Designed mostly in China, where Buick enjoys strong sales, the LaCrosse is an exercise in well-proportioned grace. The front juts out enough that it should give the car an ungainly, pancaked appearance, but GM still gets away with it. I can't quite explain how, except to say the car's face hides the overhang in a way the outgoing LaCrosse's bulbous nose could not. I'm no aesthete; I just know when a car looks right, and the new LaCrosse does. You might disagree, but 10 bucks says that most of you won't. (Actually, I make a journalist's salary. Let's make that five bucks.)

All versions of the LaCrosse get chrome accents on the door handles, trunk and grille. Unfortunately, they also get Buick's signature portholes, moved to an awkward perch atop the hood. Most onlookers agreed — these faux engine vents hurt an otherwise sharp design.