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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.

Messages Page 2118 of 2473

#21167 of 24723 Seems like our debate is worldwide by garyh1

Nov 19, 2006 (9:39 am)

Thought you folks might find interesting the following highlights from an article in the LA Times 11/15/06:
 
In Japan, a Lexus just doesn't have that cachet
 
Despite its popularity in the U.S., the Toyota brand faces skeptical consumers at home.
 
... in Japan, most luxury car buyers have eyeballed the Lexus, kicked its tires and said, "Give me something European."
 
Germany's Mercedes and BMW are still the luxury cars of choice in Japan. Mercedes, owned by DaimlerChrysler, sold more than 58,000 cars in Japan last year; BMW has delivered 38,400 in the first 10 months of 2006....
 
When Lexus made its debut in Japan in September last year, Toyota executives said they expected to sell 50,000 to 60,000 vehicles in the first year. They have sold just half that after more than 14 months on the market.
 
"The reality is that, ironically for Toyota, Japan is proving to be a difficult market," said Christopher Richter, an auto industry analyst at CLSA Asia Pacific in Tokyo. "Their difficulty here is that there is greater panache in owning a Mercedes or a BMW. In the U.S., the Lexus is a sensible reward for personal success.
 
"But in Japan, people want something that says, 'Hey, I spent stupid money on a car.' "
 
Getting that kind of reaction with a Lexus is difficult in Japan, where the name still means Toyota and doesn't generate much of a frisson. Unlike in the U.S., where Toyota established Lexus as an independent premium brand, Lexus models sold in Japan were all previously marketed as Toyotas: the Altezza, the Aristo, the Soarer and the Celsior.
 
"Lexus models are just changed models of Toyota cars that didn't sell well in Japan," said Makiteru Ishikawa, an auto industry journalist and a panelist who helps select the prestigious Japan Car of the Year.
 
He said Toyota's corporate culture remained too focused on high volumes, failing to understand that premium cars must be exclusive, not just expensive.
 
Toyota executives acknowledge that the launch has been slower than hoped.
 
"We don't know why they are a little more cautious about buying Japanese for luxury," said Paul Nolasco, a Toyota spokesman in Tokyo. The problem is not that no one knows the Lexus name, he said.
 
Toyota's research surveys put Lexus brand awareness at 84% of potential car buyers, about 10 percentage points below BMW and Mercedes but still a high level of penetration.
 
The problem is that Lexus is far behind Mercedes when respondents were asked whether the car represented luxury (though it polled roughly the same as BMW in that category)....
 
"I know the mechanics of Japanese cars are excellent, but to me, the outside looks are similar to every other Japanese car," said Emi Bamba, 57, who has been driving a Mercedes for the last 20 years.
 
She drove a Cadillac before that after she saw how easily her Japanese Mazda was crushed in a traffic accident. "Japanese cars don't make any impact on me," Bamba said.
 
That failure is clearly galling to Toyota, which is accustomed to generating mostly happy corporate news. Toyota is not just the world's most profitable auto manufacturer. It is in the passing lane preparing to overtake General Motors Corp. as the world's largest seller of cars.
 
With its pioneering hybrid cars, Toyota continues to swipe market share from Detroit's automakers and saw its profit soar to $3.44 billion in the last fiscal quarter alone.
 
Toyota's Nolasco said the news wasn't all bad. Sales of Lexus' IS and GS sedan series have captured nearly one-third of the market against the Mercedes and BMW brands they compete against, he said. And in September, Toyota added the LS460 to the lineup, selling 12,000 of its most extravagant model so far.
 
Toyota's competitors aren't about to gloat — publicly, at least.
 
"A Lexus is essentially a Toyota in the minds of Japanese consumers, and Toyota focused for decades on serving a mass market, so the Japanese see Toyotas as a mass product," said Yuchiro Ito, a spokesman for BMW Japan. "But Toyota is extremely serious about developing a serious product, and once they have put the Lexus models through a full cycle of changes, the real battle will begin."...
 
"The people buying Lexus now tend to be small company owners who live in small towns," said auto journalist Ishikawa, who says most Lexus drivers are over 40. "They don't want to be regarded as rich or rumored to have made money by doing something wrong. And small company presidents whose businesses deal with Toyota only buy Toyota cars, even if they have the money to buy Mercedes or BMW."
 
Nolasco said Toyota could generate buzz for the Lexus with changes in design and styling. And the Lexus LS460 has features aimed at anticipating the needs of drivers and passengers, such as infrared sensors that read body temperatures and then provide each rider with individually attuned climate control.
 
But critics like Ishikawa say Toyota needs to think about the driving experience. He drove the LS460 and found it flawless. "It ran fast, powerful and safe," he said. But there was a deficit in the pizazz department.
 
"There is no characteristic that brings pleasure in owning it or a feeling that it is fun to drive," he said. "If cars can be said to represent the national culture, then Toyota Lexus is the car that represents Japan.
 
"It is a straight-A student."
 
LA Times

#21168 of 24723 Re: Bond drive a Aston Martin again! [dewey] by designman

Nov 19, 2006 (10:02 am)

Replying to: dewey (Nov 19, 2006 8:40 am)
I heard there were protests against Daniel Craig as the new James Bond. One of the reasons was because he couldn't drive the stick shift Aston Martin. Imagine that, a James Bond who can't drive stick? Wussup with that, Dewey? I wonder where we'd be today if John Wayne and Clint Eastwood couldn't ride a horse.
 
A stick, a stick, my kingdom for a stick!! (I'm getting a little carried away here.)
 

#21169 of 24723 Re: Jaguar is NUMERO UNO [tagman] by 2001gs430

Nov 19, 2006 (10:36 am)

Replying to: tagman (Nov 18, 2006 9:09 am)
That is a beautiful looking vehicle, but I have to agree with LG on the look of interior.

#21170 of 24723 Re: Bond drive a Aston Martin again! [designman] by tagman

Nov 19, 2006 (10:37 am)

Replying to: designman (Nov 19, 2006 10:02 am)
I heard there were protests against Daniel Craig as the new James Bond. One of the reasons was because he couldn't drive the stick shift Aston Martin. Imagine that, a James Bond who can't drive stick?
 
I don't believe that for a split second. Hollywood hype is as rampant as always.
 
TagMan

#21171 of 24723 Re: Jaguar is NUMERO UNO [2001gs430] by tagman

Nov 19, 2006 (10:40 am)

Replying to: 2001gs430 (Nov 19, 2006 10:36 am)
That is a beautiful looking vehicle, but I have to agree with LG on the look of interior.
 
The interior is not without faults, and the S-Class interior is nicer, IMO. It is not seriously flawed, however, and that said, it is a minor weakness considering the scope of the entire vehicle The new gorgeous XK has almost the same interior layout but has essentially improved the one distinctive weakness which is the "hood" over the central navigation, audio and climate control touch-screen. Beyond that, I am quite fine with it, and I do believe that you are right on the money when you say it is a beautiful looking vehicle.
 
TagMan

#21172 of 24723 Re: Bond drive a Aston Martin again! [tagman] by designman

Nov 19, 2006 (11:01 am)

Replying to: tagman (Nov 19, 2006 10:37 am)
Well I heard the rumor and your disbelief motivated me to google it. As it turns out, it was indeed a rumor.

#21173 of 24723 Lexus advertising by designman

Nov 19, 2006 (11:19 am)

The Jets/Bears game just barely got started and Lexus already showed three separate LS ads. The first two promoed the parking gizmo and the third promoed the 8-speed transmission.

#21174 of 24723 Re: Bond drive a Aston Martin again! [designman] by tagman

Nov 19, 2006 (11:22 am)

Replying to: designman (Nov 19, 2006 11:01 am)
Well I heard the rumor and your disbelief motivated me to google it. As it turns out, it was indeed a rumor.
 
Of course I am glad to be correct, but I must say that I appreciate your quest for the truth. Nothing like a good reality check.
Very cool, D-man.
 
TagMan

#21175 of 24723 Re: Lexus advertising [designman] by garyh1

Nov 19, 2006 (11:24 am)

Replying to: designman (Nov 19, 2006 11:19 am)
Same 3 LS commercials have run early in the Redskins/Bucs game on Fox. Clearly Lexus is doing a big media buy for football fans.

Messages Page 2118 of 2473

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