Originally Posted by mmarshall

I sampled the 20s when I reviewed the Cascada convertible, and they were awful over bumps....tolerable only on a glass-smooth road. Of course, the Lacrosse is wider, heavier, and has a longer wheelbase (which helps with the ride quality at least some), but, still, the salespeople tell me that Lacrosses are very difficult to sell with the 20s....nobody wants them.



I'm not terribly thrilled with the Azera-clone rear end and the relatively small trunk-lid-opening, but, yes, the front end really looks nice with that new grille, the chrome bar, the (imitation) Buick center portholes, and, of course, the big tri-color Buick logo in the grille. IMO, Buick made a mistake, several years ago, by going to that chrome-outline logo......it looked cheap and chintzy (they kept the tri-color shield for the big Chinese market, and never changed it) . The rear tri-color logo on the Lacrosse's trunk serves as the trunk-lid release...just push it in (VW-style) and the lid opens. It's not quite as convenient as the foot-under-rear-bumper trunk release (when your arms are full of packages) that Ford first introduced on the Escape Titanium model, but that system has proved troublesome and unreliable, with the sensors failing from corrosion and other causes.



Though it's not quite the size of an LS, it is considered a full-size sedan by today's standards. It's just about as big a car as I can reasonably fit into my parking space.




I'm not buying this car because I NEED it......any more than you bought your former Ford Explorer or present Jeep Grand Cherokee when a smaller, cheaper SUV like an Escape or Honda CR-V probably would probably have done the job. Like me, you've worked hard for your money (I worked 35 years for my retirement), and felt that you were entitled to something nice for it, and the JGC is certainly a nice vehicle in that class. In my case (though some of my teen-age friends at the time laughed), I had a big Buick (and I mean B-I-G, with a 225" length and 125" wheelbase) when I was in college, though it was several years old and worn (I couldn't afford a new one), and I just loved it. My friends bounced around in their compacts, noisy and cramped air-cooled VW Beetles, and stiffly-sprung American muscle-cars, while I rode around in living-room comfort and quietness, though it was (admittedly) a gas hog and required 100-octane leaded premium fuel.....used a lot of oil, too, from worn rings and valves. Later on, because I was saving my money and preparing for retirement, I was the one who ended up driving econoboxes....some of them, like the Omni/Horizon and Citation, troublesome lemons (the Citation was arguably the worst-built new car I ever owned, though one or two others came close). I always wanted another big Buick ever since, but their build quality tanked in the 70s (right around the time I got out of college), and basically remained junk until about 6-7 years ago, when we got the reliable Opel-rebadged Buicks. And, as I said earlier, today's Lacrosse is just about as big as I could reasonably own and operate in my driving and parking environment. So, yes, the Lacrosse, MKZ, G80, ES350, etc...... is probably more car than I actually need.....but It's something that I've wanted ever since I left college and the gas-crisis atmosphere of the 1970s struck. (I also don't plan to get the top-line, most expensive version....it's got a number of things I don't want).

Originally Posted by LexBob2

It sounds like all that's left to do is go buy a LaCrosse. $3,000 cash, motivated dealers, plenty of inventory, the timing couldn't be better.

Originally Posted by SW15LS

Naa, life is short. Buy what you like. This was always an exercise anyways, we all knew you'd choose the Lacrosse. You're a Buick guy

Originally Posted by mmarshall

Seriously, I like all four of these cars....and several other competitors. And the Lacrosse E-shifter leaves a lot to be desired. But I'm also a believer in rewarding good dealer service (as my brother did with Kia), and, yes, I've waited over four decades since I left college for a big Buick of acceptable build quality. So....we might be able to close this thread pretty soon.

Originally Posted by SW15LS

You like them all...but the inevitable choice for you has always been the Lacrosse. I'm no different, when I go shop I know what I want, I may look at other cars in an effort to further confirm that what I wanted from the outset is what I want, but I always wind up buying what I had planned on buying from the onset.

If you had gone into this and chosen anything but the Lacrosse I would have been astonished lol

Originally Posted by patgilm

I personally like the G80 the best and then probably the ES. For you it sounds like the Lacrosse is calling your name so that is what seems to be best for you.

Originally Posted by mmarshall

Haven't bought anything yet, Steve. For one thing, pollen season is getting into high swing, and I think I'll wait at least a few more weeks until it's over. I don't relish the idea of a brand-new car being covered with greenish-yellow dust every morning LOL. That's just a fact of life here in April and May.

Originally Posted by mmarshall

Haven't bought anything yet, Steve. For one thing, pollen season is getting into high swing, and I think I'll wait at least a few more weeks until it's over. I don't relish the idea of a brand-new car being covered with greenish-yellow dust every morning LOL. That's just a fact of life here in April and May.

Originally Posted by SW15LS

In reality, most consumers don't "cross shop" a lot, and I have found this in the many friends I have helped negotiate deals on cars. They set out with their sights on a particular car, and they may look at a couple things but what they wanted is what they get unless its out of their price range or there is some other external factor at work. Even people who aren't car people, they start thinking about buying a new car, they see something on the road that catches their eye and thats what they decide they want...they go drive a few other things and come back to that. My Dad was always that way, he was a car person but he would spot something that he liked, and while he would shop it around, what he first saw that made him have "the itch" to trade cars was what he got...with the exception of the LS which he resisted for several years because of it being foreign made and being a little more than he wanted to spend.

My friend I just helped get the Range Rover. She had an LR2, an LR4 and saw another friend of our's Range Rover Sport and decided thats what she wanted...wound up in a big Range Rover just because she liked how it drove better...but never seriously considered anything else.

People who are loyal to a certain brand, for instance my friend who drives Honda Accords...he will drive a Sonata or a Camry or something when he goes to trade....but he always winds up with another Honda Accord.

Or...take me. Every time I have traded cars I have looked at other brands, tried to get into other brands and I always wind up back with Lexus. Nobody who knows me is surprised.

Originally Posted by mmarshall

Congratulations.

You say, however, that you "Compromised" on the IS? Does that mean that next time, you get to pick an Audi?

Did you get the IS350 RWD or AWD? The AWD version, to some extent, would help make up for not getting Audi's Quattro AWD system.

Originally Posted by SW15LS

Or...take me. Every time I have traded cars I have looked at other brands, tried to get into other brands and I always wind up back with Lexus. Nobody who knows me is surprised.