I almost posted exactly the same post yesterday but got sick of fighting my tablet's keyboard and gave up. I COMPLETELY agree.Jesda wrote:20+ years ago you had to choose between luxury and sport. Now you can have your cake and eat it too as more sophisticated younger buyers have higher expectations for technology, comfort, and driving enjoyment. Compromise is not a luxury.ScrapMetal wrote:Lots of Lexus hate here. Did we forget that Infiniti and Acura are still playing catch up to Lexus? The Lexus LS is marketed to people who are looking for a large comfortable sedan. Surprising as it is, not everyone wants a tight cornering, stiff sprung "fun car" especially older folk who suffer from joint and back problems. I've driven two LS sedans that I borrowed from family members for long trips, a 400 and on another occasion a 430. Both cars were incredible, the attention to detail, the silky smooth V8 and transmission, the soft comfortable interior with loads of room and the ride on the highway was never tiresome, you wanted to keep driving. I'm 26 and would buy one in a heartbeat if I could afford one. Not all cars have to be "fun machines" to deserve appreciation.
Lexus was a revelation in the 90s, offering the traditional Lincoln/Cadillac buyer a higher quality version of old-fashioned motoring. Those customers took Lexus to #1 in 2000. Now, however, they're dying off (literally, due to old age) and BMW and MB are now neck and neck for the top spot thanks to the 3-series and C-class.
Cadillac saw the writing on the wall and introduced the hot new ATS this year and introduced the CTS in late 2002. Ads for the new Lexus LS460 depict young drivers and emphasize sport -- so even Lexus is getting a clue. Young up and comers with growing wealth don't want to settle for their parents' landbarges. Sure, there's a pleasing kind of ease with that kind of motoring and from a historical aspect I can certainly appreciate it. I've spent the last few weeks loving and adoring a black 1977 Coupe Deville in outstanding condition that has absolutely no pretensions of sportiness, designed to do nothing but cruise softly in a straight line. In the context of the past, when technology was limited, I appreciated and understood its role in American motoring.
It's only from Japanese automakers that you have to choose anymore. Even the Americans are doing it right now. Infiniti is all sport, Lexus is all luxury. There's no middle ground.
That may have worked in the '90s, but today you can get cars that do A LOT of different things well. You can have a smooth, comfortable ride AND good handling and communicative steering.
Take my LS8 as an example: smooth, comfortable ride. Superb handling. SAME CAR. The days of buick floatmobiles are gone. Why would you NOT demand more from your car? Why settle for less?
If that brand loyalty occurs through ignorance, YES. And Toyota and Lexus are special because they specialize in customer ignorance.Bubba1 wrote:so are you suggesting that brand loyalty, which is typically based on good previous ownership experiences, should be ignored? Or does it just not apply to Toyota/Lexus because you personally don't like them?
I am a great example: I could be on my third or fourth Maxima now. But the Maximas that I had good experiences with are NOT the Maximas being built today. I can observe this, because I experience OTHER PRODUCTS. If all I ever drove was Maximas because I liked them before, OF COURSE I'd keep buying Maximas expecting to like them again. How am I supposed to know any better if I don't sample anything else? But I've driven all sorts of cars and trucks and I understand that there are more options out there.
We're not picky because we're enthusiasts. We're enthusiasts because we know what we like! Maybe there'd be more enthusiasts out there if OTHER PEOPLE learned what they like, rather than blindly sticking to what McToyota puts on their sameburger every day.
