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High End Luxury Cars
24723 messages, Last post on Jan 28, 2013 at 6:55 PM
You are in the Sedans Forum.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.
#1926 of 24723 by magnetophone
Oct 29, 2002 (1:02 am)
The only cars I see young people driving that are considered luxury are the BMW 3-series, the Mercedes C, and the IS300. I've never seen a young person driving a brand new Cadillac. Maybe in other regions things are different, but Cadillacs are not prevalent here, and those that are are base Devilles driven by older folks.Again, all this song and dance about what Cadillac is about to bring out in 2003,4,5,6 is pointless until it actually happens. Where was Cadillac in 1996 when the Z3 came out? Or in 1997 when the ML320 came out? Where is an AWD Cadillac (besides the Escalade)? Where is a Cadillac station wagon, or a Cadillac with electronic braking?
Cadillac's resurgence is only contingent on their products actually existing in real time. The XLR is about to come out soon, but there's no way to tell if it's going to make an impact yet or not. Even then, they did not build an SL competitor. They built a car that competes with a CLK500 in price and is generally just a large RWD convertible. I don't see how they really redefined the sector. They're doing the same thing Lexus is doing, providing reasonable alternatives at lower prices. The difference is, Cadillac doesn't have Lexus' reputation of reliability.
#1927 of 24723 by magnetophone
Oct 29, 2002 (1:13 am)
It's as simple as this - Cadillac has not created a car in the past 20 years or so that has become a trendsetter and copycat to other luxury brands. This is an essential for a true luxury brand that is setting an example.Here's a few examples. In the mid 70's, the S-class, and E-class Mercedes set a standard in contemporary luxury design. It was emulated by everyone from the Cadillac Seville to the Ford Granada to some of the upper level Alfa Romeo sedans, if you want to be broader in your interpretation. The barge with the bank-like vault started with these cars.
Mercedes did it again with the 1980's model S-class and the 1990's version (which Lexus so dutifully copied with their current LS430).
BMW caused round headlights to become cool again, and the 3-series re-created the personal luxury coupe. Suddenly the CLK appeared, and Audi had to bring over a cabriolet model.
Audi's brand DNA has been copied to some extent from everything from the Lexus SC430 to the Ford Mondeo to the Proton Impian (if you know what one of those are.) If there are any two brands have caused true impact in the past decade, it's Audi and BMW.
Audi created the necessity for the clean, Bauhaus exterior, the high-quality interior which was so uncommon in the 1990's, and BMW reinvented the desire to have RWD sports sedans and coupes, whether we really wanted them or not.
What has Lexus done? Well, nothing in the styling department, but it has made the other brands learn what quality is supposed to be.
What has Cadillac done? I certainly don't see Art and Science showing up on the 2004 Audi TT, the 2005 Ford Five Hundred, or the 2005 Mercedes S-Class!
We haven't converted our E-classes to front wheel drive! We haven't installed heads-up displays in Audi A6's! We haven't seen a truck-like SUV based on the EuroVan show up rebaged as an Audi! We haven't seen carriage tops, column-mounted shifters, or BVLGARI instruments appear inside Lexi have we?
case closed!
#1929 of 24723 by magnetophone
Oct 29, 2002 (9:05 am)
automotional: I believe I was talking about styling influence. The LS400 was not a styling influencer. And when I said that Lexus taught the other brands about quality, I was referring primarily to the LS400.You do have a point. The Lexus SC430 is a hideous shape that can do the gorgeous TT no justice.
Why would I read Road and Track anymore? That's something a 7th grader reads while they're dreaming of a Lamborghini or a Camaro! I read Car, BBC Top Gear, L'Automobile, and Autoweek. Real tenets of motoring journalism.
#1930 of 24723 by magnetophone
Oct 29, 2002 (9:07 am)
I remember when the Lexus LS and the Infiniti Q45 came out. It was the Infiniti that was considered to be the cutting edge styling, not the Lexus. The grille-less front wasn't exactly new (Ford Sierra), but this car got a lot more nods for being a more noticeable styling exercise than the LS400, which just looked like a Ford aero-treatment pasted onto a Mercedes S-class.To POST a message, please
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