The 2006 Buick Lucerne captures GM's commitment to reshape Buick's model line with vehicles that have elegant designs, premium interiors and exceptional levels of power, comfort, quietness and quality.

2006 Buick Lucerne

Specifications
  • Make: Array
  • Model: 2006 Buick Lucerne
  • Horsepower: 275@6000
  • Torque: 4400

The Buick Lucerne is the sedan sold by the Buick division of General Motors that replaces the Park Avenue and the LeSabre in 2006. Although the rear wheel drive GM Zeta platform was considered, the production Lucerne introduced at the Chicago Auto Show on February 9, 2005, is a front wheel drive derivative of the G-body Buick LeSabre. Initial sales of the Lucerne have been strong, with the car claiming 24% of the full-size sedan market in the United States.

It's an all-new Buick and it represents more than the latest expression of Buick refinement. The Lucerne embodies a new direction in Buick sedan design with a sleek new shape. It also encompasses a significant advance in technological sophistication as the first Buick sedan in more than a decade to offer the confident power of an available V8 engine along with available Magnetic Ride Control. And the interior features another first: it's the first Buick to offer heated and cooled front seats and dual-depth air bag suppression system. What Lucerne shares with other Buicks is the exclusive QuietTuning™.

Like the similar 2005 Pontiac Bonneville, the Lucerne uses a Cadillac Northstar V8 engine in addition to the standard Buick 3800 V6. The Lucerne also became the first V8-powered Buick car since the demise of the Roadmaster in 1996.

The Lucerne's base price is lower than that of the LeSabre, its predecessor, though the V8 option causes the price to reach Park Avenue levels. Thus, the V6 options are considered LeSabre replacements, while the V8 option is meant to replace the Park Avenue.

In keeping with Buick tradition, the Lucerne features "Ventiports" on the front fenders corresponding to the number of cylinders in the engine - three on each side for the V6 or four on each side for the V8 Northstar.

Buick intends the new vehicle to compete with the Toyota Avalon and Mercury Grand Marquis in the near-luxury segment, while it is also expected to compete with the Hyundai Azera.

Some similarities exist between the Lucerne and GM's last representative in the near-luxury segment, the Oldsmobile Aurora: In 2001, the Aurora was upsized, and replaced both the Eighty Eight and Ninety Eight/Regency as the flagship Oldsmobile. It was also available with 3.5 L V6 and 4.0 L V8 engines. However, unlike the Lucerne, the Aurora could only be had with five-passenger seating. The Lucerne can be ordered in either five or six-passenger configurations.

In the December 2005 conclusion of The Apprentice: Martha Stewart, winner Dawna Stone was admitted into Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia to work with the company's Body + Soul magazine. Stewart refused to offer Stone any celebratory champagne, instead giving her the keys to a Buick Lucerne in which to drive away. Promotion of the vehicle had been a task for teams earlier in the competition.

Be Very, Very Quiet

Lucerne's luxurious interior environment is enhanced by its hushed surroundings-the result of a series of QuietTuning™ components that minimize noise or vibration in the cabin. Components that include a rigid body structure, an extensive wind sealing system, a double-isolated powertrain mounting system, composite nylon baffles and laminated glass in all side windows.

Heated Seats - And Washer Fluid

Luxury cars today almost always offer heated front seats. In fact, they have become an "expected" feature. Now Lucerne goes beyond the expected with available heated and cooled front seats. Lucerne is also one of the first vehicles to offer an available heated windshield washer system that heats fluid up to 80 degrees C to help melt snow and ice - an innovation that serves Canadian drivers extremely well.