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Comments
It almost looks like the front of this car was twisted in some way. Very wierd. I am not sure just what triggers the air bags but I would think that if you totaled the car due to front end damage the airbags should have deployed. Had to be a misfire.
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460
how can you make a conclusion without knowing any details about the accident?
The safety of a Maybach in question because of these few pictures? Isn't it interesting how some people are so eager to lay blame where there is no proven blame.
As a completely unbiased and objective forum member I would never ever do such a thing if I saw a few pictures of a smashed up Lexus LS. What would be the point?
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460
I couldn't do any of that stuff anyway since I lease and after-market tuning is a huge no-no!
Is that a serious question, or are you being tongue-in-cheek again? I'm not being argumentative, but it's really hard to tell.
I have had my share of accidents (none of them were my faults, too much driving in the city), from minor fender-bender to severe accidents where the car (a 5 series) got shortened by a foot, spun around and myself knocked unconscience for a few minutes. Just like people can estimate speed from tire tracks, the collision result/deformation itself gives a good estimate for the severity of the impact. Look at that picture carefully, you notice that the hood is significantly curled up and the lower front end collapsed (look at the front left corner in front of the wheel). Unless you are telling me Maybach front end is utterly flimsy, that is a significant impact. It's reasonable to expect that the airbag should have deployed.
I have to give the vehicle back pretty much how I got it.
Whether or not the car was deemed to be totalled has nothing to do with whether or not the airbags fired or not. The car clearly isn't "totalled" as far as the front end goes. Did you look at all the pics? The damage is basically on the passenger side and the driver side isn't even pushed it. This suggest a off-set impact with something other than a tree or wall. In a car of this size and weight it would take a mighty hard smack into something stationary to trigger an airbag. Just looking at the damage isn't the end-all of how severe the impact was. Most if not all cars today are designed to deform in a certain manner in order to absorb the energy from the impact. MB, Volvo in particular pioneered this and that Maybach did exactly what it was supposed to do. Unless the decelerative force reaches a certain point the airbags are supposed to fire. Every car and brand has a different (not the much of a difference though) threshold for this, ana 6000lb Maybach isn't going fire its airbags unless the impact is severe. The interior doesn't show any signs of deformation and the glass isn't even cracked. That means that body took the energy of the impact and managed it brilliantly.
Put it this way, why do you think they uses stationary objects to test airbags in full frontal or off-set frontal crashes? The force of deceleration is greatest this way and the airbags will fire everytime. You can't simply look at the damage to the car and say that the airbags should have fired, it doesn't work that way on a Mercedes, Chevy, Hyundai, Toyota, Porsche, Jaguar or an Aston-Martin, i.e every car on the market.
How can you say it must have been a misfire if in the same post you say that you don't know what triggers an airbag? Clear and present contradiction. Doesn't make sense.
M
M
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460
Merc,
I have video footage of this kind of hate towards MB and Maybach. It just amazes me how far people will go to point out a MB/Maybach weakness !
This video shows two Lexus fans trying to prove how inadequate a Maybach passenger door is.
Enjoy!
Refer to the Video called "Becali VS Maybach Repair"
BECALI VS MAYBACH REPAIR
Hungry Divorce Lawyers could become rich with that idea (assuming there is such a thing as a hungry divorce lawyer)
Hmm, I don’t know about that. That’s a pretty unique $100K+ gift a whole lotta love! I haven’t gotten my wife a gift yet and I’m running out of creative ideas. I’m thinking of headin’ over there!
Hey Pat, Kirstie or Karen, whaddya think? I need the keen perspective and intuition of a female colleague.
;-)
as awesome these super-luxo ~$100k sedans are, I prefer to own one new low-$ muscle car plus a used SUV plus 2 new VW TDIs.
also, instead of the astrological nonsense, HOW OLD ARE ALL YALL and are there any females in the mix here? or are we all a bunch of bald older/middle-aged guys with hair growing from odd places? (i'm in my "mid-40s", bald, etc.)
Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and respective other happy holidays to all of you regardless of age/income/assets/gender/sexual-preference/shoe-size.
Briteness04, re: "a decent lease deal". That's an oxymoron like "political science" and "military music". There aren't any good lease deals. Period. Sure, some lease deals may appear good because they are subsidized but they are nowhere low enough to change the TCO of leasing vs. buying new and running for 5 years or, better than that, buying it when two years old as a CPO and running the clock out to 100K.
It continually amazes me that for a forum full of business savvy car guys, so many are leasors. Leasing has many benefits, but none deal with pure economics. Leasing should be left to those MDs and others who are not car nuts, hate the idea of car shopping and are beguiled by their "advisors" that "everyone" leases because they can "write it off".
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460
Now back back to pedaling my liberal agenda. "Sorry Hillary, I'll be right there".
CPO analysis is a little trickier, depending on whether the CPO'd car actually fetch the 74% residual or not. My guess is that it's not even close, so a better deal with CPO is possible, but then we are talking buying used cars. If you are planning on writing off the car at 100k, you should pay no more than 48% of MSRP for the remaining 73k miles in order to keep up with that 18% MSRP for 27k miles enjoyed by the first leaser, even assuming you do not place any value on the quality difference between the first 27k miles and the subsequent 73k miles, and that you do not have any mechanical or electrical issue between 50k and 100k miles, and CPO contract takes care of all maintenance and wear items till 100k miles (which is obviously not the case). Even assuming all that, BMW would have only recieved 66% of MSRP on the market through the two transactions . . . goes to show just how ridiculous the MSRP's are. Leasing simply helps you get past that 30+% fluff.
I would also rather not have the hassle of trying to unload a 5 year old vehicle and being humiliated into having to take whatever a dealer would give me on the trade for a new vehicle. I'd rather just give the vehicle back after 2-3 years and move on to the next one.
It doesn't bother me whether leasing is a sound business decision or not. Whether you buy or lease, it is still a depreciating asset so leasing relatively late in the model year doesn't bother me. A 4 year free warranty is included.
I can shop at the goodwill for my clothes, and eat cheap, but my downfall is ze cars.
I wonder what all these "financial weanies" who buy their cars used, and drive them in to the dirt waste money on. Golf trips, expensive watches, expensive dinners out?
My point being, everyone has their little must haves.
"I like the idea of driving as many fine cars as I can in a lifetime". Hey Hpowers, your like friggen Shakspear these days
All with no money down and all maintenance included.
Looking forward to the end of my 545i lease so I can move on to something better like the BMW 335i twin turbo coupe or perhaps a 335d coupe if it becomes available here by August 2008.
One thing's for sure, I am absolutely through with the 3 year lease concept. Never more than 2 years from now on. I want to drive as many great vehicles as I can!
Glad you agree. :shades:
A new competitor for the MB CLS?
First of all why even bother calling it a Jaguar. It seems just too radical and the interior has the warmth of Dr. Spock (not to be mixed up with that child care fellow).
The details are written in an Edmunds blog:
link title
Doesn't this new MB CLR 600 look a bit like a Dodge Challenger? It definitely has more of an Amercican Muscle Car Look than a Stuttgart Look.
I like the look of the upcoming Dodge Challenger. But I hate the look of this Benz because it just does not look like a Benz IMO. And what is with that idiotic rear spoiler? Is Benz trying to imitate the Subaru WRX STi look?
SOURCE: carbodydesign.com
In any case, wouldn't the subsidized lease just result in a lower resale price when the moment of truth comes and it comes off lease? Used Saabs are a great buy because of this. Doesn't this just affirm my belief that the moment to buy these things is when they come off the subsidized lease? (Although, amazingly, a used '03 745i despite horrible electrical problems, the much maligned I Drive, and a bad press is still over 42K.)
I'd appreciate it if you would clear this up. I think you are on to something.
Never take a concept interior at face value. Look at the Lexus LF-C interior of a few years ago. That was another space ship on the inside, and the actual production Lexus IS is a perfectly normal car on the inside. No floating electro-panels, no joysticks, and none of the other gimmicks that typically show up in concepts.
I don't think Jaguar can be "too radical". They've done "too conservative" already, and its killing them. Jag needs to be dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century, otherwise the replacement for the S-type might as well be a Rover 75.
Wow. I really hope for M-B's sake that this stays on paper, and preferably in a garbage can somewhere. If they actually make this thing, it will destroy the brand faster than you can say Mustang sedan.
If not, I want a 335xi two-door. Is that coming out? I hope so. The new E92 is not only a beauty, but it has a fantastic new powertrain, a surprising amount of standard features and a more exclusive feel.
Because I'm not settling for neither a 335xi sedan nor a 328xi coupe. They just won't suffice.
If it doesn't come out, I'll just have to get a 2007 S4 Avant to complement my Cabriolet (a year old- I'd be getting it in 2008 and don't want to spend $60,000 on a winter car). How cool would that be? Especially if it was in Sprint Blue, like what I have now!
But there's something to mull over here. The wife might have an A8 by then, and the entire reason for getting a new winter car would be that my son takes the A3. That would leave us with four Audis. That seems a little creepy. Perhaps I'll have to get a 911, 6 Series, SL or XKR for my S4 Cabriolet replacement.
'06 Audi A3 2.0T DSG • '05 Audi S4 Cabriolet • '04 Lexus RX330
Yes. I highly recommend the Garmin Nuvi 360. I've got one that I use in Europe. It's small enough to easily fit in a pocket, and very accurate, has bluetooth, and can announce street names and addresses.
Nuvi 360
Currently they are only making a 328xi coupe. That might change when Audi has their S5.
You said yourself that you didn't know what makes an airbag fire and that combined with your anti most anything Mercedes stance and we're supposed to take your word on this?
What does a salvage title have to do with wether or not the airbags fired or not? Some insurance agent/company determined this. You do realize the cost of the car involved in this accident right?
If you don't understand basic safety engineering that isn't Mercedes/Maybach's fault. Labeling something you don't understand as excuses really isn't the best way to deal with it either.
M
That would be very interesting if you did.
We don't know if it was parked when this happened. A truck could have backed into it very slowly. A lot of damage can be done to a car with minimal impact depending on the exact location of the hit and the circumstances... speed, size of vehicle hitting it, angle of hit.
This is all I was saying, but it seems to be lost on those intent to cry "defect", even when admit they don't know anything about what makes an airbag fire. Pretty amazing to me.
M
M
M
Yes I do. That is why it is so unusual for an insurance company to total a car of this value rather than repairing it.
When a car is totaled, the insurance company is saying that it would take more to repair the car than the car is worth. That usually happens on cheap or older vehicles, or cars that are really squashed, not extremely expensive cars with not much apparent damage.
The scenario that I discribed is just as plausable as yours. You have no info saying that the airbags performed as they should have. Just your bias and your opinion, for what that is worth.
Oh yeah, MERRY CHRISTMAS!
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460
The difference is that I've seen this before with all cars, damage like that without airbags having gone off. This about the amount of damage and automatically assuming that the airbags should have gone off is nonsense without knowing the details of the accident. Plus I happen to grasp the concept and know what makes an airbag fire, unlike yourself by your own admission. There is reason why crash tests are done with stationary barriers and/or other vehicles at certain speeds. In short not every crash will trigger an airbag, common knowledge. You concluding that this was a defect is a clear and present thing against anything Mercedes and you know it.
M
Even you should be able to see how silly that sounds. Are you saying you've never seen damage like this where the air bags did deploy? Well I have seen them deploy with damage like this so by your way of thinking that is the difference so I must be right.
Cars are concieved and manufactured by people. They are mechanical marvels with thousands of parts. They are not perfect and sometimes there is a defect. The concept should not be that hard to grasp.
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460
For example, the entire test should be considered "invalid" since C&D should have announced it was testing a pre-production model of the Lexus LS460L. I wonder, if the LS460L came in first place instead of last, would the same critic of the comparo be noting that the result might not be accurate because the LS460L could have been a pre-production model and with a "real" LS 460L, the car may have finished lower down?
Weren't the first 3 finishers (occupied by MB, Audi and BMW respectively) also possibly pre-production models?
Sorry, but I am not buying this great conspiracy against Lexus in the print media.
Let's face it, the car sinks or swims on its own merit. C&D is not looking to be involved in a scandal that could put it out of business.
The C&D reviewer found regarding the LS 460L: "its dynamics don't hold up in hard-driving situations."
Again from C&D regarding the LS 460L: "the variable-ratio steering was also cited for its uncommunicative nature and the electrohydraulic brakes were similarly peculiar in operation producing longer than expected stopping distances." Sounds exactly what I experienced driving the 2005 Lexus GS430-lousy brakes, lousy steering.
In my opinion, the LS460L does not sound like an emergency maneuver confidence builder.
After reading such a report, people who spin "conspiracy theories" and "it must have been a pre-production model" are living in a rather peculiar state of denial regarding their own personal safety.
The end result could very well prove tragic and I hope anyone who has chosen the LS460L never has to put the vehicle through an aggressive emergency maneuver, attempting to avoid a collision with these brakes and steering.
Please consider the Audi, MB or BMW instead.
Stay safe out there.
Smooth power delivery made 35 mpg easily attainable during highway cruises, although the EPA-estimated 37 mpg remained just out of our reach. Combined with occasionally spirited city driving, our total observed fuel economy was less impressive, 24.4 mpg. This still trumps the estimated 19 city/26 highway of the E350, and with an MSRP only $1,000 higher, the $51,550 Bluetec really seems to be the better choice.
Each time we fueled the Bluetec we noted the price of gasoline. We recorded the average cost of 91-octane premium at $2.60/gallon and 87-octane regular at $2.49/gallon. When averaging the cost of ULSD at each fill-up, we paid an eye-opening $3.19/gallon.
At first glance it appears the diesel is at a disadvantage, but it actually comes out on top....Using our observed fuel prices, it costs the Bluetec driver roughly $64 while the E350 driver needs about $74 to travel the same 740 miles. Even running 87 octane at that rate has the diesel about $7 ahead. That adds up quickly over a few years of ownership.
link title
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460
Depends where. Many European countries heavily subsidize their diesel, and unsurprisingly, those countries have a much larger percentage of diesel cars on the road than their neighbors.
Would Lexus have released a pre-production LS 460 vehicle to C&D for testing unless it was reasonably sure it was an accurate representation of the actual production vehicle?
They would have to be insane if it wasn't.
What about the other reviewers who had issues with the brakes and steering? So there is only one 2007 LS going around for reviewing and it happens to be a pre-production vehicle which means it must be a Lexus in name only? :confuse:
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460
Would Lexus send a pre-production vehicle for C&D to test that would be significantly different in driveability than the production model?
Also why would anybody pay more for an LS 460 when it has not been shown to be an improvement over the LS 430? Given the former's braking and steering (from the auto press reviews), the LS 460 appears to actually be a step backward.