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When management calms down from having to pay claims, the rules will slack a bit. That's how business goes.
A pity Audi currently ranks 2nd from bottom for reliability on Consumer Report's latest auto survey. I didn't bring that up :-).
Thanks,
Jeannine Fallon
Corporate Communications
Edmunds.com
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Why...it's deserted here......(owl hooting, shutters flapping).
Along with the rest of us, many are over discussing their conquests in the stock market.
Cars, who needs stinkin' luxury cars?
Apparently, not this group.
Besides the higher pressure there's a different combuston cycle and release from diesel of nitrogen oxides NOx, which are toxic and reportedly linked to sudden infant death syndrome. NOx emissions led Benz to use urea injection to get diesel exhaust to pass emissions regulations, marketed as Bluetec. BMW responded with Advanced Diesel. I think I only saw one or two Bluetecs on the streets. This different combustion often leads to soot, smoke and contaminants in the exhaust and deposits buildup in the engine.
Other than that a gasoline engine burning oil can smoke even more.
1) S550: too much baggage, trying too hard
2) E Class: a little boring, a little steriotypical
3) A8: bland exterior styling
4) A6: good pricing, last year for V8
5) Porsche Pamamera: good pricing, a little small for a trip to Buffalo
6) LR4 : the Section 179 makes it a very good deal for a biz owner
7) 7 Series: not that pricey if you order with 'minimal options" , OK handling with short wheel base and ARS , but long term reliability?
8) Lexus: Yawn
9) Jag: no AWD means I don't get home at night
8) 5 Series: OK but can get pricey if you check the boxes like "leather" (imagine a car for this MSRP with leather as an extra cost option!)
Audi makes one good car. And it's hideously expensive. Not good for trips, really.
The Panamera is missing something. You want to love it. But it's missing something that you can't quite put your finger on. It lacks that "awesome" factor that say, an Aston Martin has.
Lexus is prozac on 4 wheels. It's what you drive when you can't drive anything else because of your failing reflexes. Well, that or a Buick. There's a reason that it's called the "Japanese Buick".
***
- The Cadillac CTS is designed in Germany, so it's kind of a nice spot as it's "American" but drives like a 5 series, or darn close to it. The CTS wagon is also a nice option.
- Infiniti's upper end sedan is quite nice - the only thing out of Japan that I'd recommend in fact in this segment. The EX is basically a wagon version of the G. It's very nice and one of the few crossovers that I can stomach. Infiniti is neck and neck with Toyota in reliability, which is rare for most premium brands. And the red they offer for it has to be seen to be believed as it's just the right shade to look classy. If you're sick of tan, white, and beige, it's a nice alternative. There's also the G37 sedan.
All you really need is the Journey AWD of the G or EX plus nav - forget the rest of the options. $40K and it looks and drives fantastic. The same applies to the CTS - get the Luxury AWD version with nav and that's it.
If all of that is too small, the M56x is better than the S class IMO. It's a real sleeper, though - most people simply don't know how good it is. And it's tons cheaper as year-end discounts are quite a bit steeper than Mercedes ever offers. You have Mercedes fit and finish, Japanese reliability, and the road feel of a big Jaguar or similar. It impressed me a lot and made me wish I was a LOT richer so I could afford one
http://www.examiner.com/auto-review-in-national/first-drive-car-review-2011-infi- - niti-m56x-no-one-s-second-fiddle
Not Edmunds, (heh) but a great review. The best part is that the AWD is rear wheel biased, so it gets out of your way when the roads are good.
EDIT - note - as much as I went on about the M, I still would personally get the CTS as it's plenty fast and is much sportier when you want it to be.
I wouldn't do the Caddy just because of the bailout. Not until all accounts are settled do I ever even think about a GM. The history still bristles the back of my neck and it's going on 2 years since Government Motors was born. :mad:
Anyway, good luck BIG. I would also choose the A8 (CPO to save cash) because it is understated but capable just because the fit and finish is top class and the interior is a nice place to be on long rides.
Regards,
OW
CTS does not even make the list.
You all have your opinions but I have owned at least 1/2 the above and presently have 2009 A8L. Best car (even over the S550) I have ever owned.
Would buy another in a year but they have lowered the height and being 6'4" my head brushes the roof. Looks like S600 for me.
Now back to the CTS...........you want something in the same class but roomy and all the other BS..........ES350. Owned 2 - LS430's and 1 - 460. The ES surprised me when I bought the SC-430 in for service.
Again, just MHO.
I think the upper-end CTS with the direct injection engine squeaks into the same league as the E class and the 5 series. It's not real "luxury", but neither are they, really. There is some overlap.
It's just that most everything large and luxury just puts me to sleep or is stupidly expensive. The M is an exception.
But the A8 also is marginally worse in resale vs. Merc and Bimmer.
The thing is, I keep liking that understated presentation with the A8. But the A-7 might be worth the wait...
Regards,
OW
Of course, if money is an issue, just get a CPO one. You can get a new S550 4Matic (as an example) for $85K and a CPO one 3 years old with less than 30K on it for $55K. Mercedes has one of the best CPO programs as well, so it's really a no-brainer as far as I'm concerned.
I also hear word that Porsche will have a coupe version of the Panamera. The bits and pieces that have been leaked and the mock-ups and drawings that people have come across suggest that it will be a very beautiful car. They'll probably resurrect the 928 name as well.
(I just got everyone reading this a bit excited - heh)
I guess it would be like making a 4 door Mustang. Certain cars just look wrong with 4 doors.
The A7 is now on the ground and looks gorgeous. Idon't think that the gold chain crowd will ever want to drive one. Now if Audi can get their residuals up, a biz lease on an A7 would be just the thing: a little style, AWD to get home with in January, a hatch back to throw my gymn bag into in the AM, etc. All without teeing off the troops.
It looks fantastic, the interior, well, it's Audi - enough said, and it's getting rave reviews. I expect Top Gear or Fifth Gear to review it very shortly.
Too bad they lowered the height 3".
If you think of it in this light, it's clear why it's 3 inches lower and looks like it does. Now Audi has two world-class cars - and this one isn't priced at stupidly high levels like the R8 is.
Oh - Top Gear's review of it says that the ride is pretty much not a factor. In a good way, that is. It does everything except for make you excited on track days/have that supercar rush. Myself, I love that sort of understated and yet supremely confident feel that you get from cars like this. Volvo used to be the epitome of this type of ride years ago, and for me, that's the right balance between performance and luxury. But I suspect that a slightly louder exhaust kit would solve it if you really want to make some noise. :P
Plus, what's not to like about a V6 with a big supercharger on it? Thank you thank you thank you for not putting a whiny little turbo on it, Audi. Since it has a better transmission than the base Panamera (8 vs 7 gears), and weighs a bit less, it gets to 60mph in about half a second quicker as well. IMO, there's no reason to actually buy the base Panamera instead of this.
I hear the Scion xB has a lot of headroom, too. :shades:
It really frosts me that some of the nice cars are only available here (in the USA) with a sunroof, and that can take as much as 3 or more inches out of the headroom. On an A6 I owned awhile ago, you could still order it without, and the difference was 2.85" extra headroom. Personally, I can easily live without a sunroof...higher insurance, higher center of gravity, more sources of squeaks, less torsional rigidity, and more expensive (in Germany, the GT's sunroof is optional at 1700 Euros...an amount I'd much prefer spending on other things!). Mercedes had the sunroof 'optional' for awhile, their 'base' price was lower than some comperables, and the salesman told me all sorts of people came in and complained, 'but it's standard on X'; not associating that their base price was inflated because of it. As a nation, we are pretty poor about understanding this sort of thing...too bad. I much prefer the old way where you could cherry pick the items you want, especially, if the manufacturer allows that in their home market (i.e., Germany). While you can get packages, and it can save money if you want most of it, it's really annoying to spend say $2000 to get one thing that's available in their home market for $200, and you could easily live without the others. The hassle here is many of those brands are only marketed as 'luxury' cars, where they, with less content, are sometimes a commodity vehicle in the home market, except when optioned out with all sorts of really nice stuff. On most, we can't buy it without leather, for example, and on most of the mid-size cars like the A6, 5xx, and Exxx, it's optional in the home market, and, you can get it in an ecconomical 4-cylinder engine...it still is built well, but costs maybe 10's of thousands less. So, you get what you pay for. Here, we're too stuck up, expecting the cache of the brand to only represent certain things. It would just be too much for someone to have a neighbor with a car that looked the same on the outside to cost $25K less than yours...we're just stuck up...
Can you custom order without a sunroof and go European delivery with Audi, BMW, or MB?
Plus, the interesting this in most European delivery programs are almost the same price as buying it locally and you get to be pampered for a day, tour the factory, and see Europe for a few days or longer. They're hoping to get a bit of kickback from the tourist packages the agencies they have deals with, of course.
I wrote a letter to Mercedes and had the local dealer ask on an E-class, and no they would not build one for US certification without a sunroof. Also had the AUdi dealer check, and (at least on the models I was interested in, no). On that car, at least in the current models, the difference in headroom is huge, nearly 4" with and without the sunroof. I'd easily fit in that car without a sunroof, but with it, I'd not want to own it.
Now, maybe if you're talking like something in the Bently, RR, Aston, etc., yes, they'll bend over backwards, but not on the commodity vehicles (and no, I don't wish to spend anywhere near that much money on one of those). Got enough money, and all sorts of things can be done.
In Germany, for home market consumption, almost everything is a la cart. But, once it goes through one of their other country sales offices, they and the factory decide what is available. For example, the BMW UK branch treats the GT the same way as the US...the sunroof is standard equipment, but they have other things that are standard that are optional here (if even available). So, it is a country by country thing.
Without lots of work and extra money, with the EPA and safety requirments to bring a car into the US, it is not practical for the average person to buy a Euopean spec vehicle and expect to register and drive it in the US. Plus, the US branch won't honor the warranty of a grey market car, even if you could get it past the Feds.
It needs to be clear...when doing a European delivery, you are NOT buying it direct through the factory, you are still buying it through a US dealer, and it must meet the US arm's set of requirements. And, while there is a little more flexibility, it isn't really all that much. Maybe in the past, but not now.
You'd have to likely get the ball rolling in Germany first, though, since the U.S. branch of most manufacturers is more like a franchise and really has no options or say in things. They U.S. side will likely have a fit and get their shorts in a wad, but it should be possible. (my guess is that the corporate pencil-heads don't want to alter the paperwork to include a custom option or recalculate the price). Myself, I hate sunroofs so much that I'd pay FOR the sunroof to not have it installed.
There are advantages to being tall, but it can be a major challenge in everyday life as well. The world is made for average people, tall or short are an afterthought. Every once in awhile, someone quite tall gets into a decision making position, and there's some exceptions on what's available, but the bean counters usually nix it.
The interesting thing is that the MB Tex is standard and not an extra cost option, looks better, and lasts longer. This could be the start of something. I wish I had MB Tex on my Silverado. The General's leather is already cracking and wearing thin after only 3 years. (In contrast the leather on my 05 Cayenne looks hardly sat-in.)
MB Tex wears very well but their extra-cost leather's aromatic smell is almost itself worth the price of admission.
Here's the deal - many major Mercedes dealers will retrofit your seats in your car to leather as an aftermarket service. It's only a little more cost than the leather package (since it's only the seats) and you can get the same leather as you get in the S class. The net result is a better grade seat than the OEM leather upgrade. Note - I live in Los Angeles, so there are a couple of dealers who do this if you want - ymmv in smaller cities, of course)
Most people don't know about it and don't bother with the extra 3K or so. I certainly would if I was buying something that cost 40-50K like most Mercedes do these days.
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10 Tips On Buying From An Auto Auction
http://10tipsonautoaction.blogspot.com/
I have an Audi G5, A8L, (had a GT3 - traded back in after 30 days - wanted to keep my license) and now a 911 Carrera GTS.
The 928 is a realative inexpensive car to purchase if you have knowledge of Porsche repair or deep pockets for it's repair. Nice thing about it is the V8 engine.
Good luck on your quest. If I get the right deal, will trade the Porsche and pick up a R8 (again if the price is right....:-)
10 Tips On Buying From An Auto Auction
http://10tipsonautoaction.blogspot.com/
The General's leather is "ap-cray" as is Acura's.
It sure is - as was Fords before about 2007 - significantly better now. Remember however, the seats are subcontracted out to either Johnson Controls or other manufacturers to make. The quality is speced out of course by the car company, but you will find a similar grade of "leather" spread among various companies, such as Ford, GM, Chrysler and Toyota or Honda.
Didn't realize how long it's been since I checked in here until seeing the date of your post. Time flies! Yes, still have the S5, meteor gray, turns 4 tomorrow. Almost 35k miles, not a single problem other than key fob mows down batteries. Will hang onto it longer than I expected, because I don't want to say goodbye to the 4.2. What a shame.
Since we last communicated, I've taken possession of that '69 Jaguar XKE 2 you may or may not remember the pics I posted of. Keep your eyes open, I've been driving it top down in our area every Sunday in this awesome weather we've had. I'm also considering a new S8 in the near future, unless I can be talked down. ;-)
Man what a coincident...I haven`t even visited this forum in a very long time, and just typed in Luxury Car to see what wold happen...WoW
I still have the goldish colored A 8, and it is going on seven years or somewhere around that era...It`s been a fantastic car, and I had the few things that broke fixed--like the tire pressure and some valve that made the car almost not work---pollution---McDaniel has treated me very well even helping out on the tire sensor thing....I just might get another one, but really there is no reason to , as the car is still fresh to me...
I`l look for the Jag with the top down ---fabulous lines---one of my favorites along with the old Porsche....I owned on way back then, got it from a service guy who bought it in Germany , put the thousand miles on and flew it back to the states...cost four thousand five hundred---and a rolllex back then for two hundred fifth, and have it on my wrist right now....
Take care and look for the `old` gold colored a8, primarily west of the Ashley..
Amazing coincidence Tony