Welcome to the Hooniverse Obscure Muscle Car Garage, a regular feature which tries and educate the readers who frequent this site that Muscle Cars have existed for some time, and that sometimes their configuration is not necissarily the norm… Within this series I have tried to convince you that Front Wheel Drive Sedans, equipped with V-8 Power, could be classified as Obscure Muscle, but not all of you are convinced. You all thought that the Pontiac Grand Prix GXP was a Muscle Car by the slimmest of margins. However, you denied entry into the Obscure Muscle Car Garage to the very similar Chevrolet Impala SS V-8, and the Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS V-8. Well, it is now time for you to decide what fate you have in store for the Buick LaCrosse Super… Is it in or is it out? Car and Driver wrote in their review of the 2008 Buick LaCrosse Super that it wasn’t designed to be a sports sedan at all, but was instead billed as a “luxury touring sedan” whatever that was suppose to mean. And this was a bit surprising since this Buick shares its chassis and engine with Chevrolet’s Monte Carlo SS and Impala SS, as well as the Pontiac Grand Prix GXP, products that were haphazardly designed to be “sport sedans” or what I would term as “latent Muscle Cars”. With all the comparisons that one could draw between the Pontiac and Chevrolet stable mates, there were some interesting facts that differed between these front drive tire shredders; The Buick stops in less distance, holds onto the skidpad longer, and is quicker and faster than any of its platform-mates, with shocking high-speed stability, especially considering its roots and the badge on its nose. This was according to Car and Driver… What is also interesting is that the 5.3-liter LS4 V-8 mated to a really-needs-another-gear four-speed automatic transmission produces an advertised 300 horsepower and the 323 pound-feet of torque. This is a full THREE horsepower short of the figures for the Chevy and Pontiac versions, which is somewhat puzzling. However, this will still move the sedan to 60 mph in 5.7 seconds, with the driver battling torque steer most of the way. One thing to note; This figure is still almost a second slower to 60 when comparing times to the heralded Grand National GNX set 20 years earlier. All is not lost though, as this Buick was the fastest Buick in quite some time, with a quarter-mile time of 14.2 seconds @ 101 mph. The LaCrosse Super was also busy setting a top speed run of 156 MPH. And all of this performance is wrapped up in a pretty sedate package, compared to its stablemates. There is none of the obvious spoilers and cross drilled brake rotors found on the Grand Prix, or the larger than life SS badging found on the Chevys. Instead, there was a tasteful chrome waterfall grill at the front, 4-hole ventiports on each front fender, and eye pleasing 18 inch aluminum wheels (which are all the exact same size, unlike the Grand Prix). The interior of the LaCrosse was not overlooked when choosing the Super version. The furnishings look sportier, and have a more refined persona. There’s the usual wood grain, but it is combined with silver accents on the dash, doors, shifter, and sill plates. The LaCrosse Super also includes high-end amenities like heated leather seats, remote start, premium sound, rear obstacle detection, as well as other features. So there you have it… Another GM Front Wheel Drive, V-8 Powered Sedan. Is this somewhat modern Buick sedan a Muscle Car? Remember, this was the fastest Buick in almost 20 years, almost bettering the legendary Buick Grand National GNX, but you have to make up your own mind as to deciding whether it belongs in the Hooniverse Obscure Muscle Car Garage. Are you still stuck on the idea that a V-8 powered Front Wheel Drive sedan can’t possibly be a Muscle Car? Let the debate begin, and cast your vote. [poll id=”225″] Please Note: All Images are screen grabs from around the web. If you want credit for any image, please let me know in the comments section. Thank You!