2009 Buick Lucerne
large car / 4-door sedan
Moderate overlap front: original test
Rating applies to 2006-11 models
Tested vehicle: 2006 Buick Lucerne CXL 4-door
The Buick Lucerne was introduced in the 2006 model year as a replacement for the Buick LeSabre and Park Avenue. The Cadillac DTS was introduced in the 2006 model year as a replacement for the Cadillac DeVille.
Two moderate overlap frontal tests of the Lucerne were conducted, one by the Institute and the other by General Motors. Ratings are based on both tests.
| Evaluation criteria | Rating |
|---|---|
| Overall evaluation | |
| Structure and safety cage | |
| Driver injury measures | |
| Head/neck | |
| Chest | |
| Leg/foot, left | |
| Leg/foot, right | |
| Driver restraints and dummy kinematics | |
Action shot taken during the Institute's moderate overlap frontal crash test.
The dummy's position in relation to the steering wheel and instrument panel after the crash test indicates that the driver's survival space was maintained well (Institute test car shown).
Dummy movement was well controlled in both tests. During rebound, the dummy's head hit only the head restraint, as indicated by smeared greasepaint.
Forces on the lower right leg were high enough to indicate the possibility of injury in the Institute's test (shown). In GM's test, forces on both lower legs were sufficiently high to indicate the possibility of injuries.
Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side
| Evaluation criteria | Measurement | |
|---|---|---|
| Test ID | CEF0603 | VTF0504 |
| Footwell intrusion | ||
| Footrest (cm) | 4 | 6 |
| Left (cm) | 14 | 14 |
| Center (cm) | 14 | 15 |
| Right (cm) | 14 | 13 |
| Brake pedal (cm) | 5 | 7 |
| Instrument panel rearward movement | ||
| Left (cm) | 0 | 1 |
| Right (cm) | 0 | 0 |
| Steering column movement | ||
| Upward (cm) | 0 | 0 |
| Rearward (cm) | -1 | 0 |
| A-pillar rearward movement (cm) | 0 | 0 |
Driver injury measures
| Evaluation criteria | Measurement | |
|---|---|---|
| Test ID | CEF0603 | VTF0504 |
| Head | ||
| HIC-15 | 297 | 170 |
| Peak gs at hard contact | no contact | no contact |
| Neck | ||
| Tension (kN) | 0.8 | 0.8 |
| Extension bending moment (Nm) | 10 | 9 |
| Maximum Nij | 0.35 | 0.15 |
| Chest maximum compression (mm) | 33 | 35 |
| Legs | ||
| Femur force - left (kN) | 1.2 | 0.7 |
| Femur force - right (kN) | 3.0 | 2.8 |
| Knee displacement - left (mm) | 0 | 0 |
| Knee displacement - right (mm) | 0 | 0 |
| Maximum tibia index - left | 0.35 | 0.85 |
| Maximum tibia index - right | 0.79 | 1.10 |
| Tibia axial force - left (kN) | 2.3 | 3.8 |
| Tibia axial force - right (kN) | 4.2 | 4.2 |
| Foot acceleration (g) | ||
| Left | 103 | 121 |
| Right | 61 | 64 |
Side: original test
Rating applies to 2006-11 models
Tested vehicle: 2006 Buick Lucerne CXL 4-door with standard front and rear head curtain airbags and standard front seat-mounted torso airbags
The Buick Lucerne was introduced in the 2006 model year as a replacement for the Buick LeSabre and Park Avenue. The Cadillac DTS was introduced in the 2006 model year as a replacement for the Cadillac DeVille.
| Evaluation criteria | Rating |
|---|---|
| Overall evaluation | |
| Structure and safety cage | |
| Driver injury measures | |
| Head/neck | |
| Torso | |
| Pelvis/leg | |
| Driver head protection | |
| Rear passenger injury measures | |
| Head/neck | |
| Torso | |
| Pelvis/leg | |
| Rear passenger head protection | |
View of the vehicle and barrier just after the crash test.
View of the vehicle after the crash with doors removed, showing the side airbags and damage to the occupant compartment.
Smeared greasepaint shows where the driver dummy's head was protected from being hit by hard structures by the side curtain airbag.
Smeared greasepaint shows where the rear passenger dummy's head was protected by the side airbag.
Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side
| Test ID | CES0616 |
|---|---|
| B-pillar to longitudinal centerline of driver's seat (cm) | -3.5 |
| Negative numbers indicate the amount by which the crush stopped short of the seat centerline. | |
Driver injury measures
| Evaluation criteria | Measurement |
|---|---|
| Test ID | CES0616 |
| Head HIC-15 | 407 |
| Neck | |
| Tension (kN) | 1.5 |
| Compression (kN) | 0.0 |
| Shoulder | |
| Lateral deflection (mm) | 43 |
| Lateral force (kN) | 2.4 |
| Torso | |
| Maximum deflection (mm) | 38 |
| Average deflection (mm) | 32 |
| Maximum deflection rate (m/s) | 4.53 |
| Maximum viscous criterion (m/s) | 0.81 |
| Pelvis | |
| Iliac force (kN) | 3.7 |
| Acetabulum force (kN) | 2.2 |
| Combined force (kN) | 5.8 |
| Left femur | |
| L-M force (kN) | 0.4 |
| L-M moment (Nm) | 61 |
| A-P moment (Nm) | 45 |
Passenger injury measures
| Evaluation criteria | Measurement |
|---|---|
| Test ID | CES0616 |
| Head HIC-15 | 220 |
| Neck | |
| Tension (kN) | 0.4 |
| Compression (kN) | 0.3 |
| Shoulder | |
| Lateral deflection (mm) | 27 |
| Lateral force (kN) | 1.3 |
| Torso | |
| Maximum deflection (mm) | 31 |
| Average deflection (mm) | 24 |
| Maximum deflection rate (m/s) | 2.69 |
| Maximum viscous criterion (m/s) | 0.35 |
| Pelvis | |
| Iliac force (kN) | 0.7 |
| Acetabulum force (kN) | 4.0 |
| Combined force (kN) | 4.4 |
| Left femur | |
| L-M force (kN) | 1.0 |
| L-M moment (Nm) | 98 |
| A-P moment (Nm) | 35 |
Head restraints & seats
Seat type: Power leather seats
| Overall evaluation | |
|---|---|
| Dynamic rating | |
| Seat/head restraint geometry |
| Seat type | Power leather seats |
|---|---|
| Geometry | |
| Backset (mm) | 32 |
| Distance below top of head (mm) | 59 |
| Seat design parameters | |
| Pass/fail | Fail |
| Max T1 acceleration (g) | 11.2 |
| Head contact time (ms) | 88 |
| Force rating | 2 |
| Neck forces | |
| Max neck shear force (N) | 150 |
| Max neck tension (N) | 621 |
About the head restraint & seat test
Currently, IIHS tests apply only to front seats.