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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

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.



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#21564 of 24697
Re: Tag [drfill] by hpowders
Nov 30, 2006 (3:36 pm)
Reply

Replying to: drfill (Nov 30, 2006 11:50 am)

Point of clarification:
 
"DOH"
 
Do you mean the word as used by James Finlayson, mister double-take, in the old Laurel and Hardy flicks as a sign of exasperation or do you actually mean "duh" which needs no explanation.
 
A small ting, but I really would like to know.
#21565 of 24697
Re: MORE, Shorter Analyses [esf] by tagman
Nov 30, 2006 (3:39 pm)
Reply

Replying to: esf (Nov 30, 2006 2:49 pm)

People are still pulling hair here. I did my last peace-making post to keep us from becoming AutoSpies. I fear that this will if the bickering continues.
 
No reason to fear. These are genuine disagreements which will surely happen at times . . . but that does not mean it is bickering at all. I see a little poking, but mostly lots of personal respect, valuable information and credible opinions going in both directions here... this Edmunds forum is light years above AutoSpies!
 
BTW, thanks for your supplemental analyses.
 
TagMan
#21566 of 24697
LS is what it is by topspin628
Nov 30, 2006 (3:50 pm)
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I've seen but not yet driven the new LS but will post my views on my car as a current owner of the 05 version. (by all accounts, the genetics haven't changed much on the 07) This car is as bullet proof as they get. All electronics work as they should and are easy to use. The ride is soft and serene.
Now for the minuses: The seats are too flat and not supportive, the steering is loose and unresponsive and the handling is a bit sloppy. The driving experience is uninvolving. BMW has great driving dynamics. The seats are terrific and I think that they are really the technology leaders in engines while having the best suspensions. Did you see the Edmunds test here on the new 335 coupe? 0-60 in 4.8! Wait until they get the turbo 8s going. One thing about BMW is that they always understate their speed. No bash on Lexus as I think they build incredibly reliable, luxurious and easy to live with machines but they have become the worlds best Buick.
I do like the evolution in styling though. I saw a new ES and to me it looked as good as the new LS- a good thing for the ES but I'm not so sure it's good for the LS. As for winter driving, I think that the BMW dynamics and all of the electronic nannies make it a fine bad weather car as long as you don't have summer tires on it and a really good winter car with snows. I had a 3 series that was unstoppable in snow with winter tires. (I think that the driver is the key to snow driving anyway as I've seen more than my share of SUVs flipped or in accidents during storms).
#21567 of 24697
Re: Tag [tagman] by jcoby
Nov 30, 2006 (4:24 pm)
Reply

Replying to: tagman (Nov 30, 2006 3:00 pm)

This is actually a perfect example of incorrect reporting and spin. This article that you provided to us does not accurately reflect the data from the IIHS itself. The article clearly gives the casual and incurious reader the impression that Toyota and Lexus vehicles perform poorly in crash tests. However, the rear protection crash study is more concerned with head restraint and seat design and is only one of many tests that the IIHS performs on a vehicle. Most Toyota and Lexus vehicles have a "Good" rating for OVERALL crash protection. If Toyota/Lexus vehicles simply had better head restraint and seat designs, the manufacturer would have more "Top Safety Pick" vehicles than any other manufacturer. See for yourself:
 
(Straight from the horses mouth)
 
link title
 
Seventeen other vehicles would have won 2007 awards if they had good seat/head restraint designs. Toyota could have claimed nine TOP SAFETY PICK awards, including three Lexus winners. Honda could have picked up four additional awards, including one for an Acura.
 
"Protection in rear crashes is an area where many vehicles lag behind in safety," Lund notes. "As manufacturers continue to improve seat/head restraints, we expect to see more winners."
 
AND...
 
ALSO-RANS
Rear protection isn't good
 
These vehicles earned good ratings in front and side crash tests. They have electronic stability control, standard or optional. They would have won 2007 TOP SAFETY PICK awards if their seat/head restraints also had earned good ratings. Instead rear crash protection is rated acceptable, marginal, or poor (Honda reports that the seat/head restraints in the only Civic model with electronic stability control wouldn’t be rated good).
 
Acceptable rear protection
Audi A3
BMW 3-series 4dr
Lexus IS 250/350
 
Marginal rear protection
Acura TL
Honda Odyssey
Lexus ES 350
Lexus GS 350
Toyota Camry
Toyota FJ Cruiser
Toyota Prius
Toyota RAV4
 
Poor rear protection
Honda Accord 4dr
Infiniti M35
Nissan Quest
Toyota Avalon
Toyota Sienna
#21568 of 24697
Re: Mr. Bright [blkhemi] by brightness04
Nov 30, 2006 (5:53 pm)
Reply

Replying to: blkhemi (Nov 30, 2006 2:17 pm)

Not even close, Hemi. The first automobile was invented by some Frenchmen named Cugnot in 1771, long before either Daimler or Benz were born. Does that mean, armed with the new knowledge, your should be buying some French cars now? Not even close. What a company invented 100+ years ago is irrelevent.
 
Speaking of idiotic features, MB will do well re-think its COMMAND interface.
 
The S550 has more safety, better use of it's optional features, and of course the brand prestige to pull such lofty numbers.
 
The new S class has not been independently tested by the "crashing houses" yet. The historical record of S class was not especially good at all. As to prestige, well, all that discounting and lease subsidies across MB's model line up answer that question. Of course people care about value, that's why MB offers discounts and lease subsidies, dah!
#21569 of 24697
Re: Tag [jcoby] by tagman
Nov 30, 2006 (6:13 pm)
Reply

Replying to: jcoby (Nov 30, 2006 4:24 pm)

JC,
Sorry, but just because the standards for safety have been raised doesn't mean we can say Toyota/Lexus WOULD have won if somehow they just didn't include one or two of the safety measurements. THAT would be a spin.
 
The tests are now inclusive of all the current different measurements, and combined give a more comprehensive perspective of a vehicle's safety.
 
This comprehensive result is now the new standard for measurement. Interesting, that once the new standard was put into effect we clearly see the results that Toyota/Lexus vehicles receive most of the worst ratings for crash-safety.
 
Like it or not, that's the way it now is. It's of little value to say "could haves and would haves", and call the real test a spin.
 
TagMan
#21570 of 24697
Re: Tag [jcoby] by houdini1
Nov 30, 2006 (6:16 pm)
Reply

Replying to: jcoby (Nov 30, 2006 4:24 pm)

Excellent post with good info. You hit the nail on the head about poor reporting and spin. Most of us just sit back and laugh when some of these guys start their spinning wheel. Thank you for the rest of the story.
#21571 of 24697
Re: Tag [tagman] by brightness04
Nov 30, 2006 (6:25 pm)
Reply

Replying to: tagman (Nov 30, 2006 6:13 pm)

IIHS article is readily available to anyone who can read; all that spin is quite unnecessary.
#21572 of 24697
Re: Mr. Bright [brightness04] by blkhemi
Nov 30, 2006 (6:43 pm)
Reply

Replying to: brightness04 (Nov 30, 2006 5:53 pm)

Bright, or not so bright?
 
The first mass-market autommobile as we know it came from Benz in 1889.
 
This one is the first true automobile. Ask any auto buff and they will tell you. This ain't some French tinker toy that you'd have us to believe was the first car.
 
The S-Class, of course hasn't been tested by the crash houses yet, no, but the car has the most safety equipment standard of any car in it's class, and yes that includes the Lexus LS460, and brand who is struggling with safety with those crash houses...
 
What lease subsidies are you referring to? For sure you mean the '07 GL? The '07 E350/550, the new S550? Heck no because they don't exist..
 
Now that $459/mth '06 LS430 sounds extremely good right about now....
#21573 of 24697
Re: Tag [brightness04] by blkhemi
Nov 30, 2006 (6:46 pm)
Reply

Replying to: brightness04 (Nov 30, 2006 6:25 pm)

"...all that spin is quite unnecessary."
 
Doesn't feel so well when it is the golden L that's getting it you know where.
 
Pursuit of Perfection? Yes, if live to tell about it...

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