Well this thread is about to be closed.... that said... I remember the day when Ford had 4 or 5 of the top 10 selling cars and they were crap. So let's be straight here, sales numbers do not make a car better.

If you have sat in an LS460 you know that it is one beautiful machine. Couple this with the pent up demand and you have some nice sales numbers. This however does not make it a better car than the S or 7. Each of these three cars excels in certain areas and a prospective buyer should weigh these strengths (and weaknesses) before deciding on where to spend their $70-$90K.

Now who here is actually purchasing/leasing one of these?

 

Didn't I just post someone would say that

It is a shame when hate blinds facts. So here are the facts in the USA. Clearly the 7 and S outsell the LS worldwide.
I put in red who the sales leader was for the year.

BMW 7
2000-
2001-
2002-22,006
2003-20,473
2004-16,155
2005-18,165
2006-17,796
Lexus LS
2000-
2001-
2002-
2003-23,895
2004-32,272
2005-26,043
2006-19,546
Mercedes Benz S class
2000-
2001-
2002-
2003-22,940
2004-20,460
2005-16,036
2006-30,886


I have having trouble finding the earlier years.

 

One data point to consider. The LS was outselling the other cars when it was $20k less expensive. Now at current pricing levels, we shall see how things pan out this year. This year will be a true test for the LS at its new price point.

 

Not really an apples to apples comparison.
Mercedes are available in more countries worldwide & have a much wider distribution network in many countries.
In some countries where Lexus is available, they may have one or two dealerships in only the largest cities whereas Mercedes have penetration into small towns & large cities alike everywhere. Lexus did not have nearly as long a history to be as widely distributed for penetrating the market in most places, plus Lexus concentrated the vast majority of their marketing effort in the US to begin with.
They also sell V6 & diesel models S class rest of the world, & many sold as taxi's in Europe. Even in USA, there are a lot more Mercedes dealerships than Lexus, Lexus dealerships may not be as geographically convenient in some areas.

I really think this thread has run it's course.

 

Yes, I stated that on the last page. People will have that to leverage "oh it was cheaper", which it was.

What I am saying is, the LS has been best seller in class, I just proved it but people will continue to take shots at the car.

Which is fine by me. I just wanted to post the actual figures (which took me 30 min to do)

 

Think about it. If you can afford to drop $70,000 for a car, you can drop $85,000. I don't think the price difference at this level makes that much of a difference. People will pick the one they want. There's not going to be a big enough difference in the monthly payment to "settle" for your second choice.

 

S550 base @ $86.5K
460 base @ $61K ... $25.5K less than S550
460L base @ $71K... $15.5K less than S550

So on average the 460 is still about $20K or 25% less than the S550

I am not sure what are you guys argueing with Chiawei about? JSLC4 claimed that the LS consistenly out sell the 7, S. Chiawei said not so, and he proved his point by posting the 2006 figures that the LS did not out sell the S . 1Sicklex also posted the figures and it showed that the S outsold the LS in 2006. So... what are you guys argueing about?

something to think about.. 2 cars A & B introduce in the same year. First year, car A outsells the car B. Second year car B outsells car A. and it goes back and forth every year... which car is "better"? SELLING MORE IS NOT NECESSARILY MAKEs IT A "BETTER" CAR.

1Sicklex, you posted the sale figure for the 7 in 2002 but not for the LS nor the S. I am curious if you have the figures for the LS and S in 2002. Thanks.

 

I'm looking, been over an hour now. I can't find the others.

To me we really should appreciate all 3. I looked at the next closest, A8, Jag, Q45 and they are HALF the sales as the leaders and much worse, its not even close.

I mean, if I owned any of those 3, I would be VERY VERY happy

 

I still think the A8L is one of the classiest looking large luxury sedan on the market today followed closely by the LS.

 

You didn't read my following post. 2006 LS's dropped dramatically as soon as Lexus took the wraps off of the new LS. People simply wanted to wait for the new model. Look at the previous 4-5 years. LS was CONSISTANTLY #1.
What is not to understand?

BTW, I never and will never try to say one car is better than the other. I like both cars for different reasons. Where just currently analyzing sales figures for the fun of it.

 

As far as looks are concerned the A8L is the classiest looking large luxury sedan on the market with the new LS a close second.

 

We have quite a few threads/posts on CL adoring the A8s shape. I know, I started one.

 

I would have picked the A8L(or S8) over the LS460L as my next car if the A8L is a Lexus.

 

Oh... so you pick and chose..very nice

 

This pricing method is used by BMW too. They state with their new models that the base price has not gone up. This is true. The cost of options has and consequently, you will be hard pressed to find a base car on the lot.

The base price of the ES is quite low, however, they do not get the base model here in San Diego.

Does your dealer stock LS's at $61k?