Luxury car brands, ranked.

"not for canada - australian in disguise" (for-canada) 10/11/2016 at 16:02 • Filed to: None

2

35

1. Jaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaag

2. Mercedes, but only the S-Class

3. Lexus

4. Infiniti

5. Genesis

6. Buick

7. Acura

8. Lincoln

9. Audi

10. Cadillac

11. Maserati/Alfa

12. BMW

13. Mercedes (Outside of the S-Class)

14. Getting hit by a luxury car.

15. Chrysler

DrScientist > not for canada - australian in disguise 10/11/2016 at 16:07

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they dont have bentley or rolls royce above the 49th parallel?

not for canada - australian in disguise > DrScientist 10/11/2016 at 16:09

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I consider those, along with Maybach, to be a step above all the other luxury brands. Ultra-luxury brands, if you will.

Party-vi > not for canada - australian in disguise 10/11/2016 at 16:16

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Why do you have Lincoln, Buick, and Chrysler on this list?

not for canada - australian in disguise > Party-vi 10/11/2016 at 16:16

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because fuck you that’s why

FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com > not for canada - australian in disguise 10/11/2016 at 16:17

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But what is luxury tho?

PS9 > not for canada - australian in disguise 10/11/2016 at 16:20

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How actual american consumers rank Luxury Brands;

Merc

Merc

BMW

Not-BMW. The one with the rings.

There are other luxury brands...?

Party-vi > not for canada - australian in disguise 10/11/2016 at 16:23

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sonofabitch

not for canada - australian in disguise > FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com 10/11/2016 at 16:23

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real fart

DrScientist > not for canada - australian in disguise 10/11/2016 at 16:23

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im pretty sure maybach is just a trim level for mercedes now.

Decay buys too many beaters > not for canada - australian in disguise 10/11/2016 at 16:29

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Buick, Acura, Lincoln,

Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever > not for canada - australian in disguise 10/11/2016 at 16:46

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Feature-for-feature I’d rank BMW 7 series a lot higher than something like Maserati.

It isn’t an S-class killer, but still a fantastic car.

I’d rather drive a Maser than the Bimmer, but that’s only because of the noise it makes—the 7 would beat a QP on all objective merits.

yamahog > not for canada - australian in disguise 10/11/2016 at 16:59

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Reminds me of when people would argue over sorority rankings on anonymous boards and try to slip their not-so-popular fave into the expected top 5

not for canada - australian in disguise > Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever 10/11/2016 at 17:00

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I really don’t hate the 7er, it’s my favourite current BMW. But there’s so many good competitors that it kinda falls flat against them.

Vicente Esteve > not for canada - australian in disguise 10/11/2016 at 17:22

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Why is Audi so low.

not for canada - australian in disguise > Vicente Esteve 10/11/2016 at 17:24

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All Audis just look the same to me, I do quite like the S and RS models though, and the Allroad.

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > not for canada - australian in disguise 10/11/2016 at 17:25

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Tapas > not for canada - australian in disguise 10/11/2016 at 17:44

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I agree, but it would be higher on my list because of the A7/S7/RS 7 and the gorgeous browns they do in the A8/S8....

not for canada - australian in disguise > Tapas 10/11/2016 at 17:48

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I completely forgot about the A7. That alone would actually bump Audi up a few spots.

Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now) > not for canada - australian in disguise 10/11/2016 at 18:17

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If you remove numbers 3-8 maybe...

FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com > not for canada - australian in disguise 10/11/2016 at 18:28

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WRONG. IT IS PHILOSOPHY NOTES. Fucking Philosophy Notes, brah.

Land_Yacht_225 > not for canada - australian in disguise 10/11/2016 at 18:45

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Couldn’t agree more.

What do I win?

PS9 > Party-vi 10/11/2016 at 18:54

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This might have something to do with it.

Saracen > not for canada - australian in disguise 10/11/2016 at 19:38

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1. Jag

2. Audi

3. Cadillac

4. Mercedes

5. Alfa Romeo

6. BMW

7. Maserati.

8. A foot of crap

9. Everything else

Tapas > not for canada - australian in disguise 10/12/2016 at 02:20

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Ikr! Its the only thing design-wise that I love Audi for. I don’t even find the R8 that pretty.

Unfortunately, Merc & BMW are making their cars incrementally all alike as well....

Party-vi > PS9 10/12/2016 at 08:47

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But Buick is not a luxury marque. It’s a near-luxury marque at lower price points, which could explain the large market share.

PS9 > Party-vi 10/12/2016 at 11:02

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That’s not really good enough to explain Buick’s position in the market, given that all of these Marquees except Lincoln and Lexus have something available in the $30k-40k space. If it’s only price and nothing else, Lincoln and Acura should be higher on the list than they are, but Acura is behind Buick by 40k cars, and Lincoln is faaaaar in Buick’s rearview mirror (the whole top half of the market’s rear view mirror, actually)

Inversely, if it’s price and credible offerings that make a luxury car marquee ‘real’, then the market should see Lexus, Infiniti, Jaguar and Audi occupying the top positions behind BMW and Merc. But the reality leaves Jag at the bottom of the market and Infiniti does only a tiny bit better than Lincoln. Both would kill to have Buick’s volume. Buyers are cross-shopping Buick against these other Marquees. They have to be for Buick to grab 3rd place and be in a state of growth as they are. The market clearly cares not for who the ‘real’ and the ‘fake’ luxury car makers are.

Party-vi > PS9 10/12/2016 at 11:11

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What I’m getting at is the market position of Buick relative to marques like BMW and Audi does not matter. It is not a luxury marque. GM does not market Buick as a luxury marque, and it is not considered a luxury marque by other auto makers. It is near-luxury. Acura is behind Buick by 40k cars because you can step into an ILX competitor from Buick for $21k, where the ILX will cost you $28,000. Acura has the same problem against Chrysler.

Compare Buick to Chrysler, another near-luxury marque, and you’ll see that Buick isn’t doing as well as one would think considering Chrysler sold 50% units.

PS9 > Party-vi 10/12/2016 at 12:47

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GM does not market Buick as a luxury marque.

You are dead wrong about that. The word ‘Luxury’ is all over their marketing materials. Their website is titled Buick Luxury cars . Their YouTube channel is fill with commercials with labels like, ‘The 2017 Lacrosse full size luxury car’ along with other commercials targeting things luxury buyers care most about, like noise dampening, leather lined interiors and even handling and performance. You and I both can have a good chuckle about those last two claims, but how these products are being positioned by GM, however credible or not, cannot be in dispute.

and it is not considered a luxury marque by other auto makers.

What you think of your competition is nowhere near as important as what customers in the market think. Money talks. As I have said before; they are going to buy what they like and cross-shop what they want, auto forums (and corporate executives) be damned. You as an enthusiast may say that a FWD 4 cylinder with a chassis built out of compromise and safety, not passion and enthusiasm, could possibly result in a luxury car, and a brand full of such cars cannot call itself ‘Luxury’. But the reality is too many brands in this space are doing exactly that, and consumers aren’t going to sift out the ‘real’ from the ‘fake’ in lieu of buying products they find compelling. A ‘real’ luxury brand should not feel threatened by this. But if they weren’t, the CLA would not exist at all, and BMW would not be readying a whole family of FWD 4 cylinder competitors.

Acura is behind Buick by 40k cars because you can step into an ILX competitor from Buick for $21k, where the ILX will cost you $28,000.

So if that whole gap is all Veranos, why is there not a 40k car difference in volume between the Verano and the ILX ? These two products alone do not account for that brand-to-brand gap in volume, and neither would a brand-wide gap in price because that doesn’t exist; the TLX, RDX and MDX all MSRP within +/- a few grand of their competitors the Lacrosse, Envision and the Enclave.

Compare Buick to Chrysler, another near-luxury marque, and you’ll see that Buick isn’t doing as well as one would think considering Chrysler sold 50% units.

It does not help your argument at all to point out that another ‘fake’ luxury brand is approaching a ‘real’ luxury brand’s level of volume. Even with only a handful of offerings and all the baggage associated with the Chrysler brand, consumers  still cross-shop them against other Luxury marquees in the market.

Here’s the point; If it is true that there is a market bifurcation between ‘real’ luxury cars and ‘fake’ ones, then market volume should reflect that. ‘Real’ luxury (BMW, Mercedes, Lexus, Audi, Cadillac, Infiniti, Jaguar and perhaps Volvo) should be the top half, and ‘fake’ luxury (everyone else) should be the bottom half, with special consideration for low volume, high margin marquees who are playing a different game (Range Rover, Rolls, Lamborghini, Ferrari, Bentley, Bugatti, Spyker and Porsche). Why do we not see that?

Prices by themselves cannot fully account for the success of ‘fake’ luxury brands against ‘real’ ones since 1) All of these brands are high-volume 2) Luxury consumers have more money to spend and are less sensitive to higher priced products and 3) If you can buy a $40k Buick, you can get something else from every single volume brand in this market; buyers aren’t being forced to settle.

The ‘fake’ brands are being cross shopped against the ‘real’ ones. You would not do that. I, for the most part, would not do that. You may think people are dumb for doing that. But they are doing it. What is the point of drawing these arbitrary ‘real’ and ‘fake’ lines around luxury brands if actual consumers staying within them isn’t going to be the result?

Party-vi > PS9 10/12/2016 at 14:35

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This is too many words defending Buick as a luxury car. I concede my argument.

DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish! > not for canada - australian in disguise 10/14/2016 at 14:28

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>Lincoln above Cadillac

Nah

RT > not for canada - australian in disguise 10/15/2016 at 19:19

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Ok then my turn...

1. BMW

2. Lancia

3. Saab

4. Alfa Romeo

5. Jaaaaag

6. Volvo

7. Mercedes-Benz (especially their older models)

8. Maserati

9. Lexus

10. Audi

All brands after that are either mostly re-badges or don’t pique my interest on most models. My choices from 1-5 in particular are some of my all time favourites.

C62030 > not for canada - australian in disguise 10/16/2016 at 18:45

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If we’re doing all time and not just current models, I’d suggest a different #1...Citroen.

Amoore100 > not for canada - australian in disguise 11/02/2016 at 20:40

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Y u no Volv.

Volvo > Acura/Lincoln.

not for canada - australian in disguise > Amoore100 11/02/2016 at 20:42

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Actually legit forgot about Volvo while making the list and can’t be arsed to fix it. Would probably be between Buick and Acura for me.

RT > C62030 05/21/2017 at 17:32

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Citroën were never a luxury brand though. Sure, they made the Traction Avant, DS, CX, XM and C6 - but the rest of their cars have always been as far from luxury as you can get.