Despite all of us comparing the Lucerne to the Avalon (which definitely is what it seems to compete with to me as well), I was watching a show last night and there were several different commercials for the Lucerne on it. They pretty much all made the Northstar V8 a focus of the commercial, which I guess will work well if enough people recognize the name from Caddy's lineup.

But I did think the comment "The ES330 doesn't offer a V8 at ANY price point" was pretty indicative that they're specifically targeting the ES330 (well, two months away from being the ES350) - because they could have made that same statement about the Avalon as well as almost any other entry level luxury car on the market.

What I think is crazy is if Buick thinks that the Northstar option is the crown jewel on the entire car - the one piece that will attract buyers via advertisements, then why do they feel that the old 3800 V6 isn't going to lose them many sales since they feel the majority of their buyers are going to be old fogeys who just want a dependable motor that can accelerate well enough to keep up with traffic?

Anyhow... in the end... if they keep those commercials up once the ES350 is released I'm going to find them pretty ironic because the one thing they're critisizing the ES350 for (the motor) is actually one of the areas where the ES' 3.5L outperforms the Northstar when in those two cars: acceleration and gas milage. It just manages to do it with 3/4s the cylinders.

 

Welcome to marketing and advertising.

 

 

They just picked a feature that the competition didn't have, and ran with it. They may very well have been running agains Avalon when someone noticed that the Lexus didn't have one either. So why not associate your car w/ a Lexus? Who knows. I would imagine the Northstar name has some recognition in that target audience.

 

If people looked at stats instead of just is this a V8, V6, 4cyl. then GM would have sold a lot more LS1s

No one would have picked on the Colorados 3.5L engine if it was a 6 cyl insted of 5 cyl with the same displacement and power.

 

I think for some people (especially in the older demographic), just having a V8 is enough. They automatically associate that with power, prestige, luxury, quiet operation, etc. I remember when my g/f's grandfather (since passed, RIP) first saw my black w/ tan leather 2001 Alero, which was a 2.4L 4 cylinder/ 5 speed manual/ otherwise loaded car. The first thing he asked was "you have a V8 in that?" I had to stifle a laugh, then explain that it was just a four cylinder (never mind that it would have been quicker than his V8 Town Car). He was in his late 70's at the time, I believe.

The 280 hp V6 in the Avalon/ES350 is an excellent engine, for sure, and it is even quicker than the slightly larger, heavier Lucerne with the V8. But I guarantee it doesn't sound as nice, as mellow, as effortless (especially given that the Lucerne makes quite a bit more peak torque, and lower in the rev scale).

I do wish the Lucerne had the six speed auto behind its Northstar, though.

 

I would guess next year it will be. The ES330 is using a 5spd but the 350 will use a 6 speed.

 

Threxx you missed something: They specifically said the ES330 not the ES. If they had said the ES then yes the ES350 would have been included in that but since they specified the current model your argument is null. Although they can still say that with the 350 it and it will be true. Also if your car has something that 2 models don't who are you going to compare it to the lower or higher one?

 

I just said if they keep that advertisement up when the 330 is replaced by the 350 it's going to seem ironic to me. But that wasn't really the only point of this thread... I was also pointing out their focus on the motor in a car that seems to be heavily lacking in that department in base trim.

And yeah, I know how marketing works and the commercials make sense in marketing terms; but that's what us car guys like to do... cut through the market hype and see what's really there.

 

2006 is the last year for the 3800, so for 2007 the Lucerne will have a more competative V6. Direct injection High Feature V6 probably.

 

Well.... the line is "The ES330 doesn't offer a V8 at ANY price point"... right?

So... I don't think that really implies anything about Buick's base level powertrain... it's saying "If you want to step up to a V8, here it is!"

 

That's not what I was getting at either, I know what their marketing department is telling people. In my original post I was saying more or less 'a lot of people have said that the majority of lucerne buyers could care less about the powerplant, yet of all the features on the car, their marketing department decided that bragging about the premium motor was the best way to market their car'. In other words, they thought that would grab people's attention more than anything else. So obviously they think their average buyer WILL care about the powertrain.

 

Perhaps... but, I suppose they have all the bases covered... the majority of the buyer still probably don't care so much about the powertrain, and will buy the V6... and with the Northstar, they can try to grab people who DO care about the powertrain.

And, they are addressing an issue that the car has been bashed for... "Don't like the plain-jane V6? Here, we have a V8 for you!"

 

There's no use in arguing.

 

It's just like the ricer argument you hear from the Honda guys, i.e. bragging about how and engine is designed as opposed to the results. Only instead of hearing "it has DOHC and VTEC and a high specific output, therefore it's a great engine!", you hear "it has eight cylinders, therefore it's a great engine!"

In the real world it's the results that count, and just like a C5 would outperform an S2000 in most respects, so too does the ES outperform Lucerne.