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Are luxury sedans a dying breed being replaced by SUVs? (new split thread)
There's another challenge for the LS - luxury sedans are basically a dying breed. Everyone wants an SUV. Merc already has the GL, BMW is working on X7 and Lexus is a dollar short and a day late as usual.
There's another challenge for the LS - luxury sedans are basically a dying breed. Everyone wants an SUV. Merc already has the GL, BMW is working on X7 and Lexus is a dollar short and a day late as usual.
Luxury sedans are not a dying breed. They may not be as popular as in the past but there are still a lot of people who want them and don't want some dumpy SUV for a daily driver. Wait until gas prices go back up, SUV's will fall out of favor really quick and people will start buying sedans again. I don't see anything in the SUV market that really compares to the prestige and desirability of a flagship luxury sedan either.
Luxury sedans are not a dying breed. They may not be as popular as in the past but there are still a lot of people who want them and don't want some dumpy SUV for a daily driver. Wait until gas prices go back up, SUV's will fall out of favor really quick and people will start buying sedans again. I don't see anything in the SUV market that really compares to the prestige and desirability of a flagship luxury sedan either.
gas prices are irrelevant to the flagship luxury car buyer so that argument won't work. you may find suv's 'dumpy' but many people of 'signifiant means' LOVE the commanding view, the space, and not having to suffer the indignity of bending down and unfolding lke a pretzel to get in and out or loading/unloading the packages from shopping. and most wealthier people with kids get suvs instead of sedans. i would MUCH rather have a loaded GL than an S class for example. i would MUCH rather have a cayenne than a panamera any day. and an lx over an ls.
And my LS doesn't get any better gas mileage than an SUV lol, I'm at about 17 MPG.
my 'brick' of a vehicle i had before... ”06 explorer with v8, got 17 average and about 20-21 on long highway trips. really not bad. my (very heavy) v6 jeep grand cherokee averages 21.
my 'brick' of a vehicle i had before... ”06 explorer with v8, got 17 average and about 20-21 on long highway trips. really not bad. my (very heavy) v6 jeep grand cherokee averages 21.
Yeah when we had the Jeep (ours was a 6 also) we got about 15 everyday, 20-21 on a trip (4x4, I know yours is RWD). Oddly enough, the Sedona is about the same.
There's another challenge for the LS - luxury sedans are basically a dying breed. Everyone wants an SUV. Merc already has the GL, BMW is working on X7 and Lexus is a dollar short and a day late as usual.
I agree that Lexus needs to do better with SUV's but it's not all bad. The RX has been and still is the number 1 luxury SUV in America. The NX is selling well at my store. Even the GX and LX, with all their flaws are selling more than in the past.
Luxury sedans are not a dying breed. They may not be as popular as in the past but there are still a lot of people who want them and don't want some dumpy SUV for a daily driver. Wait until gas prices go back up, SUV's will fall out of favor really quick and people will start buying sedans again. I don't see anything in the SUV market that really compares to the prestige and desirability of a flagship luxury sedan either.
They are very much a dying breed. Whatever sales exist are mostly from Limo companies, and premium ride sharing services such as Uber Black.
They are very much a dying breed. Whatever sales exist are mostly from Limo companies, and premium ride sharing services such as Uber Black.
I often agree with your views, but UDel has a point. The auto press has tried to give the impression that luxury sedans as we knew them are dying, but there is still more demand for them than many (even in the auto companies themselves) realize. And I'm not talking about the limo and executive-car business.....I mean with the general public.
Just this evening, for example, about an hour ago, my old flight instructor (who I've been friends with for decades) called me and asked me my recommendation for a smooth-riding Lexus SUV. His current boss owns an older LS430 that he has kept all of these years because he said the LS460, which replaced it, rides too stiff...the 430, to him, is distinctly more comfortable. (I myself don't really see the 460 as that stiff, and I know Steve won't, but he does). Anyhow, his boss plans to buy a new Lexus SUV (in addition to the old 430, which he will keep) because he also wants AWD and a high ground-clearance for winter. I recommended the RX, of course, rather than the GX or LX, as it is car-based and distinctly smoother-riding.....and his boss doesn't need the GX/LX off-roading ability.
The point, of course, is not the SUV, but the fact that here is a guy who keeps an almost 15-year-old LS430 sedan in the stable, rather than a newer one, because almost all of the newer replacements simply ride too stiff....and he doesn't trust the reliability of the smooth-riding Mercedes S550.
Furthermore, if we look hard at the stats, in 2014 SUV sales were 36.5%.
However, sedan sales aren't really 35.4%.
Sedan sales is actually 35.4% + hatchback sales of 5.5% + station wagon sales of 1.2% = a total of 42.1% sales, meaning that back in 2014, combined sales of sedans/hatchbacks/wagons still outsold SUV's.
I suspect SUV sales will rise to a point, while sedan/hatch/wagon sales will fall to a point, and then everything will level out and stabilize.
I don't believe people should be saying that sedan sales are dying, and in particular, we shouldn't say that sedan sales are dead...
Sedans are out of vogue right now but to say they are "dying" is a little premature. The sales are still there, and no they're not only to livery outlets. Trends change too, and what's in style now can and will be out of style in the future.
The point, of course, is not the SUV, but the fact that here is a guy who keeps an almost 15-year-old LS430 sedan in the stable, rather than a newer one, because almost all of the newer replacements simply ride too stiff....and he doesn't trust the reliability of the smooth-riding Mercedes S550.
03-12-17, 09:57 AM
Are luxury sedans a dying breed being replaced by SUVs? (new split thread)
and most wealthier people with kids get suvs instead of sedans. i would MUCH rather have a loaded GL than an S class for example. i would MUCH rather have a cayenne than a panamera any day. and an lx over an ls.
