Ever had a sibling who gets all the attention?

Car companies have that problem, too. Consider Buick.

For the last year or two, the spotlight has been on Buick's big, glamorous Lucerne, a luxury car that many have hailed as the return of "real" Buicks -- chrome-laden, gorgeous, powerful and exuding class.

	Buick LaCrosse Super Click image for larger version.

In its short time on the market, Buick's Lucerne has gotten high marks from journalists, decent sales on the showroom floor and even become the new darling of the hip-hop crowd when it comes to customizing, replacing Chrysler's 300 in that regard.

All that attention has left the smaller, more modest looking LaCrosse largely unnoticed on the showroom floor.

That's too bad because the LaCrosse is Buick's "bread and butter" car, and the one that families and business people are likely to gravitate to first if they are looking for a sedan in Buick's lineup.

The LaCrosse can be had in five or six passenger versions, and in three trim levels -- CX, CXL, and CXS. Prices run between $22,915 and $27,545.

Power comes from either a 3.8 liter, 200 horsepower V-6 or a 240 horsepower, 3.6 liter V-6. All the safety goodies are yours for the asking, including dual front, side and side curtain air bags, and traction control. It has a beautiful interior and very high build quality as well, and of course, it has Buick's trademark quiet, too.

This year, the LaCrosse gets new, sportier cluster graphics with red pointer gauges, Harvest Burl wood trim, a steering wheel with Buick's tri-shield emblem, and two new choices of cloth seat fabric -- gray and neutral. Four new exterior colors also have been added: Stone Grey Metallic, Midnight Amethyst, Midnight Blue Metallic and Red Jewel Metallic.

What's coming in 2008

The big news is the elegant, "outtasight" Enclave crossover, which already is selling extremely well for Buick. It looks like nothing else on the road -- except a Buick. And that's good. Flowing lines, curvaceous flanks, huge, chromed road wheels and a waterfall trademark Buick grille to die for. Even hard core industry analysts are swooning over this one.

But the Enclave has more than good looks going for it. Powered by a 275 horsepower, 3.6 liter V-6 (16/24 for FWD, 16/22 for AWD) and a six speed automatic transmission, the Enclave is quiet as a library inside -- you literally cannot hear the engine idling quite often.

And it has more interior room and cargo room than any of its competitors. Even with the third row up, there's plenty of room for bags of groceries. And even better, the third row is actually comfortable for adults.

This is a car not to be missed. Prices start at $32,790.

Two other new models on the way will reaffirm Buick's reputation as a maker of elegant vehicles: the Buick Enclave, a full size luxury crossover, and the LaCrosse Super.

Not much is known about the LaCrosse Super, but it is intended to be a luxurious, high-performance sedan in keeping with Buicks of the past.

Super is, of course, the Buick series name that for years denoted a top-of-the-line luxury car that was second only to the vaunted Roadmaster in terms of creature comforts.