The Buick Lucerne is a full-size car manufactured by
General Motors
The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...
from 2005 to 2011. Named for the city of
Lucerne, Switzerland
, neighboring_municipalities= Adligenswil, Ebikon, Emmen, Horw, Kriens, Malters, Meggen, Neuenkirch
Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label=Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a ...
, it served as Buick's top-of-the-line sedan until it was replaced by the second generation
Buick LaCrosse
The Buick LaCrosse is a mid-size sedan manufactured and marketed by Buick since 2004. The LaCrosse is now in its third generation, slotted above the Buick Regal as the brand's flagship vehicle.
The first-generation LaCrosse replaced the Century ...
.
History
The Lucerne replaced both the full-size
LeSabre and top-of-the-line
Park Avenue
Park Avenue is a wide New York City boulevard which carries north and southbound traffic in the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. For most of the road's length in Manhattan, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the west and Lexington Avenu ...
in the Buick lineup. It was based on a revised
G platform, though GM continued to refer to it as the H.
It was introduced with the standard 3.8 liter
Buick V6
The Buick V6, popularly referred to as the 3800 in its later incarnations, originally and initially marketed as ''Fireball'' at its introduction in 1962, was a large V6 engine used by General Motors. The block is made of cast iron and all use tw ...
(also known as the ''GM 3800 engine''), and with a 4.6 liter
Cadillac
The Cadillac Motor Car Division () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM) that designs and builds luxury vehicles. Its major markets are the United States, Canada, and China. Cadillac models are distributed i ...
''
Northstar LD8''
V8 and the
Chevrolet Corvette
The Chevrolet Corvette is a two-door, two-passenger luxury sports car manufactured and marketed by Chevrolet since 1953. With eight design generations, noted sequentially from C1 to C8, the Corvette is noted for its performance and distinctive ...
's Magnetic Ride Control
active suspension An active suspension is a type of automotive suspension on a vehicle. It uses an onboard system to control the vertical movement of the vehicle's wheels relative to the chassis or vehicle body rather than the passive suspension provided by large sp ...
available as options. All General Motors 3.8 L V6 powered cars become the first
SULEV
Super ultra-low emissions vehicle (SULEV) is a U.S. classification for passenger vehicle emissions. The classification is based on producing 90% fewer emissions than the average gasoline-powered vehicle. The SULEV standard is stricter than the stan ...
-compliant vehicles.
![2007 Buick Lucerne CXL, rear 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/63/2007_Buick_Lucerne_CXL%2C_rear_1.16.21.jpg)
Reviving a Buick tradition, the Lucerne featured a faux row of exhaust vents, marketed as "
Ventiport
Buick () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Started by automotive pioneer David Dunbar Buick in 1899, it was among the first American marques of automobiles, and was the company that established General Mo ...
s," on the front fenders, corresponding to the number of cylinders in the engine — three on each side for the V6 or four for the V8. The CXL trim package added numerous premium features.
The Lucerne was manufactured at GM's
Detroit/Hamtramck Assembly
Detroit/Hamtramck Assembly, also called Factory Zero, is a General Motors automobile assembly plant straddling the border between Detroit and Hamtramck, Michigan. It is located about three miles (five km) from GM's corporate headquarters. Wh ...
Plant alongside the
Cadillac DTS. The plant won Initial Quality Awards from J.D. Power and Associates from 2004 through 2006. GM also lead all other automakers in Strategic Vision's Total Quality Index (TQI)
![2008 Buick Lucerne controls closeup](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/70/2008_Buick_Lucerne_controls_closeup.jpg)
The ''Super'' trim level was introduced at the 2007
New York Auto Show
The New York International Auto Show is an annual auto show that is held in Manhattan in late March or early April. It is held at the Jacob Javits Convention Center. It usually opens on or just before Easter weekend and closes on the first S ...
, featuring the 4.6 liter ''
Northstar L37'' V8; revised trim; an increase of horsepower, and revised front styling and a rear spoiler.
All Lucernes received modest mid-cycle updates in 2008, adding optional
blind spot monitoring
The blind spot monitor or blind-spot monitoring is a vehicle-based sensor device that detects other vehicles located to the driver’s side and rear. Warnings can be visual, audible, vibrating, or tactile.
Blind spot monitors may do more th ...
and
lane departure warning system
In road-transport terminology, a lane departure warning system (LDWS) is a mechanism designed to warn the driver when the vehicle begins to move out of its lane (unless a turn signal is on in that direction) on freeways and arterial roads. These ...
and revised exterior colors. Two new trim levels, CXL Special Edition (with more standard features than regular CXL) and Super, were added for 2008.
The 2009 Lucerne received small upgades, including a new base engine, the 3.9 L ''
GM High Value LZ9'' V6,
Bluetooth
Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology standard that is used for exchanging data between fixed and mobile devices over short distances and building personal area networks (PANs). In the most widely used mode, transmission power is limi ...
phone connectivity, and
XM NavTraffic.
Flex-fuel
A flexible-fuel vehicle (FFV) or dual-fuel vehicle (colloquially called a flex-fuel vehicle) is an alternative fuel vehicle with an internal combustion engine designed to run on more than one fuel, usually gasoline blended with either ethanol or ...
technology was made available at no additional cost.
For 2010, the Super's rocker panels, grille, and fog lights were added as standard equipment.
The 2011 Lucerne was largely unchanged. The last was built on June 15, 2011. The second generation
LaCrosse
Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensively ...
replaced it as Buick's flagship sedan for 2012.
Engines
Safety
The Buick Lucerne earns a "Good" overall score in the
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) is a U.S. nonprofit organization funded by auto insurance companies, established in 1959 and headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. It works to reduce the number of motor vehicle traffic collision ...
(IIHS) front impact test, and an "Acceptable" score in the side impact test. The IIHS also found that 2006-08 model year Lucerne had the highest fatality rate in the large 4-door car class.
Yearly American sales
References
External links
{{Buick
Lucerne
Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic German, High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label=Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking po ...
Front-wheel-drive vehicles
Full-size vehicles
Sedans
2010s cars
Cars introduced in 2005
Motor vehicles manufactured in the United States
Partial zero-emissions vehicles
Flagship vehicles