ralteredstates

This is not true. Name a feature the RL has that can't be found in any other car? The RL is nothing special. I think Lexus has always done a teriffic job advertising. They grew to be the #1 luxury brand in the US and built prestige along the lines of Benz and BMW (saying both of which have more history is beyond an understatement) in almost no time flat after its inception in 1990. To say they do a poor job advertising and marketing is vastly incorrect. I love the LS, I think its one of the best vehicles on the road and one of the best vehicles to own over time, but this is just not true. The S class, 7 series, XJ, and A8 are all great vehicles. Each of them is unique, and each of them appeals to a different buyer. They do all offer very real competition to the LS, in fact just now with the long wheelbase can the LS really be considered in the same league as these vehicles.

that certainly would not be a fair comparison Nope, and neither do people who buy S classes I think more S class buyers do care about how fast they can corner. I'm not disagreeing with you just tired of the LS comparisons with cars that I think are not comparable. The Bentley or Rolls would be closer IMHO than the MB, not in price, but in driving aesthetics. Another car that is always poorly placed in comparisons is the RL. No car comes close to it in electronics (I mean NO car) and as an AWD car, it really is in a class by itself at $45,000 fully equipted. Acura has done a worse job than even Lexus in its advertising. The MB and the BMW are truly the only 2 that can be compared directly. The Lexus is in its own class.

The reason that chrome companies are in those states is probably because many other states do not allow chroming facilities. The produce highly toxic waste and are banned in a few states...namely CT for instance. California, for some reason, has a number of chroming companies. I don't think it is going out of style, just harder to get. Also, the OEM wheels are not chromed because the dealers don't want to deal with easily damaged and then hard to repair chrome finishes. JMO. :)

I honestly don't see that. Where is the LS being sold directly against BMW and MB other than in the magazine reviews? Lexus can't help that. A better comparison would be between the LS and the Bentley or the Rolls. Is it just inevitable that the comparisons are made because they are all flagship models? How would Lexus stop these comparisons? Do LS buyers care how many G's their cars can pull in a turn? I know I don't (but would love to know that for my Boxster). I also beg to differ in saying the LS isn't a drivers car. I enjoy very much driving it...in fact I enjoy it as much as any of my other cars or truck. Just in a different way. The truck feels like a beast. The Porsche feels like a panther and the LS feels like a silky carpet ride. I've had the "drivers car" (the BMW) and enjoyed it as much as the next person. That doesn't take anything away from my enjoyment of driving the LS. I'll take the LS for a 1000mile joy ride (and love it) before any other car that I have mentioned before. At the end of the ride, my butt will not say "ouch!!".

I have had the LS460 since the first week it came out. Love it. C&D compared it to a MB that, equipted the same is $24-25,000 more!! That means that a 10,000 KIA can be compared to a 35,000 Acura TL (had one and it was fun). Where is the logic in that? The Lexus is what it is, a superbly comfortable car and drives like silk. When I want to blast around corners I drive my Porsche Boxster which will out handle the MB any time. Again, another ridiculous comparison. I have a Ford F350 crewcab that has far more room inside and can carry 2 tons of stuff in the back. Bet MB can't do that! (Again...another ridiculous comparison). What I am getting at is the LS is not a direct comparison to the MB or the BMW. Before the LS I drove a 740i which I LOVED but was sick of bringing it to the stealer. At 55,000 miles, the tranny needed to be replaced (fortunately under certified warrantee) and I desided to unload the mechanics wet dream. I was sorry to see the BMW go since it WAS a drivers car and was the model before iDrive screwed up the inside and Bangle screwed up the outside. My biggest complaint is that Lexus is still treating their owners like children and not allowing access to the phone keyboard or most navigation functions when the car is moving. BMW allows you to mess with whatever all the way over the cliff. Anyone find the hack for the 07 LS yet?? Other than that, the LS is wonderful. I kept the $25,000 and will continue to restore my 4th(!!!) car...a 76 Datsun 280Z which is 95% restored. Much more fun than the new MB! As far a Jag is concerned...love the look...would only get a 1970's XK8. Now if someone wants to give me a new Bentley Continental....