Just When I Thought I Was Out.....

[branshew]

...They pull me back in.

I was considering selling my Mercedes C Class since I have not been driving it as much lately. I do like the car alot since it is much more fun and sporty to drive than my ES, but the seats aren't as comfortable on longer drives and I have been doing alot of traveling. I just bought the wife a Pathfinder, so by selling it I could eliminate a monthly payment (another motivating factor).

Anyway, I was sitting at my desk when I got a call from a business associate (customer) that works at the dealership that I bought the Benz from. He invited me to a private Mercedes "Driving Party" at a local race track. Apparently they are taking one of each of the new Mercedes models to a street course and letting us loose on the track.

I couldn't say no to an opportunity like this. All I can say is that I hope there is a CLK 55 AMG out there (oh please! oh please! oh please!).

I know that after I sit behind the wheel of some of these cars I will definitely have second thoughts about selling the Benz, but I should probably do it anyway. I wish Lexus had somehting geared a little more towards performance. Maybe I should look at an IS300.

[steviej]

Pontiac did this with me when they were unleashing the GTO. It was kinda fun but very very sales driven. I told them I was just there for the fun and the free stuff.

I love fun days like that.....when you get to beat on someone's elses car and then leave.

steviej

[SKperformance]

Lexus had the taste of lexus or something like that last year across the country .Wherer you got to try Lexus on a track .

You want to compete with a CLK 55 get a gs 400 and do $10000-15000 worth of basic mods and it is a whole new animal for half the price

[branshew]

You want to compete with a CLK 55 get a gs 400 and do $10000-15000 worth of basic mods and it is a whole new animal for half the price

Yeah. And it's probably alot more reliable too.

[SKperformance]

definatly

[93LSOwner]

What about the SCs guys?

[SKperformance]

I think the SC is ugly just but not as ugly as the new ES.

I prefer the older SC it has beautiful long graceful lines.If they had extended the chassis about 1 foot it would have given it a nice look but it is too stumpy looking for my taste.

[SW03ES]

Gee thanks Sharad lol

[philbe1]

The New SC is the car in Terminator 3 right? I LOVE THAT CAR I see a few of em around and they are way cool, much better then the older SC's but this is a pointless debate cuz its all about personal taste. They need to redo the ES300 like they are the gs 300. The new ES (no offense guys) is kinda grandpa'ish there I said it...... :whistles: lol

[93LSOwner]

The New SC is the car in Terminator 3 right?

Sure is.

I know that after I sit behind the wheel of some of these cars I will definitely have second thoughts about selling the Benz.

Actually, won't you be more likely to sell it; so, you can get the one's that you sit behind, in the event.

If I sat behind a 2004 LS430, I would want to sell my Gen.1 and get the 2004 one instead of keeping it.

____________________________________________________________________

Like, philbe1 said, this is an opinion; but when I first saw the SC I realy realy realy wanted it. Out of all the cars [not including the SUVs] that Lexus offers as of now, I would get the SC for sure. If $ was a concern then I would have to flip a coin between the GS & SC.

____________________________________________________________________

Exterior: The styling of the new ES; I think that it has lost a little of its sporty ness look. Performance and handling wise= can’t say [never drove it]. From the back, it looks like an Avalon, meaning boxy looking; but the taillights bring back the sporty ness.

The front, well, all the cars of 2004, have the head lights pulled back [as if someone is pulling back & up their eyes]. Over all, it has a more of a boxy look now.

The interior: My rating 1 being the worst and 10 being the best. ES=15.

Sorry Steve, but I think that all of the modifications that Lexus have done to all of its 2004 or 03 models get a A++++ from me. But the ES, well…..just needs to be redesigned a bit to give its old sporty ness look.

[steviej]

I think the SC is ugly just but not as ugly as the new ES.

Shard, you are intelligent when it comes to automotive technology,. but you need to take a class in sensitivity and tact. <_<

opinion, sure, but some things are better left unsaid or said in a softer tone. :chairshot:

SW03ES, our cars are distinctive, sleek, alluring, and very very luxorious! :D

steviej

[SW03ES]

I've heard the new ES accused of being too rounded, but you are the first person I've ever heard say it was boxy LOL. There's not a angle anywhere on the new ES.

The reason a lot of you feel the new ES is more "grandpa-ish" is because it is. With the IS300 on the market now Lexus has said several times they are not interested in adding any sportyness to the ES, its purely to be a "Baby LS".

Steve, I personally think our ES is one of the best looking sedans on the road ;) I never really cared for the ES until the 02 year.

I think Lexus is making LONG strides in the styling department. The LS refresh is a huge improvement on the previous LS430, the new GS looks great, the new ES, the SC. The fact that you hear people say they DON'T like it speaks volumes that the actually care enough to have an opinion. The previous versions of all of these cars are each beautiful, but there's nothing special about them. My dad and I were just having a conversation about this at our weekly dinner the other night, how much more reaction he gets about his 04 LS430 vs his 98.

[93LSOwner]

Roundish? Yeah of course

Boxy? Observe the car from the back, not from the sides. The new redesigned version came out in 2002. Now, obliviously it’s not going to look like a box with sharp edges, like an old caprice. But if you look at the older ESs, they don’t give you a sense of boxy ness.

The fact that you hear people say they DON'T like it speaks volumes that the actually care enough to have an opinion.

Care enough to have an opinion? How does carelessness correlate with opinion? Opinion is like Energy; can’t create it nor destroy it. Either you have Kinetic (energy of motion) or Potential (stored energy). Or more like an attitude either positive or negative.

With the IS300 on the market now Lexus has said several times they are not interested in adding any sportyness to the ES, its purely to be a "Baby LS".

I believe that each car should be unique in its own way. I would not want to have a car that is built as a replica of a more luxurious, larger, etc….car. I want and want my things to be a leader not a follower.

After the introduction of IS, I that saw that there was not enough luxury in it. So, my prognosis was that ES would serve as the middle man and be both. Luxury as well as Sporty; well if Lexus feels that they have covered the sporty ness with the IS and obviously luxury with the LS and gave the “middle man” title to the GS; makes me wonder; why is ES still on the assembly line.

[SW03ES]

Lexus disagrees with you, as do the sales figures. The new ES sells on the whole about 7500 units a year more than the previous ES. People want that big luxury feel in a vehicle that doesn't cost $70,000. The new ES drives almost exactly like an LS, and I love that. It feels like a much more expensive car than it is, the previous ES wasn't like that.

I still dont see any square or boxyness in the rear, but to each their own ;)

makes me wonder; why is ES still on the assembly line

Its their second bestselling model, and their bestselling car. The GS starts at over $40,000. People who buy $35,000 ES' don't cross shop $65,000 LS'. Well some do (I know some people who traded down from LS' to new ES'), but not most. They considered dropping the GS300 but decided to move it upmarket instead. Companies don't just can their second bestselling model.

Care enough to have an opinion? How does carelessness correlate with opinion? Opinion is like Energy; can’t create it nor destroy it. Either you have Kinetic (energy of motion) or Potential (stored energy). Or more like an attitude either positive or negative.

Carelessness is worse than a negative opinion. When you make people care, like it or dislike it, you know you've gotten to a point where you've made it into the forefront of people's minds. Lexus has done that starting around 2001. Sales are up 21% this year so they must be doing something right. Before 2001 people who didn't drive Lexus really had no opinion on it either way, the cars weren't important enough to make them have an opinion from their BMW or Benz. Now we have people who hate them, that means there are people that love them on the flip side.

[93LSOwner]

Its their second bestselling model, and their bestselling car.

Cool beans then!