Bubba: there are several magnolia varieties that handle the cold fairly well, and do look pretty spectacular in the spring. I couldn’t say which one specifically works better than another, unfortunately. My memory of magnolias being fragile hails all the way back to elementary school where there was a magnolia on the grounds, which we were told we couldn’t climb in because the branches were too likely to break off. I had one of the southern varieties in my yard when I lived in TX, and while the flowers look incredible, they have no scent, which to me lessened their value. You might find better value putting in some dwarf fruit trees, which will not only give you the flowers (and they smell very nice), but will also (eventually) produce edible fruit if maintained.
Mairdie: I think the lack of magnolias in the Northeast is due more to them being just another early-blooming floral tree, so they don’t really get much attention. There are (as noted above) several cold-hardy versions, but a lot of folks only know of the southern variety and probably don’t think they’ll even grow in the north. When the competition includes forsythia, tulip trees, rhododendrons, dogwoods, and all the flowering fruit trees, magnolias are just one more decorative choice.
I remember the magnolias in front of Homewood House in Baltimore.
They were sheltered from northern winds.
The leaves are a problem since they are quite durable.
Make sure the leaf problem is acceptable before planting one.
I think southern magnolias, like cherry trees, block growth of grass and other plants underneath them.
The best Saucer magnolia I ever saw was in the Stockade area of Schenectady, NY. I saw some good examples in the Boston area as well.
In Baltimore, the cold usually marred the flowering display of the Saucer magnolias. Further north, the trees bloom later and are not as impacted.