The guy who wrote the article has got to be kidding.


Wouldn't you really rather have a 'super Buick'?

Saturday, May 12, 2007
By G. Chambers Williams III
San Antonio Express-News

Nostalgia is a big seller in the car business these days, especially among baby boomers.

That's why Dodge brought back the Charger name and is about to reintroduce the Challenger. Chevy is about to roll out a retro-styled resurrection of the Camaro.

Buick is getting into the act this fall with the revival of the "Super" name, which was last used on any of its cars in 1958.

For 2008, the Super badge will reappear on the top-end models of Buick's two sedans, the LaCrosse and Lucerne.

The company says the LaCrosse Super will come with a 300-horsepower, 5.3-liter V-8, a version of the engine used in a number of other GM products, including its pickups and SUVs.

With the higher-priced Lucerne, the Super badge will be tacked on to a model with a 292-horsepower, 4.6-liter V-8.

GM says the new Supers "are engineered for Buick by the GM Performance Division to inspire performance on demand."

The LaCrosse Super's 5.3-liter engine comes with GM's new "Active Fuel Management" system, which cuts out four of the eight cylinders during level highway cruising to help increase fuel economy.

No EPA ratings have been announced.

For 2007, the most powerful engine offered in the other LaCrosse models is a 240-horsepower, 3.6-liter V-6, rated at 19 miles per gallon city/27 mpg highway. The base engine is a 200-horsepower, 3.8-liter V-6.

Buick says the LaCrosse Super will come with a chassis that "has been sport-tuned to deliver responsive handling characteristics."

The Lucerne Super's engine will be a 292-horsepower version of the 4.6-liter Northstar V-8 already offered in the up-level CXS model for 2007.

The current 4.6 engine offers 275 horsepower and has EPA 2007 ratings of 17 city/26 highway. The base Lucerne engine is a 197-horsepower, 3.8-liter V-6, with EPA ratings of 19 city/28 highway.

With the Lucerne Super comes a specially tuned version of GM's Magnetic Ride.

There are unique exterior and interior design cues for the Super models, along with the special badging.

The LaCrosse Super comes with a new waterfall grille, hood and front fascia.

It has a lower grille opening than the other models, along with chrome trim and fog light bezels. Other features include new portholes, rocker moldings, rear fascia, dual chrome exhaust tips and a rear deck spoiler.

Special interior touches include sport front seats with increased bolstering and woven-embossed leather inserts, GM says.