Redesigned Buick LaCrosse to Bow in Los Angeles

General Motors will unveil next month the’17 Buick LaCrosse, a redesign to the brand’s volume sedan in the U.S. boasting a new grille and a chassis promising a more dynamic driving experience.

The 5-passenger LaCrosse, which was last fully redone in 2009 as a ’10 model and updated in ’14, will receive a grille treatment inspired by the Avenir concept shown at the Detroit auto show earlier this year. The grille was inspired by the 1954 Wildcat II and will roll out to other Buick products by 2018, GM says.

The grille includes a new, 3-color tri-shield Buick badge set atop a wing-shaped element that contrasts with the darkened waterfall grille bars and runs the length of the opening. It connects the grille with the headlamps and emphasizes the car’s freshly sculptured surfaces, the automaker says.

“The Avenir concept shattered expectations of what a Buick could be and the 2017 LaCrosse promises to do the same,” Buick Vice President Duncan Aldred says in a statement. “Its expressive design represents a break from convention and highlights the progressiveness in all new Buick mdoels.”

An all-new chassis lighter than the current will underpin LaCrosse and promises a more dynamic driving experience. One key element includes a 5-link rear suspension, compared with a 4-link setup on the current model. GM also pledges new levels of quietness inside the car.

The ’17 LaCrosse is expected to shift to a new version of GM’s Epsilon midsize car platform, but the architecture likely will be a wider, longer execution meant for premium vehicles. The Avenir rode on a rear-wheel-drive Omega platform.

Buick officials say additional information on the LaCrosse will be shared closer to its global debut next month at the Los Angeles auto show.

The LaCrosse comes on the heels of the all-new Cascada convertible, which will arrive early next year and begin a refreshing of the Buick portfolio.

LaCrosse sales so far this year are down 14.8% to 28,669 units from 33,654 in the same period last year, according to WardsAuto data. Part of the sales softness can be blamed on a shift in consumer tastes away from sedans to CUVs and SUVs.

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