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Entry Level Luxury Performance Sedans

16252 messages,  Last post on Jun 19, 2013 at 4:39 PM

You are in the Sedans Forum.

What is this discussion about? BMW 3 Series, Infiniti G37, Acura TL, Lexus IS 350, Mercedes-Benz C-Class, Cadillac CTS, Volvo S60, Audi A4, Acura TSX, Car Comparisons, Sedan

Messages Page 789 of 1626

#7879 of 16252 The New C-Class & The Ultimate ELLPS by nyccarguy

Jan 21, 2007 (9:07 pm)

The new C-Class looks like it was made by putting the new S-Class in the horizontal part of the crusher and took the car out before the top was crushed.
 
Could the Ultimate ELLPS be a used car? Not just any used car, but a '97-'98 BMW E36 M3 4 door. I saw 2 great examples listed for sale in ROUNDEL (BMWCCA's monthly magazine).
 
1998 M3 Sedan: Black/Grey, 83K miles, 5-speed $15,000
 
Then another one posted by some nut-job: 1998 M3 Sedan: White/Black 13K miles $30,000
 
Personally I'd take the car with 83K miles on it!

#7880 of 16252 Ack! by plekto

Jan 22, 2007 (12:20 am)

Nasty hood. Bug, bulging ugly SUV grille.
 
Looks so WRONG compared to the current model.

#7881 of 16252 I rather like it actually. by readerreader

Jan 22, 2007 (3:47 am)

Nothing is wrong with the grille in my opinion. It is a normal-sized grille.
Long ago grilles used to define a car.
Now everybody calls them "SUV" grilles (whatever that means).
A grille is a grille.
What else is there to put in front there?
 
Image Hosted by ImageShack.us
 
I hope we can return to the days of truly daring design and leave behind the Consumer Reports-inspired resale-value madness that has sent all of us into a beige and silver hell.

#7882 of 16252 Re: I rather like it actually. [readerreader] by habitat1

Jan 22, 2007 (4:38 am)

Replying to: readerreader (Jan 22, 2007 3:47 am)
I'd take that one over anything currently produced by GM. And I don't think there is a direct correlation between grill design and resale value. More of a correlation between grills attached to a POS and ones attached to well engineered, well built cars.
 
P.S. Is this a rendering of the first reported incident of road rage?
 

#7883 of 16252 Re: Ack! [plekto] by mz6greyghost

Jan 22, 2007 (5:41 am)

Replying to: plekto (Jan 22, 2007 12:20 am)
Nasty hood. Bug, bulging ugly SUV grille.
 
Blame the new "pedestrian-friendly" crash standards for the grille and hood. I like it, though...

#7884 of 16252 Re: The New C-Class & The Ultimate ELLPS [nyccarguy] by circlew

Jan 22, 2007 (5:52 am)

Replying to: nyccarguy (Jan 21, 2007 9:07 pm)
I agree...in about 10 -20 years, BMW will start to opine about the E36 design (which is the one I like the best) and resurrect it just as F/GM/DCX is currently doing with the muscle cars from the glory years.
 
Interesting how these cars not only retained their value but have increased exponentially according to the condition. I knew I should have put some of these classics on moth balls in the 70's! Just like all of those Mickey Mantle, etc. cards my Mom threw away!
 
But it's not to late for those E36's! Now's the time to invest.
 
Regards,
OW

#7885 of 16252 Re: I rather like it actually. [readerreader] by louiswei

Jan 22, 2007 (6:52 am)

Replying to: readerreader (Jan 22, 2007 3:47 am)
That picture might be the truth back in the 50's but let me give you the current day version (sorry for the crappy 10 minutes photoshop job using Paint but you get the idea):
 

#7886 of 16252 Invest?? by spiritinthesky

Jan 22, 2007 (7:13 am)

Replying to: circlew (Jan 22, 2007 5:52 am)
"But it's not to late for those E36's! Now's the time to invest."
 
Stop fantasizing and pull out your financial calculator.
 
I was an original owner of one of the roughly 460 BMW M1's produced in the late 1970's. Paid the godly sum of $65,000+/- in 1979. Decided to sell in 1982. My brother said I was nuts, that I should keep the car and it would go up in value. Indeed it did, and if I had taken the time to properly store it in a climate and humidity controlled environment, I could probably get $125,000 for it today, maybe even $200,000 from a crazy collector with more money than brains.
 
The $55,000 I sold it for in 1982 went into a conservative investment fund. My wife and I were just getting married and we agreed that, assuming we didn't need to use the money for a house, kids, etc., I could "splurge" some day on another sports car. Fortunately, we've done pretty well and I've been able to have my cake and eat it too. But we kept that money sequestered from our other funds and the conservative investment has returned an average of 14.5% annually. Not exactly hedge fund type returns, but enough to grow that $55,000 into $1,432,000+/- (pre-tax) as of December 31.
 
I cringe when I hear of people speaking of cars as investments. Yes, there are some collectables in which you could do pretty well if you were at the right place, at the right time, and knew exactly what was a good deal or not. My brother did make a very nice return on a Ferrari Dino. The guy that bought it from him in the late 1980's did not.
 
An E36 as an investment? You have got to be out of your mind.

#7887 of 16252 Re: I rather like it actually. [habitat1] by readerreader

Jan 22, 2007 (10:44 am)

Replying to: habitat1 (Jan 22, 2007 4:38 am)
Hehe...
 
No what I meant is that obsession with resale value has pushed everyone toward the lowest common styling denominator.
Nobody wants to take risks, because they want to appeal to the widest cross section of people as possible.
 
So, they will refuse to buy a car with a red interior--or the lovely browns that BMW has--simply because it may not sell as well as one with beige.

#7888 of 16252 Re: C-Class [readerreader] by frisconick

Jan 22, 2007 (11:04 am)

Replying to: readerreader (Jan 21, 2007 4:57 pm)
The front of that Mercedes looks similar to the TL

Messages Page 789 of 1626

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