The Auto Writer

Pillow soft rides, huge blind spots and lengthy noses are all hallmarks of the traditional big American car even today despite large cars being smaller and lighter than their predecessors were in the 1960s and 1970s.

Buick, which has long stood for GM’s near-luxury division, offered its share of beastly cars including the Lucerne which shares its platform with the Cadillac DTS (formerly Deville). The Lucerne replaced the bulbous Roadmaster and the somewhat smaller LeSabre cars which were successors in a long line of full sized sedans.

GM says that Buick’s future is assured, but its position with the automaker will change as the company says that the Buick Lucerne will not be replaced when the model is phased out in 2010. Instead, the Enclave crossover will be the flagship model followed by the newly redesigned LaCrosse and the all-new Regal.

Why the change? As Left Lane News reports, the segment is down 35% year to date which means one thing: people aren’t flocking to big sedans anymore. Instead, if they need the interior room, crossovers like the Enclave are picking up the slack. The Lucerne is redundant and will be axed.

The same shake up is likely to happen to Cadillac as GM plans to replace both the DTS and STS with one model. Though there could still be room for a full sized executive car (limousine) in the GM arsenal, cash strapped GM may simply choose to ditch the segment by concentrating on a large midsize car for Cadillac.

Part of me doubts that all of this will take place, given GM’s history of producing some of the largest cars in the world. But, GM is fighting for its life and their is no guarantee that additional federal funding is coming when Congress and a new president take office in January.

Likely, if GM does get some additional funds there will be major strings attached, with the federal government dictating how the company does business including what models are produced.

I guarantee it that we won’t see a big GM car again unless the automaker figures of way of powering the sedan by a four cylinder engine.