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Buick LaCrosse
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Comments
Allure CXS MSRP is around $33K CDN. Camry XLE is about the same up here. Equipment varies a little but they are similar. Allure CXS has more hp, style (IMO) and more space I believe. Don't care about NAV systems nor do most people.
The 00 Impala LS I traded in for it also had fake wood.
The worst I ever saw was on the early Altimas, where it was ORANGE!
Camry - Speedo set does not match the radio which does not match the A/C controls. Only Toyota is this cheap to use LCD instruments. Even a cheap Ford can match all the controls. No backseat reading lamps in the Camry. Door switches are not light & smaller, less supportive seats in the Camry.
The Camry and the LaCrosse are priced the way they are equipped.
The better question is can they do so at a competitive price point? The jury remains out.
Allure/LaCrosse is better than the Camry inside and out in terms of style and quality. Buick already has a stellar quality reputation and record (go look at the JD Power site), they just need to hammer the message and get the word out better. All you see in Toyota ads is quality claims, they have done a great job instilling that in peoples minds.
Advertising has not really started on the this car so it will be interesting to see how they position it.
buick has a stellar quality reputation in terms of reliability. if you work with the same designs long enough you're bound to eventually get the bugs worked out.
what kind of message does GM instil in people's mind with their ads? red tag sales, 0% interest for what ever, rebates....
Key here is marketing the quality and the value hard. Incentives will be added but they have a car that is worthy of much fewer of them.
Sigh.
I agree that Toyota should needs to get the radio and climate displays to match- but I dont feel they need to match the speedo/tach. Thats personal preference. However, all Camrys, even the $19,000 Standard model, feature electroluminescent instrumentation, decidedly more upscale than standard dials.
The incentives argument is a hard play, because the LaCrosse, compared to many competitors seems overpriced.
Finally, there will be a review of the LaCrosse in next months issue of Consumer Reports, which has met GMs most recent offerings with mixed feelings- the Malibu is rated quite high, while the differently tuned G6, quite low.
~alpha
I don't yet know what their verdict of the LaCrosse will be, but I'm starting to take what they say with a grain of salt. I know they have not been very fond of most Buicks lately.
Look on the bright side- at least GM is truly and finally differentiating between vehicles that share the same platforms.
~alpha
Is the Canadian Allure decontented compared to the US version? In the US, a 2005 Standard Camry lists for a little over $18000 and a 2005 LaCrosse CX lists for around $23500! That's a pretty big spread. The LaCrosse CX is priced about the same as a Camry XLE.
-Andrew L
I know what I would get after adding a few hundred for ABS.
i'm thrilled.
I have not tested one but for the $$, the Lacrosse CX certainly seems like a better car than anything else in it's price range.
$1000 rebate, $2,500 GM card, and, most probably, $1,500 additional rebate for GM card holders. This makes $5,000. It lefts dealer discount of $2,125. Very good discount for new model in the beginning of model year. Not only way better than Edmunds TVM, but probably a bit lower than invoice. I guess because the car is very unpopular without ABS.
also, it was late in the afternoon on 1/3/05 (when the red tag sale and gm card bonus dollars were ending).
i didn't trade anything so i had a really good read on the numbers---in other words they couldn't pull any typical dealer bs with trade allowance, etc.
23,625.00 msrp
2,625 dealer disc
1,000 bonus certificates
1,000 rebate
1,000 gmac bonus program dollars (i didn't think this was available on the lacrosse but they gave it to me. and i'll refinance the 7.25 gm rate to a much lower rate in a week or so.
2,500 in gm card allowance (this was great)
16,500 final deal
i know it doesn't have abs or won't hold up well in the depreciation game against accord or camry but i paid much less than the foreign jobs.
i really recommend a test drive of this car. for the money (even adding $$$ to my lucky deal) it's really pretty good.
You're right, the gm card dollars and what i believe was a mistake by the dealer on the gmac bonus program (i've got the car) did make this an unusual deal.
This may be a combination of early euphoria over a great deal and the newness of the car ... but, as i said, if you can get into a LaCrosse for 19 or so, it's worth it. I'm sure more (better) incentives will pop later this year (or next week). I know one thing, even with all the rebates and super dooper sales, the dealers here in St. Louis didn't appear to be too busy.
I've had several cynical foreign car owners drive the LaCrosse and they were impressed.
The least expensive LaCrosse CX is, basically, Regal LS (3.8l engine) with new skin and Century price. LaCrosse CXL is like loaded Regal LS.
The most expensive LaCrosse CXL replaces loaded Regal GS. Its modern engine produces the same power, and improvements mostly concerns noise insulating and electronics - audio, optional stablilitrak, optional remote starter etc. Loaded Regal GS also had MSRP above $30k.
The last time I looked on Buick data, the ratio of Century to Regal sold was about 3:1. GM does not publish sales statistics for different trims; however I see about 3 times more Regal LS on the streets than Regal GS. I guess that the same will happen with LaCross: after initial period, sales of CX:CXL:CXS will be about 9:3:1.
Concerning ABS: the last two years they became optional for many GM models who used to have standard ABS, including Buick Regal. Many competitors always had only optional ABS. Looks as rush to bottom: the prices looks better in comparison tables.
It is probably OK to have a car without ABS on flat terrains, without snow. Definitely not in New England. Dangerous and irresponsible.
I would probably spend the extra money and get ABS as it helps even on wet flat pavement which one gets everywhere.
I have seen about 3 Allures on the road so far. They look pretty typical Buick, a bit sportier than the others though. The new Impala looks to be another good GM sedan, check out the pictures. They will have a V8 with DOD option instead of the 3.6L in the Buick.
You said: "The new Impala looks to be another good GM sedan, check out the pictures".
Where can I see the pictures? We will looking for a third car in 2006 or 2007. Our son is 14 already.
Regal was a nice looking car, especially in GS trim. That said it was also a bit dated all around and I would take a the more refined 3.6L over a 3800 SC.
http://www.saturn.com/saturn/showroom/future_vehicles/aura.jsp?na- v=720
It's a steelmist metallic cloth CX with the front bench/column trans shifter seat set up. Which is what we wanted. It had the exact options/seat/color we wanted. In addition to the bench seat option ($200). It has the silver package with remote starter, steering wheel radio controls,dual zone climate controls, and some other items. Alloy wheels,ABS,and a spoiler. It is exactly the car and color we wanted. With the spoiler the only thing we diddn't want, but wasn't a deal breaker.
The MSRP came to about $26,000. I won't take delivery untill they get the car from the other dealer of course.
Since I was getting a car exactly the way I wanted it. I couldn't really haggle as if I was picking one off the lot.
I got $1500 off the MSRP for a GM loyalty rebate because I am trading in my 99 Cavalier. I got another $1000 off using my GM credit card earnings. I was dissapointed I couldn't use all $1600 of my earnings. GM is capping it at a $1000 for now. $2500 off MSRP seems good to me. I also got a 4% GMAC loan rate for six years. Which is what they are offering instead of cash allowances on the LaCrosse for now.
We test drove the Grand Prix and G6 also. The G6 had alot of engine noise and the grand Prix was very ugly inside.
They diddn't have a bench seat LaCrosse to look at but even though we are only "thirty somethings" My wife and I wanted a bench seat car like our parents had as kids. She will use the Lacrosse to commute 90 miles a day and as our family car. I'm sure the renote starter with the auto climate adjustment feature will be welcome for her this winter each morning for her drive to work.
I diddn't think we would find a LaCrosse in this configuration. We should take delivery in 3-5 days. I thought the ABS would be hard to find on a CX model. We diddn't wan't a leather interior CXL.
I believe, depending on region, ABS is not hard to find. At least in CT, I cannot remember to see a single LaCrosse without ABS when looking on GMBuyPower and in a couple of dealerships I visited. I would be unsafe to drive without ABS in our places, especially in winter. Hilly terrains and slippery pavements.
However, it is always difficult to find a car with all options you like and without options you do not like. You are lucky.
Depending on traffic, 90 miles daily is a hard to very hard commute. Your wife needs comfortable and safe car.