My Luxury Sedan Survey
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Lexus Test Driver
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My Luxury Sedan Survey
Dear fellow Clublexus members,
I would appreciate your help in simply completing the following 7 question survey for my university assignment:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?s...SBbgQ56w_3d_3d
I would appreciate your help in simply completing the following 7 question survey for my university assignment:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?s...SBbgQ56w_3d_3d
Okay, I did the survey but my answers are not that accurate since you left out a lot of choices. One example is looks. There are a lot of people that take exterior looks into account. I wouldn't buy a lot of great cars simply because I don't like the looks of it.
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Lexus Fanatic
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From: Vancouver, BC
Lexus Fanatic
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From: Virginia/D.C. suburbs
OK......Done.
A big factor in luxury cars, however, is ride comfort....that issue was not factored into any of your questions/choices. Many so-called "luxury" vehicles today (in fact, most of them), judging by the suspension/seat/tire stiffness, are not "luxury" vehicles at all, but sport sedans. Seats, in turn, have also gotten much stiffer and more firmly-padded. There are almost no mass-produced vehicles left today that, ride/seat-comfort-wise, I would call TRUE luxury cars....the Lexus LS460, Lincoln Town Car, Cadillac DTS, Buick Lucerne, and Mercedes S-Class (non-AMG) come closest; but even THEY are somewhat stiffer and more responsive than their forebearers. The days of true soft-riding luxury-cars, IMO, are gone.
A big factor in luxury cars, however, is ride comfort....that issue was not factored into any of your questions/choices. Many so-called "luxury" vehicles today (in fact, most of them), judging by the suspension/seat/tire stiffness, are not "luxury" vehicles at all, but sport sedans. Seats, in turn, have also gotten much stiffer and more firmly-padded. There are almost no mass-produced vehicles left today that, ride/seat-comfort-wise, I would call TRUE luxury cars....the Lexus LS460, Lincoln Town Car, Cadillac DTS, Buick Lucerne, and Mercedes S-Class (non-AMG) come closest; but even THEY are somewhat stiffer and more responsive than their forebearers. The days of true soft-riding luxury-cars, IMO, are gone.
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Done.
It's funny because my first car was a Buick Century (ten years old when I got it). I'm sure the suspension and shocks were shot, but my friends and I all called it a "couch on wheels" because the ride was so soft. I look back with fondness at that car even though it didn't last very long and essentially fell apart very quickly. It didn't qualify as a luxury car though. Perhaps wannabe luxury 
.
OK......Done.
A big factor in luxury cars, however, is ride comfort....that issue was not factored into any of your questions/choices. Many so-called "luxury" vehicles today (in fact, most of them), judging by the suspension/seat/tire stiffness, are not "luxury" vehicles at all, but sport sedans. Seats, in turn, have also gotten much stiffer and more firmly-padded. There are almost no mass-produced vehicles left today that, ride/seat-comfort-wise, I would call TRUE luxury cars....the Lexus LS460, Lincoln Town Car, Cadillac DTS, Buick Lucerne, and Mercedes S-Class (non-AMG) come closest; but even THEY are somewhat stiffer and more responsive than their forebearers. The days of true soft-riding luxury-cars, IMO, are gone.
A big factor in luxury cars, however, is ride comfort....that issue was not factored into any of your questions/choices. Many so-called "luxury" vehicles today (in fact, most of them), judging by the suspension/seat/tire stiffness, are not "luxury" vehicles at all, but sport sedans. Seats, in turn, have also gotten much stiffer and more firmly-padded. There are almost no mass-produced vehicles left today that, ride/seat-comfort-wise, I would call TRUE luxury cars....the Lexus LS460, Lincoln Town Car, Cadillac DTS, Buick Lucerne, and Mercedes S-Class (non-AMG) come closest; but even THEY are somewhat stiffer and more responsive than their forebearers. The days of true soft-riding luxury-cars, IMO, are gone.
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From: Vancouver, BC
While I would agree with you mmarshall, I'm going to argue anyhow ('cause I'm strange like that).
Who says 'luxury' has to be soft? Luxury is often defined as something completely inessential but condusive to personal pleasure. So perhaps cushyness gives you inessential pleasure but that seems like only a part of what can be concidered luxury.
Hunting & jumping w. horses is concidered a luxury sport, but I don't really see too much cushyness going on there. Or how about yachting? Sure the boat may have nice amenities but as for a plush soft experience there really isn't one; the decks and outdoor lounging serfaces are hard-er, the sea can put up a bit of a fight in your destination (even when the water is calm, it's not like walking on air or anything). Lastly, how about flying? Not commuter flights in economy class, but in first class or maybe even flying the plane your self. Sure it's better than many other ways to get from A to B but it is aslo very a inessential method and not the most soft experience.
Those are all concidered 'luxury' and I think sometimes luxury is in the inessentialness of the activity, not necessarilly in the air-like comfort of it.
Who says 'luxury' has to be soft? Luxury is often defined as something completely inessential but condusive to personal pleasure. So perhaps cushyness gives you inessential pleasure but that seems like only a part of what can be concidered luxury.
Hunting & jumping w. horses is concidered a luxury sport, but I don't really see too much cushyness going on there. Or how about yachting? Sure the boat may have nice amenities but as for a plush soft experience there really isn't one; the decks and outdoor lounging serfaces are hard-er, the sea can put up a bit of a fight in your destination (even when the water is calm, it's not like walking on air or anything). Lastly, how about flying? Not commuter flights in economy class, but in first class or maybe even flying the plane your self. Sure it's better than many other ways to get from A to B but it is aslo very a inessential method and not the most soft experience.
Those are all concidered 'luxury' and I think sometimes luxury is in the inessentialness of the activity, not necessarilly in the air-like comfort of it.
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 94,410
Likes: 249
From: Virginia/D.C. suburbs
While I would agree with you mmarshall, I'm going to argue anyhow ('cause I'm strange like that).
Who says 'luxury' has to be soft? Luxury is often defined as something completely inessential but condusive to personal pleasure. So perhaps cushyness gives you inessential pleasure but that seems like only a part of what can be concidered luxury.
Hunting & jumping w. horses is concidered a luxury sport, but I don't really see too much cushyness going on there. Or how about yachting? Sure the boat may have nice amenities but as for a plush soft experience there really isn't one; the decks and outdoor lounging serfaces are hard-er, the sea can put up a bit of a fight in your destination (even when the water is calm, it's not like walking on air or anything). Lastly, how about flying? Not commuter flights in economy class, but in first class or maybe even flying the plane your self. Sure it's better than many other ways to get from A to B but it is aslo very a inessential method and not the most soft experience.
Those are all concidered 'luxury' and I think sometimes luxury is in the inessentialness of the activity, not necessarilly in the air-like comfort of it.
Who says 'luxury' has to be soft? Luxury is often defined as something completely inessential but condusive to personal pleasure. So perhaps cushyness gives you inessential pleasure but that seems like only a part of what can be concidered luxury.
Hunting & jumping w. horses is concidered a luxury sport, but I don't really see too much cushyness going on there. Or how about yachting? Sure the boat may have nice amenities but as for a plush soft experience there really isn't one; the decks and outdoor lounging serfaces are hard-er, the sea can put up a bit of a fight in your destination (even when the water is calm, it's not like walking on air or anything). Lastly, how about flying? Not commuter flights in economy class, but in first class or maybe even flying the plane your self. Sure it's better than many other ways to get from A to B but it is aslo very a inessential method and not the most soft experience.
Those are all concidered 'luxury' and I think sometimes luxury is in the inessentialness of the activity, not necessarilly in the air-like comfort of it.
The traditional view of luxury on wheels, though, is the way I defined it....softness, plushness, and noise isolation. Those cars, over the years, have either all disappeared or have been converted to semi-sports sedans. That's partly because today's automakers are trying to have it both ways.....doing "luxury" interiors with "sport" underpinings, and dropping traditional luxury touches like wood/fake wood for aluminum and carbon-fiber.Of course, your view of "luxury" has merit, and I don't dispute it. However, it is not the traditional view....and many of today's car buyers who like traditional luxury are all but being ignored. That is going to hurt a lot of car manufacturers in the next few years when the enormous Baby-Boom generation (the largest generation in U.S. history) retires in force and is ready for new cars. Many of them are not going to want sport sedans, but plush-mobiles like the Caddys/Lincolns/Buicks their parents had back in the 60's and 70's. Cadillac, for example, is dong well right now by selling imitation BMWs, but that's not going to work in the long run....they will have to get back to their roots.