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Sedans Luxury Performance Sedans
10007 messages, Last post on Dec 01, 2009 at 7:40 AM
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Replying to: lexusguy (Feb 06, 2008 12:55 pm)
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Replying to: og_oggilby (Feb 09, 2008 8:18 am) There's only so much you can do with a shared platform. The BMW, Lexus, Infiniti, and Audi are all riding on bespoke gear. Each offers several engine and drivetrain choices as well. Acura's "one size fits all" approach worked more for them when their cars were several thousand less than the competition. Now that they are approaching parity though, customers want more choice and Acura can't deliver.
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Replying to: lexusguy (Feb 09, 2008 2:41 pm) They can deliver. They just refuse to do so. That has always been the Honda way. Try custom ordering one. The salesman will tapdance for an hour trying to "locate" one that meets your criteria (and actually send you on your way if he can't) instead of just ordering the dang thing. |
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Replying to: lexusguy (Feb 09, 2008 2:41 pm)
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Replying to: houdini1 (Feb 11, 2008 7:12 am) Good question. The original Legend wasn't related to the Accord, and I'm not entirely sure exactly how closely they relate currently. The Vigor/TL though was based directly on the Accord from day one, which is why new TLs always come a year after new Accords. |
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The Vigor was indeed based on the European version of the Accord back in the early 90's. The first two generations of Legend were on their own platform. I had an '88 Legend Coupe (should have kept it!), and a '91 Legend sedan-first year of the new body...it was nice, but I believe Acura was all downhill from there. I drove the RL and GS before buying the M35X I have now. The GS was small inside and had limited trunk space, and I did it before the 350 came out. The RL was just lackluster, and in my opinion did not justify the cost. That said, the Lexus dealership here on Long Island was the most professional of all of them, and the Infiniti service is on par with a Nissan service center, not Lexus. Owning both a Lexus and Infiniti (wife has RX400h), there is a clear difference in service philosophy, but both cars are running well and relatively problem free.
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Replying to: art234 (Feb 11, 2008 2:35 pm) This thread brings back memories of endless visits to the shop and of tow trucks hauling my Vigor from the middle lane of the highway in rush hour traffic because it happened to rain that morning, which stopped the Vigor dead in its tracks. And let's not forget that the Vigor put the torque in the term "torque steer" for front wheel drive vehicles. You easily could end up in a ditch on the side of the road if you didn't keep a firm grip on the steering wheel during hard acceleration by its inline 5 cylinder engine, which I believe made a whopping 176 hp if I recall correctly. Way to make a first impression, Acura. I realize that was 16 years ago and one of the first Japanese forays into the luxury market along with the Legend. But I do note that early model BMWs can be considered "classics" while early model Acuras are... junk? But my disgust with Acura lead me to buy my first German car and I've never looked back. So for that, I thank Acura (and so should BMW and Audi.) |
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| My daughter, who lives near Kalamazoo, MI, has always wanted to own a high-performance sedan. Several years ago, she had a chance to buy a used M-5, but bought a Bimmer convertible instead. Since the lease on her Bimmer is up June 1st, she is revisiting that muscle car itch again. She asked me to look around the Chicago area for one. I finally found a 2004 E55 AMG in the price range she wants at a dealership near my home. I went over and took it for a test drive. Needless to say, it ran like a rocketship. The car is in pristine condition with only 39,000 miles. I'd like to know if any E55 AMG owners could suggest looking for any particular problems with this vehicle. I know nothing about Mercedes-Benz cars except they're supposed to be well built, extremely reliable, and trouble free. Thanks. | |
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Replying to: jpstax1 (Mar 26, 2008 7:18 pm) This used to be true. Starting in the later 90's, however, the reliability of Benz automobiles has suffered greatly. I had driven nothing but M-B's for nearly 25 years and found them to be totally reliable and built like tanks. That's why 50, 60, and 70 year old Benzes aren't all that rare. My first post '95 Benz was a 2000 CLK430 which had a few recurring electrical problems but none that totally soured me on the brand. The 2003 SL500 I purchased, however, was a different story. Truly an electrical nightmare which resulted in nearly every advanced system that M-B has implemented (ESP, ABS, SBS, ABC, etc) failing at least once during the time I drove the car. The problems were not limited just to electronics. The air conditioning failed, parts rattled, and many other "un-Mercedes" like things happened. I researched free CarFax reports online for 2003 SL's and found that a full 40% of those listings which included lines for service visits displayed problems like those found on my car. My frequent conversations with the service writers at my local dealership revealed that problems such as those I experienced were not limited to the SL model. Unfortunately, the problems were every bit as prevalent in AMG variants. I would highly recommend that you carefully examine the complete service records of the car you are interested in and also suggest that you check to see if an extended maintenance agreement is available for the car. To give you an idea of how outrageously expensive repairs can become, my service writer estimated that had my repairs not been under warranty, I would have racked up over $15,000 in repair charges before I ever made it to the 5,000 mile mark.
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