2017 Buick LaCrosse Premium AWD
It’s not unreasonable to think of Buick as the original near-luxury brand. It was the first of the many brands that Billy Durant acquired as he began building up General Motors more than a century ago. Later as Alfred Sloan organized GM’s marketing efforts and brands into a stair step from Chevrolet at the entry level to Cadillac at the pinnacle, Buick was slotted in just below the top as the “doctor’s car.” A few decades ago, a big sedan like the LaCrosse would have been the brand flagship, the model an up and coming professional would be driving on their way to eventually having a Cadillac. Today, the recently introduced third-generation LaCrosse is almost an afterthought for customers as they rush to buy crossovers like the sub-compact Encore and full-size Enclave.
Ever since GM’s 2009 bankruptcy, Buick and Opel have been gradually converging, much like Saturn had tried to do with the European brand a decade ago. Previously however, Opels like the Insignia, Astra swapped their grilles for the traditional Buick waterfall when they made the trip across the Atlantic. This time, the Cascada keeps both its name and horizontal bar grille, replacing only the Opel lightning bolt with the Buick tri-shield emblem.
