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Luxury Performance Sedans

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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

#9361 of 9978 Re: 535Xi [cdnpinhead] by 150mphclub Aug 18, 2007 (6:01 am)
Replying to: cdnpinhead (Aug 18, 2007 4:39 am) Actually I like that feature. I am 6'2" and my wife is 5'. She only drives my car about twice a year, BUT it takes me about 10 minutes to get everything back to my settings, AND this always occurs when I am in a hurry.   While I am griping, how about, "if you want heated seats on that car (a real nice gadget where I live), you must also buy the $1700 sun roof that eliminates two inches of much needed head room." Replies to this message: markcincinnati (Aug 18, 2007 6:28 am)
#9362 of 9978 Content, features and/or gadgets. . . by markcincinnati Aug 18, 2007 (6:28 am)
Replying to: 150mphclub (Aug 18, 2007 6:01 am) I understand, really, the desires of folks who want "less" and who do believe "less is more."   My wife can't drive an automatic, but fears she'll have to learn; she has pushbuttons on her BMW sport steering wheel, but doesn't know which one raises and lowers the volume on her stereo; cruise control -- "fuggetabouddit."   I do think, however, she has come to envy (slightly) the ability to walk up to the car with a "full load" and have the car unlock; and, I know she wants a phone that responds to the command "dial number 123-4567."   The former is mainly for convenience (I don't use the pushbutton start that often for the simple fact that the FAT key is not comfortable to leave in my pocket -- but I do like the auto recognition feature) but the latter is for safety and I do believe that "big brother" will start escalating the fines and other punishments if we do not "succumb" to Bluetooth with totally hands free and eyes free in-car telephoning.   I have the built-in cradle for my wireless and, frankly, I am such a luddite, I still call it a car phone, choosing NEVER to remove it from my car even though it is about the size of a pack of gum (no I do not own an "i"-anything, it is a super small Sony phone that fits into the Audi cradle and uses the roof antenna and car's battery for power.)   The cars that I like to DRIVE, have an array of "gadgets" typically that makes voice command, Bluetooth, etc, more and more "safety features" by virtue of the distraction reduction such technology permits.   Parktronic -- well, even my "I'll row my own" wife, loves front and rear parktronic (on her X3.) We both enjoy the Xenon lights, LED usage and the fact that the lights turn with the steering wheel. AWD with a neutral or rear bias too is a technology we love -- maybe "gadget" suits, often the phrase used is "content." Memory power seats, I can take them or leave them since 99% of the time, I'm the only person who drives my car. However, I'll admit to having one button on the auto adjusting seats and mirrors programmed just to reduce what little inconvenience that 1% of the time may cause.   I've got surround sound, sat radio and a 6 disk CD changer, don't own an ipod and wouldn't bother to populate a hard drive -- but Radio Tivo using the hard drive, well, "instant tang!"   I grew up in an era where only the wealthy had a/c and power steering and brakes -- and only the really wealthy had power windows. Hard to find cars today without this "content."   A 2008 anything that lacks these "choices" in a climate where the Japanese and the Europeans and even some of the Koreans have this stuff, seems to be a step backwards, no matter how much horsepower and gears you offer.   I don't mind anyone's decision to deselect content (or gadgets) -- what I mind is bringing out a near LPS car as a 2008 model where so many cars (some at even lesser prices) have had this level of content available since 2004 (and earlier.)   I mind not having the manual transmission offered if you want AWD -- but, I'll accept the auto shifter, since it has the 6th gear and the adaptive mode.   You say potato and I'll say potaato. . . .
#9363 of 9978 Hey Mark by lexusguy Aug 18, 2007 (10:34 am)
Just curious, what do you think of the new M45x?   Replies to this message: richardga73 (Aug 18, 2007 6:19 pm) lexusguy (Aug 18, 2007 10:40 pm) richardga73 (Aug 19, 2007 8:28 am) and 1 more... markcincinnati (Aug 19, 2007 7:17 am)
#9364 of 9978 Re: Hey Mark [lexusguy] by richardga73 Aug 18, 2007 (6:19 pm)
Replying to: lexusguy (Aug 18, 2007 10:34 am) Hey lexusguy, it looks good from the front in a kinda Japanesie sort of way. It looks like an Altima from the side. Did they freshen the rear? It looks a little less chunky and more rounded, better than the previous model. But looks are not the point here with this car.Even though when I drove it I wasnt particularly impressed(thought it felt too heavy and leaned a little in the curves)I thought for what you got for the price it was a pretty good car. They are blowing it, I feel at Infinity. They almost have it right in the G, but everything else is ugly. They have their cars engineered very well and are reliable. Wish they would lure away some of the designers at Mercedes. Mercedes hasnt made an ugly car in my humble opinion and they are getting even more so with the passing years. Every class that Mercedes competes in, it is a least the best looking one in every one. Replies to this message: lexusguy (Aug 18, 2007 10:40 pm) richardga73 (Aug 19, 2007 8:28 am) lexusguy (Aug 19, 2007 12:28 pm)
#9365 of 9978 Re: Hey Mark [richardga73] by lexusguy Aug 18, 2007 (10:40 pm)
Replying to: richardga73 (Aug 18, 2007 6:19 pm) Mercedes hasnt made an ugly car in my humble opinion and they are getting even more so with the passing years. Every class that Mercedes competes in, it is a least the best looking one in every one.   I must respectfully disagree. The first generation ML looked like a minivan. The R-class really doesn't have a good angle. The SL borrows way too many cues from the half as expensive CLK, and compared to gorgeous coupes like the Jaguar XK or Maserati GranTurismo, it looks rather dull and pedestrian.   I like the E and CLS shapes, and the S and CL look good - provided they have the AMG body treatment. Other than that... Replies to this message: richardga73 (Aug 19, 2007 8:28 am) lexusguy (Aug 19, 2007 12:28 pm)
#9366 of 9978 Re: Hey Mark [lexusguy] by markcincinnati Aug 19, 2007 (7:17 am)
Replying to: lexusguy (Aug 18, 2007 10:34 am) As you may recall, I did plunk down a deposit on an M35X and was brought back to Audi by a huge cut in the lease price.   For some reason, my current sense is that the M's still are attractive in almost any guise -- only thing they lack is an extra cog or two in the transmission, but they do well with their five speeds, so that is not much of an issue.   If the M35's can come up with 300HP from the V6, I would think the need for the V8 is less.   I still WANT more power from my A6 3.2, but I have never been in any situation when I NEEDED power that the 255HP Audi motivator was insufficient.   The new CTS with the DI V6 is quite attractive and with all the goodies is MSRP $48K.   The M45X, like the A6 4.2 seems to add too much MSRP for too little return -- but more power is, make no mistake, always more fun!   Sometimes, not often, but sometimes, I think the styling of the M's hasn't worn as well as the styles we've seen recently from Germany, however.   I got behind the wheel of the new CTS yesterday at my dealer -- it seems a little small, getting out of my A6, but at least from the look and feel of the thing, it is, perhaps the best Cadillac EVER (OK, in my life -- and I just turned 56.)   I hope there is a factory implementation of Bluetooth with voice command -- at least -- of the phone function. Could be a deal breaker.
#9367 of 9978 Re: Hey Mark [lexusguy] by richardga73 Aug 19, 2007 (8:28 am)
Replying to: lexusguy (Aug 18, 2007 10:40 pm) Lexusguy, if the only thing you find ugly in the Merc lineup is the suv's, oh well. Suv's arent supposed to be pretty or they wouldnt call them "utility" which implies usefulness and function over looks. The SL borrows from another model in the lineup: so what? I think all Merc's have a certain sameness to them much like all Nissans, Lexi, and your Jags. Its called branding. All I said was in the competition of model against model the Mercs look better: ferinstance E over 550, S over 750, and C over 3 for pure lines of beauty. I was not talking about the way they drive as I prefer the "feel" of BMW's even though I think most of us "put up" with the looks of the damn things! Replies to this message: lexusguy (Aug 19, 2007 12:28 pm)
#9368 of 9978 Re: Hey Mark [richardga73] by lexusguy Aug 19, 2007 (12:28 pm)
Replying to: richardga73 (Aug 19, 2007 8:28 am) ferinstance E over 550, S over 750, and C over 3 for pure lines of beauty.   I'll agree with E and S, but the new C-class is a bit odd looking to me. I think the 3 series, especially in coupe form, looks better.
#9369 of 9978 what kind of lexus by richardga73 Aug 19, 2007 (4:38 pm)
Lexusguy, Im assuming you have a lexus. What kind do you have. Do you want the M? Replies to this message: lexusguy (Aug 19, 2007 5:12 pm)
#9370 of 9978 Re: what kind of lexus [richardga73] by lexusguy Aug 19, 2007 (5:12 pm)
Replying to: richardga73 (Aug 19, 2007 4:38 pm) My daily driver is an '01 LS430, and I have an '07 XK8 for weekends. Sooner or later I'm going to have to replace the LS, and I'm not sure what the replacement will be yet.   I've driven the M several times, and I really like the car. It has Japanese electronics and reliability, with German performance. The only real issue is the lack of a 6th gear, which makes it a bit too noisy on the highway. If the M was available with the ZF 6-speed, I'd probably have one already. I'm going to drive the '08 and see if it has improved at all in that regard.

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