It wasn’t a fast car, but it was comfortable, rode well, quiet, and got decent gas mileage for the size.
I was actually tempted to buy the car for myself when they sold it, but in the end someone else wanted it for more than I was willing to spend, which was indicative that the car must have been a success to someone.
Tangent: I have a conspiracy theory about the first-gen Lacrosse.
Specifically, it was a rejected design for the 2000 Taurus that somehow found its way to GM.
I came to this conclusion one night when I followed one home. “Who upgraded the taillights on their Taurus?” I thought, before realizing what it was.
Then I started noticing things. Lots of oval motifs, the four headlight look that recalled the ’96 – albeit in a sensible way. Lots of similar shapes, the greenhouse is very familiar. Really the only major difference is that it doesn’t have the hollowed-out bodysides that the 2000 Taurus maintained (so they didn’t have to tool up new doors).
Anyway the sequel, what we are talking about today, isn’t Taurus-like at all but where else am I going to talk about this.
Absolutely right. Buick took a lot of flack for that, and rightly so.
The evolution of GM design was stuck in the dinosaur age until the meteor hit
My father factory ordered a 2011, as he was a big Buick guy. The car was snake bit from the start. The car came in and was delivered by the dealer to their house. On the way, they managed to get it T-boned in the mall parking lot, where the dealer was participating in a new car show. When they showed up and went over the damage, they actually asked my parents if they still wanted it. After telling them hells no, they re-ordered one. That car came in fine, except that the Lacrosse badge on the trunk lid was crooked. My eye always went directly to it! The memory seat never worked correctly, even after replacement under warranty, it had a mind of its own. The last straw was a just out of warranty issue with the infotainment system, requiring replacement of the head unit. Probably the most unpleasant feature of the car was the curved dashboard, which I would constantly whack my knee on while climbing in and out of the drivers side. I always wondered how Shaq was able to pour himself in that thing, considering I’m 5’6”!
Here is how Shaq fit in the Buick: https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a15370361/shaqed-up-can-shaquille-oneal-even-fit-in-a-buick-lacrosse-we-find-out/
Once rode in a LaCrosse to La Crosse to play lacrosse. It was alright.
I see what you did there.
Let me CROSS the street to give you a high five
Having never driven one, and possibly never even sat in one, I greatly prefer the styling of the first gen. The headlights were unique and stood out, the second gen was far more anonymous. In fact, if you just strip out the trademark waterfall grill from the second gen, there is nothing that stands out about it in any way, it’s too boring and I hate it for that. Even if it is the better car mechanically and on the inside.
Buick sales in China were off substantially last year. This may have been supply chain issues or it could be the beginning of the end of Buick’s Magic Chinese Elixir.
I think China has gone to heavily prioritizing local brands. Which was inevitable, really.
It’s not like we’re doing the same thing and slapping massive tariffs on Chinese goods.
We are finally reacting to their long-term strategy, but it is likely a bit late in the game. They will have to slap some massive tariffs on to keep the cheap EVs out of here that are filling the segment western makers are leaving wide open.
Yeah. After they gained all of the design and manufacturing expertise from western makers through their mandatory joint ventures over the last 30 years, they can push their own stuff. Another example of the Chinese capitalizing on our greed in pursuit of their long game objectives.
Can’t blame them for our foolish behavior. I’d do the same 100%.
Reading about late model Buicks is similar to reading progress notes on a geriatric patient, who is slowly starving to death from lack of adequate nutrition. Occasionally, there will be muted optimism following a quick parenteral infusion of calories in the emergency department. However, rapidly thereafter, the patient again manifests a failure to thrive, despite all the most well-intentioned interventions.
As someone that’s worked w/ elderly for a decade, this made me LOL. Such an apt description.
All I want to know, is when can I buy a new 1962 Buick LeSabre, but with a nice hybrid power train? What the heck, GM… It’s really NOT rocket surgery.
My father bought one as a commuter in 2011-ish. I drove from PA to IN a few times in that car (an excellently comfortable and serene highway cruiser–even at 90 m.p.h.). I picked up my date to prom in that thing too. After my father moved on to something a little more exciting for daily driving my brother inherited it and street parked it in Chicago for a few years. Now my sister drives it around the middle of nowhere PA. I think my parents stuck to the extreme oil change intervals (its the Hybrid 2.4) and I have no idea how my siblings are taking care of it, but we have had no powertrain issues whatsoever. My brother’s time with the car was unfortunately marred by several failing ABS sensors and the interior is falling apart a little (dang plastic chrome) but that’s the worst issues its had.
Back when it was my Dad’s daily, a cop pulled us over on 276 and said he clocked us going 96. My dad courageously fired back “This is a hybrid, I don’t think it can do 96″ (which I had proven false the previous spring: it would hold 110 very comfortably even if it took its sweet time getting there) and mentioned a similarly-colored merc that had flown by a few minutes before. Insanely, the cop let him go without even a warning lol.
Part of the timing chain stretching issue was due to the adoption of some aggressive oil change intervals. This was back when people were being sold on 10 and 15k change intervals.
If you waited until the oil life indicated was under 20% you were likely around 8k or 9k miles. Most techs that were paying attention told their customers to change oil twice as often and they never had problems. All the old timers who swore by 3k intervals like religion were like “see, told you”.