2010 Buick LaCrosse

If the car you see here looks somewhat familiar, it should. It appeared in concept form at last spring’s Beijing Motor Show as the Buick Invicta concept. At the 2009 Detroit Auto Show, the Invicta becomes the 2010 Buick LaCrosse.

For 2010, the LaCrosse has departed from the rather uninspired car that’s worn the badge for the last several years.

The more upright, traditional sedan profile of the existing car has been abandoned in favor of the increasingly fashionable fastback look of other competing premium sedans like the Acura TL and Lexus GS. The profile and other design details draw heavily on recent concepts like the Velite and Riviera.

The contours along the flanks that were most clearly distilled in the 2007 Riviera concept are carried over fully formed on the sedan.

A convex crease flows back and down from the trailing corner of the headlamp with a echoing concave crease coming up from the bottom corner of the wheel arch.

The upper crease then cuts upward and over the rear wheel to create the signature Buick “sweep-spear.” The spear then flows into the LED tail-lamp clusters that help to tie everything together at the rear.

Under the hood, the LaCrosse gets a choice of two direct-injected V6 engines. The CX and CXL models get the new 3.0L that debuts this year putting out 255 hp and 211 lb-ft of torque. The top CXS model gets the existing 3.6L with 280 hp and 261 lb-ft of twist.

Starting at $27,085, the LaCrosse offers a lot of bang for the buck. This is NOT your grandma’s Buick!

2010 Buick LaCrosse Auto Show Video