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If you have a few minutes to kill, watch this video. IMO late 90s to early 00's were the golden era of luxury cars (or at least my personal favorite), so it's fun to watch.
It's a MB sponsored comparo so they are clearly biased, but it is fun to watch them throw these cars around. I would drool to get to do that as my job.
wow thanks for sharing this! i love getting to see the LS 400 when it was showroom fresh
mmmm... look at that glorious body roll
it really was hilarious how spectacularly biased this video was, what a surprise the S class is the best at literally everything! i won't spend too much time on how they listed the LS 0-60 time as being over 7 seconds while claiming the numbers are directly from the manufacturer, which claims it's 6.2 seconds and i have even confirmed that myself. shame there's no way to have a "which will be the most annoying to own over a course of 20 years" category because i've driven W220 models that were nearly that old and it's really not at the level of the LS. it's very rare i see a W220 that isn't mysteriously high or low at one end from the suspension acting up...
Theres another video out there when the LS430 came out which is similar, just pro Lexus lol
That was the one where it basically beat the competition hands down, and they were driving to wine country or something? lol There was tiny print somewhere stating that Lexus paid for the entire thing!
That was the one where it basically beat the competition hands down, and they were driving to wine country or something? lol There was tiny print somewhere stating that Lexus paid for the entire thing!
wow thanks for sharing this! i love getting to see the LS 400 when it was showroom fresh
mmmm... look at that glorious body roll
it really was hilarious how spectacularly biased this video was, what a surprise the S class is the best at literally everything! i won't spend too much time on how they listed the LS 0-60 time as being over 7 seconds while claiming the numbers are directly from the manufacturer, which claims it's 6.2 seconds and i have even confirmed that myself. shame there's no way to have a "which will be the most annoying to own over a course of 20 years" category because i've driven W220 models that were nearly that old and it's really not at the level of the LS. it's very rare i see a W220 that isn't mysteriously high or low at one end from the suspension acting up...
Yes, the body roll was my favorite part, too. Nice snapshot.
And also yes, first thing I noticed too, the 98-00 LS as soon as it got VVT-i was a low 6 second car, definitely "fast" for its time, it would wipe out every car there except the S500 with the big V8, and even that would be close.
Agreed also, I see old, pristine 98-00 LS400s plenty and they look great. LS430s on the other hand are still all over the place here, I would actually call them common. The other cars that old, not so much. The last Bangle-butt 745i I saw was blowing blue smoke.
In this era, I still lived in an apartment. I really had a thing for the new BMW 3 coupe (E46), but I thought the 5 series was really "unbelievable." Some guy got one and it was a 540i stick. Back then, I was so impressed with the bluishness of HID headlamps. Then the M5 came out with 400 HP, and fuggediboudit! Man those were some good times!!
LS400's are pretty cool, I have seen at least about 5 of them driving through the city, they most certainly last!
Yes, the body roll was my favorite part, too. Nice snapshot.
And also yes, first thing I noticed too, the 98-00 LS as soon as it got VVT-i was a low 6 second car, definitely "fast" for its time, it would wipe out every car there except the S500 with the big V8, and even that would be close.
Agreed also, I see old, pristine 98-00 LS400s plenty and they look great. LS430s on the other hand are still all over the place here, I would actually call them common. The other cars that old, not so much. The last Bangle-butt 745i I saw was blowing blue smoke.
My buddy says he had a moonlight pearl 2000, and he loved it. He like his dad had car-itis so changed them every 2-3 yrs. (as kids we couldn't wait to see what his dad would come home with, we only had to wait a few months because he would say he got a great deal trading this and got that--all used like 3 y.o. or so, benzes, bmws, volvos, etc.)
Did that 745 had white or blue smoke? White is very common, 10k repair as the coolant line runs under the intake, not really worth it to fix so just keep driving...(kind of annoying when you think it's simply a rubber o-ring and nothing more that has begun to leak)
I saw a beautiful 98-00 LS400 the other day parked outside of a crimp condo building I dropped a lockbox off to, it was alpine silver with a black interior, just like mine was and it was in perfect shape...
IMO late 90s to early 00's were the golden era of luxury cars (or at least my personal favorite),...
glad you added the subjective part in parentheses.
many people have a favorite era which was typically when they were impressionable and young and suddenly 'blown away' in appreciation of some products at the time. while i certainly have appreciation for things in different eras (loved my old acuras and lexuses), i recognize that was then, this is now and most olders cars hold no interest for me as new ones are better in every measurable objective way (safer, faster, more sophisticated design, more reliable, more luxurious at every level of the market, generally quieter, way more efficient, etc).
glad you added the subjective part in parentheses.
many people have a favorite era which was typically when they were impressionable and young and suddenly 'blown away' in appreciation of some products at the time. while i certainly have appreciation for things in different eras (loved my old acuras and lexuses), i recognize that was then, this is now and most olders cars hold no interest for me as new ones are better in every measurable objective way (safer, faster, more sophisticated design, more reliable, more luxurious at every level of the market, generally quieter, way more efficient, etc).
i'm with you on this to some degree, but also when was the last time you drove a 90s flagship car? the other day i got to hop straight from my LS 400 into the 20 year newer LS 500 and then right back to my car, so i gotta say some parts of what you said i don't think are the case. i'm gonna borrow dougy d's shot here:
the new LS manages to be longer, wider, and simultaneously more cramped feeling with noticeably worse visibility outward. i know government regulations have a part in this, but considering there are more cars driving than ever and city streets and such aren't getting any wider, for cars to keep getting bigger doesn't make sense to me. the original LS was already a very roomy car, so for this new one to be like a foot longer just makes it that much more irritating to park and maneuver through tight spaces. making a situation more stressful is like the opposite of luxury.
also i don't know if a brand new luxury car (or any car for that matter) would be more reliable since there's just so many more electronics and complex stuff going into the cars. you still see many 70s and 80s benzes and even some bmws driving around since the designs were just more straightforward. also many of the things you mentioned that, on paper at least, make the car more safe and sophisticated etc... also dull the actual experience of just using a nice car. also the serviceability and diy-ableness goes down the more complex things get.
a 20 year old LS is always happy to do whatever you'd like it to do, whenever you'd like it to do it. the computers are there just to improve the efficiency of things where applicable, but they never feel like they're actually influencing what you do. in brand new cars it feels like every input has to go through more of like an electronic checklist before the engine/trans finally responds. the 9 speed in the MDX is particularly bad in this regard. i recognize most buyers really don't care that much about this, but to me at least there's some genuine upsides about the older cars. especially in terms of long term ownership.
You should try out an LS460L or another LWB flagship sedan. The LS500is really cramped for its size, but my LS460L is way bigger inside than the LS400.
glad you added the subjective part in parentheses.
many people have a favorite era which was typically when they were impressionable and young and suddenly 'blown away' in appreciation of some products at the time. while i certainly have appreciation for things in different eras (loved my old acuras and lexuses), i recognize that was then, this is now and most olders cars hold no interest for me as new ones are better in every measurable objective way (safer, faster, more sophisticated design, more reliable, more luxurious at every level of the market, generally quieter, way more efficient, etc).
To me it's simple, your mileage may vary. 20 years ago, when you wanted "the best", you went straight for a flagship luxury sedan. Cars designed from the ground up to be nothing but pleasure palaces, for lack of better words. Today? I'd buy an Escalade over an LS500 without even blinking an eye. Or a Yukon Denali for 15k less. Since the once-wonderful LS only comes with a raspy 6 cylinder, feels cramped inside, and looks terrible (IMO), I'll take the ginormous SUV with a glorious V8 engine and all the space inside I could ever want. Times have changed. The luxury sedan, unfortunately, isn't what it used to be.
08-20-18, 11:37 PM
2000 Luxury Car comparo video
