Buick has come a great long way since the year 2003. Anything and everything the GM subsidiary made before then and after the 1950s was just pensioner-friendly garbage. The same was relatively true for Cadillac, though the 90s weren't bad per se, they just weren't good for America's premier luxury marque.
At the New York Auto Show, both brands shined with fresh product, laced with polished bright work, aimed squarely at the Japanese competition (Toyota's display was diagonally across from Cadillac's).
The GM floor, which encompassed an enormous amount of space on the main level North of the luxury marques but South of Ford enjoyed a healthy amount of foot traffic. The cars on offer at Buick and Caddy could take some credit for this interest.
That said, there were no lines to get into the Buick Lucerne or LaCrosse sedans. Frankly, I really couldn't tell what the major difference between the two cars was except for external cosmetic differences on the nose and tail sections.
They were both the plushest Buicks I had ever experienced, the interior's leather and plastics had a distinctly Lexus-like feel. I couldn't help but think that these cars were made to be ES350 competition.
In fact, they both felt like American ES350s, which is to say good, but not as good as the original. I wonder what they would be like to drive...
The theme at Cadillac was large vehicles with large horsepower. Cadillac made a big show of the new Escalade; a much cleaned up version of its old GMC based truck. I picked up a brochure and moved on.
What captured my interest was the STS-V. What a hot rod!
Cubist design, bulging hood, this car looks like an Autobahn stormer with an all-American big bloc V8 to power its way.
Inside, the bird's eye maple trim was a class coup for Cadillac which for years has managed to make anything look like the cheap.
Just thinking of the old Fleetwood Brougham's faux-wood paneling gives me shivers.
The wheels on this car are sharp and provide a delightfully curved exit to the squareness of the rest of the body. I like this sedan. It's the best offering that Caddy's made in years. I should arrange a test drive...
All in all a good showing for Buick and Cadillac. Aside from the STS-V, there was little there that I would contemplate driving home.
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