Which car is the most prestigious

[V-dub*chic]

well, that's why it's not selling. great car, but VW is not a premium enough brand (yet) to demand about USD 100k for a car. imho, they should have badged the thing as an Audi - that's exactly why they own that brand in the first place.

don't get me wrong guys, i'm not putting down VW (i'm a former VW owner myself - '99 Jetta VR6, which i gave to my brother, who took over the payments). i'm simply saying that in europe and north america, it's one of the most recognized brands for economy and reliability - but not prestige. perhaps it's different in the philippines. our Jetta was a wonderful car, but it competed against the Camry, Accord and Galant...not the 3-series or C-class.

even the name means "people's car" in german...

right on!!!

[jim]

i think the rolls-royce is more prestigious than any of what is being polled in this thread...................

[squala]

I don't think being common must be taken into account here. Yes, you see more 3-Series cars around than the others, but that certainly doesn't make it less prestigious. In fact, it's easily better than the others and at least equal to the C-Class, which has hugely reinvented itself despite looking the same.

As for the Audi, people buy this because they're supposed to be cheaper than the BMW and Mercedes, but here, the 1.6 A4 costs around the same as the 316i. Yes, Audis have the looks and interior impeccability, but you don't get the same ride comfort as the Benz or the driver involvement of the Bimmer.

The X-Type is simply outclassed here. The dashboard is actually more Ford than Jaguar. Rear space is also small and dynamics nowhere near the Germans. It's better off in the category of the Volvo S60, Saab 9-3 and the like. These are also darn good cars but have some catching up to do with the very best.

[nicolodeon]

Among the cars in the list, MB C-clas IMO.

Pero, IMHO the Rolls-royce is the most prestigious. Sabi nga ng isang Brit aristocrat who loves cars: "The Rolls-Royce is a car that one needs to be driven in, while all others are the ones you need to drive." But as far as efficiency is concerned, nobody beats them Germans (Bimmers and Mercs). In fact, if you own either a Merc or a Bimmer and you're Western European, you'd be hard pressed to find 2nd hand parts nowadays because there is a high-demand for 2nd hand Mercs and Bimmers in Eastern Europe, South Africa and Asia.

[BlueBimmer]

i think this list was featured on the latest episode of 5th gear, 3rd was the bimmer, 2nd the merc n 1st the jag.

[theveed]

STICKING TO THE LIST...

hehe

C-Class

But kung pera ko and im not using it here, I've always liked the Passat (well, if you like the Passat, A4 is quite similar hehe)

[OTO]

Hero33 actually says it all. Being too common can cause a car to not be that prestigious or exclusive. Imagine if you bought a new 3M peso car and some guy drives besides you with a 10 year old (same) model at a stop light. Winks or waves at you in a sign that you're both same model owners and leaves you in the dust of his exhaust. That isn't exactly how I'd want to spend a small fortune on a car, which too many people have. I'm not saying it doesnt drive well or the car isnt great but there are just too many on the road. Think of it as too many people having good taste. ;)

Even though the Benz (as a brand) ranks high on Fifth Gear and Tsikot it ranks 9th from the bottom on the JD Powers Customer Satisfaction ranking of 2004. In 1994 Benz was #1 on the same Customer Satisfaction survey. That's how much exclusivity and prestige can help a brand sell cars that are worse than some of the most looked down cars in the world. This year though Benz appears to have jumped back to 5th place.

The Bentley and Rolls Royce are indeed more prestigious than those cars listed above but then again those uber brands dont offer entry level executive cars.

BlueBeemer is correct this survey was done on this week's Fifth Gear. I was curious how Tsikot peeps would rank each one. The Brits and Pinoys taste in cars are pretty close.

[squala]

Hero33 actually says it all. Being too common can cause a car to not be that prestigious or exclusive. Imagine if you bought a new 3M peso car and some guy drives besides you with a 10 year old (same) model at a stop light. Winks or waves at you in a sign that you're both same model owners and leaves you in the dust of his exhaust. That isn't exactly how I'd want to spend a small fortune on a car, which too many people have. I'm not saying it doesnt drive well or the car isnt great but there are just too many on the road. Think of it as too many people having good taste. ;)

Even though the Benz (as a brand) ranks high on Fifth Gear and Tsikot it ranks 9th from the bottom on the JD Powers Customer Satisfaction ranking of 2004. In 1994 Benz was #1 on the same Customer Satisfaction survey. That's how much exclusivity and prestige can help a brand sell cars that are worse than some of the most looked down cars in the world. This year though Benz appears to have jumped back to 5th place.

The Bentley and Rolls Royce are indeed more prestigious than those cars listed above but then again those uber brands dont offer entry level executive cars.

BlueBeemer is correct this survey was done on this week's Fifth Gear. I was curious how Tsikot peeps would rank each one. The Brits and Pinoys taste in cars are pretty close.

First, why are you basing your car purchase on its being common on the road or not? So what if someone else is driving the same car as you?

Take for instance the Honda Civic. It's very common, but this doesn't make it less of a car, does it? As what they say, "Millions of owners worldwide cannot be wrong." I know this car is nowhere near BMWs or Benzes in terms of luxury and overall dynamics, but it gets the job done and in the late 90s, it was the best economy car. When the EK came out, it was one of Car & Driver's 10 Best Cars and Automobile Mag's Car of the Year.

If you ask me, I'll pick the benchmark anytime. If I'm gonna pay a lump of cash for a car, why not get the best, right? True, BMWs are more common than other luxury brands here, but heck, they're the best, so who cares about standing out?

Try thinking about PS2 and GameCube to see what I mean.

[speedy]

All the cars are entry level cars, I guess your just going off the brand. Well, I've got a benz and a beemer. Actually, most of the brands listed on the poll have a marque car (except for lexus and VW). It just depends on the consumers personal preferences. A prestigious car to me might be entry level to someone. For me, I would say that the Benz has always had that mystique. They even have the SLR and AMG's!

[OTO]

I think you're confusing "image", "exclusivity" and "prestige" with something else.

Simply put all your mentioned items are just good examples of product positioning. That's why certain car brands must price lower or higher because of the image they have in the market.

Honda Phil can charge a premium because of a well crafted image. Ever wonder why there arent Honda taxis on the road?

Most people dont care much for what a car reviewer says about a car. If they did then only a handful of car brands would exist. Most people dont care much about benchmarks either. If they did more people would be driving gas cars rather than diesels.

If you ask the 16 people who voted for the C Class they'd say otherwise. The Benz isn't known to top benchmarks but they picked the C Class because of how they perceive the car.

GCN hardware-wise is better but people flock to the PS2 because of the games on the console. Nintendo has an image being a "kids" console that's why older gamers avoid it in favor of the PS2.

Not to say your opinion doesnt matter but that's not how the world works. The more expensive an item gets the more important image becomes. The more common an item becomes the less prestigious it is.

If performance is all that matters then slap on a big turbo on a Civic and pump it up to 1000bhp. You'll save a bundle doing that over buying a less powerful Ferrari.

The only thing that saved Benz for the past decade is the image it has earned over the past 100 years. Remove the three pointed star and slap on a Rover badge and the manufacturing plant would've closed down a decade earlier.

[speedy]

Oto- who in their right mind would want a 1000hp honda civic? A diesel at that! MB is a good company who has figured out that the profit margin is much higher on volume vehicles. By that I mean production numbers in the millions. You can't recoup your R&D cost and manufacturing cost on vehicles that are limited to 4000 to 5000 units per year. The cost would be astronomical and would price itself out of the market, ie Bugatti (Veryon at 1.8 Million dollars a piece). Bugatti is a company that has been sold and bought multiple times and has yet to make a profit! VW only bought it as a "marque brand". Unfortunately, MB is delving themselves into the "high volume market" with the C class, R class and the Smart vehicles. I think car makers need to stick with what they do best, Honda (high volume, good quality, fuel efficient cars) and MB (high quality, high performance, luxury vehicles). Unfortunately, the shareholders at MB want a steady 30% return on their investments so I guess, what better way to increase revenue is to capitalize on your name brand and mass produce a mediocre product. I think the SLR and AMG's are still there to make the "old" customers happy and make the new one's dream that they own a car who shares a lineage and technology as the marque.

[speedy]

If your talking about this C class, this car might win. Check out this cali car!
http://www.rchdesigns.com/amg/index.htm

[airshaq20]

Hey guys..chill up...its just a poll.

Here's my say.

You cant compare the US and the Philippines. In the US, all the cars mentioned above:

1. depreciate 50% in the first 2-3 years.
2. they are all entry level luxury cars
3. in the philippines, these are multi-million peso cars and they appreciate once they have philippine tags; in the US, they are just merely "cars" when they go out of the dealership - nothing really is prestigeous and they dont really hold their value.
4. jaguars - have the worst quality in the list, they dont even make their own engine
5. A lot of people look up at Lexus but really, lexus is a souped up Camry - the IS is even sold as a Toyota in Japan. Who are they fooling? Putting a bigger engine, a leather seat and some features doesn't make it different. Its still Toyota.
6. FYI - the C class, the 3 series and A series are considered sports sedans in the US, nobody in the US buys this for "comfort"...if you want a lazy-boy ride, buy an S class, a Cadillac or a Ford Victoria.


Lastly, there's no need to argue over these things. How many of you have owned (not borrowed from parents) 3 or 4 of the cars listed above to even make a good comparison?

[speedy]

Airshaq, personally, I would'nt consider any of the above and your right about the differences between the us and philippines. 2 totally different socioeconomic situations. Interestingly enough, I did test drive these cars, expt for the VW and audi, in 02. I took home a Bmw 530i.

[Hero33]

the point is, with ford platforms jaguar is now both cheaper and mass-produced, putting them in the hands of more people and lessening the exclusivity.

5 years ago the cheapest jag was $80k. now you can get an x-type (aka the ford contour) for less than half of that.

Yes, but in the Philippine context, to which I was referring to, Jaguars are less common than the ubiquitous 3 series.

[Wouie]

Ibang tao ibang opinyon, so depende lang sa tao yan.

[BlueBimmer]

if i sit beside an E90 in traffic on my E36, i certainly would not 'wink' or signal in some way to a fellow bimmer owner, that would be gay hehehe

[OTO]

speedy ask anyone on the Modification section of Tsikot and I'm sure at least 1 user will say he dreams of owning one. As for the diesel it was another comparison. MB for the past 10 years has been cutting corners. Recently though they've took notice that their products haven't been up to their past standards. They're improving but they do this slowly. To make sure their quality goes up again they've cut their profits from 3 to 1 billion a year to make sure their car is built properly.

MB has the brand equity to overcome any quality issues for the past decade but that cant save them forever. Having a car on a limited run (In MB's case because of projected sales) or high price helps in making it prestigious. Ask any marketing student or prof they'll tell you the same thing.

Veyron could be priced lower but VW knows that the average Veyron buyer would have enough money to pay for a limited run car. Hence the 1.8M price tag. VW is trying to push their brand up market but the problem is even if they make great products they're still a VW the "people's car". They have Audi already so I dont see why they even bother. One example would be the new VW Golf GTi it has good specs. Won a lot of awards but hte problem is people would still go for a BMW 1 Series because it's a BMW and not VW. Brand matters. Prestige matters. Image matters.

Smart is a brand separate from three pointed star. It is akin to a Toyota and Lexus. That's how Benz can sell mass market cars without the problem of lowering the prestige of their cars.

MB is a prestige brand of late has been known to have poor quality. Do a simple google search and you will see how bad it has gone. It has gotten so bad that they had to do a recall. BMWs can outperform MBs in any of the benchmark I've seen but people look up to the brand because it is more prestigious.

The shareholders want a better return for the past few years and recently have acknowledge to cut MBs profitability because of the quality issues of the past 10 years. They know that if they dont improve on quality MB's brand equity will go down and kill the proverbial goose that laid the golden egg.

Does MB marquee evoke "old" people as customers? A lot of young people look at it as an old person's car. The SLR's an automatic and has room for golf clubs. What kind of image does that project? In the UK the CLS' sat nav has the location of every gas station and golf club in the whole British Isles. What does that evoke in your mind?

Airshaq I have to disagree with you on most of your points. Go to Autolink and search MBs and you'll notice that depreciation is almost as bad here as it is in the US. However which way you put it the cars I posted above are still entry level executive autos. Even though Jaguar is bad quality it is still a Jaguar. Ferraris of old were known to had quality issues as well but they still hold their value. On the Lexus I think one reason why people think that way is because of the origins of the mother company & the fact is it is Japanese, a country known for good inexpensive cars. That isn't a bad thing but who wants a leathered up overpriced Japanese car? That may be a reason why Lexus hasnt entered the Philippines because of the way they may be perceived. Chrysler's 300C is based on the previous E Class platform but has a sticker price lower than a C Class.

This comparison was made to see how Tsikot members perceive each car. If it was based on personal experience I would have stated otherwise. I also wouldn't expect much respondents either.

[theveed]

My goodness, it's amazing how some of you take opinions of others so seriously and so personal...

Unless you're some guy from Car and Driver, Top Gear, Motor Trend or Jay Leno, all our opinions weigh exactly the same... Personal bias, no more no less...

[BlueBimmer]

goodness!!