blacksc400

iTrader: (4)

Interesting read. Do you agree of it though?

I hate when they say Lexus is second tier status. Isn't Lexus ranked 3rd right after Audi and

BMW and it's Tier 1 brand?

Here you go:
http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2012/...une/index.html


On the side note, didn't know they even offer long wheel base 3 series in China.

BNR34

iTrader: (1)

The Chinese love rear seat leg room, so there are a bunch of oddball long wheel base car that are only sold in China. Companies make whatever sell

caddyowner

Mercedes nearly lost their panache during the "merger" with Chrysler. I'm surprised they let Smart into the dealerships. Audi does everything they can to distance themselves from the commoner VW cousins. BMW is wisely keeping Mini separate.

My general opinion of German cars: designed by fine German engineers to be frequently maintained by expensive German technicians.

LeX2K

Was that an advertisement?

blacksc400

iTrader: (4)

No, it's an article, you probably went too far after the last page.

LeX2K

I didn't click too far. The entire thing read as a German car lovers wet dream, the last paragraph to me is utterly ridiculous. Not an article but a veiled advert as to why German cars rule the road. They even take a dig at Ferrari, Porsche is better because they sell more cars. Really?

superchan7

Not much more than marketing fluff, except history which is very true and maybe the Autobahn which helps German manufacturers do better high-speed validation. All the rest is crap, and this coming from a Porsche driver who has also owned MBs and VWs.

The Germans have not mastered (or are unwilling to move towards) long-term reliability and low running costs. The fact that some models are the pinnacle of automotive performance is irrelevant. The mass-market models are still way more expensive to run than Japanese cars.

LexPaul

Perception is reality for some people. Lexus just lost the US luxury crown in sales just last year, they held on for 11 straight years. I wonder why?? I don't dismiss German cars, they are targeted towards performance oriented drivers and they also deliver excellent design and luxury, no doubt about it.

Lexus has not expanded in markets where these cars have had a long term presence. Also, Lexus IMO has not done the level of marketing and offered the heavy incentives as the others have, but I think we already seeing a change, and as Lexus steps ups it's marketing, I believe we will see it capture much more market share, just look at the GS sales figures since it was introduced, and let's wait and see how the ES, and indeed the IS, LS, etc., performs.

It's funny how the reviewer just glosses over the fact that Lexus delivers better quality, and service and might I add reliability??, Umm, very important not to have your car in the shop every month or so. The only car that can 'boast' about reliability is Porsche, the rest have always scored poorly in the reliability column. I think the writer needs to lighten up on the juice.

Och

iTrader: (3)

When Hitler invented teh Gėrman car, God invented Lexus. Take your pick!

Joeb427

iTrader: (1)

Yes,the article was over the top as are a few members here on anything Lexus/Toyota.

My0gr81

Supply issues due to the earthquake and ensuing tsunami, perhaps? Even the Cambridge plant where the RX are made, couldn't crank out the cars once they ran out of parts. One of the dealerships around here, had nothing left (IS, EX, RX) on the lot, just what was in the showroom.

My0gr81

This thread is going to end up in the clubhouse debate forum.

spwolf

lol at the article... i would argue that the country that has Bugatti, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, Lancia, Alfa Romeo, Ducati and Aprilia has more racing heritage than Germany.

Not to mention that they say how Ferrari is boutique competitor to Porsche since Porsche sells 20x the cars, as if thats good thing... lol.

mmarshall

If you are refering to the original 1930's air-cooled Beetle, much of its design actually came from the rear-engined/air-cooled Tatra, which was already in production next door in Czechoslovakia.

mmarshall

In the past, the Germans (at least with Mercedes), did master quality and reliability. For decades, from the 1930s through the 1980s, with a couple occasional exceptions here and there like the ultra-durable Chrysler engines/automatic transmissions of the 1960s, Mercedes and Maybach (a Mercedes cousin) built what were considered the most reliable and durable cars in the industry. That did not change until the 1990's...partly because of competition from Lexus and Infiniti that Mercedes could not handle, and the company was forced to cut costs.

In fact, (though, because of several factors, I don't entirely agree with it), Mercedes (Gottieb Daimler) is considered by some historians to have invented the engine-driven automobile.