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Buick’s latest LaCrosse is one of the new General Motors’ best success stories. Sales of the nameplate have increased dramatically, and more than one-third of all buyers are new to the General Motors family. Better yet, transaction prices are up by a whopping $8500, despite the fact that sticker prices haven’t significantly increased.

Photo Gallery: 2010 Buick LaCrosse I-4 – Buick Luxury Sedan Review – Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: 2010 Buick LaCrosse I-4 – Buick Luxury Sedan Review – Automobile Magazine

Although it's been eclipsed by the Genesis sedan and the forthcoming Equus, there's still room in Hyundai's lineup for a smaller, front-wheel-drive luxury sedan. To counter the likes of the Buick LaCrosse, Lexus ES350, and Toyota Avalon, Hyundai's gifted the Azera range with some modest updates for 2011.inline_mediumwraptextright32266788/features/news/1002_2011_hyundai_azera2011-hyundai-azera-front-motion.jpgTrue

Last summer, when Buick first brought us a new LaCrosse to drive, we sampled a similar CXS to this one. However, a few important differences actually make me this particular CXS seem like a better deal. First, the price. This CXS lists for $35,760, a good $3500 less than the previous example we tested. The options missing on this model include include the Touring package ($800, which includes 19-inch wheels and a sport mode), head-up display ($350), sunroof ($995), and xenon headlights ($695), among a few others. Were I to purchase this car, I'd likely opt for the xenon headlights and perhaps the head-up display, but would take a pass on the Touring pack and the sunroof. With the smaller wheels, the car seems to ride slightly better (although, I have to admit that the nineteen-inchers are more attractive than the chrome-plated eighteens).inline_mediumwraptextright26517014/reviews/editors_notebook/1001_2010_buick_lacrosse_cxs1001_04_z+2010_buick_laCrosse_cXS+front_three_quarter_view.jpgTrue

Looking back over the past few decades, it's easy enough to stereotype Buick as the preferred ride of octogenarians -- but during a few (and all too brief) years in the late 1960s, early 1970s, and 1980s, the phrase "performance Buick" didn't elicit fits of laughter. Those days may soon return, if the Regal GS concept -- which debuts at the 2010 Detroit auto show -- is any indication of things to come.inline_mediumwraptextright31985028/features/news/1001_buick_regal_gs_conceptbuick-regal-GS-front-three-quarter-1.jpgTrue