Can anyone guess who is #1 and # 2 in true luxury (over $42k) sales?

A dirty little secret about Lexus, we shall see if the LS can truly put them on the same footing with Mercedes and Cadillac. People truly do vote with there dollars and those that have the dollars to spend voted Mercedes #1 and Cadillac #2. With Cadillac only having one car that starts in the $30k price range and Lexus having 3 is the true sales disparity that great? Most don't know that Cadillac has owned the true luxury crown now for the last 3 or 4 years. So it pretty much sums up the Luxury heirarchy. Lexus, Cadillac, BMW, Mercedes

wait, didn't you just contradict yourself

did you just say that lexus isn't a "luxury" cocomany then go back an say that they're at the top of your "luxury hierarchy"?

or did you mean Lexus is at the bottom, and then Mercedes is at the top?

No way.
I was thinking "Oh sure, we can all guess, Lexus".

yay M-B!

considering a nice 3-series or X3 is over $42k I wouldn't consider that the "true luxury threshold". Here's a better benchmark for "luxury sales": who sold more $100k vehicles last year than any other manufacturer? Mercedes Benz. And it's not even close. Before anyone says "that's not fair, Audi and BMW and Lexus hardly even HAVE any cars over $100k", you're right, they don't. Now ask yourselves why they don't, and Mercedes has so many.

Mercedes not only has more $100K models than the others, they also have more economy cars (in Europe, of course) than any of the others either. Let's not paint half a picture...

$70K should be the Luxury threshold, not $100K.

Ridiculous article. What makes $42,000 the magic threshhold. Is an R Class or M Class is more luxurious than an RX because it costs more? It was obviously arbitrarily chosen to give MBZ a huge number, and everyone else a number below 40,000 units.

Forget the dollar amount. Take out every (Lexus) RX, IS and ES; every (BMW) 3 series, Z4 and X3-not sure about the X5 thats a fence sitter); every (MBZ) C, M, CLK, SLK and R; every (Caddy) CTS and SRX. Count up what's left.

LS
GS
LX
GX
SC

7
6
5
X5

SL
S
E
GL

Escalade
STS

(did I miss any?)

Somebody must have more time than I have to do this, come on Lexus and domestic haters you know you want to.... I presume MBZ would still win, but at least you would be comparing legitimate vehicles, not ones based on an arbitrary price point.

You forgot the Mercedes CL and G, and Cadillac DTS.

Whomever has the time to login and logout 10 different times just to deboost me, I commend you. ;)

i believe $42K is 1.5 times the average price paid for a car in the US. 50% over average is a reasonable way to defined luxury cars.

you're assessment, on the other hand, is arbitrary.

X5, M, and R aren't luxury but a GX (i.e. toyota highlander) is. hysterical. totally unbiased.

and the ancient SC is luxury, but the CLK and SLK aren't. now i'm laughing.

lexus primarily sells boring RXs and ESs. it's reality. accept it.

The boosting system serves no purpose at all. It's merely used to annoy people. Fanboys in particular use it to boost their friends and deboost posters who are not fans of their brand. This is the annoying aspect since some posts are genuinely intelligent and insightful and UNBIASED- yet are deboosted because of some disagreeing fanboy.

It's pathetic and should be abolished.

I dont know why I am even taking the time to respond to enthusiastic, but what the hell.

As you can see, I did include the X5 as a luxury vehicle, even though I may not personally accept it as one. To include or not include the V-8 powered Lexus GX was certainly a consideration of mine, and its inclusion was not intended to be the final word on the matetr. I still would not include the M or thr R, as they are entirely comparable to the RX. The SC should definitely be included as it is the top model coupe/convertible, while the CLK and SLK are base model vehicles. So since I was trying to make a reasonable point about what is truly a luxury car, as opposed to what this article is arbitrarily assigning luxury to based solely on price, while you are basing your argument on just dissing Lexus, I ask you, who is the biased one?

I didn't write the article. Nor did I make up the definition of true luxury. But it does prove that you MB and Cadillac haters don't have a leg to stand on. And I think those that vote with there wallets opinions matter more than the 18 YO Lexus FANBOYS on this website!

EXACTLY !

My best friend just bought one for less than what you stated. They're out there, trust me.

$42k and over sale price. And Cadillac had it for a number of years. And it means vehicles period it does not matter wether car or truck. Have you guys driven a Cadillac lately?

Makes sense to me. Here's how many $42K+ cars are in each lineup:

Acura-

RL

Audi-

A6/S6
A8/S8
S4
RS4
Q7 4.2

BMW-

5 Series
6 Series
7 Series
X5
All M models

Cadillac-

STS
DTS
Escalade
SRX (?)
All V models

Infiniti-

M45
FX45
QX56

Jaguar-

S-Type
XJ
XK
All R models

Lexus-

GS
LS
GX
LX
SC
Hybrids

Mercedes-Benz-

E
CLS
S
SLK
CLK
SL
R
M
G
GL
CL
All AMG models

I believe that's it for, high-prestige brands.

*I believe that's it, for high-prestige brands.

That would bug me every time I read it.

you forgot the Acura MDX. :)

MDX starts at $39,900.

With all of the expensive Mercedes models it really says something that Cadillac had the crown for a # of years. And with great interiors like the next STS and the new CTS....they are the luxury brand to watch.

As i stated before owning a MBZ is like living in the best zip code. When you have money or you win a lotterey most people head on over to the Benz dealer walk on the showroom floor look at all those nice cars and say when and where do i sign up.
When price isn't a issue you want the status and MBZ has it pure and simple.

Anyone who buys a car for status truly needs psychiatric help.

Notice Audi is not on the list

In the top three? Does that surprise you?

Audi cars are typically cheaper than comparable makes. Mercedes usually leads the pricing followed by BMW. Even Cadillac are priced higer than Audi's.

Cadillacs are not more expensive. Check some sites. And the dealers have some dirt-cheap leases on the CTS and SRX.

Otherwise, there isn't a big difference in price between the three Germans. Audi wants to close the pricing gap in two to three years.

Lexus really is doing great in this market because they have horrible leases. So alot of people are paying more a month to own a Lexus than a BMW or MB.

The base prices Audi vs Cadillac is as follows
CTS $30,570
A4 $28,240

STS $42,995
A6 $41,950

Q7 $39,900
SRX $37,855

CTSV $53,370
S4 $47,500