the wood is stuck to a hollow tube, that's why it isn't flat. I remember seeing an image of it when the RL came out.

what you failed to notice is the wood trim on the dash is a large single piece, that "cheap" piece of wood actually costs a lot of money.

and the RL's door pulls being made from plastic has more to do with heat transfer.

 

bit surprising anyone would call the RL's interior cheap.

 

Yeah, imo RL's interior is among the class leaders (if not the class leader) in its segment. The RL interior is probably the last thing Acura did right in the last several years.

 

some may say its the first thing they did wrong...

 

Audi's recent marketing campaign and tactics are questionable. I do like their interior and exterior styling a lot.

I don't really get offended by their recent commercials and neither should other Lexus owners. At the end of the day, just click on the link provided, scroll down, and smile.

http://www.jdpower.com/autos/ratings...tings-by-brand

 

Well while Audi sales have gotten better slightly, Lexus hasn't been affected at all by Audi ads. The RX is dominating its class like never before.

Audi is in a dogfight with Infiniti and Lincoln with sales this year and as you can see is still third lowest in sales (though I predict they will beat both and continue to rise in sales)

YTD 2009
Lexus- 131,469
BMW- 129,176
Mercedes- 118,428
Acura- 69,369
Buick- 62,934
Cadillac- 61,685
Infiniti- 53,276
Lincoln- 53,256
Audi- 52,309[
Volvo- 42,013
Saab- 6,444

 

In regards to who got hit, for the first time I've seen the A4 is not just outselling the TL by a wide margin but the TSX as well. The A4 was usually in the lower end of sales but its trouncing the TL now.

 

Again, we are only talking about sales in the US. If you look at the real picture, worldwide sales, Audi is actually right up there with the big boys and better sales numbers than Lexus. Remember guys, there is a whole big world outside of our border

 

Yeah, I see the new A4 everywhere.

Which makes me wonder... Does Audi make some serious killer deals on the A4, ala BMW? Or does it have to do simply with the fact that the new TL and TSX are awful and overpriced?

 

And for years I've informed people of that . I am talking US sales here b/c THE COMMERCIALS WERE AIRED IN AMERICA.

So lets stick to the topic here. Audi released the ads targeting Lexus in many cases and they DID NOT work as Lexus sales were not hit at all and there is no influx of Lexus owners buying Audis here.

Worldwide if you have sales numbers of both Audi and Lexus, please do share so we can compare in another thread.

 

Going to the website, Audi has a $399 lease for the A4.....

Acura has $299 for the TSX and $359 for the V-6. The TL had a $399 deal earlier this year, I don't see anything on the site currently though. I have read that dealers are GIVING them away so deals are in abundance.

I think Audi has a more desirable vehicle here and the TSX and TL do not offer much value, luxury over the Accord and both are styling challenged to say the least.

Its quite a fall from grace for Acura as both cars used to WHOOP the A4 in sales, especially the TL.

 

Audi compare the Q5 with the RX and I would say its working pretty well. Audi is selling every Q5 they can make, in fact they are incresing product due to the demand. Meanwhile, the RX's inventory is starting to build up at my local Lexus dealer.
I know the above senario is not really a clear picture of the total success of each of the vehicles. The Audi Q5 is still in limited production and Lexus probably makes 10 times as mant RX as Audi does the Q5. Either way, RX is not really a direct competitor of the Q5. In fact the RX really have no competition. Beside the RX, I cannot think of one entry level luxury SUV that is a soft rider. Maybe the Lincoln SUVs, but those are not selling well at all.

 

Your Local Lexus dealer is not an accurate representation of the market.
Maybe you missed the sales thread and now you made me break it down further.

LOL the RX HYBRID outsells the Q5 by ITSELF.

If the RX wasn't a direct competitor to the Q5 according to AUDI, why would Audi ATTACK IT and TARGET it in ads? Please explain?

Your "soft rider" comment is nothing more than some "low blow" to the RX b/c it excels at what it does and somehow you think everything else is that much sportier. Mind you the RX has gotten better driving and offers a sport package. Seems BUYERS prefer what the RX offers. I continue to look for the part in the luxury market where "sportier" means superior.

The Audi ads while aggressive did NOTHING to hurt Lexus. It might have helped.



SUV Midsize
RX-9,317
Enclave- 4,151
X5/X6- 2639
MDX-2820
M-class- 2577
X5- 2,295
MKX- 2,132
RX 450h-1,754.
Q5-1,496 (not in this class added to compare)
SRX- 1,401
FX- 938
XC90-747
GX-716
Cayenne- 509 (sized but not priced like one)
X6- 344 45% loss from last month
Tourag-489

 

Mentioning "Lexus" in Audi ads just emphasizes who's in the leadership position, and Lexus doesn't even have to pay for the ads.

 

I think I have already acknowledged that the RX is the top seller.

Audi target the RX in its ad because of the above statement.

How is soft rider a low blow, being a soft rider is what make the RX different from the competition, it is one of the reason why it is the top seller. Anyone who think that calling the RX a soft rider is a low blow have a complex about their Lexus. It is what is it, the RX is a soft rider and thats just calling it what is it.