First Test: 2010 Buick LaCrosse CXS

There was a time long ago, boys and girls, when all telephones had cords, music could be purchased only on cumbersome black discs, and cigarettes were advertised on TV as a digestive aid. Back in those blurry, black-and-white days, well-off professional Americans in the prime of their careers aspired to own Buicks. The brand became known as "the doctor's car," because it provided most of the creature comforts, quiet performance, and gravitas of a glitzy Cadillac without causing patients or clients to question their house-call charges. Today we have earpiece phones, Napster, and the Surgeon General's Warning, but most Buick customers are still old enough to remember those "More doctors smoke Camels" testimonials from 1949 and the scrubs set now buys its low-profile luxury from Lexus.

Might this car lure them back to Buick? Clearly the 2010 LaCrosse has been aimed squarely at the front-drive Lexus ES 350. The Buick's basic profile and proportioning ape the Lexus, though it's 5.9 inches longer, 1.4 inch wider, and 2.1 inches taller, with most of the extra space benefiting rear-seat passengers. The body sculpting and chrome flourishes are much more expressive than the ES 350's, especially the crisp bow-wake shoulder line and concave lower "light catcher."


Rear windows afford good visibility despite arching roofline. Chrome flourishes over the taillamps are meant to resemble calligraphy brush strokes.
If the exterior entices, the interior could seal the deal. Designed in China, where yuppies already revere Buicks, its vaguely Asian aesthetic of curves and arcs decorated with double-seam stitching and relatively convincing faux wood has a soothing effect-especially at night, when it's all accented in ice-blue ambient lighting. Shut the doors, roll up the acoustic glass (front) and extra thick (5mm rear) windows, and it's like the dome of silence has descended, providing meditation-garden levels of tranquility.

Better still: The tranquil mood never morphs to open rage when attempting to program the nav system, pair a Bluetooth phone, or access the myriad other vehicle features. In fact, on my first night home with the car I sat in the driveway for ages programming the car to avoid all my pet peeves (driver-only unlock, automatic locking, horn chirp on lock, etc.), and did it all without cracking the owner's manual. It felt a lot like the first day home with a new toy from the Apple store. Everything's easily controlled by the eight-inch touch screen, but fingerprintphobes can use the rotary **** and buttons instead and once everything's programmed, many of the features can also be accessed via voice command.

We got the chance to take the new LaCrosse for a spin at a GM press event in Detroit this week, and we can tell you in all seriousness: this is a really, really good car. It's not a hot-dog performer or an all-out technological luxury onslaught, but it does combine mid-size powertrains and pricing with large-sedan size and comfort, all with a healthy dose of style and luxury.