as we know i'll defend the LS 400 to an obsessive, almost irrational level, but yea lol the interior of my car is an ocean of dull grayness... the exterior is more or less the same story though so everything matches up nicely haha

at this point though i'm such an irreversible fanboy i'll attempt to justify this by saying things like that's because they were trying to be "timeless" with the design, or they were "prioritizing the ergonomics" to the utmost level

 

I can tell you at the time as somebody who had a new LS400 in the family, it was incredibly nice and drew comments and praise from basically everybody who saw it. I remember having satellite radio installed in that old ES when it was new and the installer going on and on about how nice it was inside and how much you got for your money.

We are just accustomed to cars that are much better today than we were in the 90s and early 2000s.

 

Lexus didn't care that some models were "boring". Boring? My LS430, I don't think I've even put a thousand dollars into it other than maintenance. I've owned it for over 12 years. The door lock was kind of expensive. I'll take boring all day long, the way Lexus used to do it.

 

I think they're worse, not better, most cars anyway. Cars weren't all rolling garbage piles of CAFE regulations back then.

 

Cars are definitely better in terms of technology, safety, and performance. Engine refinement and design have take step backwards in my opinion.

 

Engine refinement has taken a step backwards? I can't agree with that, especially if you look at today's 4 cylinder engines.

 

They sound terrible.

 

Yep. Of course on paper they're better now.

People just don't get that we'd give up .5 seconds 0-60 for a proper sounding and feeling engine.

And God forbid we use one squirt of gas more than CAFE mandates.

 

4 cylinders from the 90s in the 2000s sounded worse imo and certainly had worse nvh in the vast majority of cases.

 

I wish there was a way to “like” this post

 

I would agree in regards to 4-cylinders, but I think the shift to turbo engines has made V6's and V8's sound worse than their naturally aspirated counterparts. But that's a small price to pay for the superior performance.

 

Um, you just did! Haha

But yeah, I'd like a button too.

 

4 cylinders are garbage, the "better" they're supposed to be the worse they are like that disaster C63S. I'm going to go drive the 4 cylinder SL43 when the dealer gets one just to laugh. I couldn't not give a good gosh darn how much faster it is. It's not even THAT much faster. I think they say 4.9 0-60? Mine might be 5.7-5.8.... but the satisfaction of the V8 in every respect (sound, feel, acceleration, big displacement torque) I wouldn't trade for anything. Goose my SL from a rest especially top down and it's exhilarating even if it's not insane fast like cars are now with 600hp, I think every member that's active in here would agree if they drove it. It's so nice to wind through long gears, the old way.

Hmm. I've never heard of this and am intrigued.

 

and don't forget much of that just comes down to the transmission, once you get moving the newer car will start to lose the gearing advantage

but yes once you get used to the effortless wafty V8 which has no trouble at ANY speed and rpm, the boosted 4 cyl feels labored and unrefined before the turbo wakes up... and once it does there's only like 1000 rpm of "the fun part" before the torque delivery becomes monotonous and dreary sounds fill the cabin lol



ahh that's more like it muscley V8 philharmonic

 

definitely can't agree here... epics like the original M3, 190E cosworth, S2000, mitsubishi EVO, WRX STI, and the AE86 corolla all have fabulous sounding 4 cylinders