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Tag Archives: luxury cars
Driving the 2013 Lexus LS 460, F Sport and 600hL Flagship Sedans
Lexus after decades of understated luxury has turned to relying on a “bold new grilles” and German-like performance models across the lineup to attract younger buyers. The latest example comes from its flagship LS sedan, which once upon a time (1989) catapulted Lexus to luxury car fame by being anti-German with its compliant ride without harshness and nosie, anti-German with a simple interior, anti-German with its limited maintenance requirements, anti-German with its much higher quality and durability, and decidedly anti-German with its much lower – by thousands and thousands of dollars lower – sticker prices. This formula has Lexus on track to sell 250,000 luxury vehicles in the U.S. this year, where it has dominated luxury sales for decades, except for natural disaster induced production losses that curbed sales during 2011. Continue reading
Posted in auto news, marketing, new vehicle, news analysis, road test
Tagged 2013 lexus, auto informed, autoinformed.com, automotive news, driving impression, f-sport, Ken Zino, ls 460, ls60hL, luxury cars
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Lexus Debuts New LS Flagship Sedan Tonight in San Francisco
The original Lexus full-size sedan – the 1990 model LS 400 – caught the Germans by surprise with its combination of high quality, silky smooth ride, and a price that undercut competing Mercedes-Benz and BMW sedans by $10,000 or more.
Initially dismissed by the Europeans, the success of Lexus ultimately forced improvements in quality and a lowering of prices by Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz. The Japanese brand’s success has also prompted an expanding list of joint ventures with BMW. Continue reading
Posted in auto news, customer satisfaction, electric vehicles, marketing, new vehicle, news analysis
Tagged auto informed, autoinformed.com, automotive news, BMW, Ken Zino, lexus, ls 400, ls 460, luxury cars
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First Drive – 2013 Lexus ES 350 and ES 300h Hybrid Sedans
A day of test-driving both of the front-drive mid-size cars shows that once again, these are well-equipped, quiet luxury models. However, Lexus engineers have abandoned the plush ride that made its name, for a distinctly German chassis setup that verges on the harsh and intrusive. Lexus executives claim that this is what customers want, which could come as news to the one million ES owners. This theory will be tested after the cars are priced – and the strong Yen will be a factor here – and final EPA numbers are attached to their window stickers. Continue reading
Posted in alternative fuels, auto news, electric vehicles, marketing, new vehicle
Tagged auto informed, autoinformed.com, automotive news, Avalon, es 300h, hybrids, Ken Zino, lexus, luxury cars, mid-size cars
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Audi Lifer Johan de Nysschen Bolts to Infiniti
De Nysschen was with Audi for 19 years, serving in executive positions in South Africa, Japan and most recently as President of the Audi’s American operations. Continue reading
Posted in people
Tagged auto informed, autoinformed.com, automotive news, infiniti, johan de nysschen, Ken Zino, luxury cars, nissan
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Lincoln MKZ Concept Derived off Ford Fusion Debuts at NAIAS
Lincoln needs some sales successes and in the U.S – virtually its only outlet for this fading regional brand – where luxury car sales range from ~10-13% of the market annually. There’s an enormous opportunity now posed by Generation Y types, 80% of whom say they would consider a luxury car in the $30,000 range, which hasn’t escaped impending product actions at Lexus, Acura, BMW and Mercedes-Benz, among others. Continue reading
Posted in auto news, concept, design and styling, news, news analysis, sales
Tagged auto informed, autoinformed.com, automotive news, Ken Zino, lincoln, luxury cars, mks, mkz, naias, u.s. luxury cars
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