Lexus RX Turned Auto Debate Thread

[nvanprooyen]

I miss FridayFung and the Lotus commentary that would normally be in this thread.

 

[Omeletpants]

R8 interior

 

[Monster]

When I was in Germany I rented a VW Touareg for a month. It was the Diesel premium model with Leather and Nav. The Nav was the best system I've ever seen... could not believe the power and the way it responded on the road. Put seveal hundred autoban miles on it from Frankfurt to Celle to Berlin. Loved it and would get one except the model I would want is outside my spending window. Can't make myself buy a vehicle for that kind of money... but man was it nice... best SUV I've ever driven... hands down.
http://www.vw.com/en/models/touareg/gallery.html

 

[Monster]

R8 interior

Very nice.... but where do I put the cooler?

 

[1COBearsfan]

Very nice.... but where do I put the cooler?

Under the hood

 

[Monster]

Under the hood

It needs to be in reach... I guess I could cut an access door...

 

[Omeletpants]

The Audi Connect nav system uses Google maps and turns your car into a hot spot

[video=youtube;qx5utijhzDA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qx5utijhzDA[/video]

 

[Monster]

German cars are much cheaper here than there as well... was talking to the lady dealer and they paid 67,000 Euro (about 90K USD) for the vehicle I rented... which is listed as 54,000 US here... always figured it would be cheaper to pick one up in Germany... but live and learn.

 

[Bear06]

I think German cars are in their own class. German cars have higher quality and better engineering but it's more expensive and there's more to maintain. You get what you pay for. Quality costs more. Are they perfect? No.

 

[Bear06]

Also if anybody didn't know Audi's were shit back in the day in the 90s, but they picked themselves up and now make one of the most exciting cars in the world.

 

[Bear06]

R8 interior

I fell in love with this car. <3

[video=youtube;uwazyyinQPk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwazyyinQPk[/video]

 

[Bear06]

You're not looking far enough into cars if you think German cars are all about marketing and gimmicks. I'm going to preface this by saying I'm the biggest Mercedes homer on this board. I've worked on them exclusively for over 12 years. The reason German cars are so expensive is because of the stuff you can't see. They are engineered to protect passengers at all costs. You need that kind of safety when driving on the autobahn. All the rest of the stuff in a German car is put there to justify a high price tag for keeping people safe. I also hear people talk shit about Mercedes not having the latest audio technology. Mercedes makes great cars, not great stereos. If you want a cool stock stereo buy a Nissan, just don't be surprised of your brakes fail or the car crumples like a beer can if you hit a get in a fender bender.

People who said Mercedes don't have great stereos are ignorant, harmon/kardon are one of the best sounding car audio system's besides Bang & Olufsen and Bowers and Wilkins.

 

[Monster]

As for Lexus I wouldn't buy one... just get a Toyota... same thing over there anyway...

As Biz Week points out, Lexus did itself no favors with its initial lineup, featuring "the $52,000 GS sports sedan, the $68,000 SC convertible, and the entry-level IS sedan, starting at about $40,000. All three had previously been available in Japan under the Toyota nameplate— for about 20% less than the Lexus models." Oops.
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2008/03/lexus-going-nowhere-fast-in-japan/

 

[Bear06]

As for Lexus I wouldn't buy one... just get a Toyota... same thing over there anyway...

As Biz Week points out, Lexus did itself no favors with its initial lineup, featuring "the $52,000 GS sports sedan, the $68,000 SC convertible, and the entry-level IS sedan, starting at about $40,000. All three had previously been available in Japan under the Toyota nameplate— for about 20% less than the Lexus models." Oops.
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2008/03/lexus-going-nowhere-fast-in-japan/

Lexus are just a slightly more luxurious Toyota the same with Acura just a slightly luxurious Honda.

 

[Monster]

Lexus are just a slightly more luxurious Toyota the same with Acura just a slightly luxurious Honda.

You see the same cars in Japan with Toyota tags on them... The US market seems to not mind paying more for names... which is true in many products.
While in Germany I saw more BMWs and Mercedes than anything else... many stationwagons as well... which you don't see in the states. Nice ones too...

I do like some of the Audi's... but again... I have a rule that I won't spend anymore than 25% of one years income on a new vehicle. However I rarely buy new anyway since you can usually find a nice deal on something used if you are patient and wait for the right one to come along. I see too many people... many that work for me... that get the fever and go look and buy same day... always a mistake in my opinion.

 

[1COBearsfan]

People who said Mercedes don't have great stereos are ignorant, harmon/kardon are one of the best sounding car audio system's besides Bang & Olufsen and Bowers and Wilkins.

Oh, they sound incredible but I was talking about the user interface. MB has never been the first, or second, or fifth manufacturer to include all of the latest technology into their audio systems. They did get on the fiber optics wagon early, I think. Does anyone know if any cars had fiber optics in '99 or '00? But things like Bluetooth, voice control & iPod integration didn't come until after a lot of other makes had them. I don't know for sure because I work at an independent shop now but I think MB are catching up in the A/V department. I'm also pretty sure all the recent A/V stuff is just a test bed for the next gen S-class which will be incredible and make everything else seem pedestrian.

 

[1COBearsfan]

As for Lexus I wouldn't buy one... just get a Toyota... same thing over there anyway...

As Biz Week points out, Lexus did itself no favors with its initial lineup, featuring "the $52,000 GS sports sedan, the $68,000 SC convertible, and the entry-level IS sedan, starting at about $40,000. All three had previously been available in Japan under the Toyota nameplate— for about 20% less than the Lexus models." Oops.
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2008/03/lexus-going-nowhere-fast-in-japan/

That's why I've never been impressed with Lexus. There's no real innovation to the cars. It's just a Toyota with leather seating. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with toyotas either. They are great cars that are reliable, get great fuel mileage & are relatively cheap to maintain. But, in my opinion, aren't in the same class as mercedes

 

[Monster]

That's why I've never been impressed with Lexus. There's no real innovation to the cars. It's just a Toyota with leather seating. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with toyotas either. They are great cars that are reliable, get great fuel mileage & are relatively cheap to maintain. But, in my opinion, aren't in the same class as mercedes

Oh I agree with that... They aren't in the same price range either... You can't find a loaded top of the line sedan from Mercedes for under 30K... Where as you could get a loaded Camrey for that... (not a Lexus version though granted)

 

[Omeletpants]

It's interesting how the quality of cars has changed over time. Used to be that there was a real demarcation line between well built cars and bad ones. The Amercians are typically 5 years behind the rest of the world. But even now something like a Ford Tauras is really a terrific car.

Since they are are built well it's only when you do pointed comparisons that the differences show. I owned 2 BMWs in the 90s and they were much better than any Audi. Now the tables are turned. BMW never wins any of the serious comparisons and reviews when compared to Audi. Are BMWs nice? Yes, but I'm not spending my money on one. My best friend has a BMW 540 and he is buying one of the newly itroduced 550i Gran for $90k. Looks great but the interior pales to the Audi A8. There is nothing in the world I could say to him to have him look at Audi. So, I dont try to convince him and tell him the Gran is fabulous.

My A5 lease ends next year and I only have 6K miles on it cause I work out of my house. Thinking of buying it or I might lease an A6

 

[Les Grossman]

It's interesting how the quality of cars has changed over time. Used to be that there was a real demarcation line between well built cars and bad ones. The Amercians are typically 5 years behind the rest of the world. But even now something like a Ford Tauras is really a terrific car.

Since they are are built well it's only when you do pointed comparisons that the differences show. I owned 2 BMWs in the 90s and they were much better than any Audi. Now the tables are turned. BMW never wins any of the serious comparisons and reviews when compared to Audi. Are BMWs nice? Yes, but I'm not spending my money on one. My best friend has a BMW 540 and he is buying one of the newly itroduced 550i Gran for $90k. Looks great but the interior pales to the Audi A8. There is nothing in the world I could say to him to have him look at Audi. So, I dont try to convince him and tell him the Gran is fabulous.

My A5 lease ends next year and I only have 6K miles on it cause I work out of my house. Thinking of buying it or I might lease an A6

Speaking of "not spending my money on it", how can you spend so much money on something you barely even use??

(PS, I almost bought an A5 6 months ago, that's a BA car. So pretty.)