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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: brightness04 (Oct 16, 2006 5:03 pm) But now when I visit many family members they live in the outskirts, shop in far away big box stores and have to travel on the highways to get to work. In otherwords their European lifestyle is beginning to resemble the lifestyle of many North Americans. Ironically my European relatives view my lifestyle in midtown/downtown Toronto with nostalgia since I walk both to work and to nearby shops, theatres and restaurants. Regarding your Audi views I beg to differ. Today's Audi is not like yesterday's Audi. Today there is only the A3 that shares a platform with VW. All other Audis are distinct and unique in their chassises and in most cases their drivetrains.
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Replying to: hpowders (Oct 17, 2006 5:12 am) Guess that makes me a stupid genius in-training! What I did say is there is a little too much resemblance among the rears of the Camry, Avalon, ES and LS. Lexus should make its designs more distinctive from Toyotas. Whether you happen to like it or not, it is a valid complaint, and it puzzles me that anyone would disagree with that. Well, it's a good morning. The first thing I see is that you and I are on the same page with this. Good post. And it's good to see you stick to your guns. TagMan
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Replying to: tagman (Oct 17, 2006 7:31 am) overall the resemblance of the ES and LS to the Camry is undeniable. It is not a question of being an Einstein or being a village idiot to figure that one out. I agree one hundred percent with your observations. |
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Replying to: dewey (Oct 17, 2006 7:31 am) I think you are right about this, but the recent "Audi" grill being used by VW seems to have caused a perception that there is more in common between Audi and VW than there actually is. BTW, interesting stuff about your lifestyle.  TagMan |
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Replying to: reality2 (Oct 16, 2006 11:42 am) Personally I wish I could not see the luxury in BMW myself. I would prefer BMW just to focus on performance cars without entertainment electronic gizmos and without an interior that resembles my grandfather's library.
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Replying to: dewey (Oct 17, 2006 7:39 am) TagMan
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this morning and about 150 feet away saw a vehicle from the front and thought to myself, here is the new ES which I saw photos of and plan on driving at the Taste of Lexus. As I approached, I noticed the Toyota emblem. It was a Camry! This may be great for Toyota, not so good for Lexus. |
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Replying to: tagman (Oct 17, 2006 7:50 am) The Japanese are much more disciplined and focused. Lexus's priority is to build the best built luxury cars, and it does it. Infiniti's priority is to build the best performance sedans that it can. They don't let themselves be distracted from their priorities, such as matching BMW M or producing outlandish expensive sports cars that find very few buyers.
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The new Blutec MB E320 does seems to be quite a different car from the 83 MB300D currently sitting in my garage. You associate 38 miles a gallon with squirrel-driven subcompacts, not a powerful midsize luxury sedan. But that is the mileage the Mercedes test car delivered in 250 miles of highway cruising. The Bluetec also posted a thrifty 28 m.p.g. in the city. Both numbers exceeded the car’s federal rating of 37 on the highway, 27 in town. Now, 208 horsepower may not sound that forceful. But take a look at the 400 pound-feet of torque, which exceeds that of the 500-horsepower BMW M5 sedan. Commanding torque — the thrust you feel when racing away from a stoplight — is the secret weapon of diesel engines. Abetted by a turbocharger in the E320 Bluetec, this results in swift 0-to-60 acceleration of 6.6 seconds. For luxury buyers who have suddenly awakened to the imperatives of economy and conservation, this is a no-brainer bargain. With a base price of $52,325, Mercedes is charging just $1,000 extra for the frugal engine and Bluetec emissions system, compared with the gasoline V-6. Contrast that with the big premiums for luxury hybrids: the Lexus GS 450h costs $8,000 more than the gasoline V-6 version, yet its overall E.P.A. rating is just 1 m.p.g. higher, at 25. In the real world, this means that in about two years you break-even with the Mercedes. In contrast, the owner of a Lexus GS 450h might as well be Rip Van Winkle: he will have to drive the car more than 130 years to get back the premium. SOURCE:New York Times |
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