Would you buy a Lexus, Acura or Infiniti if you could?

[theveed]

In short, Euro pang subo ng self-image, hehe, yung Jap pang satisfy ng mas logical na reason why you purchased a car... hehe.

[BlueBimmer]

in short Euro owners have small dicks? hahaha time to dispose the bimmer :D

[Chip]

in short Euro owners have small dicks? hahaha time to dispose the bimmer

lol nice one

Hmm call it brand preference, but i just can't bring myself to shell out that much money for a premium japanese car. A japanese sports car, on the other hand is another story :D

[ian_rex]

if i'm to choose, then i'll have the lexus. but still i prefer Audi or Saab over BMW or Merc.

[niky]

double post... stupid transmission lag.

[niky]

I'd rather buy a Bimmer.

Lexus = overpriced Toyota
Acura = overpriced Honda
Infiniti = overpriced Nissan

:bwahaha:

Bimmer = overpriced... period. (I'm still a BMW fan, though)

if i'm to choose, then i'll have the lexus. but still i prefer Audi or Saab over BMW or Merc.

Audi... no. Not yet. At least not with the A4. They may have great new engines, but they're still too soft in the driving department to compare to BMW.

Saabs have devolved into a mere caricature of their former selves... and they aren't as upscale as any of the above. C'mon, Saab of the past ten years has been re-badge city.

Infiniti, I like. The FX-series and the new M-cars are definitely a cut above and in the spirit of Japanese premium... sporty, well-designed, and unique. I just love the FX and am bummed that my uncle didn't import it when I suggested it... it's still a head-turner, nearly three years on.

Lexus just plays it too safe. They're going down the Mercedes road. And look where MB is now in comparison with BMW (and a rapidly improving Audi).

Acuras are nice, but really, they're just like Lexus was before... a rebadge for low volume cars that won't sell well in the US under the Honda name. Can you imagine how, even fifteen years on, some people can't conceive of an NSX possessing the "crappy" Honda nameplate? What brand-snobbish idiocy.

[KCboy]

if you ask the americans they like the japanese luxury brands a lot, id buy a lexus or even an infiniti over an mb or a bmw but it all depends. dito sa pinas, it's better to buy mb n bmw since they have good reliable service here. lexus and toyota service are not reliable. im sure toyota will not service your lexus if you bring it in their casa.

[Macky]

Medyo OT pero BMW has overtaken MB na sa NorthAmerica..... Lexus is closing in......

M54, dre kung nandyan pa din ako sa US no questions asked BMW na (may phobia talaga ako sa Merc, hehehe) pero since nandito ako sa Pinas di ko naman pakikinabangan yung driving pleasure ng Euro cars..... basta maganda ang upuan sa long stops, may A/T at A/C pede na Syempre safety pa din ang priority ko followed by reliability (di na kasi ako bumabata).

[kimpOy]

i'll take the Toyota Landcruiser 105 over its Lexus counterpart anytime baby...

[niky]

In sales, too, actually... BMW is selling tons more cars than MB in the US, and has overtaken them as the best-selling luxury brand... don't know if that's US only, or international, but I believe that might be international.

And that's not including the Mini.

MB's quality snafus of the past decade, their Chrysler merger, the Mitsubishi debacle and subsequent split, as well as their unsuccessful attempt at creating a brand with SMART has left them smarting... it'll take a while for them to rebuild their good name.

The problem with Lexus in Japan is that, yes, they're all new cars without a base, pedestrian Toyota underneath... but try convincing the Japanese market of that.

[empy]

AG4, you are missing my point. we're discussing the following quote by stelvio:

"There's no car out there that says you've arrived better than MB or BMW."

you said MB is no longer that kind of status symbol. you are wrong. a brand does not have to have extremely high quality to be viewed as a status symbol or carry a premium, no matter how many articles you Google up.

stelvio's comment will no longer be true when consumers stop paying a premium to drive the 3-pointed star, and that hasn't happened yet.

if you are looking to prove that BMW is a higher quality or "better" brand than MB, you'll get no argument from me. i'm a bimmer owner

[AG4]

you said MB is no longer that kind of status symbol. you are wrong. a brand does not have to have extremely high quality to be viewed as a status symbol or carry a premium, no matter how many articles you Google up.

I see...
By the way, any idea why the sales of this status symbol went down?

[empy]

I see...
By the way, any idea why the sales of this status symbol went down?

they did? :confused:

http://www.daimlerchrysler.com/dccom...-0-0-0,00.html

Mercedes Car Group Starts New Year with a Slight Sales Increase

Sales of Mercedes-Benz vehicles increase by five percent to 64,500 units in January 2006
New models show significant sales growth
New S-Class is the best-selling luxury sedan in the world

Stuttgart, February 06, 2006

The Mercedes Car Group started the new year with a slight increase in unit sales to 72,700 passenger cars in January (January 2005: 71,900). Mercedes-Benz delivered 64,500 passenger cars to customers worldwide, an increase of five percent on the 61,300 units delivered in January 2005. This positive development was primarily due to the successful launch of the new B-, M-, R- and S Class models. Mainly the new Mercedes-Benz flagship model is in great demand around the globe: Following its debut in the fall of 2005, the S-Class is once again the best-selling luxury sedan in the world.

Mercedes-Benz continues to grow rapidly in the Asia/Pacific region, where deliveries to customers rose by 19 percent to 8,700 units in January. This development was led by high demand in Japan (2,600 passenger cars, up 40 percent) and record sales in China, including Hong Kong (1,700 passenger cars, up 47 percent). Nearly all Mercedes-Benz models contributed to the growth recorded in Asia, and the new S Class was particularly successful, posting record sales in January.

In the United States, Mercedes-Benz continued its solid performance from the prior year, increasing sales in that market by three percent to 12,500 units. Additional sales momentum can be expected from the launch of the new S Class in the U.S. in February. In Western Europe deliveries rose one percent in January to 36,000 Mercedes-Benz passenger cars.

[AG4]

In the United States, Mercedes-Benz continued its solid performance from the prior year, increasing sales in that market by three percent to 12,500 units. Additional sales momentum can be expected from the launch of the new S Class in the U.S. in February.

I see.
I guess overall sales, Mercedes still leads... they also have more models(vehicle type) to choose from.

BMW leads in the mainstream segments(compact, mid-size and SUV)
Feb '06 sales US:
Compact
E90 3-series = 7,750 (excluding carryover E46 models like the M3, coupe, convertible etc)
C-class = 2,976

Mid-size
5-series = 4,153
E-class = 2,310

SUV
X5 = 2,283
M-class = 2,155

[empy]

:double post:

[ryan]

If these upmarket Jap brands were available locally, would you buy these over BMWs, Mercedes-Benzes, Volvos, Jaguars and Land Rovers?

and why hehe

If image is the reason, I wouldn't buy one yet. Lexus, Acura, Infinity still feels too Japanese for me and they are not the car I dreamed about while I was growing up.

[flakez]

OT: may civic ba na acura? ang dami ko kasi nakikita.

[Flagg]

Yung dating Integra, civic yun.

Sir AG4, the LX470 & the Cygnus are the exact same thing except for name & steering wheel placement. I also forgot to mention the SC430 which is.... sacrilegious... the Soarer. Tsk tsk tsk.

[AG4]

Sir AG4, the LX470 & the Cygnus are the exact same thing except for name & steering wheel placement. I also forgot to mention the SC430 which is.... sacrilegious... the Soarer. Tsk tsk tsk.

I already mentiomed earlier that the LX470 is a rebadged Cygnus. Again, even if the LC Cygnus is badged as a Toyota in Japan, it is still a Luxury variant of the Land Cruiser 100.
...same with the SC430, even if it was a rebadged Toyota Soarer, its still a luxury convertible/coupe.
By the way, when the Soarer got facelifted for 2006MY, it was rebadged as the Lexus SC430 in Japan. Its the only carry-over model in the Japanese Lexus lineup.

may civic ba na acura? ang dami ko kasi nakikita.

In Canada the entry level Acura is based on a Civic.

Acura EL (1997)


Acura EL (2001)


The older EL is based on the JDM Domani a variant of the Civic.
The newer EL was redesigned (exclusive) for the Canadian market

[AG4]

The EL was recently replaced by the Acura CSX, which basically a JDM/ASEAN Civic. Its powered by a 155hp 2.0 i-VTEC.


Canadians like compact cars, so they have more compact models not sold in the US, the Acura EL/CSX is one of them.