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Sedans 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
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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Even though the E, & 5 are on the sporty level, the base price of these two vehicles with V-8s are almost at the same base price of the more sophiscated new LS. 550i $58,500. auto tran is an option. LS $61,000 750i $71,800 750Li $75,800 LS $61,000 LS/lwb $71,000 E550 MSRP $59,775. LS $61,000 S550 $86,175. Will MB use the V8 from the GL450 for a possible S450?
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Replying to: blkcadillac (Oct 07, 2006 9:04 am) blkcadillac - the problem witth your reasoning is you won't find a $61K SWB car or a $71L LWB car. Those are prices that are set for marketing purposes of stripped cars that they never make. Bottom line is the prices are up 10% (55K to 61K for those unavailable cars) but you get a lot more car with extra features for that 10% price increase. Great strategy as they cover a much greater bandwidth of buyers than does MB and for all intent and purposes a comparably equipped LWB LS car is now at price parity, maybe even higher than a 7-series. I know the S450 is out there but I'll bet that cannibalizes S550 or even high end E sales rather than hurts LS aales.
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Replying to: ljflx (Oct 07, 2006 10:29 am) To some extent true, but generally if the buyer is comfortable with the S550 price, he's going to get the S550. Therefore the high end E might lose out a bit, but truly there will some LS460L (remember, lj, we're talking long wheelbase here) sales that would be lost to an S450, assuming it would be priced in the sweet spot, as well as the upcoming BlueTec S-Class, assuming also that the price is in the sweet spot. It's the same market share perspective that we talked about earlier, but we don't want to get too deep into a discussion about. My main point is, with the right product at the right price (which is the S450 and possibly the diesel variant) the loss of sales is a two-way street. Even the mighty LS460L can lose sales to Mercedes Benz, and it will. Of course, I have little doubt that the LS460 & LS460L will do very well with these announced prices. I would be interested in an LS460L price, configured to match an S550, comparibly equipped as close as possible, to see just what the real-life difference would be. I think it is more likely that an upcoming S450 would be perceived as a "value" for the S-Class, and would be a true competitor to the LS460L, and not just a cannibal within the ranks of MB. len - would you PLEASE have this discussion with me on the HELM forum, as I am balancing on the fence here in this LS forum when it comes to appropriate comparison discussions. It's difficult, and while I genuinely want to have a discussion with you, I also know that it should be in the appropriate forum, out of respect for all the other posters and the hosts, as well. That's fair, isn't it? TagMan
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Replying to: tagman (Oct 07, 2006 11:46 am) Wouldn't you think an S450 is restrained by prices of the old S430. If they price it too low they hurt the residuals of S430's in the future. Re the LS460L - sure I see the market share issue and I wouldn't for a second say a low priced S450 wouldn't attract an LS460L buyer. But my feeling is MB would have to walk a fine line here and I think in the end the greater risk is canabilization. I think the possibility is also greater that it takes away a would be LS customer much more so than an existing customer. Remember the LS460L is set up more to start to take away share from LWB German buyers than it is for existing LS buyers. So I think an aggressive price move by MB on the S450 is defensive rather than offensive. |
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Merc1 - many congrats on your car. Glad you can fulfill that dream. Patience is always rewarding and I wish you the best of luck with the car. Is the garage in the pix the house investment you made years ago when you passed on buying a car like that? Thanks for the well wishes! Yes that is the house. M |
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Replying to: blkcadillac (Oct 07, 2006 9:04 am) By "auto tran", if I decipher your abbreviations correctly, you are referring to the 6 speed steptronic transmission, by stating it is an option is misleading in that every 550i transmission can be ordered at no extra charge: the 6 speed manual, the 6 speed SMG and the steptronic. All the same: no extra charge. Comparing the 550i at $58,500 to the LS at $61,000, I would have to say the LS is quite over-priced. |
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Replying to: unknown (Oct 08, 2006 11:28 am) IYO of course. The LS460 while much better looking than the LS430 still doesn't have the S-Class' flair and when the S is wearing AMG trim the LS460 looks like a throwback. The shape is so unimaginative. It is too slab sided and carry too many Camry cues to be better looking than a S or A8. Now the 7-Series..... M |
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