What is it?
Buick Lucerne VIP
What's special about it?
Unlike the dozen or so other Buick Lucernes built for this year's SEMA show, the Lucerne VIP cruiser showed a little respect for the brand. "Buick has traditionally been about understated luxury, and we wanted to keep a little of that in this car," builder Don Whitmire explained. "Anybody can add wheels, paint and a body kit. We wanted to try and build on what was already there."
Up front, he started by extending the bumper 2 inches and giving it a slight point in the middle to eliminate the flat nose. The air intake below was then cut out in the middle so it extends all the way across, and a new mesh cover was used to clean it up. Whitmire continued the cleaning by removing all the side moldings and then adding new side skirts that extend 1.5 inches farther out than the stock pieces.
Considerable work was done on the back end, too, as Whitmire saw an opportunity to give the Buick a few Mercedes-like touches. "By continuing the beltline all the way to the extended rear lip spoiler, it looks a little bit like the Mercedes CLS," Whitmire explained. He also pointed out the CLS-like shape of the Lucerne's taillamps, all of which received a slight gray tint to distinguish them from stock.
The entire car was lowered 4.5 inches and it rides on a set of 20-inch AME wheels, which further add to the Mercedes look with their monoblock design. Less obvious changes include the smoothed-out rear valance, 3/4-inch rear wheel arch extensions and diamond-trimmed Buick emblem.
Interior modifications were kept to a minimum. Suede was used for the headliner, door panels and seat trim. Any wood that was brown before was sprayed black. There's the usual audio/video upgrades like a trunk full of speakers, and DVD screens on the backs of the front seats. An iPod dock was built into the center console and the navigation system was rewired to play DVDs on its 7-inch screen.
What's Edmunds' take?
Most of the builders who were given a Lucerne tried to make it something it wasn't. By sticking closer to the car's roots, Whitmire built more with less. — Ed Hellwig
Buick Lucerne VIP
What's special about it?
Unlike the dozen or so other Buick Lucernes built for this year's SEMA show, the Lucerne VIP cruiser showed a little respect for the brand. "Buick has traditionally been about understated luxury, and we wanted to keep a little of that in this car," builder Don Whitmire explained. "Anybody can add wheels, paint and a body kit. We wanted to try and build on what was already there."
Up front, he started by extending the bumper 2 inches and giving it a slight point in the middle to eliminate the flat nose. The air intake below was then cut out in the middle so it extends all the way across, and a new mesh cover was used to clean it up. Whitmire continued the cleaning by removing all the side moldings and then adding new side skirts that extend 1.5 inches farther out than the stock pieces.
Considerable work was done on the back end, too, as Whitmire saw an opportunity to give the Buick a few Mercedes-like touches. "By continuing the beltline all the way to the extended rear lip spoiler, it looks a little bit like the Mercedes CLS," Whitmire explained. He also pointed out the CLS-like shape of the Lucerne's taillamps, all of which received a slight gray tint to distinguish them from stock.
The entire car was lowered 4.5 inches and it rides on a set of 20-inch AME wheels, which further add to the Mercedes look with their monoblock design. Less obvious changes include the smoothed-out rear valance, 3/4-inch rear wheel arch extensions and diamond-trimmed Buick emblem.
Interior modifications were kept to a minimum. Suede was used for the headliner, door panels and seat trim. Any wood that was brown before was sprayed black. There's the usual audio/video upgrades like a trunk full of speakers, and DVD screens on the backs of the front seats. An iPod dock was built into the center console and the navigation system was rewired to play DVDs on its 7-inch screen.
What's Edmunds' take?
Most of the builders who were given a Lucerne tried to make it something it wasn't. By sticking closer to the car's roots, Whitmire built more with less. — Ed Hellwig
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