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Sedans High End Luxury Cars
24697 messages, Last post on Nov 28, 2009 at 3:09 PM
You are in the Sedans Forum. Your Hosts are pat & karens
Let's try to define this forum as being limited to luxury performance vehicles where the mainstream version in a typical configuration has an MSRP of at least $60k.
A luxury vehicle with a base price of $59k qualifies because it would typically be bought with some additional equipment, bringing the MSRP over $60k.
Vehicles like the E, 5, A6, M, or GS, even if available in certain versions over $60k, don't qualify because they are cars from companies that have higher end cars in their lineups.
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Replying to: scott1256 (Jan 18, 2006 10:03 am)
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Replying to: lexusguy (Jan 18, 2006 10:08 am) |
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Replying to: lexusguy (Jan 18, 2006 10:08 am)
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Replying to: scott1256 (Jan 18, 2006 11:54 am)  
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Replying to: lexusguy (Jan 18, 2006 3:04 pm) 
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This morning's Journal has a half page ad touting a 2.9% interest rate for Mercedes Certified Pre-Owned C, E, and S Class cars. Trouble is, its a deal for status insecure suckers. The fine print way at the bottom limits the CPO warranty to one year. Wow! Thats a real vote of confidence in the quality of the product and the reconditioning effort later put into it. Kind of reminds me of April, 1970 when the 101st was told to hold Hill 927 at all cost: "Mens(sic), I'll be right there with you" said the base camp NCOs. |
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Replying to: lexusi (Jan 18, 2006 4:36 pm)
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Replying to: rayng (Jan 18, 2006 6:08 pm) |
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Well I'm back. I see I haven't missed anything, but 325+ posts about the same stuff we've been arguing about for years now it seems!! I may or may not go back through all of those posts to respond to some of the more curious items. Anyway, down to business. This year's NAIAS was without a doubt the best I've ever been too. The sheer number of new cars and stunning concepts took two days to fully absorb. All of the hard times we read about are all forgotten for a few hours by buyers and executives alike it seems. It also shows that when some in the automotive industry are in trouble the creative thinking (or survival skills) kicks into high gear. Since this is the luxury board I'll mainly discuss the luxury car scene at Detroit this year. Audi - Audi is, for the first time feeling themselves in the U.S. Their model line brochures now read "Arguably The Best Cars in the World". Looking at the S8,S6,RS4, and Q7 you get the feeling that you could seriously entertain that notion. The S8 is absolutely stunning, inside and out. The B&O sound system arrives this fall for 8K! The S8 on display didn't have the system (come on Audi, why not?). The RS4 is an A4 on something powerful. The S6 is just a smaller S8 with a little less power. There was also an A8 W12 there with a 26K(!) interior package from Quattro GmBh. Stunning, but not worth that kind of money, the whole car stickered for over 150K! Despite all the performance vehicles on display, the real important intro for Audi is the Q7. It has the typical Audi high-quality, high-style interior, and it is a looker. There will be a 3.6L V6 model sometime this summer, same engine as the Passat 3.6 (276hp). I predict success for this vehicle for sure. Audi's future is as bright as it can be IMO. They're pouring on the performance this year to better compete with that other performance minded German luxury brand. There isn't an unattractive or loser car in their lineup. Cadillac - Very impressed with the STS-V overall, but like so many GM products the interior isn't up to the price and the XLR-V at 100K is just wishful thinking. There is no way the car is worth that. The good news and all the crowd yowling took place at the Escalade stand. There they were the Escalade, Escalade EXT and Escalade ESV, all in black. I've always liked the EXT version (the one with the pickup bed). The only fly in the buttermilk is that the interior plastics look great as does the interior design, but if the Chevy Tahoe and GMC Yukon are anything to go by, the plastics are still of the hard and cheap variety. The CTS seemed incredibly dated. Just looking around the Cadillac display I get the feeling something is missing, a true flagship vehicle to compete in the big leagues is needed. Mercedes-Benz - Two S-Class models on display, a S550 and S65 AMG. The S-Class fender arches don't appear as big in real life as the do in photos. Now the S-Class with the AMG wear like the S65 had is stunning and very aggressive looking. The basic S without the AMG kit looked a lot better than I originally pictured it. The car is huge, but still very sleek and hides its bulk extremely well. This is no 1992 S-Class by any means when it comes to looking bulky. Interest was very high for the S, GL, SLR (of course), SL and CLS. There was a black CLS55 AMG tucked in the corner of the display. This particular one had the AMG Performance Package. Absolutely stunning! This car had people standing around with their mouths open as did the SLR. I happen to walk up at the right time because I got a chance to sit in the previously locked SL55. With all the hoopla about the S-Class and CLS, I had forgotten about how much I love the SL. The car fells custom made. Separate from Detroit, the SL facelift details have been revealed. See Article. They had two samples of the new GL there. The GL looks a lot more distinctively Benzish in person. There is even a hint of the real "G" there too, the real G (a G55) was also on display. However, the GL's interior isn't going to hold a candle to the Range Rovers I saw. No chance. MB had better not go looking for a direct confrontation on price with Land Rover on this one. Apart from having a merely "nice" interior as opposed to s stunning one, the GL is larger than it looks in pictures. The third row could actually be used by smaller humans. No CL on display, guess it is farewell to my favorite Benz design from 2000-2005, the new model will be shown in March at Geneva. The diesels start arriving this fall. First the E320, then the ML320 and R320 and then a GL320 next spring. The C-Class is showing its age for sure and the E-Class (while mobbed) is showing some age also. The biggest problem I saw here is that the interiors of the ML,R and the GL to a lesser degree aren't up Benz's car interiors. This is done on the instance of MBUSI still trying to save a buck. All three have "nice" interiors that would pass muster in lesser-named vehicles, but not in a Mercedes when the S,CLS,SL,CLK are sitting right there nearly feeling and looking like they're built by someone else. Overall, Mercedes-Benz still draws a huge crowd and all the oohs and ahhs. Crisis? What crisis? BMW - I'll take an M6 please. Very impressive in that it can "clobber" Aston-Martins (as the BMW rep advised). This was my first time really seeing the 2006 7-Series up close. I'd only seen it on the road and/or just driving by the dealership. It looks a lot better, but it still doesn't cut it for me in the style department. I will say that the white 760Li on display had a back seat of supreme comfort. Very bold and brash, but not pretty. The M3 continues to be a favorite as does the 650i Convertible. I gave up on trying to sit in the M5, too many people and I'd already sat in the M6 long enough to get on the nerves of some folks waiting to sit in it. The BMW Coupe Concept is a peculiar item, though it looks worlds better than the previous Z3 Coupe. I've always liked the Z4, and now the M Roadster slots in for duty. Should be a real thrill ride with a 330hp version of the M3's I6. It is still MB,Audi, and BMW for me, but BMW is gaining ground and isn't so distant to Audi anymore. Porsche - The 997 is timeless. I particularly like the C4 versions with their wider bodywork. Combine that bodywork with a Cabrio top and you have the best looking 911 in years. Of course the important introduction was the Cayman. Nice, but I want a 911. The Cayenne Turbo S is going to be a short lived model because the Cayenne is due for a facelift for 2007, to be shown at Geneva in March and on sale here this fall. Why they didn't wait until then is a mystery. cont.....
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