In some ways, today's cars ARE better than in the past. But there are a number of exceptions. One of them, IMO, is the quality of many of today's interiors, which, in a number of cases, is far lower than say, those of 10-15 years ago (the Camry and Tundra are probably the best examples of this). Another is thinner, less-durable sheet metal and glass. Another is the preoccupation with big wheels, stiffer suspensions, and low-profile tires on many cars that don't really need them. Another is ridiculously overcrowded and covered-up underhood compartments. Still another is the prevalence today of some really silly and ugly styling, with some outlandish grilles.

 

Just buy the Lexus LS for an excellent long term car and lease s 3-series to mix it up once in a while. Variety is the spice of life after all.

I would never buy a BMW - in my experience they have horrible customer service and after the 4 yr warranty is up a lot of expensive troubles start happening.

 

That's why so many of them, in the past, have gone out on 2-4 year leases instead.

 

ES350: "How to pay too much for a gussied-up Camry" agree (this will never go away IMO talking about ES)
GS: "Struggling to set itself apart" agree
HS250h: "How to pay too much for a gussied-up Prius" agree (maybe tad harsh)
IS/ISC/ISF: "Close to a 3 series but still no cigar" agree
LF-A: "Ferrari money for a Lexus? We'll see" agree
LS: "Still nice, no longer nicest" agree


C: "More people friendly than 3 series" agree (compares to BMW, big deal)
CL: "Grand touring, Benz style" agree (saying it's a Grand Benz)
E Coupe: "The blue-chip coupe" agree (whatever this means)
E Sedan: "Built to a standard, not a price" agree (definitely the benchmark)
S: "Benchmark sedan just raised the bar" agree (definitely the benchmark)
SL: "Benchmark sport-lux roadster" agree (definitely the benchmark)
SLK: "SL for beginners" agree (compares to MB)
SLS: "Mercedes reinvents gullwing" agree (just fact)


I don't have problem with these sum-ups... main attacks on Lexus is design IMO, which is reasonable.

 

+1 agree

 

Mostly agree, but even though the LS is the smoothest riding car I've had so far, I still think it has a little too much road feel even in the comfort mode, the ultimate luxury cruiser that should be made should have NO road feel at all, like it is hovering above the road

If I want road feel and sporty handling, I would just get a real sports car, one that is smaller and light weight, as a personal fun car.

 

I have the distinct pleasure of having access to an LS 460 because my father has one. Compared to my IS 350 driving the LS feels like you're on a cloud, it's nuts. So smooth.

The interior is definitely a LOT more plush and "executive" like than my IS. My dad had a Mercedes S500 before this (mid-90s).

My uncle has an S550 (and a lexus LX 470) and I had the distinct pleasure of being able to ride in it pretty often.

I think the interior in the LS gets the slight nod over the S.

The problem I have with the S is from certain angles the rear lights look just terrible.

But, from other angles they look just fine.

I REALLY prefer the older generation S 500 styling. New one is not for me although it's probably a moot point because I could not afford a car of that class if I wanted to.

 

true, the ls460 already has more road feel than the ls430. i guess it's a toss, i have a feeling lexus is trying to get a bit closer to euros without losing their roots

 

who reads MT anyway?

nevertheless, I also agree with their summary one-liners about lexus.

let's stop being fanboys for a second, and see the truth for a minute.

then you can go back to being fanboys.

 

That's because the LS went to larger wheels and lower-profile tires from the 430 to the 460. I have complained before, in numerous posts, about "luxury" cars trying to be more like sport sedans. Now, perhaps, you can see why. The ES350 has the same problem....they stiffened the tires and suspension up over the 330.

 

The thing YOU have to realize is every word in your post is false!

Car magazines income is derived from advertisers only. The writers are all underpaid but pursue this career because they love cars. Half the staff of Car & Driver was engineers before management started encouraging them to leave. I went thru the same thing in the car testdriving field & quit a job I loved for the access to cars not the low salary. Car & Driver usually sells almost twice as many mags as any other mag. Them & the other top mags got that way by coveying factual & subjective information to readers who are unable to test drive vehicles enough to make good buying decisions. If their words were influenced by anything other than the vehicles noone would value their opinion & buy their words

 

If that was the case, then they wouldn't be charging the public for subscriptions, although, granted, much of what they print (and their forums) can be found free, on-line.



I agree that C&D is the best of the regular monthly "enthusiast" car mags, especially since Brock Yates left. Some have complained that they are too enamored with BMW and Honda products. I partially but don't totally agree.

Autoweek, IMO, is another good publication....and they come out by the week, not just once a month. I've thought highly of them, and they have published a number of my auto comments.

 

Mike I'm getting Autoweek now for free. I used to subscribe about 18-14 years ago I believe. Not impressed. The thing is Autoweek was great BEFORE the internet was big. It came weekly (not bi-weekly) and you got a lot of first news.

Today its just re-reading whats in Car Chat . I do like the fact its bigger and its all color now.

 

with the vast and up to date (and often wrong ) info on the web, car magazines are basically 'dead men walking' except for those who enjoy nice printed color photos and some good road trip stories and reviews and can't be bothered to look online.

car magazines have also been slaughtered because of VIDEO - both tv/cable shows, and youtube, etc.

 

My C&D and R&T still hasn't hit my mailbox yet.....