Should Buick junk the LaCrosse & Lucerne and bring back the Century, LeSabre, & PA

[GringoPete]

Really..........Does anyone else miss the "Real" Buicks??

[polarzak]

My Lucerne has been back to the dealer so many times, it has it's own dedicated service bay. (smile) My 2000 LeSabre was a dream...In almost 200,000 miles, all I replaced was the wires, plugs, and one wheel bearing. It even had the original battery!!!!
The Lucerne is so bad, GM gave me an extended warranty. Once that is up. Bye, Bye Lucerne.

[GringoPete]

Originally Posted by polarzak

My Lucerne has been back to the dealer so many times, it has it's own dedicated service bay. (smile) My 2000 LeSabre was a dream...In almost 200,000 miles, all I replaced was the wires, plugs, and one wheel bearing. It even had the original battery!!!!
The Lucerne is so bad, GM gave me an extended warranty. Once that is up. Bye, Bye Lucerne.

.....and the Lucerne by far.....is not a cheap car.

How is it compared to the LeSabre as far as comfort and ride?

[Jrs3800]

I'd rather have a LeSabre...

I actually own Bonnevilles... Love them to death.. I have a 91, 95 and the 03 Bonnevilles...

The LeSabre/Bonneville 92-99 is the same car and the 00-05 Lesabre/Bonneville is the same car... Pontiac being a little more performance minded.. Other than that and looks its the same platform..

I'd rather drive these than the New Buicks.. On a side note a friend has a 97 Lesabre with every option including F41 Firm Ride & Handling... Nothing like driving a couch that can corner with the best of them..

[maxwedge]

Thumbs up on the Lesabre, my Touring Suspension 03 is great, handles well, very comfortable and 30 mpg at 75 mph.!!

[BNaylor]

I don't know about bringing back the Century but resurrecting the Regal model would be better but it is all wishful thinking. There is no comparison between a Regal and Century from the performance and luxury aspect. The Regal is superior in all respect, especially the GS/GSE.

BTW - Obviously both the Lucerne and LaCrosse are sales failures.

[GringoPete]

Originally Posted by Jrs3800

I'd rather have a LeSabre...

I actually own Bonnevilles... Love them to death.. I have a 91, 95 and the 03 Bonnevilles...

The LeSabre/Bonneville 92-99 is the same car and the 00-05 Lesabre/Bonneville is the same car... Pontiac being a little more performance minded.. Other than that and looks its the same platform..

I'd rather drive these than the New Buicks.. On a side note a friend has a 97 Lesabre with every option including F41 Firm Ride & Handling... Nothing like driving a couch that can corner with the best of them..

Those Bonnevilles are looking sweet


I have a 98 Custom with the Prestige II package , but do not have the GT option. I prefer a super soft ride.

Take good care of those Bonnevilles......Nothing like that on the market today or in the future. Everything is being turned into a $hittee clone of a japanese $hi! box.

[GringoPete]

Originally Posted by BNaylor

I don't know about bringing back the Century but resurrecting the Regal model would be better but it is all wishful thinking. There is no comparison between a Regal and Century from the performance and luxury aspect. The Regal is superior in all respect, especially the GS/GSE.

BTW - Obviously both the Lucerne and LaCrosse are sales failures.

Yes, I did forget the Regal didnt I?

How about the Riviera? That was a sweet car . Like a sports car on steroids.

['97ventureowner]

Originally Posted by Jrs3800

Looking at that pic kind of reminds me of the Bonnevilles of the '60s. I have some pics when my sister got married in the late '60s and the wedding party was parked on the side of my house. In the pic is a Bonneville and another late '60s GM full size ( my uncles always bought those GM fullsizes), the way that car is parked is similar to the pic I have. You could literally do an ad showing the design progression from the late '60s to just a few years ago.

Originally Posted by GringoPete

How about the Riviera? That was a sweet car . Like a sports car on steroids.

Going back a bit , how about the "Boattail"Rivieras of the early '70s? Now there's some awesome design. I've always wanted to own one. Haven't seen one in years in my area, not even at the car shows.

[HotZ28]

Originally Posted by '97ventureowner

Going back a bit , how about the "Boattail" Rivieras of the early '70s? Now there's some awesome design. I've always wanted to own one. Haven't seen one in years in my area, not even at the car shows.

Click Here for the history of the "Boattail" Riviera. I remember the 73 model very well. I worked with a huge Greek fellow (6'3" 300 lbs) who was a very popular DJ on one of our local radio stations. We would go out to lunch together in his Boattail, and after eating a larger buffet meal, he would hand me the keys and ask me to drive. I asked him if he wanted to go back to work and he said; " no not yet, just drive me for awhile first" then we will go back to work! He was my boss, so I could not argue with him. The car was huge and rode like you were sitting in a Lazyboy recliner! Now that was real a car! BTW, my friends car looked exactly like the one in the pic!

[Jrs3800]

I do love my Bonnevilles.. Back in the day GM was building cars that people wanted.. I like the 91-96 Park Ave and the 97+ Park Aves.. Same goes for the 92-99 LeSabre..

Back then you could have had a LeSabre that was quite well loaded with a Tuned Port 3800... Maybe not the best in terms of HP... But even it could move some good weight.. They were great driving long lasting cars that just refused to die.. I actually have a friend that has a Park Ave at 200,000 + Miles and it still strats right up, burns nothing for oil.. And never a single trans issue... Car still runs and drives great..

If you had a 95 LeSabre with the L27 you got an odd duck for sure... In 1993 GM increased the compression to 9.0 : 1 and added a roller fulcrum rocker to reduce valvetrain friction.. But the HP numbers remained at 170... In 95 with the phase out of the L27( series I it became named ) and introduction of the L36 Series II... But for the 95 Models most of the 95 L27's had a weight pad shaved off the top of the rod, used the L36's 2170 Crank and had the series II oil pan.. No numbers changed at all..

The good thing about the Old 91-96 C body and 91-99 H bodies is that they all share the same components... You could set up the suspension to take corners and be decently stiff... These cars just beg to be played with..

I will miss seeing the Bonnevilles and LeSabres.. It was a mistake for GM to stuff the 4.6 N* in the bonneville GXP when they had a 5.3 LS4 sitting on the shelf..

Dropping the 3800 and the 3800 SC in my eyes was also another mistake.. At the very least they should have carried out a complete redesign( SOHC, DOHC, or good old pushrod... What ever floated their boat ) and used the 3800 name plate...

BTW I have a soft spot for Park Ave ULTRAS

['97ventureowner]

Originally Posted by HotZ28

Click Here for the history of the "Boattail" Riviera.

Link doesn't work for me Bo.

[HotZ28]

Sorry about that Tom, try the link in my post again.

['97ventureowner]

Great site, awesome pics. I've always had a fondness for those GM full sized from the late '60s also.

[HotZ28]

Originally Posted by Jrs3800

BTW I have a soft spot for Park Ave ULTRAS

I have owned the 96-PA Ultra (shown below) for over two years and it came equipped with GTS suspension, which includes F41 components, traction control, 16 in wheels & tires, magnasteer and a 3.06 final drive ratio. Since I owned it, it has been through many upgrades; including MSD wires & coils, 3.4 SC pulley, SC snout rebuild, ported intake, boost gage, battery terminal & alternator wiring, new idler & tensioner pulleys, Gatorback belts, NKG TR56 plugs, ported TB, PCM performance flash programming, injectors, ceramic brake upgrades, HP fuel pump, high flow cat, dual exhaust, 20% side & 5% back window tint, 2009 Mustang Wheels & tires, external fan cooled trans cooler & custom remote mounted trans filter. This was the last of the great PA's made and it was 150 lbs lighter than the 97-up PA's; so therefore, better performance & handling! This car "floats like a butterfly & stings like a bee" and the cops never see it!