Originally Posted by Stereorob

I own a 1995 LS and a 2003 Kia product. its a Kia Spectra, and its absolutely dreadful. then again, that's like comparing a 1982 Cressida to a new LS...

Originally Posted by Stereorob

now heres an interesting topic.. the Kia K900. first question about this oddball is has anybody actually SEEN one?! I sure as hell haven't. im thinking this car will go the way of the Volkswagen phaeton, which was an amazing car but people couldn't get past spending 7 series prices on a VW. it was a car that left such a small footprint here in the states most people don't even know what the heck they are! although I do remember seeing one once in a blue moon in traffic around town going on ten years ago when they first came out. that car lasted, what? 2 years and was killed off? people just wont spend 60 something thousand dollars on a Kia, its just not going to happen. as far as the Hyndai Equus goes, they have sold some of them, and although I do see them in traffic from time to time, and although they are fairly nice cars I don't see too many of them. I actually got to spend quite a bit of seat time in a Equus back when I was a salesman cause I took one in on a trade and had to drive it almost 100 miles back to the dealership and took my sweet time with it. infact I spent almost the whole day with it getting to know it really well just cause I was very curious about all its features and how it handled. don't get me wrong, its a nice car, but A its seriously lacking an identity. it looks like a 2006 Ls430 banged a 2008 Azera and this was its child. seriously wtf. it looked dated already when it came out. B, the Equus has lots of toys, but not even close to as refined as an LS460. they seriously cheaped out on interior bits, and although it has some guts on the street, its pretty spineless on the highway with merging power.

the Kia K900 is more of a curiosity to me than anything else. and honestly I like the way it looks more than the Equus. it has its own identity and looks really really nice in pictures, but ive never had my hands on once which is surprising cause I work at a luxury dealership and get all kinds of interesting things in on trade.

one thing about Hyundai / Kia vehicles that's a little unsettling is that they don't seem to have much of a lifespan. ive seen 2010-2012 Sonatas, Elantras, Optimas, Azeras, Genesis and Equus show up in the trade lot that at 50k miles already felt more wore out and tired than my 20+ year old, 200k mile Ls400. kind of surprising for a company that is hell bent on being a Luxury brand. suspensions already sinking, rubber gaskets already deteriorating, electrical problems, bits of trim falling off etc. very very disappointing..

Originally Posted by lextout

That's the problem with Korean cars, they just dont age gracefully like the lexus does. Actually to be honest, the Pre fitted1,2 and 3UZ fitted lexus's age better then the non UZ fitted ones.

Originally Posted by Stereorob

they not only don't age gracefully like lexus cosmetically, but they fall apart mechanically too! whens the last time you saw a 2003 optima or sonata on the road? they just don't hold up and the ones that have look absolutely god awful. I know they are hell bent on being a luxury car, but I just don't ever see it happening

Originally Posted by L8RSk8R

Bought this EQUUS, August 2014 ($57K out the door) Currently covered 122,500 miles.
I've had no service issues. Costing me $0.03/mile in maintenance, which included :
2 alignments
1 wheel bearing - hit a curb
13 oil changes
60K & 90K services
8 tires.
Car's still on original brake pads & rotors.
Everything works as it should.

I even bought a 2015 model also.

I do like the LS460, having owned 3 LS430's in the past.

Originally Posted by 7milesout

Very interesting thread. I guess because I would consider myself sort of an expert here. I say that never, except in this case.

I spent 5 years working as a Design Engineer for Toyota. I worked in Ann Arbor, MI. I even spent some time working on the 480N, which is the RX 330. I think it was called RX 330. We went by the prototype codes. It was the first Lexus built in North America. Built at TMMC, Canada.

I loved working for Toyota. I loved their products. From the entry level Echo (at that time) to the flagship Lexus LS. I bought a couple vehicles while there. A 2000 Toyota 4Runner. It was the best vehicle I think I've ever owned. 5 speed, 3.4 Liter I think it was. Great vehicle. I sold it with like 98k miles. I never touched the brakes or tires. Yes, it was on the original Michelins. They wore even, stayed balanced, the front end stay in good alignement. Yes, the tires were in need of replacement, but my argument was that I would rather the new owner choose the tires they wanted, instead of me. Sold it for $14k, in 2006. I paid a skosh under $20k. It was on a 1 year lease from a coworker, that got turned back in and I tagged it. Loved it. I cried when we sold it. We had our 3rd son, and 2 in car seats, one in a booster, and it just wasn't working out. Bought a Honda Odyssey ever since. It's a good tool, but I miss the 4Runner.

I also bought a 2004 Corolla, I still have it, and it has 180k miles and running like a champ. 5 speed, the wife is currently using it and PILING on the miles. It is a great car, and I don't mind leaving the LS in the garage and driving the Corolla. Wind noise like hell though.

The wife was not happy in Michigan (I was), so I took job with the Hyundai Tech Center across town because they were going to relocate me down to Montgomery Alabama to work as their design engineer interface there. Without going into any detail on that experience let me say this:

I have purchased zero Hyundai products. I just purchased my LS. I have no plan to purchase any Hyundai products. Hyundai owns Kia. Hyundai purchased Kia in 1999. Chairman Chung subsequently assigned his son to head Kia. Did I mention I have never purchased a Hyundai vehicle? I was also provided a company car, which was either a Hyundai or a Kia.

Based on my experience working at the plant, driving the company vehicles, sort of training with the Hyundai engineers, including in their huge and highly advanced technical center, in Namyang, South Korea ... I elected NOT to purchase any Hyundai vehicles. I don't know if I've mentioned that or not.

I have a patent with Toyota, I have a patent with Hyundai. And I have a patent with my current employer (not automotive). Many of the things being mentioned on here about Hyundai are wrong, but I'm going to let it go ... at least for now.

I left Toyota with 9 years engineering experience. After 7 years of experience with Hyundai, I left there with a total of 2 years of engineering experience. I went back to entry-level.

I have been working very hard the past 3 years at my current job, and have also been undergoing shock therapy to put the 7 years of Hyundai out of my mind. I just admitted to my closest friend (who escaped Hyundai after only 4 years) that I believe I have learned how to work hard and think like an engineer again. I cannot forget those traumatic 7 years of my life, but I can say it no longer negatively affects my daily work attitude. Thanks to the shock therapy and whiskey.

I'll say I LOVED working with Toyota, and the Japanese. They ARE #1 not because they are great engineers (which they are great / outstanding engineers), but my opinion is because they are ABSOLUTELY TOP NOTCH BUSINESS engineers. Their business is to sell cars. So they are 100% committed to making a product that a customer will be proud of, and will want another. They are 100% committed to not waste time, energy or money on ANYTHING else. I'll leave it at that, because from the day I turned in my notice, my heart has been broken. I did it to make the wife happy. I won't make that mistake again.


7milesout

Originally Posted by roadfrog

If you go to the MB and BMW forums, they're saying the same thing about Lexus.



And yet....here you are... "REPLYING". LOL