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Luxury Performance Sedans

10339 messages,  Last post on May 30, 2013 at 3:26 PM

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What is this discussion about? Lexus GS 430, Acura RL, BMW 5 Series, Volvo S80, Audi A6, Infiniti M35, Infiniti M45, Mercedes-Benz E-Class, Cadillac STS, Sedan

Messages Page 844 of 1035

#8426 of 10339 "The Itch. . ." by markcincinnati

Sep 28, 2006 (8:47 am)

Back in the days when smoking (in a car) was even done, a friend of mine -- a smoker -- would kid me and say "Mark gets a new car every time the ash tray gets full."
 
Since I am not a smoker, I only related to this comment in a symbolic way. My friend, now not a smoker (and I never permitted him to smoke in my cars in any case), meant I replaced my cars pretty often and with great regularity. Indeed, I have never had a car beyond the original factory warranty, to this day. Remember, I am of the belief that repairing cars, especially European cars is "breathtakingly expensive," so much so that it is less costly to maintain a permanent car payment (on the rental basis of equal to or less than 39 months.)
 
Please don't try to burst my bubble.
 
Well, truth be told, one of the triggers of this replacement behavior -- in addition to the above remark -- is I "get the itch." I have, as pretty close friends, folks who own dealerships or who sell cars for a living and we share the passion for new, cool cars. These friends are often offering up drives of the flavor of the month (and well, it would be rude NOT to test drive the cars they offer, wouldn't it?) Hence, for years, my 1978 model would begat a 1980 and . . a 1995 would be followed by a 1997 then by a 1999 and a 2000 and a 2001 and so on.
 
However, therefore, notwithstanding, something has changed (and the change has affected by wife, too.)
 
My 2005 A6 was in for its 25,000 mile check up (oil change, really.) The Audi Advantage (at this point, anyway) and the Dealer's practice, thus far, is to give an A6 customer an A6 loaner. My 2005 A6 is a fully loaded (98% loaded) 3.2 version. My loaner was a 2006 "premium package, cold weather package" (or whatever they called the stuff I have in mine in 2006) 3.2 version with practically no miles on it (a couple thousand.) It was silver, it had black leather, it had 18" wheels but none of the technology package stuff I have come to love. It did have a radio, of course, but NOT sat radio.
 
My day involved about 100 miles of mostly local greater Cincinnati driving and I was pleased to have a "brand new" A6 as a loaner rather than one of the many Enterprise Compacts that I have had over the years if I get to the dealer too late in the day to be able to use their pool of A3's, A4's and A6's (once I got an A8 and once an S4 -- albeit with an auto trans.)
 
So, I am enjoying my day in my new (newer than mine) A6. But wait, a first -- an epiphany, no kidding, a real epiphany (as it relates to cars, at least) -- for me at least, I did not see any need to even ask my favorite salesperson if I could "early out" and "upgrade" to a new A6. This car did not feel more powerful, more nimble, quieter, more comfortable, more competent, "more" (or better) anything in any way.
 
Typically once I get to about 20 - 30,000 miles, I am at least a little tired of my cars (even Audis, well, cut off my legs and call me shorty!) And, as if part of a subtle marketing tool, the "loaner" cars seem to spark this tiredness. The new(er) loaner cars usually have features, functions, performance -- SOMETHING -- that gets me thinking, "time to trade up."
 
Now, something really untoward could happen, I suppose, to change my mind (perhaps the new B8 A4 with my "dream" engine -- a 3.2T FSI -- underhood), but just this week I ordered new Pirelli PZero Nero M+S tires (UHP All Seasons to replace the HP Grand Touring OEM's) for my A6 and I am truly looking forward to a transformed handling experience due to this upgrade.
 
My wife of the phrase "I love my X3," too, has no itch (at least NOT to leave the X3 family, even if she is curious about the added grunt of the new X3's 3.0 260HP motivator), no "wandering -- or wondering -- eye" for a new ride.
 
Of course, I cannot lay claim to knowing if this is true for you -- especially if "you" are one of the relatively early adopters of this new breed of LPS (such as the Infiniti M, Acura RL or even STS) -- but here is one A6 driver who has come to the conclusion that "they really screwed this one together exceptionally well."
 
I have a supply of Calamine Lotion I apparently have no current need for -- I can let you have it -- CHEAP!

#8427 of 10339 Re: Dare I say it??? [shipo] by sfcharlie

Sep 28, 2006 (9:22 am)

Replying to: shipo (Sep 27, 2006 7:37 pm)
"Group hug time"
 
Pat,
 
Isn't there some rule about explicit sexual content on this forum?
 
 
 
Charlie

#8428 of 10339 Re: Dare I say it??? [sfcharlie] by shipo

Sep 28, 2006 (10:03 am)

Replying to: sfcharlie (Sep 28, 2006 9:22 am)
Oh dear, I do believe that I'm in trouble.
 
Best Regards,
Shipo

#8429 of 10339 Re: "The Itch. . ." [markcincinnati] by lexusguy

Sep 28, 2006 (10:37 am)

Replying to: markcincinnati (Sep 28, 2006 8:47 am)
So, I am enjoying my day in my new (newer than mine) A6. But wait, a first -- an epiphany, no kidding, a real epiphany (as it relates to cars, at least) -- for me at least, I did not see any need to even ask my favorite salesperson if I could "early out" and "upgrade" to a new A6. This car did not feel more powerful, more nimble, quieter, more comfortable, more competent, "more" (or better) anything in any way.
 
I love new cars as well, but with the way Japanese cars generally work (very light refresh after 3 years on the market, with a redesign after 6) there just isn't a need for me to upgrade often. I also think cars are at their best during the 20K-60K mile period. Magazine tests often show that cars get faster and handle better after they have broken in properly. If you're constantly getting new cars, you have to deal with the annoyance of babying the car for the first thousand miles, and then waiting for it to "settle in" for the next 10K miles.
 
Also, while my itch for the latest and greatest cars is strong, my itch for the latest and greatest in electronics is several times stronger, and I tend to spend a lot more time at the audio dealer than the car dealer. I just ordered a new power conditioner, a PS Audio Power Plant that I can't wait to get in my system. PS says that the design was inspired by BMW, so this is very loosely car related Previous PS regenerators were power hogs, with 50% of the wall's AC going to waste as heat. They also couldn't deliver enough power to my amps, so I've been using Richard Gray units. This new one though is absolutely state of the art.

#8430 of 10339 Re: "The Itch. . ." [lexusguy] by markcincinnati

Sep 28, 2006 (11:32 am)

Replying to: lexusguy (Sep 28, 2006 10:37 am)
I know what you mean, I just made the leap to HD DVD and HD Tivo with DirecTV and the three LNB and the receiver with dual HD tuners. My first HD DVD just came today, "Serenity."
 
Shhh, don't tell anyone, I could actually possibly, maybe, perhaps, actually see keeping this A6 beyond the lease.
 
 
 
Audi's C5 came to the US in 1998 and remained pretty much the same through the 2004 MY. The 2007's at my dealer -- most of them -- are not as well equipped (and most don't even have the Premium Leather) as mine.
 
The SLine is still pretty sexy, but I am hoping the UHP new shoes will diminish my SLine lust somewhat to a medium amount. Upgrading the tires on my first A6 V8 had that effect back in 2000, at least and again on my 2003 allroad.
 
Hope springs. . . .
 
This just in, new S6 on the showroom floor -- TANG!

#8431 of 10339 Re: "The Itch. . ." [markcincinnati] by lexusguy

Sep 28, 2006 (1:48 pm)

Replying to: markcincinnati (Sep 28, 2006 11:32 am)
I know what you mean, I just made the leap to HD DVD and HD Tivo with DirecTV and the three LNB and the receiver with dual HD tuners. My first HD DVD just came today, "Serenity."
 
Are you using the Toshiba HD-XA1? How is it? I'm somewhat interested in HD-DVD (especially after seeing how lousy the Samsung BR player is) but the fact that it's basically a PC complete with a Pentium 4 processor really turns me off. Very bad for airborne and powerline EMI\RF distortion, which I've spent thousands to keep out of my systems wiring and transformers.
 
To me, the big potential of both high def disc formats is the audio side, Dolby and DTS HD uncompressed audio. That should make concert HD discs absolutely spectacular. Unfortunately no current HD disc player or SSP can support the new formats, or the HDMI 1.3 interface required for it. Also, the players from both camps are currently using 5.25" PC bay drives for transports, not exactly audio grade.

#8432 of 10339 Re: Dare I say it??? [shipo] by pat

Sep 28, 2006 (2:07 pm)

Replying to: shipo (Sep 28, 2006 10:03 am)
And that's unusual how?
 

#8433 of 10339 Re: "The Itch. . ." [lexusguy] by markcincinnati

Sep 29, 2006 (5:52 am)

Replying to: lexusguy (Sep 28, 2006 1:48 pm)
I have the Toshiba unit. I have one HD DVD and four or five on order from Amazon.
 
I have read the reviews of both machines and I am hopeful for either dual survival or a quick end to the format war.
 
The new, brand new, version 2 Toshiba is out next month, it may reduce some of your concerns.
 
I share you enthusiasm re the potential sound benefits.
 
I really believe most folks don't care now and probably won't care about the improvments that these new media and formats allow.
 
Good is the enemy of great, just like in cars.
 
All of these cars, for instance, are good. Perhaps there is a great one in the bunch.
 
I haven't found it.

#8434 of 10339 5 vs. M by drewsrx

Sep 29, 2006 (6:04 am)

Replying to: pete_l_p (Sep 27, 2006 7:38 pm)
Probably the most intertesting thing about the whole C&D comparo, was that they said the Infiniti felt lighter on its feet, more responsive, and more willing to play than the BMW. How many times has that ever been said against the 5-Series? Never that I can remember...
 

#8435 of 10339 Re: "The Itch. . ." [markcincinnati] by lexusguy

Sep 29, 2006 (6:32 am)

Replying to: markcincinnati (Sep 29, 2006 5:52 am)
I really believe most folks don't care now and probably won't care about the improvments that these new media and formats allow.
 
It definitely mirrors the bitter format war a few years ago between DVD-A and SACD. Both of those formats brought higher quality, along with much more stringent copy protection, and no increase in convenience (actually a big decrease, because of the analog output only restriction due to copy fears.) Firewire ultimately solved that issue, but by the time the players were out, no one cared anymore. The victory ultimately went to the mp3. People care much more about convenience than they do about quality. This time around, it may end up being "on demand" sat\cable\IPTV.
 
I think Infiniti shows enormous potential. Their cars certainly aren't perfect yet, but I'm very eager to see what the 2012 M is like. I'd also very much like to see Infiniti start a tuner division. The G and M with suspension and brake upgrades could easily handle 400hp+.

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