Do you see Acura and Lexus in the same class?

[Xyclone]

Originally posted by: Eghck
Acura is a bit more performance oriented, the luxury image takes a hit because of it.

Other than their tendency of making cars with FWD.

But yeah, Acuras are made for people who still have a shred of love for driving in them. Mr. Wiz said it perfectly: "the only thing Lexus owners want to hear is the soft hiss of their gas masks." :laugh:

 

[mugs]

Lexus > Acura
<--- Acura owner

What the hell does "refined" mean with regard to cars? Is it just a buzzword that means "better?" It just seems like a cop-out for giving concrete reasons why one car is better than another.

 

[91TTZ]

Originally posted by: mugs
Lexus > Acura
<--- Acura owner

What the hell does "refined" mean with regard to cars? Is it just a buzzword that means "better?" It just seems like a cop-out for giving concrete reasons why one car is better than another.

I think we need a new word- one which defines the undefinable, yet has a positive connotation. Then we could more effectively argue about cars. I'll use "scrumtrulescent" for now.

"BMW's are more prestigious and regarded than Lexuses, due to their increased scrumtrulescence"

 

[ballmode]

no

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: 91TTZ

Originally posted by: mugs
Lexus > Acura
<--- Acura owner

What the hell does "refined" mean with regard to cars? Is it just a buzzword that means "better?" It just seems like a cop-out for giving concrete reasons why one car is better than another.

I think we need a new word- one which defines the undefinable, yet has a positive connotation. Then we could more effectively argue about cars. I'll use "scrumtrulescent" for now.

"BMW's are more prestigious and regarded than Lexuses, due to their increased scrumtrulescence"

It's a perfectly cromulent word.

(Mine is from The Simpsons episode Lisa the Iconoclast. Yours is from a Will Farrel movie I believe? Anchorman?)

 

[SSSnail]

Originally posted by: 91TTZ

Originally posted by: mugs
Lexus > Acura
<--- Acura owner

What the hell does "refined" mean with regard to cars? Is it just a buzzword that means "better?" It just seems like a cop-out for giving concrete reasons why one car is better than another.

I think we need a new word- one which defines the undefinable, yet has a positive connotation. Then we could more effectively argue about cars. I'll use "scrumtrulescent" for now.

"BMW's are more prestigious and regarded than Lexuses, due to their increased scrumtrulescence"

But according to some people, the evanescence of Acura is more sensible than that of BWM, regardless of how srcumtrulescence it may be.

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: PeeluckyDuckee

Originally posted by: spidey07
Performance and Interior wise they are similar. I give lexus the edge on both.

IS350 not available in a manual means lexus sucks.

Yeah, that's a dissappointment for sure and a waste of a RWD.

Well as you can already tell, brand loyalty (via very good marketing) will show. I drive an Acura, I don't pretend it's luxury. Just a nice car for the money. I've already told Lexus that I will not buy a 350 (even though it is a great car) until they have a manual. I did the same with the Acura TL for many years.

To say that one is more of a luxury brand over the other is just stupid. They are NOT luxury vehicles. Luxury vehicles are 350+ HP, ever bell and whistle there is, the finest leather, suspension/saftety that can save your life, etc.

The japense "luxury" vehicles are very nice cars. But their target is clear. It's all about branding. If you can put in the consumers mind that you have a "better" vehicle over the "common man" then you can charge a premium. This is what is known as winning the battle in the consumers mind. It doesn't matter if your product is "better" or not. You have won the important battle.

-edit-
If you want to know more, look up - "bose, it's the best"

 

[nonameo]

Originally posted by: mugs

Originally posted by: 91TTZ

Originally posted by: mugs
Lexus > Acura
<--- Acura owner

What the hell does "refined" mean with regard to cars? Is it just a buzzword that means "better?" It just seems like a cop-out for giving concrete reasons why one car is better than another.

I think we need a new word- one which defines the undefinable, yet has a positive connotation. Then we could more effectively argue about cars. I'll use "scrumtrulescent" for now.

"BMW's are more prestigious and regarded than Lexuses, due to their increased scrumtrulescence"

It's a perfectly cromulent word.

(Mine is from The Simpsons episode Lisa the Iconoclast. Yours is from a Will Farrel movie I believe? Anchorman?)

It's from an SNL skit.

 

[RU482]

hahaha, had a similar discussion at lunch.

A coworker drives a 99 or so Acura TL. She was coveting a Lexus (It was that smaller Aztek looking thing) saying she wished she had a luxury car like that.

Me (driving a POS pontiac) said "he, don't you already drive a "luxury" car. She said "yeah, but it's not really very luxurious"

 

[dandruff]

nope.

 

[HyTekJosh]

Lexus is luxury and reliability. I have been through a few cars and am thinking of picking up a Lexus or G35. I'm torn. I used to like Acura and was going to buy a TL at one time but Lexus and Infiniti catch my eye more now.

 

[PeeluckyDuckee]

Originally posted by: spidey07

Originally posted by: PeeluckyDuckee

Originally posted by: spidey07
Performance and Interior wise they are similar. I give lexus the edge on both.

IS350 not available in a manual means lexus sucks.

Yeah, that's a dissappointment for sure and a waste of a RWD.

Well as you can already tell, brand loyalty (via very good marketing) will show. I drive an Acura, I don't pretend it's luxury. Just a nice car for the money. I've already told Lexus that I will not buy a 350 (even though it is a great car) until they have a manual. I did the same with the Acura TL for many years.

To say that one is more of a luxury brand over the other is just stupid. They are NOT luxury vehicles. Luxury vehicles are 350+ HP, ever bell and whistle there is, the finest leather, suspension/saftety that can save your life, etc.

The japense "luxury" vehicles are very nice cars. But their target is clear. It's all about branding. If you can put in the consumers mind that you have a "better" vehicle over the "common man" then you can charge a premium. This is what is known as winning the battle in the consumers mind. It doesn't matter if your product is "better" or not. You have won the important battle.

-edit-
If you want to know more, look up - "bose, it's the best"

Yup, marketing does wonders. But in the case of Acura I feel they've been sending mixed signals all along, more so in the past though with what cars they chose to plaster its badge with.

All in all, they're both a relatively poor man's lux. I guess like you said it's the perception that counts.

Catch ya'all later **rolls off in his coveted H22 luxurious leather-like Honda Prelude**

 

[MrChad]

Originally posted by: PeeluckyDuckee
Both are meant to be the more upper class luxury representation of their respective siblings, Honda and Toyota, but for some reason I feel Lexus is more up there than Acura.

Perhaps it's the fact that I can't get out of my head Acura has the Integra and RSX on their plate.

Lexus seems more distinguished.

Perhaps that explains why Acura decided to drop the RSX from its lineup for this year.

 

[vetteguy]

Sigh...at least Acura makes cars that don't look exactly like the car they're based on. Park a Lexus ES and a Toyota Camry next to each other and then tell me you can justify the extra $15,000. Plus, I despise the snob image Lexus has tried so hard to build for themselves. Just going into a dealership makes me sick. I was poking around the lot the other day looking at IS 250s and IS 350s and the sales guy started telling me about how "no one wants a RWD sports sedan" and then looked at my Audi and said how these cars (Lexus) were 'probably a little out my league'. Yeah, so out of my league that now I'm going to get an Acura, ass.

 

[isekii]

Originally posted by: vetteguy
Sigh...at least Acura makes cars that don't look exactly like the car they're based on. Park a Lexus ES and a Toyota Camry next to each other and then tell me you can justify the extra $15,000. Plus, I despise the snob image Lexus has tried so hard to build for themselves. Just going into a dealership makes me sick. I was poking around the lot the other day looking at IS 250s and IS 350s and the sales guy started telling me about how "no one wants a RWD sports sedan" and then looked at my Audi and said how these cars (Lexus) were 'probably a little out my league'. Yeah, so out of my league that now I'm going to get an Acura, ass.

I call shens.
Dealers are there to sell cars, not drive sales away.

 

[zerocool84]

Remember, Acura dropped the RSX because they wanted to stop being thought as a young kids automaker. They wanted to separate themselves from that image and move more upclass to compete in the luxury category.

 

[johnjbruin]

For me its Lexus > Infiniti > Acura

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: isekii

Originally posted by: vetteguy
Sigh...at least Acura makes cars that don't look exactly like the car they're based on. Park a Lexus ES and a Toyota Camry next to each other and then tell me you can justify the extra $15,000. Plus, I despise the snob image Lexus has tried so hard to build for themselves. Just going into a dealership makes me sick. I was poking around the lot the other day looking at IS 250s and IS 350s and the sales guy started telling me about how "no one wants a RWD sports sedan" and then looked at my Audi and said how these cars (Lexus) were 'probably a little out my league'. Yeah, so out of my league that now I'm going to get an Acura, ass.

I call shens.
Dealers are there to sell cars, not drive sales away.

Not shens. Marketing.

 

[Fenixgoon]

Originally posted by: NFS4
Lexus > Acura

Lexus is a true luxury mark IMHO. It's really positioned as a Mercedes alternative. Infiniti is the BMW alternative.

Acura is a "tweener." Not quite balls-out luxury, not quite bargain-basement either. It's more in line with Volvo or Saab.

lexus goes overboard with the electronics, IMO.

Audi A4 Parking Commercial

 

[NFS4]

Originally posted by: vetteguy
Sigh...at least Acura makes cars that don't look exactly like the car they're based on. Park a Lexus ES and a Toyota Camry next to each other and then tell me you can justify the extra $15,000. Plus, I despise the snob image Lexus has tried so hard to build for themselves. Just going into a dealership makes me sick. I was poking around the lot the other day looking at IS 250s and IS 350s and the sales guy started telling me about how "no one wants a RWD sports sedan" and then looked at my Audi and said how these cars (Lexus) were 'probably a little out my league'. Yeah, so out of my league that now I'm going to get an Acura, ass.

WTF are you talking about? The Camry and ES have the same overall exterior proportions, but the interiors are completely different and every body panel is different. Nothing is shared among them besides the basic platform (and engine block/tranny IIRC).

Other than that, the only other North American market Lexus that even comes close to looking like its Toyota counterpart is the LX470 (Land Cruiser).

The RX350 looks nothing like the Highlander or a Camry
The GX470 looks nothing like a 4-Runner
The IS has no Toyota counterpart
The GS has no Toyota counterpart
The LS has no Toyota counterpart
The SC has no Toyota counterpart in the US

 

[spacejamz]

of course lexus > acura because lexus price tag > acura price tag

from a bang for your buck stand point acura > lexus...acura gives you more for your dollar than lexus does so it really depends on what you are looking for and how much you are willing to spend...

by the time you add a few bells and whistles to an IS250, you can almost get a TL-S...

<--current 05 TL owner and previous 2000 TL owner

 

[maddogchen]

My parents feel that Lexus is way better than Acura.

But I don't feel like it justifies the huge cost difference. An Acura TL costs $32,000 while a Lexus IS350 costs $40,000. A Lexus is not $8000 better than an Acura IMHO

 

[NFS4]

Originally posted by: maddogchen
My parents feel that Lexus is way better than Acura.

But I don't feel like it justifies the huge cost difference. An Acura TL costs $32,000 while a Lexus IS350 costs $40,000. A Lexus is not $8000 better than an Acura IMHO

Acura TL base price: $33,625
Acura TL Type-S base price: $38,125
Lexus IS350 base price: $35,705

 

[vetteguy]

Originally posted by: isekii

Originally posted by: vetteguy
Sigh...at least Acura makes cars that don't look exactly like the car they're based on. Park a Lexus ES and a Toyota Camry next to each other and then tell me you can justify the extra $15,000. Plus, I despise the snob image Lexus has tried so hard to build for themselves. Just going into a dealership makes me sick. I was poking around the lot the other day looking at IS 250s and IS 350s and the sales guy started telling me about how "no one wants a RWD sports sedan" and then looked at my Audi and said how these cars (Lexus) were 'probably a little out my league'. Yeah, so out of my league that now I'm going to get an Acura, ass.

I call shens.
Dealers are there to sell cars, not drive sales away.

Ok, whatever. But this isn't the first time I've been insulted at a car dealership. He did sort of shape up though when he noticed my name tag and realized I work for a company that does their market research. As I was leaving I asked him if there were any incentives or rebates right now, and he goes "No, Lexus doesn't offer rebates or incentives (lie!) because these cars sell themselves". Yeah, that's probably why there were about 25 IS 250s on their lot.

 

[MotionMan]

I see Lexus (and generally Infiniti) in a class above Acura.

Their marketing shows that the companies agree.

MotionMan