Lexus v. BMW

[CAPiTUL]

http://autos.msn.com/research/compar...os_44&GT1=9248

Here is an article I read today. Great side-by-side comparison. The 'compare photos' tab is nice, as well.

[celsdogg]

thats can be a good resource. . .

but of course, BMW. to me, out of all the "luxury" car manufacturers, lexus is the least appealing because so many of their luxury/high end vehicles are just toyotas with amenities put in it. BMW, MB, and even acura make their own vehicles.

[witeshark]

[mullethunter3]

My mechanic used to work at a Lexus dealership. Up until about 7 years ago, replacement parts for Lexus cars actually said Toyota on them. As in, if you for some reason needed a part that said Lexus on it (and that wasn't the main point of the part... like a engine cover) if you ordered it from the factory, it would say Toyota on it. They only changed this when they changed their image and started acting really pompous. (They made a multi-brand luxury dealer in StL build a whole building for Lexus while no other brand has a separate building.) If I bought a replacement part for my car and it said "Peugeot" on it, I'd be upset. I love that BMW designs, researches, develops and builds cars that are uniquely their own. It makes for a more quality product. Lexus is, in a sense, a Toyota with more sound-proofing and more fake wood. No matter the numbers on paper, no matter what they look like, I cannot buy anything from a company who cuts corners in such a huge aspect of production.

[Dudesky]

Dude, you're asking this question on a BMW forum

Personally, as the others have alluded to, I would never buy a car make that is an upper scale subdivision of a parent company. If it's basically the same car/platform why make it a second time, under a different make? To pay extra for the name? BS. The performance and features of a Lexus should be offered on the equivalent counterpart by Toyota, Acura/Honda, Nissan/Infinity etc. ad nauseum.

[celsdogg]

^^^ exactly what i was trying to say, but Amanda and Dsky said it much more eloquently.

[elsabor67]

Like Dudesky said, Toyota/Lexus, Honda/Acura, Nissan/Infiniti, it's all the same but the difference is the name, and like Amanda said also, just more sound proofing and some more fake wood.

A fine example of something that stands out by itself from BMW is Alpina. Even though it's a BMW once it leaves the BMW factory, When it comes in and out of Buchloe, even the engine is different and you don't see BMW stamped barely anywhere on the car.

BMW for me
(and I used to be a Nissan SR20DET owner)

[CAPiTUL]

Personally, I think the lex has better interior. BMW has better performance and style lines, by far. Durability? ehhh, that's about equal.

Side note: my car was rear ended and I'm in a rental. I've always like the Cadillac CTS. . . until I actually drove it. It reminds me of driving my old man's 67 cutlass (btw, if anybody knows where I can get body parts for the 67, please let me know - grazie). My 328 has more zip to it, too. Seems sluggish on the throttle. THe interior is more comfortable than my bimmer, though. Not too soft, not too hard - good seat contour, too. But it is very bulky feeling.

[Numark318i]

sisters husband works for toyota...he says the same..all lexus is is a toyota with a higher price tag.


neighbor is a car salesmen for lexus..i went it yesterday to test drive some lexus, but he wasnt there. But i did take a good look at them. They are..simple and nice, but the interior just doesnt cut it for me. Not sure why.

materials they used seem cheap..and when im spending 78 thousand dollars on a car i want the interior to be good quality. Otherwise..they look nice. Ill test drive one and tell you what i think.

[Numark318i]

Originally Posted by celsdogg

and even acura make their own vehicles.

if you go to europe the acura Tl is actually a honda accord.

so.. im not to sure that acura makes their own cars.

[RSF5]

Hahaha bias aside, yeah right. And yes Acuras while nice are basically accords.

[MTurboPower3]

BMW's r better german engineering is better lexus tries to compete with benz audi and bimmer but they cant because their japanese and japanese cars dont have the same quality infiniti acura and lexus should compete with themselves not try to compete with the big german companies

[drz]

Wow. I would imagine there would be some BMW bias, but not to the extent that I am reading. For one thing, why is it a bad thing for a Lexus to be a rebadged Toyota? Toyota's are very good cars. Also, most of their Lexus vehicles don't have a Toyota counterpart.

The Lexus brand is also marketed outside of the US (unlike Acura and Infiniti). The high displacement, mostly RWD vehicles are usually designed for the Lexus brand. I know the old IS300 was a rebadged Altezza, but the new IS250/350 was designed by Lexus.

Lexus is a brand of *luxury* vehicles. They are after different things when compared to BMW. Their interiors, most people agree, are better than BMW's (the 3 series comes with vinyl seats ftl).

Toyota doesn't cut corners. That is why they are set to become the #1 automobile manufacturer in the world, despite not having being around as long as BMW has, being from a country that was set back a lot by the war, and having to prove themselves to the world, since nobody believed in Japanese engineering a few decades ago. In fact, I still often read blind blanket statements such as "German engineering is better"

The US market created the need for a Lexus brand. If the big three hadn't started it with their many brands (Chevy, Cadillac, Olds, etc for GM; Lincoln, Mercury, Ford; and so forth and so on), maybe people would have been willing to just buy a Toyota that they knew was superior to the other Toyotas. However, since many care about using their cars as a status symbol, Toyota created the Lexus brand, which has fared very well over the last 15 years or so.

Toyota hasn't sold out like many manufacturers have. They have been and remain their own company (just like BMW). They have acquired new business, such as the Hino truck line and the Daihatsu brand, but they do not operate under the agenda of a large parent company (a la Daimler-Benz or GM).

What is the problem with the replacement part for a Lexus to say Tooyta on it? Toyota designed and built the car. I am guessing you would be mad if you discovered a BMW part in your Mini or in your Land Rover. That would be bad, I guess.

Seriously -- I once pulled out the insoles of my Air Jordan's, only to discover that they had a Nike swoosh stamped underneath. I guess I should have just bought a pair of Nike's for $120 instead of dropping $160 on the J's. I mean, why would I want inferior product for a premium price? /sarcasm> My point is, just like Nike makes very good product (don't flame me with them using sweat shop labor -- I am againsta that myself, but the fact is they do make a fine product), Toyota makes a very good product. Brand Jordan brings very good business to the company, and I don't think tehre is anything wrong with it. In the same fashion, Lexus helps Toyota Corp. reach a different market. I see nothing wrong with that.

See, when I am in the market for another car, I will look for a BMW over a Lexus. Lexus does not put in the sportiness that I need. Their cars are filled with nice and plush amenities, but to me that is all unnecessary weight. That does not make Lexus inferior. They are just after different things.

Originally Posted by MTurboPower3

BMW's r better german engineering is better lexus tries to compete with benz audi and bimmer but they cant because their japanese and japanese cars dont have the same quality infiniti acura and lexus should compete with themselves not try to compete with the big german companies

First of all, all that stuff that they tried to teach you in school about punctuation and capitalizations also applies in real life.

Lexus "tries" to compete you say? You do realize that the Lexus LS has outsold the 7 Series, A8, and S Class 15 out of the last 17 years, right? Also, although I would take a BMW over a Lexus, the decision wouldn't be as easy if going against an Audi (VAG ftl) or an MB.

In terms of quality, Japanese cars fare very well.

Infiniti, Lexus and Acura are holding their own with the Germans. If I were them, I don't see why I would back out. Infiniti is coming really close to closing the gap with their G35. The 3 series is still leads the pack, but not by nearly as much as they did 10 years ago. Lexus is starting to get it. Acura doesn't seem to be seriously interested in chasing after making a 3er clone (but Honda engines are considered by many experts to be better than BMW's).

[nick_318is]

BMW hands down, but I do think Lexus builds a pretty high quality product, i mean toyota does. The only japanese cars I like right now that I would consider would be an infinity g35 or a nissan 350Z. The lexus has always seemed a little big and not quite the same level of performance as the BMW but they and all of the competition for the 3 series is getting tighter and tighter. But your only going to get people voting for BMW.

As far as being pissed if I find BMW parts in a mini, or Land rover i don't give a shit because I know that they should be quality parts since they are made by BMW. Also remember BMW and all car cos will do joint ventures on research and share parts, they do it on engines/transmisions etc.

[mullethunter3]

Originally Posted by drz

First of all, all that stuff that they tried to teach you in school about punctuation and capitalizations also applies in real life.

+1, I couldn't even read it.