General Car Conversation
... I thought I was hot stuff because I'd already replaced two blown engines in my Mustang by myself.
Ticked off because I felt changing oil was beneath me, I then got schooled on my first Jaguar oil change.
I couldn't find the oil filter!
Engine design looked completely foreign, it was. Duh. Lol
Moral to the story, just because a man can DIY his own car doesn't mean he's automatically qualified to work on someone else's. Haha
I found the oil filter, eventually... lol
Ticked off because I felt changing oil was beneath me, I then got schooled on my first Jaguar oil change.
I couldn't find the oil filter!
Engine design looked completely foreign, it was. Duh. Lol
Moral to the story, just because a man can DIY his own car doesn't mean he's automatically qualified to work on someone else's. Haha
I found the oil filter, eventually... lol
Lexus Champion
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 17,021
Likes: 496
From: Knoxville, TN
I also got to drive every S-Class back when I had family in South Florida, from 320 to 600 V12, E38 740iL and 750iL V12, but I was 15 on a learner's permit driving these $100k cars (in mid-late 90s money), it was kind of insane. The licensed drivers let me put the cars through their paces, plenty.
The S Class and the 7 were significantly bigger than the LS, but the LS at the time was just a package that was right sized in and out and just an undeniable value for a car that in many ways was also the best car. Best riding, quietest, smoothest engine. In the end for my dad it was between the 740 and the LS, there was a CPO 97 740 if I remember correctly that he really seriously considered. We were so excited with the LS we used to trade off driving to and from places lol
Last edited by AJT123; Nov 28, 2023 at 08:54 PM.
Thread Starter
Lexus Fanatic
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From: Maryland
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 35,383
Likes: 357
From: ON/NY
Thread Starter
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 68,485
Likes: 3,996
From: Maryland
I can see why the LS is the winner for sure and agree, but I would take the Mercedes second. Even though it is slow, they aren't wrong when they say it moved faster than the numbers say. And that MB is built as solidly as that Lexus (reliability, no). I remember loading up in one, full car, and my dad just took off full throttle and I was shocked it was an S320. They should have brought in the S420 at least, for 8 grand more in this test so it would have had a V8. S420s were semi-quick once up to speed, S500s were fast at any speed. S600 I didn't get a chance to drive hard at all. Notice that the article says the overwhelming majority of W140s sold were S500s, the second most expensive one at $90,000+ which is $155k today. Remember back when people wanted big big engines? They bought them and had no problem paying for it. I think they still would if we still had those options. A big draw of a Denali/High Country is the 6.2.
A similar S Class to my dad's 98 LS400 would have cost $30,000 more, 50% more, that was just a non starter. Now, had the W220 been out at that time, it would have been much more competitive. Way more modern and pricing was a little easier to swallow, no 6 cyl etc. Thats exactly why they made the W220 cheaper, the W140 was just way too expensive.
Lexus Fanatic
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From: ON/NY
‘They should not have used that car as a comparison. A S320 does not make sense. Mercedes and BMW were vastly ahead of Lexus LS in 1998.
Last edited by Toys4RJill; Nov 29, 2023 at 08:52 AM.
Lexus Test Driver
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 6,224
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From: Long Island
unfortunately i think the W220 suffered as a result of them trying to "undo" their financial setbacks and excess of the W140... eventually the W220 got better and was the first platform to get the V8 Kompressor and V12 Biturbo engines as well as ABC suspension (so for that i appreciate it lol) but it was never quite the tank its predecessor was
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Thread Starter
Lexus Fanatic
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From: Maryland
That really wasn’t true at the time, the LS really was superior in many ways AND cheaper. Best riding, quietest car with the most refined powertrain. When you compared it to the S and the 7, there was really no reason to buy either of them other than the badge.
Lexus Champion
Joined: Jan 2012
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From: Knoxville, TN
A few of the other cars were also 70k, for 8k more they should have picked an S420 with the V8.
W140 and E38 drove great, W140 was old but I personally don’t care. They drove amazingly well. Yes Mercedes being way more expensive, that’s just how they were then. People paid the piper for them, they sold.
I never have had extended personal experience with any LS400, which is a shame. I have no doubt it was fully competitive.
W140 and E38 drove great, W140 was old but I personally don’t care. They drove amazingly well. Yes Mercedes being way more expensive, that’s just how they were then. People paid the piper for them, they sold.
I never have had extended personal experience with any LS400, which is a shame. I have no doubt it was fully competitive.
Lexus Fanatic
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From: ON/NY
https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews...mparison-test/
Look where Lexus ranks here…. The BMW is on another level with a V12. But…makes no sense to campare a V8 to a V12
‘’Just
Yes. They should have
Last edited by Toys4RJill; Nov 29, 2023 at 09:45 AM.
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They were comparing flagship sedans, and that’s what the LS was…and again the LS won so it’s hard to say it can’t be compared to cars that it beat in the comparison test.
In that Car & Driver test, remember after that test came out the LS destroyed the Germans in sales to the point where they had to make massive shifts in their product design and offerings.
In that Car & Driver test, remember after that test came out the LS destroyed the Germans in sales to the point where they had to make massive shifts in their product design and offerings.
Lexus Champion
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 17,021
Likes: 496
From: Knoxville, TN
However there was no SWB V8, just the 320 was offered in SWB and they were easy to spot bc they were the only W140s without wiper headlights.
Lexus Test Driver
Joined: Apr 2012
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From: Long Island
But keep in mind that the Lexus marketers never intended to position the car as a top-of-the-line luxury machine. Remembering that, and remembering that the Lexus folks definitely consider it a workable alternative to expensive luxury cars, the LS400 emerges as a fox in the henhouse.
"I can't believe that this car compares so well to the expensive cars," was a comment heard more than a few times during our testing days.
"I can't believe that this car compares so well to the expensive cars," was a comment heard more than a few times during our testing days.