Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Lexus is the only one of those that is a true Tier 1 luxury brand alongside BMW, Mercedes, etc.
Infiniti is generally looked at as a Tier 2 brand, similar to Cadillac where some models are Tier 1 compeititve and others are less so. Cadillac though seems to be moving up while Infiniti is stagnating where it's at.
Acura is generally more of a Tier 3 brand, similar to Buick or Lincoln. All of their models are just a spin-off of an existing mainstream car and they offer little that is uniqe to differentiate the brand.
In terms of what I would buy, while you said to avoid models, it would be all model dependent to me. While I 100% stand by the industry perceived position above, each of those brands makes some very compelling and interesting cars I would consider.
Lexus - The CT, ES and LS are three models that stick out in my mind as being among "best in class" whether I would buy them or not would be all situational. It is hard to go wrong with Lexus though and none of their offerings are "bad".
Infiniti - The G-series is a nice model line and I enjoy driving them. The new JX is a compelling package for a family hauler.
Acura - The TSX is a nice package and the MDX has long been a class leader.
Lexus is the only one of those that is a true Tier 1 luxury brand alongside BMW, Mercedes, etc.
Infiniti is generally looked at as a Tier 2 brand, similar to Cadillac where some models are Tier 1 compeititve and others are less so. Cadillac though seems to be moving up while Infiniti is stagnating where it's at.
Acura is generally more of a Tier 3 brand, similar to Buick or Lincoln. All of their models are just a spin-off of an existing mainstream car and they offer little that is uniqe to differentiate the brand.
In terms of what I would buy, while you said to avoid models, it would be all model dependent to me. While I 100% stand by the industry perceived position above, each of those brands makes some very compelling and interesting cars I would consider.
Lexus - The CT, ES and LS are three models that stick out in my mind as being among "best in class" whether I would buy them or not would be all situational. It is hard to go wrong with Lexus though and none of their offerings are "bad".
Infiniti - The G-series is a nice model line and I enjoy driving them. The new JX is a compelling package for a family hauler.
Acura - The TSX is a nice package and the MDX has long been a class leader.
In North Dallas Tx, Infiniti QX56 is kicking Lexus large suv's to the curb and the M37 is rated above the its competition (lexus and acura as well as cadillac) by Consumer Reports. The QX56 is definately kicking the Escalade to the curb too at least here in Big D North.
In North Dallas Tx, Infiniti QX56 is kicking Lexus large suv's to the curb and the M37 is rated above the its competition (lexus and acura as well as cadillac) by Consumer Reports. The QX56 is definately kicking the Escalade to the curb too at least here in Big D North.
Infiniti had its best sales year since 2007 last year, hitting 119,877 units sold. That's up from a tsunami impacted 98,461 in 2011. Almost all of their models were stagnant, with the biggest impact coming from the intro of the JX that sold 21,674 units in 2012. The QX56 sold 15,310 units, up from 13,428 in 2011. However, Cadillac still sold 20,698 Escalades (not counting EXT's) and Lexus moved 5,005 LX's and 11,039 GX's, so combined Lexus still edged Infiniti on that front. Total Cadillac sales were 149,782 and Lexus moved 244,166 units. The only non-boutique luxury manufacturers (so excluding Porsche, Jaguar, Maserati and Land Rover) Infiniti outsold were Volvo and Lincoln which it edged by around 20,000 units. In the slot above Infinti was Acura with 156,000+ sales, meaning they beat them by around 36,000 units.
I'm not a Consumer Reports fan, so I really don't care what they ranked the M. M sales are still in the tank and only sold 9,130 units in 2012, down 1,700 from 2011. It's closest competitors easily destroyed it...
Cadillac CTS - 47,000 units sold.
Lexus GS - 22,000 units sold.
BMW 5-series - 57,000 units sold.
Mercedes E-class - 65,000 units sold.
Acura TL - 33,000 units sold.
Honda doesn't seem to know how to differentiate Acura from Honda. Maybe the new NSX will give it an identity, but they can't just rely on reliability to sell luxury vehicles (and the lack of RWD for sport sedan).
Infiniti had its best sales year since 2007 last year, hitting 119,877 units sold. That's up from a tsunami impacted 98,461 in 2011. Almost all of their models were stagnant, with the biggest impact coming from the intro of the JX that sold 21,674 units in 2012. The QX56 sold 15,310 units, up from 13,428 in 2011. However, Cadillac still sold 20,698 Escalades (not counting EXT's) and Lexus moved 5,005 LX's and 11,039 GX's, so combined Lexus still edged Infiniti on that front. Total Cadillac sales were 149,782 and Lexus moved 244,166 units. The only non-boutique luxury manufacturers (so excluding Porsche, Jaguar, Maserati and Land Rover) Infiniti outsold were Volvo and Lincoln which it edged by around 20,000 units. In the slot above Infinti was Acura with 156,000+ sales, meaning they beat them by around 36,000 units.
I'm not a Consumer Reports fan, so I really don't care what they ranked the M. M sales are still in the tank and only sold 9,130 units in 2012, down 1,700 from 2011. It's closest competitors easily destroyed it...
Cadillac CTS - 47,000 units sold.
Lexus GS - 22,000 units sold.
BMW 5-series - 57,000 units sold.
Mercedes E-class - 65,000 units sold.
Acura TL - 33,000 units sold.
Wasn't the RL a favorite of CR? I mean, I can see it from CR's perspective as they basically only look at it as a toaster. The RL is reliable, reasonably priced, gets good gas mileage... it's just not emotionally engaging. Luxury cars are emotional purchases, not practical ones. Practicality plays into it, which is why Lexus was for a time the best selling luxury brand, but you still have to set the brand apart and appeal to something beyond the logos, which Acura really struggles to do. Even their advertising is lame. Apparently young professionals and entrepreneurs are their target demographic, but I just find the ads dumb.
Fwiw, the Infiniti M is a wonderful car - just the right size and great on the road performance.
The previous RL was a decent offering, then Honda botched the redesign and made the car uncompetitive again.
Lower sales numbers means better exclusivity, to a certain degree. With that in mind, you can't beat the current generation of Jaguars, but they are not Japanese. If I wanted a good Japanese luxury car with some exclusivity, I'd be looking at the Infiniti M or Lexus GS - they have lower sales numbers than other cars in the brands' stables and a bit more cachet, plus they are a good size for a sporty sedan.
In North Dallas Tx, Infiniti QX56 is kicking Lexus large suv's to the curb and the M37 is rated above the its competition (lexus and acura as well as cadillac) by Consumer Reports. The QX56 is definately kicking the Escalade to the curb too at least here in Big D North.
Where in North Dallas is this?
I see more Escalades than anything...we even have a game. You will, without fail, see at least 2 Escalades between the exit from our neighborhood and the DNT. One time we saw 11. In like a mile and a half.
Location: On the "Left Coast", somewhere in "the Land of Fruits & Nuts"
8,852 posts, read 10,476,078 times
Reputation: 6670
Quote:
Originally Posted by JoshB
So guys I have to ask, which one do you find to be the most luxurious and successful? I currently own and Infiniti I35 and would say Lexus definitely beat Infiniti back in the late 80's when both were introduced. The LS400 was trumping the very unique Q45.
It seems as though throughout the 90's Lexus moved even further up while Infiniti also worked it's way up the line. Acura always stood behind in my opinion. They never offered anything to compete with the Q45 or LS400.
Whats your guys opinion on these three automakers?
Apologies if stepping on any toes here, but what is it with Japanese luxury cars that, yes, they may be very well engineered, and terrifically appointed.... yet somehow the styling always seems like simply a bland, watered down and vaguely pretentious version of other luxury car styling (or worse, just pimped out versions of the Japanese Big Three's other soulless hi-end sedans)?!
And BTW, didn't Top Gear once do a segment where they (only slightly) tongue-in-cheek named the Lexus SC430, the ''Worst Car In The History Of The World''?!!
Apologies if stepping on any toes here, but what is it with Japanese luxury cars that, yes, they may be very well engineered, and terrifically appointed.... yet somehow the styling always seems like simply a bland, watered down and vaguely pretentious version of other luxury car styling (or worse, just pimped out versions of the Japanese Big Three's other soulless hi-end sedans)?!
And BTW, didn't Top Gear once do a segment where they (only slightly) tongue-in-cheek named the Lexus SC430, the ''Worst Car In The History Of The World''?!!
I was simply interested in making this thread because I have an Infiniti car and happen to enjoy discussing the 3 Japanese automakers. Bmw and the rest of the crew have neat cars too. I just didn't feel like making a thread of it.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
