You hit the nail on the head. I agree 100%.

 

for me and everyone i know that owns a lexus its seen as a status symbol and ive owned an LS since 96

 

Interestingly, many people buy based on country of maker. Americans still buy a lot of American vehicles. Aside from pickups and a few SUVs, WHY!?!? Probably a main reaon being support for American products (other reasons would have to be incentives, personal taste in styling, ect.
Comparing to Toyota/Lexus products as a whole, there's very few reasons to choose an American car or even a German car recently.

 

Much of what you say, genearch, is correct about the difference in the BMW, M-B, and Lexus " cultures " but when I review, evaluate, test-drive, recommend a vehicle to others, or, of course, put up my own money to buy it, I couldn't care less about such matters. I'm concerned about what I am actually GETTING for my money...and the money of others. Yes, M-B's and Volvos will protect you better than any other car on the planet, BMW's will satisfy you like no other as a driver, Jaguars will dazzle you with their looks and plushness, etc.....
But when you look at overall quality, refinement, materials, carefulness of assembly, paint jobs, etc..... value for you money....what you actually GET for those hard-earned auto dollars, in the $35,000 and up class, IMO Lexus is simply the BEST, period. I say that not just as a former Lexus owner, a Club Lexus member, or because I'm trying to impress anybody on this forum. In some 35 years of owning and evaluating vehicles, I have yet to see a manufacturer that builds and GIVES you a better-made vehicle than Lexus......though, for the money, some recent Subarus and the new Infiniti M-class come close, and in the low-price field, Hyundai and Kia have improved enormously in recent years.
So.....IMHO, the best automotive "Status Symbol " of all is knowing you spent your money wisely. And how about Club Lexus ITSELF as a status symbol... which you yourself represent as a moderator? We are one of the best........if not THE best.........auto chat forums on the Internet.

 

OK...I'll buy this list. The only change I would make is to add the "safe" category as well to M-B.
Volvo pioneered much of the equipment that helps you survive accidents. Mercedes pioneered much of the equipment that helps you AVOID them. For instance, the recent Volvo XC-90 SUV Anti-Roll Stability system was a outgrowth of the stability systems that M-B pionered in the early-mid 1990's. If the Ford Exporer had gotten this with the last-generation model it could have helped prevent some of the roll-overs that happened when the Wilderness AT tires came apart under intense heat and low pressure.

 

Gene makes a lot of good points that I mostly agree with. With Carl Benz getting the credit for making the first car, benz has the history. With BMW being such a big part of road racing, their niche for being great handling cars is obvious. As you say, Lexus is known for reliability. Why can't that be their identifier? There's a lot worse than being known for great quality, luxury vehicles that last as long as you want to own them...further increasing their value. I think if they marketed that more prominently, the image and identifying niche would be there. Maybe itnalready is...their market share seems to doing quite well.

I still maintain that none of these really does much to elevate someones status imo. When you pull up in a ferrari, my mouth will drop. Then I'll know you have real money. Maintenance on those things....only a very rich person can own one.

 

I agree the most with the 2 posts of Reggie, I really don't see either Lexus, MB nor BMW as real status symbols at all. To me only the RR's, Bentley's & the exotics truly qualifies as status symbols.
I also think it's silly to think one particular brand has more status than another regardless of the model. I think it's laughable to think driving an entry level C class or 3 series gives the owner more status than driving a more expensive model from Jaguar, Lexus or other luxury brands.

 

exactly. Lexus is at the same level as BMW or MB, but less that RR. Caddy and Jag are there for heritage, it will always be cool to say you have an caddy or jag.

 

"Lexus people" do not generally buy for status. We've had the "lexus type" discussed in a very good thread before and the person that buy's a lexus that is a true blue Lexus owner buy's it for everything aside of status.

Wanna be's, fakes, baller's that think Lexus is cool, and the otherwise will come and go quickly. Only a true Lexus owner will truely own the Lex.

 

It's funny that so many Americans buy big trucks and SUV's costing $30-40k but they're not at all considered "status symbols". You can easily drop $40,000 for a full size American pickup and no one's going to be impressed. You pull up in a $34,000 Lexus ES330, and it's like, " Wow, you drive a Lexus?"

 

now i dont know about that statement,i was driving a lexus b4 the majority of the owners thought about buying one and alot of guys that i know that own a lexus has had at least 2 different models if not 2 of the same models and none of us would have purchased these vehicles if in OUR minds if they werent associated with status. I remember back in 89 when lexus and infinity first came on the scene a friend of mine was trying to decide on a vehicle to purchase the choices were an s420,ls400 and a q45 i remember trying to convince him to get the ls400 but in the end he chose the s420 b/c the MB was what you had to say i got paper, look at me. so i originally bought a ls to say look at me and over the years i happen to realize how reliable these cars are today. my 2cents

 

Most people think the sc series are nissan 240's.. i dont think the SC series gets status like a GS or LS from my experences, most ppl have no idea what it is.

 

Well personally,I chose to purchase 2 Lexus vehicles for their great quality and classy looks.....though my GS is getting a bit dated. I do see them as being a step above Toyota even though they are rebadged vehicles. They are built to a higher standard and that in my book makes them a status symbol.

 

I had three Mercedes cars over about a 20 year period ending when I bought my first Lexus LS in early 1990. The Mercedes got way too much attention - even the last one which was a fairly "inexpensive" diesel. People seemed to go bonkers over all three Mercedes - especially the SL I had.

When I bought the first Lexus, I was really looking forward to the anonymity of driving a car no one would notice. That didn't last long.

So, I started using a Toyota license plate frame, told people that the LS was just a nice Toyota and that it was sold as a Toyota in Japan.

Still, my LS cars have gotten lots less attention than the Mercedes cars. That's the way I like it.

 

It doesn't matter, you're Lexus people. You're certainly smart enough to see the difference between yourself and friends V/S a thug rolling on duece duece in a 15 yr old LS slammed with spinners.

This needs no explanation.