Are all the Japanese brands pretty much the same?

Not to speak ill of the luxury Japanese brands --Acura, Lexus and Infiniti -- but I've long been convinced that unless your heart is set on the prestige those nameplates bring, you would be well-served to look at the higher-end models of the corresponding nonluxury brands.

Meaning what? Meaning that a nice Honda rivals some Acura models. Ditto Toyota and Lexus, Nissan and Infiniti.

Case in point: The Honda Accord coupe. Soon after this current Accord coupe was introduced in 2003, the Acura CL coupe was discontinued. Though the CL was more expensive than the Accord, the standard V-6 model had less power (225 horses, to the Accord's 240), and parked by the Accord, the Acura looked down-market.

Full review here

Steve - 12/29/2005 11:02:09 PM

+1 Boost

Unfortunately, many Japanese cars looks like they were hewn from the same stone. BMW even looks like it has joined justanothercar.com. The latest spy shots from Mercedes Benz indicate that they are heading in a similar direction (coming E-class with Lexus-style headlights).

Steve - 12/29/2005 11:02:09 PM

+1 Boost

Unfortunately, many Japanese cars looks like they were hewn from the same stone. BMW even looks like it has joined justanothercar.com. The latest spy shots from Mercedes Benz indicate that they are heading in a similar direction (coming E-class with Lexus-style headlights).

dotuno - 12/29/2005 11:02:14 PM

+1 Boost

I've always felt Japanese brands barely had real identity. Some Japanese brand's car may look similar to another one's car, more so than another car of it's own fleet! Often times, I can only tell them apart by badge or familiarity

rack - 12/30/2005 12:38:41 AM

+1 Boost

There is a world of difference if you are a closed minded german owner, they are all just "Jap Cars".