Who buys this??
My parents used to have one back when they were all the rage. It’s a good vehicle if you live in the country and have to haul your kids around. Handles snow better than pretty much every other SUV by virtue of it’s size and Chevy Suburban roots. We also used to haul jetskis to the beach, and for towing the bigger engine options are great.
^ Why not just get a Tahoe or Suburban?
True, but who raps about Tahoes or Suburbans?
I agree. It’s pretty chav to be hauling a boat or jet skis around in an Escalade but he also lives in Pennsylvania.
escalades are cool. girls like them…
Well, the Tahoe is a smaller Suburban, so it doesn’t have all the advantages I listed. The Suburban is a great vehicle, but not as plush for the longer trips and looks completely out of place when you go to a nicer joint. We used to use Suburbans, then upgraded to the Escalade. Nowadays, since all the kids are gone they’re just driving one of those Lexus hybrid SUV’s as we don’t have all the jet skis and such. So it all depends on your needs, etc.
I think if I was the type to tow around jet skis and boats, I would be a two car person, rather than have one car that serves multiple purposes.
Not trying to be inflammatory here, but are there any American “luxury” cars that are really worth buying if money is no issue?
All the cars I’ve seen are pretty revolting and ostentatious in my opinion (i.e. Escalade, Corvette, Dodge Viper, Mustang, etc).
We have the Chrysler 300C in Australia. I have to admit I like the look of this car (looks mean). Though I’ve heard it’s also a terrible car with lousy handling.
I would definitely buy American muscle cars, but the only reason would be because I couldn’t afford the equivalent German/Italian car (i.e. BMW M3/M5, Mercedes C63/ML500, Masserati Quatro thingamagig). You get so much bang for your buck with American cars that you just can’t afford with other cars.
It’s fun because the trained eye of a married guy with children can distinguish when there’s a reunion of wives around, just judging by the unusual concentration of Escalades, Cayennes, M classes, Q5s, X5s, and the like. It seems it’s the worst offense for some wives if they don’t drive something in that category if the guy can afford it (my wife subscribes to that school of thought). When I had to pick my kids from school, my car just didn’t fit in the endless line of SUVs waiting for the damn kids.
I’m not a fan of huge and bulky SUV’s. But I do think the X6 is incredibly gorgeous and it’s much more of a cross over.
Ok, time to bag a German car now. I agree the car looks good. But it’s such a ridiculous car. It’s a vanity car, and nothing else. It’s a car for people who like the look of an SUV but don’t need the practicalities of an SUV, it’s all about looking good and nothing else. If I had to drive one of these, I would wear a cap and sunglasses (and a fake mustache maybe) to avoid being recognised.
Well, part of the problem is you’re mixing and matching. You’re talking about the Corvette and Viper after asking about “luxury” cars. Neither are a luxury cars. They’re sports cars. As such, they’re awesome. The Vette is dollar for dollar probably the best true sports car in the world. The Viper is / was in absolute terms among the highest performance sports cars in the world by any metric, despite costing only ~$120k while outperforming many Ferraris, Porsches, Mercedes, BMW’s and even Lamborghini’s worth 5 times that amount. In 2007 my brother turned a 2003 Mustang Cobra (among the best cheap upgradable platforms in existance) into a ~650 hp monstrosity for roughly $25k (including the car itself). Although, in fairness, the Cobra’s performance is unidimensional. My point is that the Vette and Viper are extremely underrated. The Vette destroys the m3/m5 in every performance category. Mustang vs M3, the M3 is definitely better overall quality, but costs twice what the Mustang costs so it’s not really a fair comparison (http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/coupes/1010_2011_2011_ford_mustang_gt_vs_2011_bmw_m3_comparison/viewall.html). Mercedes have no performance vs their peers and the build quality is crap. They’re mostly for people that don’t know any better (although the American equivalents suck even worse). Anyhow, my point is mainly that yes, you’re correct with regard to true luxury cars. But with sports cars I’d disagree.
^ respect. I want a sports car someday and I agree with your assessment. When you look at price/performance, the car mentioned above are much more of a valueplay than foreign cars.
Can I get an Amen from my valueman Frankie?
I don’t own a car, I do not drive.
I hate cars. I walk or run.
I think it’s a bit hard to distinguish between “luxury” and “sports” cars. Most people who buy Corvettes don’t drive them on a track, nor do they ever push the car’s limits. So for practical purposes, the high performance is just for the sake of extravagance and status, i.e. you feel good that it exists, not that you will ever use it. Commercially, and from the typical consumer’s perspective, the extra performance is a “luxury” feature.
Now, to our Australian friend’s question - whether or not it’s worth buying any of these sports/luxury cars - that depends on the purpose, right? For most people, 600 HP is worthless - they will never use it. However, driving up in a Porsche 911 and moistening women is not worthless. The superior ergonomics, comfort, and interior materials are also not worthless. So, to a typical consumer, the Porsche probably results in more utility per dollar than a Dodge Viper or Corvette, which do not provide the same status and creature comforts, and whose maximum performance you will never actually use.
Disagree, I think those people are idiots. If you buy a cramped porsche and you have no interest in performance, I think those people are morons. If you want luxury and status, get luxury and status (ie bentley, aston, bmw, etc.). Porsches and the like are extremely poor commuters and too cramped for even cruising in style. You don’t need to “take it to the track” or even hit too high of speeds to enjoy whipping it down deserted a back road with the windows down and the engine singing. To me people that own them and baby them are just little man babies with shallow mentalities and shallow girls. I’ve had two sports cars and one liter bike in my day and I’ve had each in the 160+ mph, so not just making this up.
Agree. The marginal value gain of a Porsche from a Vette is too small for me to justify. Only heavy gold diggers will know the true difference.
Bah, I can’t afford either so who jerk my ego.
But your usage is probably not typical. Most people do not speed so much that they lose their driving licenses. The average age of a Corvette buyer is 56 years. So there are a bunch of old men driving at 160 mph regularly? Also, are you saying that a Porsche is a worse commuter than say, a Dodge Viper? Shouldn’t you at least make make the concession that different people do not derive utility from the same things that you do? What is up with calling everyone “little man babies with shallow mentalities and shallow girls”? Being irrationally judgmental about groups of people is not the same as making a rational argument. If you ask me, it sounds like you have some major personality issues that you need to deal with.
No, I’m not arguing a porsche is a worse commuter than a viper. I’m arguing that owning any impractical sports car merely for the sake of status symbol when you have no intention to drive it hard is stupid. Spend that extra $$ on something you’ll actually use and appreciate like luxury features. I’m also not saying that everyone needs to drive with a sports profile, but I’m saying those people are morons if they’re buying sports cars that don’t fit their usage profile. Lastly, I’m not calling EVERYONE “little man babies with shallow mentalities and shallow girls”. I’m just calling people who play the status game “little man babies with shallow mentalities and shallow girls”. If you think it’s reasonable to spend six figures on a sports car that rattles around on a stiff suspension and has crappy features and is cramped while you drive 10 under the speed limit like a pansy and only take it out on sundays solely so you can impess people and “look cool” because you’re that insecure and worried about what people think, then you are the aformentioned phrase. Also, those people chasing “cool” will never actually be “cool”. More importantly, people who buy cars not reflecting their personalities are simply posing as who they’ll never be. Explain to me how that is not a fair statement.