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2006 Buick Lucerne CXS Road Test

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Khatir Soltani
Retro Reverie Reignites Distant Memories but Leaves Mixed Emotions

Full-size leather-clad luxury, elegant four-door styling, unique marque-specific design details, a sophisticated
The full-size all-American Lucerne CXS had me thinking about yesteryear, finding me parked in front of the first playground I ever spun on a merry-go-round. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press)
dual-overhead cam, 32-valve V8 engine; it appears like the new Lucerne CXS has all the right ingredients to make for a premium on-road experience, and for the most part it does.

I picked up my handsome Crimson Pearl example on Tuesday while on my way to the airport, chromed fender ports, classy multi-spoke 18-inch wheels and shiny black waterfall grille framed by gleaming, jewel-like headlamps that mirror trim, attractive tail-lamps; the entire package looking oh so stylish, and have to admit to enjoying the feeling of sitting on its expansive La-Z-Boy-like leather-clad chairs behind its rather large leather-wrapped steering wheel. The car, with its resonant V8 rumble and cushy American-luxury
The big Buick parked in front of the three-level (with loft) Austrian chateau my Dad built. I grew up in the house that used to stand here, but burned down on Christmas day... some memories are better than others. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press)
ride brought back memories of being a kid, when I learned to drive (and am lucky to still be alive) in my Mom's '76 Chevy Malibu.

We always had a General Motors product in the driveway, right back to my Dad's '56 Chevy Bel Air, my Mom's '61 Pontiac Strato Chief wagon, a rather cool (not stock) fire-engine red '69 Parisienne two-door hardtop (Catalina for you American-folks who think an Allure should be called a LaCrosse), and then, after the Malibu, a Caprice Classic wagon, complete with the requisite faux wood exterior façade, a Buick Somerset coupe that my Mom had after I left the roost, and on my Dad's side, a couple of Safari vans in a row and probably a number of others I've since forgotten.

The early cars were always reliable, for the era of distributor caps, points and carburetors at least, and were fun to drive,
Can't powerslide the front-drive CXS like me and my kindergarten buddy Bruce could with our toy cars in our pre-school building (left). (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press)
especially if you got off on V8-rear-drive-induced oversteer - which I did and still do. Such antics would be impossible in the new Lucerne CXS, mind you, due to its front-wheel drive configuration, but that intoxicating V8 burble and even quicker adrenaline pumping acceleration is on tap, with surprisingly little torque steer.

GM is the master of limiting torque steer, thanks to Cadillac's engineers needing to exorcise such gremlins out of its front-drive sedans. Only the full-size DTS, which shares its underpinnings with the Lucerne, continues forward with front-wheel drive now, the rest of Cadillac's lineup powered by the rear or all wheels, but the work done for previous V8-powered FWD models, such as the recent Seville and DeVille, not to mention classics like the '69 Eldorado, which incidentally shared architecture with the Olds Toronado that preceded it by three years, plus additional models including the Buick Riviera of 1979, Cadillac Seville of 1980, and so on, means that the Detroit-based automaker has a leg up on most rivals when it comes to taming high-torque V8-powered, front-drive cars.
Khatir Soltani
Khatir Soltani
Automotive expert
As a car enthusiast, he tests and compares vehicles from different categories through the eyes of the consumer, ensuring relevant and objective reviews.
  • Over 6 years experience as a car reviewer
  • Over 50 test drives in the last year
  • Involved in discussions with virtually every auto manufacturer in Canada