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.

Outline

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#19998 of 24700 Re: This thing about the Audi image [dewey] by brightness04 Oct 17, 2006 (1:12 pm)
Replying to: dewey (Oct 17, 2006 7:31 am) I agree with you, and will go a step further in pointing out that, not just the Europeans, but people the world over are witnessing a transformation in life style to a form that resemble lifestyle of the US. However, it's a process that takes time. Marketting positions for cars are not built overnight. A lot of market presence and product mix are carry-overs from the not too distant past. BTW, if we go back far enough, Americans lived the same life style as Europeans a decade or two ago: American cities were incredibly congested before the 1950's mass migration to the suburbs. As for sharing components between Audi and VW, A3 is a huge volume platform, everything from A3, to TT, Golf, Bug, Rabbit, etc. are all based on the same platform. The 1.8T, 2.0T and 3.6 engines are all shared between the two brands. So does Phaeton with A8/S8. A4, Passat and A6 still share a lot of parts. It would be crazy for VW/Audi not to share the parts bin. Multi-tiered marketting is the correct strategy for an industry that heavily depend on economy of scale. There is no shame in that. Wine makers learned to put the same wine in different bottles ages ago.
#20001 of 24700 Some off-topic posts have been removed by pat HOST Oct 17, 2006 (1:34 pm)
I've been more than laid back about all of these clearly non-HELM vehicles that keep creeping into the conversations. But you know, I'm seeing over and over again that some are using comments about non-HELMs for the purpose of making people mad. We're going to stop that. We need to stick to the actual cars that make up this segment and I would very much appreciate your cooperation. Thanks!
#20002 of 24700 Re: Lexus Quality Slipping [brightness04] by houdini1 Oct 17, 2006 (2:04 pm)
Hpowders has stated many times that he is afraid to keep a BMW more than a couple of years because of reliability problems. That's why he leases. Replies to this message: hpowders (Oct 17, 2006 3:01 pm) brightness04 (Oct 17, 2006 5:41 pm) hpowders (Oct 17, 2006 6:00 pm) and 5 more... dewey (Oct 18, 2006 8:25 am) and 58 more...
#20004 of 24700 Re: Lexus Quality Slipping [houdini1] by hpowders Oct 17, 2006 (3:01 pm)
Replying to: houdini1 (Oct 17, 2006 2:04 pm) Exactly. I keep 'em for 3 years with dirt cheap monthly payments. No stinkin' bank loans for me! (Places hands threateningly close to his 2 silver 6-shooters with the ivory handles). Next time I will be trying something new: the 2 year lease. That way I get re-embursement from BMWCCA every 2 years, which is anywhere from $500-$1000 and, even better, a brand new iDrive knob which doesn't have enough time to tarnish. Of course the vehicle will be a BMW 7 Series, which happens to be a HELM, which happens to be both the vehicle and the company, and the topic of our discussion for the penultimate time. Replies to this message: brightness04 (Oct 17, 2006 5:41 pm) hpowders (Oct 17, 2006 6:00 pm) brightness04 (Oct 17, 2006 6:14 pm) and 4 more... dewey (Oct 18, 2006 8:25 am) brightness04 (Oct 18, 2006 8:41 am) and 57 more...
#20005 of 24700 Re: This thing about the Audi image [mariner7] by blkhemi Oct 17, 2006 (3:21 pm)
Replying to: mariner7 (Oct 17, 2006 9:58 am) Let's put this Audi thing to rest: Audi lacks focus? Let's see. First, the Japanese may be the most lacking in the attentiveness category. One, you have a car company that tells you that you don't need V8 or a 6 or 7 speed tranny. In North America? Then they're still selling cars that are based off of a $25k ride. This is Acura. Two, Infiniti. This brand has two aces in the hole and we're supposed to go bungo? Paaaalllleeezzzzz. If not for the G and M, this company would be null and void as the QX is so problematic that they should've left it and it's 2 cousins in Mississippi. And I don't care what review says what about the FX, it ain't runnning an X5 Sport or 4.8is under the table. And the Q: Do they still make those laughable attempts in this day and age?? And Lexus: This is the big one. The most disciplined? What do you call selling a 10 year old SUV for 60 large? That's discipline? The RX is no longer the top dog in a category it help create. The SC is the laughing joke in it's class. The IS is close, but no cigar when paired with the 3 or G35S. The ES is still too much like a Camry. The GX sure is not a Toureag in terms of dynamics and overall satisfaction. And this model has not been able to live up to the reliablility MUST of Lexus brand cars, right along with it's platform mate, the 4-Runner. Do I need to say more on this whole "discipline" thing? Fine, the GS is so ill-placed in Lexus'line-up(in it's class for that matter) that it needs to have a total redo like RIGHT NOW on a 2 year old car. The GS450h? What the #$( we're they thinking? And finally the LS. Now this is a touchy one, but that car isn't here yet, so here goes: This car has the most cushiest ride of it's peers. The build quality is great, if not best in class. The resale values are out of this world, and the car continues to get top spots on it's fav. journal. But the buck stops here. This car has the dynamics of a '79 Buick LeSabre(no pun intended). The seats are as flat as Nebraska. The wood is as shiny as Flava Flav's golden teeth. And to boot, nothing exciting really happened with the car in terms of new features and options during it's whole 6 year span. Out goes that theory big time. Audi, OTOH, is so meticulous in their work that they will pull a single car out of line if it's not done correctly. The attention and execution of quality is so well done that rarely has a car come close to the details this company puts into every single model, rather base model or loaded up to your eyeballs. That is discipline... Replies to this message: houdini1 (Oct 17, 2006 4:02 pm) blkhemi (Oct 17, 2006 5:16 pm) houdini1 (Oct 17, 2006 5:31 pm) and 14 more...
#20006 of 24700 I'm Hoping... by hpowders Oct 17, 2006 (3:43 pm)
that the new LS 460 seats are a lot better than the ones I tried in my two 2005 LS 430 test drives. Even with the lumbar support my back was hurting, and I wasn't in either car for more than 10 minutes tops. Replies to this message: merc1 (Oct 17, 2006 10:32 pm) hpowders (Oct 18, 2006 7:16 am)