Domestic Brand Turns Up the Midsize Heat

The venerable Buick Century and its sportier sister, the Regal, will soon be obsolete thanks to Buicks latest entry into the midsize sedan market.

Billed LaCrosse, this four-door front-wheel drive "new kid on the block" could just be good enough to take on the midsize champs with Japanese DNA.

Outwardly, the LaCrosse exhibits a modern, smooth shape with lines that evoke a sense of luxury car elegance. If its long hood is decidedly American, then its slim oval grille is all Buick. And while I dont foresee the LaCrosses shape pulling in the masses the way the Chrysler 300

Buicks "new kid on the block" could just be good enough to take on the midsize champs with Japanese DNA. (Photo: Rob Rothwell, American Auto Press)

Interestingly, GM is proudly touting the LaCrosses "sparkling chrome accents," which is a styling theme not long ago considered a domestic blight. I must say, the wisps

The LaCrosse exhibits a modern, smooth shape with lines that evoke a sense of luxury car elegance. (Photo: Rob Rothwell, American Auto Press)

With an overall length of 198.1 inches, the LaCrosse is considerably longer than both the Honda Accord, by 8.6 inches, and the Toyota Camry, by 9 inches.

LaCrosses exterior dimensions translate into a "better than adequate" cargo hauling capacity

The LaCrosses interior is remarkably spacious-feeling, due in part to its incredibly clean, almost spartan layout. (Photo: Rob Rothwell, American Auto Press)

The cars interior is remarkably spacious-feeling, due in part to its incredibly clean, uncluttered - almost spartan - layout. The General deserves an "attaboy" for dumping the diamond-tufted velour that once covered everything in a Buick, and coming up with a restrained cabin design that isnt

The interior of the LaCrosse is comfortable, with room to stretch out. (Photo: Rob Rothwell, American Auto Press)

Not only does the living area look the part, it is well assembled with a high level of fit and finish. I did, however, find joints in the plastic shrouding around the door pillars that could have been better installed by butting up to, rather than layering over, the adjoining fabric-coated trim piece.

One other foible that caught my attention, or should I say caught my shoe, was the foot- operated parking brake. In the released position, it doesnt hide far enough out of the way to prevent

Front headroom and legroom are generous, although rear headroom is tight for the over-six-foot crowd. (Photo: Rob Rothwell, American Auto Press)

Although annoying, the smack repeatedly reminded me to engage the parking brake, something I am more apt to do when the fail-safe device is a console-mounted hand lever. These quibbles aside, Buick has made remarkable cabin progress.

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