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Luxury Performance Sedans

9978 messages,  Last post on Nov 02, 2009 at 1:30 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

#9202 of 9978 Re: BMW 2008 5 Series Brochure .pdf [markcincinnati] by hauss Mar 10, 2007 (7:54 pm)
Replying to: markcincinnati (Mar 09, 2007 7:35 am) What's up with that crazy shifter? It looks like an arcade game joystick. Replies to this message: lexusguy (Mar 11, 2007 7:44 am)
#9203 of 9978 Re: BMW 2008 5 Series Brochure .pdf [hauss] by lexusguy Mar 11, 2007 (7:44 am)
Replying to: hauss (Mar 10, 2007 7:54 pm) What's up with that crazy shifter? It looks like an arcade game joystick.   It's a space saver for the iDrive controller, the better alternative to the column stub that M-B is still using.
#9204 of 9978 Re: My wife [uglybear] by habitat1 Mar 12, 2007 (1:17 am)
Replying to: uglybear (Mar 03, 2007 11:30 am) "FX45 does 0-60 in 6.3 seconds (FX35 in 7s) or so while MDX is 7.5 or so. 7.5 is rather slow. FX45 has nice exhaust note, sport suspension and excellent roadholding in turns (0.89g skidpad)."   You've answered my question. I've always wondered who in the world would by an FX45 - it seems like it's designed for the bi-polar demographic. As in, "I really want a sports car, but I (think) I need an SUV. So I'll get an SUV that emphasizes 'S' at the severe expense of 'U'". I   Admittedly, I've never been a fan of the FX design. A bit too "fugly" for me. But even when my wife and I were slightly tempted by the X5 and Cayenne, we quickly came to our senses and recognized that the U was a necessity. So we opted for the MDX that can actually handle snow, carry our kids and their friends and gets loaded up regularly for family vacations and trips. I guess some might see the FX as the best of both worlds. I think that's a little dillusional, but I respect that opinions vary greatly.   By the way - please don't feel too bad for us in our MDX. Our family of four fits just fine in our other vehicle. And if you are ever sitting at a stoplight feeling zesty in your FX45, don't pay any attention to my 8 year old daughter trying to egg you on from the back seat of our 911S Carrera Cabriolet as we pull up next to you. I never thought 7.5 seconds was all that slow for an SUV, but 6.3 seconds is pitifully slow for anyone that is more concerned about "S" than "U". (By about 2+ seconds).   I'm not sure what any of this has to do with luxury performance sedans, but since you started it, I thought I'd add a different perspective. Replies to this message: qbrozen (Mar 12, 2007 4:13 am) habitat1 (Mar 12, 2007 10:18 am) qbrozen (Mar 12, 2007 5:03 pm)
#9205 of 9978 Re: My wife [habitat1] by qbrozen Mar 12, 2007 (4:13 am)
Replying to: habitat1 (Mar 12, 2007 1:17 am) geesh. talk about blanket statements. oh well, i have lots of comments, but like you said, its not the right place.   orr... is it? hmmm... if we put this in context of luxury performance sedans, we're talking luxury vs sport (rather than utility vs sport). And while one side of your equation favors the utility heavily, the other side favors the sport. To say a car is pitifully slow at 6.3 secs because others are faster is the equivalent to saying one is pitifully nonluxurious because it doesn't offer alacantra leather (or pitifully nonutility because it carries 7 passengers instead of 12). The idea behind luxury performance sedans (and crossovers) is not to get the best of both worlds, but to try to offer MORE of each world. Replies to this message: habitat1 (Mar 12, 2007 10:18 am) qbrozen (Mar 12, 2007 5:03 pm)
#9206 of 9978 2002 530 w/Steptronic - Change the Tran Fluid? by dzuba Mar 12, 2007 (10:00 am)
92K miles on the car and ready for another Inspection I..........believe it or not the largest BMW Dealer in Chicago (where I bought the car) actually does not recommend changing the transmission fluid in the car........ever! Does that make sense or are people having the trans. fluid changed?    Also said I'll need new spark plugs at 100K, at a cost of $288.00?    Thanks.........car runs 100% perfect! Replies to this message: wbreaux1 (Mar 22, 2007 10:58 pm)
#9207 of 9978 Re: My wife [qbrozen] by habitat1 Mar 12, 2007 (10:18 am)
Replying to: qbrozen (Mar 12, 2007 4:13 am) "The idea behind luxury performance sedans (and crossovers) is not to get the best of both worlds, but to try to offer MORE of each world."   And that distinction is...???   I do understand that there are a lot of balanced compromises. Our FWD TL 6-speed is a "sporty" family sedan, but it's not a true sports sedan as in the 335i/550i nor a true luxury sedan along the lines of a Lexus GS or LS.   My comment - to be taken lightly, and as my opinion - was that the previous poster was over-exhuberantly describing the FX45 as if it was a sports car - 0-60 times and lateral g's of cornering force. I can try describing my golf game with the same level of enthusiasm, but it won't take too many holes before even the non-golfer realized they weren't watching Tiger Woods.   IMO, there are a lot of gas guzzling, 4,500+ lb, 4/5 passenger "crossover" SUV's perhaps being bought for the wrong reasons. As in our neighbor who is an emergency room physician. He has twice asked us this winter if we could give him a ride to the hospital 2 miles away when his "S non-U V" (X5 4.6is) was rendered undriveable by a whopping 4-6" of snow. But boy those 20" wheels and low profile summer tires sure looked nice slipping and sliding away. His wife's car is an equally undriveable Jaguar in the winter, but at least her car doesn't make any false "utility" claims.   Funny, when I offered to let him drive our 911 this summer, as he was salivating over it, he had to embarassingly admit not knowing how to drive a manual transmssion. But hey, he's a good doctor, so I'm happy letting him think he's Michael Schumacher in that slushbox equiped two and a half ton "sports car". Replies to this message: qbrozen (Mar 12, 2007 5:03 pm)
#9208 of 9978 Re: My wife [habitat1] by qbrozen Mar 12, 2007 (5:03 pm)
Replying to: habitat1 (Mar 12, 2007 10:18 am) And that distinction is...???   the distinction is "best" vs "more." Being the "best" is obviously a FAR cry over just being "better" or "more than usual."   was that the previous poster was over-exhuberantly describing the FX45 as if it was a sports car   Ok. Point taken. I won't defend it as a sportscar, but I would defend it as being quite sporty while offering a good deal more utility than a sportscar. There's that trade-off thing we've both mentioned.   And ... to keep on topic ... its the same we've discussed here before when trading off some luxury for more sport, or vice versa.
#9209 of 9978 Re: Some February Sales Numbers [allargon] by hauss Mar 13, 2007 (1:32 pm)
Replying to: allargon (Mar 06, 2007 8:36 am) Where did you find these numbers? I looked on the autochannel site and could not find anything.
#9210 of 9978 M35 in Category of "Top 10 Vehicles for Seniors" by kennyg8 Mar 15, 2007 (4:28 pm)
While the posters here prefer to brand the M35 as a "luxury performance sedan," Edmunds opts to cateorize it as one of the "top 10 vehicles for seniors." In fact, it is lumped together with Toyota Avalon and Ford Five Hundred! I've always considered the M35 as a pretty sporty sedan with a good dose of luxury, but I've never thought it would be in the category of grandpa mobiles. Replies to this message: lexusguy (Mar 15, 2007 4:47 pm)
#9211 of 9978 Re: M35 in Category of "Top 10 Vehicles for Seniors" [kennyg8] by lexusguy Mar 15, 2007 (4:47 pm)
Replying to: kennyg8 (Mar 15, 2007 4:28 pm) I've always considered the M35 as a pretty sporty sedan with a good dose of luxury, but I've never thought it would be in the category of grandpa mobiles.   That is really odd. The M35 is the meanest, loudest, and hardest riding of the three Japanese entries in the segment. The GS, S80, or E-class would seem like much more logical choices.

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