One division that wasn't on the table in General Motors' recent fire sale was GM China. It's one of the company's few profitable units and, with sales rising, it's not difficult to understand why. In the first 10 months of last year, sales were up by 46.5 per cent and have already exceeded 1.5 million units.
With the old LaCrosse, Buick chose to design in Shanghai a car for the Chinese and Taiwanese markets based on the American LaCrosse. This proved a shrewd move, with 2008 sales of 52,719 in China compared with 36,873 in the US market. So when it came to replacing the car with a single version, GM decided to design the interior at Shanghai's Pan Asia Technical Automotive Centre and the exterior in the US with consultation from its Chinese colleagues.
The new LaCrosse eschews the old model's balanced lines for a far more aggressive look. Although it may share the same Epsilon II platform as the Buick Regal (Opel Insignia) the car has been given a course of anabolic steroids and beefed up in the gym. At five metres long, it's bigger than the BMW 5 series and Mercedes E class.
Judging from the interior, GM sees the LaCrosse as its new bruiser in the fight against the Teutonic competition. Compared with the old version, it has seriously upped the game. Dominating the central console of our Luxury trim 2.4 litre is an LCD screen that acts as a reverse camera, GPS and DVD player, the controls blending seamlessly into those of the climate system below. Encasing these is the brown leather-topped dash that gives way to real wood and then a metallic strip, which at night bathes the interior in blue light, finally moving to the cream leather lined lower section. With velvet-lined storage compartments, the attention to luxury is impressive.
There's an attractive steering wheel and the blue theme continues with backlighting for the speedo and rev counter. In between sits a small LCD display for information such as tyre pressure and trip data. Mounted on the wheel are buttons for the cruise control, Bluetooth phone connection and stereo system. On our version the cream leather seats in the front have not only heating but also a cooling fan, with memory controls and electric operation.
The cabin is very light, thanks to a large sunroof. In the rear there is a power socket and ventilation controls. Although legroom is generous, taller adults will have headroom problems. Passengers in the three-litre Flagship version have headrest-mounted screens. Access to the boot is a little restricted owing to a high lip and narrow opening, but there is space for a number of cases and the seats can fold down.