2010 Buick LaCrosse Preview

The 2010 Buick LaCrosse will have a grille with a Buick badge on it. That much has been confirmed by a teaser shot sent to us today. Aside from that, the image tells us... very little. What will the rest of the car look like? Buick says it will take cues from the Invicta concept that was shown at the Beijing show (pictured, right). We expect the production version to be decidedly less sexy, add some glass area on the sides, lose the glass roof, and throw in some door handles to break up the flowing lines. As we said back in April, the interior on the concept appears ready for a showroom, so look for most of its design to make it to L.A. Standard power will likely come from a 250-hp version of GM's turbocharged and direct-injected 2.0-liter Ecotec four-cylinder, replacing the anemic 3.8-liter V-6 currently offered on the LaCrosse CX and CXL. The LaCrosse Super could be powered by the 3.6-liter direct-injection V-6 found in the Cadillac CTS. In that application the V-6 makes 304 hp, besting the current Super's 5.3-liter V-8, which is good for only 300 ponies. We expect six-speed automatic transmissions all around, in place of the current car's four-speed autos. Stay tuned for our Los Angeles show coverage to find out the rest of the story on Buick's mid-size sedan.