Buick LaCrosse – A Sense of Style

[EDSELRANGER]

You may not notice any difference in performance or milage. You may not notice a thing. With these DI motors they will produce a lot a carbon build up. With the cleaning properties of a high test fuel it will keep the carbon build up to a minimum. Also, people read the manual and see it says 87 octane. Yes, it says 87 or higher. I have owned a total of 4 cars that have the DI motors. None were brand new. 3 had 7000 miles or less when i found them. I would bet they never had high test run in them. The chrome tip on the exhaust were as black as can be. After cleaning them and thousands of miles later they were never that black again. I do not run high test exclusively. But it is my choice Most of the time. I also run Techron fuel additive that i buy at Costco also as a cleaner.

Since this discussion came up, I've been shopping around for medium/high-test gas. There seems to be a general rule around here (Ohio) that the advertised price of 87 octane has no relationship whatsoever to the price of the higher test fuels. Most of the gas stations have a sign advertising the price of 87 octane that is at least somewhat consistent with the local market. You have to pull up to the pump to find out just how bad they're going to gouge you for the good stuff. Costco is the only station I've found around my area where they don't jack it up by 80 cents or more.

Sorry i would never burn E85 in anything i own. In my opinion there is no advantage in that product Waste of money.

I know very little about E85. I'm under the impression that it is 85% Ethanol. Because I'm 100% against the whole 'burning corn" thing, I have no plans to willingly put it in anything I own. The newer technology may allow for it, but I've seen too many engines/carburetors/fuel systems/ damaged or destroyed by even the smaller percentages of Ethanol that has been added to our motor fuels.

 

[PurpleHaze]

Sorry i would never burn E85 in anything i own. In my opinion there is no advantage in that product Waste of money.

LOL. Our engines are designed to use E85 so it should not be problem unless you store your car for a long period of time. In that case I would not leave E85 in the tank due to it tendency attract moisture and separate over time. I usually blow through a tank a week on my commutes so the E85 never gets a chance to be stale in my tank.

The only advantage it has for me is that it is cheap($1.90) and the engine runs stronger which I like. E85 burns cleaner than gas so less carbon deposits and it actually helps to clean existing deposits. E85 is some corrosive stuff to be honest, which is good for flex fuel direct injection engines, but not for normal engines that are not designed to use it.

 

[PurpleHaze]

Since this discussion came up, I've been shopping around for medium/high-test gas. There seems to be a general rule around here (Ohio) that the advertised price of 87 octane has no relationship whatsoever to the price of the higher test fuels. Most of the gas stations have a sign advertising the price of 87 octane that is at least somewhat consistent with the local market. You have to pull up to the pump to find out just how bad they're going to gouge you for the good stuff. Costco is the only station I've found around my area where they don't jack it up by 80 cents or more.



I know very little about E85. I'm under the impression that it is 85% Ethanol. Because I'm 100% against the whole 'burning corn" thing, I have no plans to willingly put it in anything I own. The newer technology may allow for it, but I've seen too many engines/carburetors/fuel systems/ damaged or destroyed by even the smaller percentages of Ethanol that has been added to our motor fuels.

E85 is fine to use in flex fuel vehicles designed to use it. Hell, even my new Craftsman lawnmower is designed to use fuel with ethanol per the manual. My old Craftsman mower carb was done in by ethanol fuel left in the tank that ate the seals. My new mower seals are suppose to be more resistant to ethanol. I will still run the tank dry on my new mower just in case before storing it this year.

 

[Fcar1953]

You may pay less for E85 but you will not get the MPG's. Im not trying to tell you what too use in your car. My statement was i would not. Costco is a very good fuel to use because they add the fuel additives at the pump. I use there fuel exclusively. Here in Pa our tax on fuel is high and in the past year i think once i paid over 3 dollars for high test.

 

[PurpleHaze]

You may pay less for E85 but you will not get the MPG's. Im not trying to tell you what too use in your car. My statement was i would not. Costco is a very good fuel to use because they add the fuel additives at the pump. I use there fuel exclusively. Here in Pa our tax on fuel is high and in the past year i think once i paid over 3 dollars for high test.

I understand. Everyone has their own opinions about what will work for them or not. I trust E85 in my Lacrosse since it has a flex fuel engine and I like the stronger engine performance and carbon cleaning properties(in theory) gained from E85. 87 octane would be cheaper overall to use due to a reasonable price($2.30) and better gas mileage than E85 in my area. However, I like how my engine runs on E85 so I will not use regular because it is cheaper. My engine idled rough and ran like crap on the full tank of regular I last used compared to how smooth it runs with E85 and even premium.

I commute 60 miles round trip everyday and only spend about $22 dollars a week to top off up my Lacrosse with E85. I actually would spend about the same amount of money a week to use regular under the same conditions, maybe a couple dollars less overall. Premium would cost much more due to its high $3.00 cost even with better gas mileage.

Note: I have a local BP that sells E85 near my house. If the gas station was a generic low tier gas station then I would not trust the E85 mixture. However BP is a top tier gas station with a very good E85 blend from web reviews posted by performance car owners who use E85.

 

[Rich B.]

Didn't but ours to save on gas for sure. Not a whole bunch of LaCrosses in ME to start with and wouldn't want a Cady, never appealed to me. Like the lines of the car, quality and performance. Very smooth and the motor does suit the car with the 305HP V6. No, this isn't a race car but more on the scale of touring. Oh, it's our very first Buick too.

 

[tombalas]

My first Buick too - love it. And the LaCrosse isn't that common where I live either. So whenever I see another one on the road, I inevitably wave to the other owner, but they either ignore it or don't care. As a former Saab guy, it was sort of expected that Saab owners would acknowledge each other - not so much for Buick.

 

[Rich B.]

Think I'm in the not wave boat but not because I don't want to or won't. Just usually watch the car to see if it's going to cross center line for a head-on. Don't notice who's behind wheel, ME has collisions like that daily. You can't trust the other drivers.

 

[Bhodi's Buick]

It's not very often that the design sketches, let alone the concept show car actually looks exactly like the end consumer product offered for sale not the Dealer's lot.



The only differences are door handles, fog lamps, headlight innards, & realistic handling sized wheels and tires; otherwise we got the stylistic Buick INVICTA show car " As is " form the drawing board and show floor...



Still relevant looking today, even 11 years after initial conception. The LaCrosse simply screams " BUICK "

 

[stoopid]

Car tastes are a moving target. That doesn't scream 'future' like it did then. Admittedly, very few cars do that for long anyway, even the supercars. On a long enough timeline all cars look outdated.

In other news, the latest LaCrosse model is timeless. 😛

 

[Bhodi's Buick]

Here's some LaCrosse Inspired Concepts that we'll never see on Roadways...
The Avenir was inspiration for Gen 3, in this case, the actual car looks better than the Concept.



Buick has the Chinese Envision, and Opel's TourX and this midsize concept Crossover never happened



If ever there was something to bring the Rivera nameplate out hibernation, this would be it...



Just few visuals to spark further discussion / opinions / trends / the death of the Sedan / etc.

 

[richardnewton]

Bhodi - those concept drawings and the auto show concept look exactly like the Lacrosse in our driveway.

The lines have a wonderful, flawless flow, which is obviously what the designers imagined. Incredible how that vision usually gets lost between the idea and execution.

Our 2013 Lacrosse Eco is an incredible car. Fantastic ride, comfortable and reliable.

Also the other concept vehicles are beautiful, including the 2-door and wagon-break.

Can't believe GM is killing what may be their very best car.

 

[Bhodi's Buick]

The Avista Concept is Sweet, Better looking than any Coupe out there today...



An older Rivera concept below...



This one goes back aways, the Phantom

 

[2007LucerneCXL]

In the "if only" world, LOL

 

[stoopid]

The Avista Concept is Sweet, Better looking than any Coupe out there today...

View attachment 14180

Yeah that looks about as close to coupe perfection as GM's ever seen.

Like richardnewton said, there's strong design queues taken from these concepts in the latest (last) LaCrosse.

 

[tombalas]

Yeah that looks about as close to coupe perfection as GM's ever seen.

Like richardnewton said, there's strong design queues taken from these concepts in the latest (last) LaCrosse.

Why do their designers even bother putting out impressive show pieces like this? Remember we're talking about GM here. Meaning, these will never get built.

 

[stoopid]

Why do their designers even bother putting out impressive show pieces like this?

We're talking about it, right?

 

[tombalas]

We're talking about it, right?

But when they never release the awesome designs into production, and instead boil them down to boring, customers stop taking them seriously.

 

[Chris Heinen]

I'd imagine that automobile design is an interesting balance of style, utility, performance, ease of maintenance, and perceived value. I'd consider the following from GM/Buick if it had a reasonable powertrain warranty...

 

[Bhodi's Buick]

That Couch Car Looks Comfy... but, I'm more of an enclosed Beach Cabana kind of a guy...