Comments on luxury cars

Recently, I'd visited a few luxury car dealers to find a decent 4-seater convertibles. I started with those secondary brands such as Volvo, Saab first, then moving up. Here are some impressions I got from some of the top brands (copied many comments from others):

1) Lexus. Lexus if for those who what to get from point A to B in comfort, luxury, reliability, and pay less. However, it is far from sporty yet. Probably getting sporty is not its goal as it is taking market share from Mercedes rather than from BMW or Audi. Chinese here loves Lexus mostly for its comfort and reliability. But I would like to say they enjoy more on "look at me" rather than "what a great ride".

2) MB. Mercedes is the original luxury brand. It emphasizes on safety, driving dynamics and luxury. Its history makes it a very respectable car. However, recent quality problems and the strong compitition from Lexus result in MB less appealing.

3) BMW. Unlike Lexus, BMW is for those who what to drive from point A-B in an F1 car. It invests heavilty in driving dynamics etc. Few can compare to it in terms of drivng like a race car. However, it is bumpy for most Chinese drivers.

4) Audi. Audi is first car that design is over everything. Style is its first consideration. Its for those who want to live a life with a beautiful object. From a mature or artisitc point of view audis are the most beautiful. As well their emphasis on their quattro driving system can be seen an equal or better alternative to BMW and Merc rear wheel drive systems. It is therefore the most balanced luxury brand: something between Lexus and BMW, yet not comprimize anything.

5) Infinity is new to the game and they haven’t really establitished alot to their name. you could categorize them as an aggressive lexus. It may be a challenger to Audi if it can establish its own style.

6) Cadillac is desperately trying to match up the rest.