LIGHTYEAR

Hi Guys,

I know that this is the LEXUS (LS) forum, but do any of you drive an American car.

Most of the comparisons made on this forum are with MB and BMW. How about your domestic cars, treat me as a bit naive if you will, but which cars from the US are in the same category (I mean no insult by this, I am just curious) ?

In the UK I guess Jaguar and Aston Martin (massively expensive) would compare - but they are owned by Ford anyway !!!

healerhand

American cars that are similar in the class of Lexus would be:

1. Cadilac from GM
2. Lincoln own by Ford.

that is about it. American cars are build to do WORK not play!!

retrodrive

I dunno man, Ameriucan cars break down way too much. I have never seen a domestic car as reliable as a Toyota or Honda. The good thing is that you get pretty good bang for the buck with domestics, but not the reliability.

The Ikon

We use the Mustang as a work car for my wife. She got it new from her parents for her college graduation gift in 95'... That car has been as or more reiable than the Lexus. However not as refined... The Mustang has been great I must admit.(plus it's paid for at no expense to us!!!) I'll never buy one for myself, maybe my son one day... As a starter car.

We just sold a 98' C5 Corvette we had about 6 months. Great car but the interior is tooooooo plasticiky.. And YES it rattled a lil. The car was well made otherwise.

It was also a BRUTE and KICKED A$$ every day...

Richie

My dad drives a Pontiac. I don't like it, quality sucks.

hlippy4

I drive a 96LS400 and my wife drives a 96 Lincoln Continental.
Nothing mechanically is as solid and smooth as the Lexus. It drives like a $50k car.
The Lincoln -- now with 44k miles is also gorgeous -- but have had minor (but very expensive -- even though under warranty) repetative problems with (front end replaced twice -- heating fan replaced 3 times!!!!).
I love the inside of the Lincoln -- every bit as nice as Lexus and Leather holing up much better.
At 90-120MPH -- can really tell the difference -- Lexus solid as a rock -- perfect stability. Lincoln feels lighter and much less stable.
Lexus acceleration -- smooth as silk -- Lincoln not bad but a bit herky jerky.
Longevity -- Lexus hands down -- no question in my mind the Lincoln will be in the graveyard while the Lexus keeps going like the energizer bunny!!!!!!!!!
One last thing -- Lincoln has much better convenience -- I can't believe Lexus was so damn cheap so as No Compass -- No Traction (I know it was an optionbut why for 50k???) -- No garage door opener -- all things Lincoln has. Also -- Lincoln JBL superior to Lexus "Premium".
Overall -- Lexus is a 9 -- Lincoln is a 7.5.

Stephen

Well, the reasoning for the lack of compass etc in the Lexus is a difference in the way foreign and domestic luxury cars are made. Foreign makers put more emphasis on quality and performance than gizzmos. Just now are they starting to incorporate some of those things into their cars. I do miss the compass though.

I have a 97 Explorer Limited, its been a great truck despite some small but expensive problems. I also used to drive American luxury cars, but now I'll never go back. True in 95-97 the Continental had a great interior, but look at a 98-2001, its far cheaper.

healerhand

I am a die hard fan of american muscle cars. It is true that american is not as reliable as the imports, but the americans are doing better. When you compare a car. The first thing you must compare is the PRICE. You always need to compare at the similar price range.

After Price, peformance, quality, reliability, maintaince and so on. I like american cars is because it is the Best Bang for the Buck. You can spend about $27K and you have a car can go 0-60 in about 5.4 seconds. It also come with 4 wheels independent suspension too. It cheap to repair and less complex than those high tech ones. It is also cheap to modify. high performance Parts are everywhere.

Secondly i treat my american car (SVT Cobra) as a toy and its a week speedster.

I like american muscle because of the V8 sound. LS 400 is quite and smooth. American V8 (especially with exhuast modification) you can hear my car from a block away. Its loud, its rude, its aggressive, it kick a**. American car can easily modify from stock 250 bhp to over 1500 bhp.

Although i love american muscles, but there are times for quite, smooth cruises. My LS is do that. Once again, i love my LS.

LSPiNoY

iTrader: (1)

i'm a proud owner of a LS 400, but i drive my dad's 1970 Dodge Charger sometimes. maaaad torque

wwest

Cadillac is FWD... a FWD luxury car ????

Lincohn Continental... FWD!

FWD cars exist for one reason, and one reason only, cheaper to manufacture!

My very first car was a Ford, and my LAST American made car was a Ford. In 92 I bought my first Lexus, an LS, I'll never go back.

But I do own a 93 Ranger PU and a 94 Ford Aerostar.

Walked into Prestige Ford yesterday and they had a new Thunderbird on the floor, MSRP 38K, dealer markup 19K, car was marked SOLD. I pointed out to them that if the car was sold i would take the dealer markup price off as all it would do now is needlessly create customer bad will.

They completely didn't get it, saying "at least we're nice about it!"

Hell of an attitude for a dealer....

damnboy

We have a '00 Dodge neon and my wife love it because it's cheap and you don't need to worry about getting stolen or has scrashes on it. Of course it's no comparrison to Lexus.

meanboy

American hp is cheap. The Lincoln LS is a perfect example. Fun to drive but not quite a Lexus or BMW. But how much cheaper is it? Thousands..

Healerhand, what does your cobra dyno at? It's got an intercooler so it's a procharger? What kind of clutch, etc. does it have. And it's a ragtop?

A friend dyno'd his and with minimal mods he was about to get 430rwhp. I can't remember his torque numbers though. He thinks he could get more but his tires or clutch started to slip. Needless to say, he didn't have invest the purchase price of camry to get those kind of #'s.

It's a give and take world.

healerhand

Meanboy,

with a bolt on supercharger it was dyno at 445 rwhp. That was with 12 pound of intercooled (that mean about 10 lbs actually entering the intake)

Now, my engine is lower compression with forged dish JE pistons, Forged Rods, Steel Crank. Ported heads with re-seal valves (3 angles). Since my engine was out, i also got a hi flow headers. Its boosting about 18 intercooled pounds (about 16 psi entering the intake). Since the boost had increased, i also change the injectors from 24 lbs (stock) to 30 lbs (with 12 psi) and now the injectors will 42 lbs.

I estimated about 500 rwhp. and with daily driving drag radial nitto 555 R, it should do low 12s or high 11s. With slicks, it should able to mid to low 11 seconds easily.

All these power cost less than a BMW 3 series.

Once again, my cobra is a toy. matter of fact, its a weekend toy. If you are dealing with high performance machines, break downs are common. I have friends with supras (modified) break down all the time.


Since i got my LS 400. I love driving. I drive it more than our 2001 MDX. LS 400 is a silent rocket

meanboy

Sounds like a pretty cool car. Weekends only? Sounds like it could be a daily driver. Have you upgraded the clutch? Sounds like you probably had to.

Have you modded the suspension or is it stock? Do the latest Cobras need subframe connectors like the old Fox body ones?

meanboy

Taurus=not a luxo car
Grand Am=not a luxo car
Taurus SHO=not a luxo car

You might as will included the grand prix and bonneville.