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High End Luxury Cars

24700 messages,  Last post on Dec 01, 2009 at 12:24 PM

You are in the Sedans Forum. Your Hosts are pat & karens

What is this discussion about? Audi A8, BMW 7 Series, Jaguar XJ-Series, Lexus LS 460, Mercedes-Benz S-Class, Volkswagen Phaeton, Maserati Quattroporte, Mercedes-Benz CL-Class, Sedan



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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#17397 of 24700
Re: Everybody [oac] by blkhemi
Aug 01, 2006 (1:02 pm)
Reply

Replying to: oac (Jul 31, 2006 9:21 pm)

So elequently did you look over the '01 S500 that is really out of the "realm". At 41k miles, these cars were supposed to be headed to the shredder, according to JDP and CR, a longtime Lexus pay-off.
 
The S65 was supposed to have even more problems by 10k miles according to the two biased mags because of it's more "performance-laden" setup. Whatever. That means that every reliable Porsche 911, Box, and Cayman are supposed to break the hinges off of it's mid-mounted engine by the time it gets off of the boat ride from across the pond.
 
And to add to Tag, now there is confusion. At first, JDP was all the rave, now the info is not trustworthy? Which is it?
 
BTW: I did have a Japanese car that I drove 112k miles with remarkably better luck than both of the Lexus' I had. It was a '99 Q45t that I drove from LI to the City everyday only to put two sets of tires on it, 1 brake job(vs. 2 for the Lexus with only 32k miles), and new Bose speakers. Of course the usual maintenance, but that was it. And to boot, the W12 has 14k miles on it. By this time, according to the Nastrodomous of journalism, JDP and CR both say the body intergrity is supposed to degrade, the electrical system is supposed to go hay-wire, the 4WD system will go kaput, and so on. None of which have happen, and this may be the reason that more credible auto journals say that the Audi body continues to be the stiffest in class, despite the new comp...
 
BTW: Saw a LS430(judging from the wheels, maybe an '01-'03) on a flatbed today. Since it was so dirty, I guess they were delivering it as a "gift" to someone, because it dare wouldn't be going to get service at the dealership????
#17399 of 24700
Re: Everybody [blkhemi] by syswei
Aug 01, 2006 (1:39 pm)
Reply

Replying to: blkhemi (Aug 01, 2006 1:02 pm)

I don't think anyone believes that Lexus is problem-free, or that every MB breaks down frequently. And that isn't what JDP or CR actually show. They only show that Lexus, Porsche, and other brands are relatively reliable as compared to MB. For instance the 2005 JDP VDS (here) shows Lexus had 139 problems per 100 vehicles (not zero) and MB had 283 (not 1000). CR is consistent with numbers like that (see here)
 
You refer to JDP and CR as "biased". Are they biased because they publish results you simply can't face? Or do you have some actual evidence that there is something less than objective going on at both places? And how do you explain the fact that JDP and CR are not alone? That studies in the UK (here) and your beloved Germany also point to the relatively better reliability of Lexus vs MB? Can you point to any well-conducted study, anywhere in the world, that shows that MB is as reliable as, or even "almost" as reliable as, Lexus?
 
All that being said, I know that reliability isn't everything, and that different people might care about it in differing degrees. That's one reason I don't usually argue with BMW fans. They tend to like BMW for things that most people recognize Lexus lacks.
#17400 of 24700
Re: Everybody [syswei] by blkhemi
Aug 01, 2006 (3:01 pm)
Reply

Replying to: syswei (Aug 01, 2006 1:39 pm)

You don't have to be an automotive genious to know that CR is consistently misleading in what they think the marketplace of cars is. And dare I even comment on JDP:
 
This being the very company that rolled out a IQS report that showed some cars at the very bottom(LR) yet in the APEAL they miraculously appear to be at the top(10)? And please don't run me that "reliability isn't everything" gig as anyone who plops 80 large on a RR Supercharged only to have the engine blow before 10k miles is not and will not be enjoying the ride. Oh. moreover, this is also the same rag that gave the Pontiac Grand Prix the best Large Car in Initial Quality(and best factory) yet in APEAL it's a dead ringer? So I like it intially, but give me a thousand miles to think about it, I'm sure to hate it!
 
I've never ever read(and I read a lot) anything out of Germany that'll suggest a LS to be more reliable than a MB. That's not Germany's MO. Most rags there don't mention car and LS in the same sentence.
 
But I digress once more. The LS is more reliable on most basis(not always) than most of it's competition. I never said it wasn't. What was mentioned was the LS is not so perfect that it won't break down. It's not Zeus, the Greek God. Yes the car is mechanically sound, but infinetely reliable??? Hardly, no matter how the 114k miles got there........-
#17401 of 24700
Re: Report on Japan's global production [ljflx] by blkhemi
Aug 01, 2006 (3:13 pm)
Reply

Replying to: ljflx (Aug 01, 2006 8:41 am)

With that being said, and with all of the cars being made there, why is that they don't sell well there? And this is not a Toyota/Lexus thing. The USA accounts for 54.9% of Honda Motor LTD. complete business, yet they too have a slew of factories in Europe.
 
Take the Euro/Asia market Accord(our TSX). The Opel's(GM) and Ford's(Mondeo) outsells it 3 and 4-1, respectively. The IS250/350: only 410 on average per month compared to 2800 330i's, 2600 A4's, and 1900 C-Classes. The major calling card these otherwise great cars are missing is a diesel engine. Without, you drown in Europe. And this is sure to be the reason the now techno-loaded(something Lexus vowed never to do) LS is sure to do horridly so there. Even in Europe, speed and R-the word isn't everything...
#17402 of 24700
Re: I Read..... [brightness04] by houdini1
Aug 01, 2006 (3:31 pm)
Reply

Replying to: brightness04 (Jul 31, 2006 10:18 pm)

Good point Brightness. I could not agree more.
#17404 of 24700
Re: Everybody [blkhemi] by syswei
Aug 01, 2006 (4:23 pm)
Reply

Replying to: blkhemi (Aug 01, 2006 3:01 pm)

IQS vs APEAL. You really ought to look at the JDP website before jumping to conclusions. Those two surveys measure different things and hence come up with different results. If you ran one poll asking "who are you going to vote for in the next Presidential election" and another asking "who is the most beautiful actress you can think of" you'd get different results, no? Would that result mean the results are invalid?
 
German surveys. Well, here's one: article
#17405 of 24700
Right, Syswei by drfill
Aug 01, 2006 (4:57 pm)
Reply
I don't know how Hemi gets confused by APEAL vs IQS. One measures Appeal/Ease of Use. One measures quality.
 
   DrFill

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