Conspicuous consumption is probably as old as time itself. In lean times, such as the era which we have suddenly found ourselves in, things tend to get a bit less ostentatious. But wealthy people aren’t going to disappear overnight. Luxury automakers will continue to exist. And so will upscale trims and nonessential features.
Do any of those aforementioned things appeal to you? In my case, they don’t. Not completely anyway. Let me explain.
My inspiration for this post came after a realization. I’ve never owned a top tier trim level car of any sort, at least until my 1986 Ford Taurus LX entered my life. The “Raging Bull” is missing the Instaclear windshield heater, a moonroof, and one or two other features. But it does have leather, the electronic instrument cluster, digital climate controls, and Ford’s premium sound system.
By contrast, my daily drivers have all been relatively lower spec models. My 1989 Taurus wagon was a mid-level GL and my 1997 Sable, which was pretty decently equipped for my needs, was still the less expensive GS model.
It’s the same story with my current daily driver (or in our new reality, it’s more of a daily sitter, am I right?). While not completely devoid of luxury, the Focus is an SE model with several standalone options. I picked this Focus because I wanted heated cloth seats. In broad terms, I could do without some features many people covet. Leather never really appealed to me too much and my infotainment system can be extremely basic as long as it has a USB interface for my iPod Touch and Bluetooth audio for my phone conversations. I’m a bit old fashioned in that I like having dedicated devices like a music player or GPS device instead of doing everything on my phone. I don’t really see my tastes shifting too much when it comes time to replace the Focus.
There are of course two different types of automotive luxury. First, you’ve got luxury through features and optional equipment. Additionally, there are automakers explicitly focused on luxury, performance, or some combination of the two. The latter also never interested me that much.
If a psychotherapist analyzed me they’d probably conclude that my relative distaste for higher priced vehicles stems from being raised in a single parent, literally blue collar household, plus my political leanings. I think there’s a simpler explanation though. Cool cars will always be cool and that gets boring after awhile. What’s my definition of cool, at least in automotive terms? A vehicle that is visually attractive and desirable on the merits. Many of cars fall under this umbrella. Sports cars of all ages, many luxury vehicles, and exotics like the ones in the above picture. And performance variants of family vehicles qualify too. Curbside Classic has yet to fully write up the history of the Taurus SHO. It’s no surprise as to why. Those will always be desirable models. And this community values the cars that don’t traditionally get the respect they deserve all with all the other stuff. The best of both worlds.
I don’t hate luxury brands simply because they exist. I’m just interested in the ones with more appealing stories to tell right now. Like the ones who seem to be gaining traction (Genesis and Lincoln), the basket cases (Cadillac), and the yet to be introduced (Rivian). I also like when established luxury automakers jump into a new segment, so products like the Lamborghini Urus and Porsche Taycan have me paying attention to companies I’d normally ignore.
Anyway, that’s my stance on automotive luxury. What’s yours?
My modern standards, I’ve probably never owned a luxury car. The closest in conventional terms would by our 1980 BMW 528i, which unfortunately didn’t have one critical option, reliability. But it had leather, AC, power windows and a semi-luxury brand name. But then, our 2001 New Beetle also had leather, AC, and power windows, albeit a decidedly less luxurious brand name. I always regarded it as a slightly lower performance, and roomier Audi TT, and much cheaper. I find that as I get older, some features I used to think were frivolous have become almost essential (heated seats and heated mirrors, for comfort and visibility, and hands-free cellular with voice-read text messages, for safety), while I’ve never felt any need for power seats, climate control or even cruise control. But I suspect that someday I may own a Tesla, and I imagine that it will have a level of luxury that I will come to appreciate. I’ll probably order the vegan version without leather, though.
I’ve always had strippers. Let me rephrase that, I’ve always had relatively minimally equipped automobiles. Some part of me still thinks of FM radio and cloth rather than vinyl seats as nice-to-haves. The 2020 Honda Fit I bought just before the coronavirus is downright decadent with power windows and locks (and remote unlock!) cruise control and duplicate radio buttons in the steering wheel. That’s what passes for a base model now. That being said, if they hadn’t discontinued the EX manual for 2020 I’d have splurged and gotten the nice factory power sunroof.
Base models for me, also.Usually out of warranty, down market models like the Sonic/Cruze with the rationale to keep it simple; no turbo, with manual trans, manual windows and plenty of proactive maintenance I will keep it from seven to ten years. During my ownership I accumulate some cheap extra parts, alternator, starter, etc from owners parting out similar models as extra insurance.
I don’t see the value of “luxury” as in conspicuous consumption. I see value in function and quality of experience so to me a W123 Mercedes makes sense and an early oughts E class makes no sense because it traded the spartan but indestructible nature of the 70s Mercedes for gadgetry and poor reliability.
I also a find a lot of “luxury features” pointless, automatic rear view mirrors, headlights and wipers do nothing for me. The mid level trim usually has the basics I want without the extras I have no desire to pay for.
With this in mind, I would never buy an Acura TL, because the Honda Accord V6 does the same thing for less money. On the the other hand I still want a Porsche 911 because of what it does, rather than what it might signal about my wealth. In my personal fleet the mid level trim usually gets the job done. My Ford pickups have all been XLT trim rather than anything fancier and Mazda’s Sport trim has the convenience I want without the extras I don’t want.
The nice thing about buying used cars >10-years-old is that the premium price for premium models usually doesn’t exist. I like my car’s leather/self-dimming mirrors/auto HVAC/automatic rear hatch/parking sonar/HID headlights, etc. Would I miss those things for a good deal? Sure, but it would have to be a very good deal.
I guess my tastes have been all over the map….I bought a new Mercedes in 2002, but have been just as happy with used Mercedes, and various other makes too. I guess I am into the features that appeal to me more than a badge now…I bought a Suburban Premier instead of a Denali or an Escalade. But I DID want a lot of the features it has. A lot of these can be found on inexpensive cars, too, but my “must have” feature list I think now includes:
Auto Dimming rear view mirrors (all three)
Heated seats
Heated steering wheel
Remote start on the fob (as opposed to an app on your phone)
Apple CarPlay
Blind spot monitoring
Lane Keeping/Assist
Front and rear parking sensors
Active cruise control
Power seats with lumber that goes up and down, not just in and out (back hurts on long trips)
Rain sensing wipers
Keyless Go (this goes by a lot of names, but touch the door handle to lock or unlock)
Power folding mirrors (if it is something big, like the Suburban)
Nice to have but I can do without:
Cooled seats (don’t do as much for me as the heat)
Sunroof
Active massaging seats (not a frequently available option, but worth having if you are looking at something offering it. Bertha, our 2007 S550 is the only time I have had this. I think the Lexus LS offers it for the driver seat as a standalone option).
I think if I ever bought a car with massaging seats, I wouldn’t be able to go back!
I have no interest in paying new luxury car prices. I’d never buy a new luxury car because the massive depreciation is unpalatable, and new cars don’t really interest me. I really like older and vintage luxury cars. I don’t consider expensive performance cars to be luxury vehicles, even though their high prices define them as luxuries.
These days, older traditional luxury cars are cheap to buy . I own several older Cadillacs and Lincolns (I used to own a BMW 733 that I loved, too). I love a quiet, isolated ride, a luxurious interior, and traditional power and convenience features. A nice used Deville can be had for the price of an older Corolla. If one is buying cheap wheels, there’s no doubt in my mind, a traditional, well preserved luxury car is far preferable to a popular, mainstream lower priced model .
Of course, the latest luxury features simply don’t exist in such cheap wheels. Some of my cars have delightfully retro luxury features like a 12 disc CD player in the trunk, but not a navigation or Bluetooth feature in sight. This is fine by me.
In 1965, power windows, power locks, and cruise control were all *options* on a Cadillac.
Today, almost every car has all 3 of those.
And they are my only “must haves”.
Luxury options are not all that important to me. You have to also recognize that over the years, things in cars that were considered options or luxury items are now standard. Power steering is now standard on cars, passenger side mirrors, power windows, automatic transmissions (still rather have a manual!), and entertainments systems with screens. Miss some of the older technologies such as roll down windows. There is a simplicity in simple cars which is nice. My dad always bought simple cars with few options. Less to go wrong. I still prefer simple cars but power steering is a must have and air conditioning. Also a good radio. Other than that I am happy with that definition of a “simple car”. Reminds me of my Dad’s 71 Ford Torino wagon with a three on the tree and no power steering. Not much went wrong with it but a pain to drive. Would have been nicer with power steering and an automatic. Don’t need heated seats or a sunroof. To much to go wrong and too expensive to fix. Simple is better but not too simple. Have to have some luxuries! ;)!
Needed:
. Start when I want it to start.
. Stop when I want it to stop.
. No broken suspension parts.
. See through rear window.
. Weather proof when windows closed (no snow drifts on front seat after a blizzard).
. Dry carpets.
. Working gauges (especially fuel).
. No rust.
. Heater.
. Electric wipers.
Nice to have:
. Rear view camera (it’s a required safety feature – isn’t it?).
In other words – not like any of my first few cars.
Headlights without cataracts would be nice! 😉
I prefer simplicity, so I’m not a big fan of luxury. It recently occurred to me that in many of my purchases, I buy the second-model-from-the-bottom. Both of my minivans (the only cars I’ve bought new) fall into that category, but other things too. I bought a new washing machine a few weeks ago (second-model-from-the-bottom), an electric shaver (same), and so on. I guess I’m not a total cheapskate, but just most of the way there.
The greatest luxury is space.
I’m fine with my base model trim, auto lights auto wipers auto adjust suspension dual zone digital climate control manual transmission and diesel engine, power windows check alloy wheels check four wheel disc brakes check steering column adjusts for tilt and reach power mirrors its reliable ,comfortable, quiet, handles ridiculously well, incredibly economical on fuel, fast enough,why would I need an upmarket trim version.
Leather is fine for jackets and boots lousy for car interiors and I have less stuff to eventually go wrong than the top of the line version,
I think luxury is way too broad of a metric.
To me I’d neeeeeeever consider a Porsche a luxury car, nor Porsche a luxury brand. They’re sports cars, expensive sure, but you could end up paying MORE for one with less creature comforts like a GT3. Performance? You can buy a Corvette for half the money, or even a Mustang now a days with similar performance, where’s the luxury in performance? I can make an old cheap car comparably fast with the right parts for even less.
Similarly, features and options? Well, pretty much everything in a stripper 2020 model was a luxury item at some point. I could live with very little as far as options and be happy as long as I’m not mistakenly poking at button blanks and staring at notably lower quality substitution parts like Rubbermaid hard plastic door panels with no arm rests for base roll up windows vs soft touch panels for power windows. For me 3 pedals, a steering wheel, bucket seats, a stereo and heat/air conditioning is all I really need inside. Elsewhere I want the big engine for smiles per gallon and the the handling/braking package. Not that there’s much in the way of choice like that in the market. For me true luxury would be the old concept of ala carte, a car tailored for my exact needs rather than a universal product tailored in spec by a focus group.
Luxury brands? Zero interest. Even as someone who clearly is more into old cars, even old luxury brands have less appeal to me than lowly Ford’s, Chevys, Plymouth’s et al. I find that nothing looks quite as aged at 10 years old as a luxury brand car, be it Lexus, Mercedes or Cadillac. Plus we all know how rapidly many cars in these segments depreciate, and how low many are leased, and how many brands dip their toes into mid priced to gain marketshare, and I just cannot for the life of me see the aspirational status symbolism of an owner base of cheapskates, poseurs and pretenders from the driver seat of my 26 year old Ford. I have a real aversion to the pompous and pretentious, I don’t have any problem with the prosperity, I believe in the American dream whether or not I personally reach it, but flaunting your social status through a mass produced good just doesn’t gain my respect or admiration, or inspire me to achieve. It makes me want to double down on being a cynical slacker if anything!
Needs: High reliability, smooth operation, safety, comfortable accommodations–good seating, good HVAC, quiet–minimal road, wind, and engine noise.
Like some others here, I grew up in a very blue-collar household. My dad always seemed to have high-maintenance, worn-out cars. They ranged from a ’47 Cadillac Fleetwood, followed by a ’52 Cadillac 62, then a ’61 Mercedes 190Db (the car I learned to drive in). There was also a ’41 Chevy Master Deluxe (the basic model). All of them seemed to need frequent maintenance and repairs.
My first decent car was a ’70 Ford Torino Brougham, pretty basically equipped–302 2V, automatic, power steering and brakes, and A/C. Radio was AM. Eventually I had a tolerable AM-FM-cassette put in; I can’t stand the desert that is AM radio. I had good seat covers installed over the deteriorating factory fabric, and replaced the black vinyl roof with white vinyl (that really helped the A/C!). It served me for about five years.
Everything that followed has tended to be the middle of the line; enough bells and whistles to keep me happy generally. Go too low, and the materials can seem cheap and utilitarian. I had enough of that growing up.
The Camry Hybrid we bought used in 2012 still serves admirably and utterly reliably. Its equipment level is close to that of the XLE of the time, and all the accessories work just fine, and the sunroof never leaks. I guess a lot of the first generation of Camry Hybrids were sold with option package upgrades–most of the ones I see are all similarly equipped, with leather, sunroof, alloy wheels, etc. The JBL audio is terrific, up to the demands of everything from solo instruments to the heaviest opera, organ, and orchestral stuff I can throw at it. Some people miss hand-cranked windows; I’m glad to have power windows, especially when I’ve had to park the car in the sun in the summer. That helps the A/C catch up more quickly. The power seats are a boon with two drivers in the household who each like very different driving positions.
I wish it had a rear-view camera and adaptive cruise control. The one car I’ve ever driven with lane-assist, I felt lukewarm about. All it seemed to do was beep at me if I deliberately let the car stray; I wasn’t aware of any nudging to get it back into the lane. I can imagine myself wanting more of these safety features as I get older.
Here is my incomplete opinion on luxury vehicles and it may not make that much sense to other readers, but here I go.
I don’t want a top-of-the-line Ford Fusion with its easier to damage wheels, low profile tires, and useless trunk spoiler. One of the lower trims will do just fine. Acura and Lexus are too flashy for me, rather have a Honda or Toyota instead. Safety features are nice to have and a backup camera can be useful. I daily drive a mid-1990s Camry which is a stripper with a stick shift so I am pretty easy going.
I’m not going to buy the cheapest Mercedes Benz, I rather have something more reliable and not so flashy. If I am going to buy a luxury car I’d rather have a mid-range Mercedes Benz. The Lincoln Navigator appeals to me, but the Cadillac Escalade is too flashy. Even some of the Navigator’s wheels are too flashy for me.
A Mazda Miata interests me, but I don’t have the driving skills to properly utilize a Corvette or other luxury sports cars.
There is an old saying that goes something like this “Luxuries, once sampled become necessities”.
Can’t say I don’t fall for this myself.
My vehicles tend to be at either end of the spectrum. My trucks are base models, with minimal options while most of my other vehicles while not necessarily being luxury cars are fully loaded with almost all if not all of the boxes checked.
So yeah I really don’t like the fact that my F-250 doesn’t have power windows and more importantly locks which of course means it doesn’t have remote and/or keyless entry. I’m glad that the van came with power windows, locks and remote entry so I could add keyless entry. So yeah with the reach to unlock the passenger side, and the pain of unlocking the front and reaching to unlock the rear PDL with remote and keyless is now on my must have. I did PDL and remote to my old truck and I’ll probably do that to this one.
At the other end of the spectrum, the other vehicles are loaded up, by choice, looking and waiting for the right one to come along.
The 03 Mountaineer, purchased new, has all the boxes checked.
The 13 C-Max Energi has all the boxes checked.
The 15 MKZ Hybrid has all but one boxed checked, and that is the inflatable rear outboard seat belts.
The Mountaineer was the first step in that slippery once sampled slope. Its heated seats became a necessity and sunroof highly an almost necessity my wife. The MKZ put multi-contour seats with massage (for both sides) and an opening pano roof on the wife’s almost a necessity list. While its adaptive headlights and cruise are now firmly on my necessity list in addition to the seats and roof.
As far as “luxuries once sampled”, in 8 years of owning our Prius with the smart key, I still took it out of my pocket, clicked to unlock the car, then inserted the fob in the little docking slot before starting the car. Now, my Tacoma has no docking slot, so I’ve finally taken to just keeping the fob in my pocket, and using the touch door handle feature to unlock and lock the doors. I’m so used to it that I find myself annoyed digging around for the key to my wife’s VW, and God forbid, having to insert it in a slot and turn it to start the car. So I guess I need to add that little feature to my list of “necessities”.
Yeah proximity entry and start are now on my and the wife’s must have list though phone as a key with the included keyless entry and keyless start is on the list of desirable features.
Agreed.
Once I got a car with a reversing camera and AUX input, I could never go back to something without.
When I replaced my Holden Calais with my Subaru Liberty and lost automatic headlights and rain-sensing wipers, it annoyed me every time. Then, when I got my second Falcon, I missed having a nav screen.
I try to always replace my cars with something as fast or faster, and something as well-equipped or with more features.
Give me quietness and a smooth, competent ride, the ability to safely pass on a two lane, to cruise along for hours at 85mph and to stop whenever and however hard I might want to. Keep me warm in the winter, surround me with solid, nicely made and assembled plastics, throw in some good seats and keep that sticky leather away from my back side.
Don’t ever tell me what to do, don’t dare to give me idiot lights, limp modes, strange noises and iffy behaiviours at least 6 years into the ownership and I’ll gladly use my muscle and brains for lowering the windows, shifting gears, monitoring the traffic around me and even taking care of correct fuel/air ratio on a cold morning.Also for preventing leaks/noises/lights etc as the years go on.
Harder than it sounds.
A luxury car is, to me, roomy and quiet.
It has to be able to get up to speed without any drama.
It should have road feel without roughing you up.
It should feel solid.
It should be a coupe or a sedan.
Everything else is secondary, in my opinion.
Grace, pace and space as they used to say of Jaguars.
Reliability optional…
Modern luxury cars are too frequently nothing of the sort.
V-6 Camcord
My ’88 Thunderbird LX 5.0 was the only car I’ve ever owned that came with every available option* for the time, and while I loved it, it was a little over the top.
Today, other than the fact my seats are only cloth and not powered (they are heated though), my 2016 Civic seems more loaded than that car ever was, and it’s the middle trim level (EX-T).
I did insist on installing one “luxury” feature… an Auto Dimming rear view mirror, that sadly was not standard until you moved up to the EX-L, which is the same as mine, only it has leather and the aforementioned mirror. This was a must install for me, as every car since that ’88 Five-Point-Oh ‘Bird has had this feature, so going back to a mirror with a stupid flip switch was not acceptable when the monster trucks with the high beams on roll up behind you, but I digress….
Luxury Brands? Eh… what’s the point when ALL cars, even the basic once all come with the good stuff. My dream car (right now, anyway) is a Tesla, so perhaps if one considers that a Luxury Car. But it isn’t about the luxury, or the bragging rights, or the virtue signaling that goes along with a Tesla… I just think having an EV would be cool, and theirs has the best range, and doesn’t look weird like a Leaf or a Bolt. It actually looks like a car.
I guess I’m simpler in what I call luxury. I don’t need a BMW or Mercedes and their inevitable huge maintenance expenses… My most luxurious car ever was one form the Blue Oval….
The only top-of-line car I have ever owned? A Chrysler PT Cruiser GT Turbo…and Chrysler built them so if you wanted the High Output Turbo, you had to take the top-line trim and stuff that was optional on the lesser PTs.
Otherwise, I feel that “luxury” is for the beholder. You’re showing off to them that you’ve got a ‘Cedes.”
It’s a bit of a conundrum that the people with means often want to not show off their wealth, thus the many Oldsmobiles that were sold to those who could have easily afforded a Cadillac. It seems that those with lesser means are often the ones who want to make it look like they are doing better than they really are, financially. Those are the people driving a BMW or MB when the only feature that is important to them is the badge.
Personally, I think that luxury is a silly word when applied to automotive issues. Really, if one is to take it to the full meaning of the word, luxury would mean that you are being driven by a chauffeur in a bespoke, handbuilt car that was meant, like a home, to be personalized to your tastes and last for your lifetime with regular upkeep.
What is a benefit for some is a detriment to others. An automatic transmission was the height of luxury in the 1950s, but now everyone clamors for a manual, as they perceive it as better. The bells and whistles rarely do harm, but for the majority of owners, they really don’t make life that much easier, do they?
In his classic book, “Class: A Guide Through the American Status System,” Paul Fussell always said that the truly upper class weren’t really into cars and that they drove 10-year old Chevys and Fords because they didn’t have anything to prove and they knew it. The book is a bit dated now, but an awful lot of it holds up.
His (the late Paul Fussell’s) description of baseball caps worn backwards (“prole caps”) still makes me laugh.
In another classic book, “The Millionaire Next Door”, author Thomas J. Stanley makes a similar observation, going so far as to say that many wealthy people buy their cars by the pound: $/curb weight. At the time the book was written (1998), he contrasted the typical Buick buyer to the typical BMW buyer, noting that the latter were more interested in appearing to be wealthy than actually being wealthy. ‘Big Hat, No Cattle.’
I have owned American luxury cars from the 60s (63 Fleetwood, 64 Imperial Crown Coupe) the 70s (77 New Yorker Brougham) and the 80s (89 Cadillac Brougham). In the order they are listed, each one felt less special than the one before it. The American luxury car was less about show-off equipment (though the rear power vent windows on the 63 Cad were cool) than about a feel of solidity and quality.
I suppose that Euro brands and Lexus have done a decent job of replicating what US luxury brands used to be good at, but it has come at a cost of dizzying complexity, so no thanks here.
In my newer cars, I have bought either small (or used) in loaded form and larger in stripper form. Perhaps I spent too much time in “middle of the road” as a youth.
I don’t want much: P/S, P/B, A/C, ABS, SRS, and to get from point A to B in relative comfort.
Once I would have considered this a luxury vehicle.
How perceptions change.
I enjoy/love my W123. No questions there. My hobby car. But since I turned 16 in 1996 I have DD a selection of K cars, Cavaliers and Cobalts. All beater spec. And pickups, whether at my work or personal trucks, were Fords at the XL trim level or base Silverados. Vinyl bench, rubber mat floors. Current beater fleet? Base 2010 Cobalt sedan, base Focus S sedan and an 86 Chevy C10 Scottsdale (ssshhh….its a mid level trim with an auto trans…..)
Don’t get me wrong, I like to occasionally gaze at a luxo make. However I am reminded of an ex when looking at a modern luxury vehicle.
Easy on the eyes, Hard on the wallet.
Fifteen to twenty years ago every single item you mentioned as valuing in your Focus was a luxury item in a car. Heated seats, Bluetooth, USB port, even the automatic transmission before that. All these items became very commonplace as will those items that are the newest thing today. And to the Japanese market a cloth interior is far more luxurious than sitting on the plasticized skin of a dead cow; curious, that.
Yes, even performance. Any modern minivan can take on a Porsche 911 from thirty-five years ago if we define performance as straight line acceleration only. A modern Toyota Camry V6 can pretty much hang with a 911 from fifteen years ago.
The real luxury is not having any need for a car. Beyond that it’s more ephemeral, more of a sense rather than anything specifically tangible.
Jim, in re to your last sentence: for sure it’s great that I can walk to a grocery in Santa Monica and haven’t driven my car in three weeks. But my previous full embrace of public transit in terms of using the light rail and bus systems in SoCal is being re-examined due to the virus. As a senior, a real luxury is having a car to drive to the pharmacy a few miles away this week rather than taking the bus.
For those who live in sparsely-populated rural areas, “not having any need for a car” simply isn’t an option.
No, to me it’s not important.
Having said that, we did once own a luxury vehicle (of sorts), but even then it wasn’t the top of the range model. Our late, lamented ’00 Mitsubishi Verada/Diamante wasn’t the top Xi model, but it only lacked leather (we preferred cloth) and a sunroof (which we didn’t want). And IIRC the top model had power seats – with two drivers of nearly the same size and weight, we didn’t need those. We’re of an age where we tended to think of power luxuries as Something Else To Go Wrong, but we were pleasantly surprised as it was fifteen years before anything gave trouble, then they all seemed to fail at once – windows, CD player, and eventually transmission . But I especially remember the way every control button across the dash, console and doors lit up with a little point of light at night – first-time passengers always commented on that. that always put a smile on my face. Also the nicely-patterned cloth, and the comfortable seats.
Our current vehicle is a base model Mitsubishi ASX with a few dealer options. Eighteen years later many of the Diamante’s luxuries are standard (power windows), or have been surpassed by more modern technology (sound system). We’ve reached the point where we can say “This is enough luxury for me.” More expensive models didn’t add any features that were worthwhile to us. And the things we wanted – a decent colour range to choose from and a light coloured interior, were not available at any price.
Luxury as in a current car is a No. Luxury as in owning a 60s or 70s Lincoln is a yes. Yes because it is an old collectible and not because it is luxury.
No thank you. I am far more old school than most, my daily driver doesn’t even have a radio. No power assist anything or automatic shifting either. Give me a rubber floor mat, vinyl seats, stick. I can manage the rest on my own thank you very much.
Luxury in the sense of leather upholstery and fancy trim, no. Safety- and convenience-related items, yes. I came to appreciate power windows when I started owning cars wide enough that I couldn’t easily reach across to raise and lower the passenger-side window.
To a degree everyone’s definition of “luxury” will differ. Luxury as in conspicuous consumption? No, that comes across as gauche. Luxury as in well-built, nicely tactile instruments, a projection of quality? That is more toward my definition. Think Packard, not Cadillac.
The last new car I bought was in 2014. It’s a base model. The prior one was a 1996 Thunderbird that had few options, but important ones that were more performance oriented, such as the suspension that was a carry-over from the old Super Coupes. While it had leather seats, I have not entertained leather since. We test drove a VW with leather in 2014 and it smelled like a band-aid inside. Ugh.
Perhaps due to being more of a traditionalist, I define luxury as elegance and understatement.
Yes, I did once have a 1975 Thunderbird that was a great example of excess – I loved it. But it also was nowhere near new at the time which doesn’t count as I paid all of $600 for it. But for an everyday car, there is an undeniable elegance in simplicity. That might be why I find many of the brands mentioned in the text to be something to which I simply don’t find myself attracted.
I like things like heated seats and power windows and locks. My daily driver has those. However things like that are not a big priority with me. I have never owned or wanted to own a luxury car. No social statement on my part. Everyone else can drive what they want to or can afford, it’s none of my business. What is important to me is reasonable performance and good handling. The two cars that I have had, and still own, that I ordered suspension upgrades on have gotten me out of some bad situations more than once whether caused by me or another driver. Besides, it makes driving them much more fun for me. I have also always tried to stay away from ugly vehicles. Well, ugly in my opinion. I know that can be subjective.
I can afford pretty much any mainstream “luxury” automobile. What do I own? 2010 Honda Fit Base M/T, 2000 Chevy K2500 pickup, regular cab, rubber floors and crank windows, 1974 VW Thing, 1969 VW Karmann Ghia coupe, and a Corvair-powered home-built airplane. The Fit replaced an incredibly unreliable “Ultimate driving machine”, which it was, but at too high a price.
Luxury in my 2020 CX-5? Rain sensing wipers, auto dim headlights and rearview mirror, AWD that has better reaction time than me, decent radio, nice seats heated and steering wheel too. It’s called 20+ years of driving crap. Hundred dollar cars. Free cars. Shitty buybacks. I don’t have time or energy to wrench on my one day off, so I’ll eat a payment.
It’s somewhat hard to answer, since I was shaped by the experiences I had with the cars growing up. (Legend Coupe LS, Audi A6 Avant 2.8 Quattro, Infiniti G35, Acura TL Type S). Generally, our current list of must haves is parking sensors, leather, heated seats, a good stereo, navigation, sunroof, power seats (driver at least), good headlights and a reasonable amount of power. My mother bought a Mazda 3 Sport GT after my parents divorced. While fun to drive, we didn’t find it particularly comfortable and it was replaced with an A4 allroad. Currently, our family stable consists of an A7, a Subaru Forester (with power seats and bluetooth, one up from base. But still more basic than we like), and the allroad, which I frequently drive. A7 has the massaging seats, since that was a criteria when buying it, as was the Driver Assist package. A4 is loaded, since we wanted the features that came with the Technik. The Subaru was brought into the family through a relationship, and not our choice. (We’re not SUV people. Wagons, yes, but not SUV’s.). So I suppose in large part, I’ve been shaped by those experiences, but to me, yes, some degree of luxury is important.
For modern cars, the only things I’d want are Bluetooth for audio and phone, aircon, and blind spot monitoring. A reverse cam/ dash cam combo is a big plus as well as power windows. I specifically dont want leather, I find it uncomfortable, far prefer cloth, and sunroofs are a hard pass for me, even modern ones can leak and I burn easy so they are pointless to me. I also dont want low profile tyres/ wheels.
For a classic, I want luxury, all the ostentatious geegaws that were available in the 60’s and 70’s. Deep buttoned or loose pillow bordello red velour, lots of woodgrain and chrome, and plenty of size and power. I am not interested in keeping up with Lotus 7’s or Porsches, so handling is less of a priority.
And Bluetooth and dashcams can be retrofitted to classic as well as moderns, I have Bluetooth in both my cars
I had a list of things I ideally wanted for my next car after the Falcon. This included:
I also wanted safety features like:
It was Android Auto that almost made me pass on a car I’d been wanting for years and then I realised it was silly to pass on a really terrific car because it didn’t have that ONE feature.
So, I bought the car. It has everything on my list except Android Auto and even has some stuff I wasn’t really after (soft-close front doors, power trunklid).
Is this more stuff to break? Yes, of course. But I feel I bought something from a brand that tends to produce reliable cars and will be less expensive to repair, in theory, than a German luxury car.
The panoramic roof has a slight rattle but it’s a known issue with, I believe, a known fix.
I’m very happy with a luxury car. But yes, features don’t make the car… They have to be in addition to genuine substance.
It started when I had to choose a new lease car back in 1998. So I got around in car showrooms and compared brochures. The choice was a Renault Laguna. The package was good enough for me, having all this as standard: elec windows and mirrors, auto AC, remote locking. But I hated the seats because of its pattern, a vague blue/grey flowery thing. So I opted for Sports Seats which had almost black velours pattern. I did not choose it because it had more side support. I think I was one of the very few that selected sports seats just because of the pattern. It was an excellent car.
As I have been buying second hand cars only since, I have always tried to find the most optioned car. Why not? They often are not worth more. Since over three years I have a 16 year old Jaguar X-type as my “modern” daily, which is equipped with all options which were available back then. Xenon, PDC front and rear, elec glass sunroof, elec memory heated seats, elec foldable mirrors, elec heated front windscreen, auto dim mirrors, auto rain sensor, auto lights sensor, super sound system.
For a car which is always parked on the street and used in all kind of weathers, some things are very useful like the AC, foldable mirrors, PDC f/r. All other things are nice to haves but no necessary for me.
I also drive oldies which have none of these luxuries. I do not miss them there. I wish the weather was always good, I would be driving the oldies all the time and had no need for luxuries.
I’ve never owned a truly luxurious car but I’ve owned cars with features that were considered luxurious in their time. The minivan I owned in the late 90s had leather everywhere and power accessories and a killer audio system. My next car was a base Toyota Matrix with crank windows and key locks. At least it had AC. I adapted easily to the minivan’s luxuries and to the Matrix’s austerity.
I’ve never owned what would be considered a ‘luxury brand’ of car – they just don’t appeal to me to the point where I would aspire to own one.
As for ‘luxury features,’ that (as many of you have already noted) is a moving target. When I bought my ’00 New Beetle TDI, you *had* to get the mid-level GLS trim, as that was the only trim available with the diesel. My wife griped for months after that I bought a ‘luxury car,’ as it had features (cruise control!) we’d not ponied up for when we bought her ’98 Caravan. And actually, from the perspective of looking back from today, that NB had just about the perfect feature set for my tastes – CarPlay and a backup camera would be the only ‘modern’ features I’d add.
As my income rose over my career, we started buying higher trim levels when we replaced my wife’s vehicles, mainly because she insisted on leather seats. So we’d typically end up with something one notch down from the top tier trim.
As for my cars, a ’71 VW bus and a ’64 Beetle were my DDs for nearly a decade – *no* features there! Our ’90 Honda Civic 3-dr hatch was an absolute base model, purchased with no a/c or radio, even (both were added later). But like the NB, my car trim choices tended to be driven by a particular configuration I wanted, not by a desire for “luxury.”
The car I last purchased for myself was the Chev SS, that only came with one trim level (“maxed”) with three options: spare tire, sunroof and 6-speed manual transmission. I ticked the latter two. These were so rare on the ground that I was surprised to find one in the color and configuration I wanted, and since I purchased during one of GM’s fire sales, I paid less than a mid-trim minivan or pickup would have cost.
The most luxurious car either of us have owned is the ’18 Buick Regal TourX purchased for my wife last year. And we ended up “having” to take features we really didn’t want (mostly ‘nanny’ type features), again, because these cars were fairly rare on the ground. The materials, fit and finish of the interior are “okay,” certainly not ‘posh,’ but the ride and overall comfort are what make it “luxurious” to us. We still comment on how comfortable it is on the road. To get those leather seats, we had to opt for the highest ‘Essence’ trim level, though.
My farm truck, the ’15 RAM 2500 4×4, is a Tradesman, which at the basest, comes with wind-up windows, vinyl seats and a vinyl floor mat. Since my truck was purchased non-titled from a Chicago dealer with about 750 miles on it from snow plowing their lots, it had the plow package and a ‘convenience group’ that added power windows, carpet, cloth seats and a remote-entry key fob that still must be inserted and twisted to start the truck (THAT took some getting used to after having keyless start on our cars for quite a few years!). I dressed the truck up a bit and put in a CarPlay head unit, but other than that, it’s about perfect from a features standpoint.
As far as new luxury goes, definitely not. I tend to drive cars for decades and I’m very wary of the tech going into current cars. Especially when it starts breaking down. If I were even inclined to buy a car made in the decade I’m living in, I want the most stripped down car I can find which will be more “luxurious” than anything in my ancient fleet of Mopars–1968 Plymouth Fury VIP fast top, 1979 Dodge St. Regis, 2002 Chrysler Concorde Lxi. The Concorde was less luxurious than my previous 1999 Concorde Lxi as in the space of three years it got decontented and you had to get a Concorde Limited to have the same features. My idea of luxury these days is– does my back hurt when I get out of the car on a long trip? By that standard, the ’68 Fury VIP wins hands down and the Concorde with its baseball glove leather seats loses.
Here’s my take. “Luxury” existed in automobiles since the beginning over 100 years ago, and it had everything to do with styling, materials and the quality and reliability of those systems that existed in the car. And those systems were extremely limited compared to what gets crammed into “luxury cars” now. They were pretty much essential systems only. Primitively equipped by today’s standards. But you can still stand next to and regard a luxury car of almost any era and know, without a doubt, that you are looking at a luxury car, even by today’s standards. AND you can stand next to and regard a luxury car of our era, and wonder – what in the world were they thinking? Styling, materials, essential function and reliability – those are the keys for me. Gewgaws are not. I drive a 35K original miles 1972 Cad CDV, beautiful colors, and people just love it, young and old. And it has very few options. Like – zero. But it’s beautiful and in perfect condition. That’s what I look for.
Looking over 3 decades of new car purchases, each purchase was “a step up” from the previous one.
1981 Corolla – sunroof, 5 speed, ps/pb, cruise, ac
1988 King Cab – key fob, power windows and locks!
2001 Trooper – heated seats & airbags!
2013 Outback – leather, Nav, push button start, telematics!
2018 Rogue – Apple Carplay, Blind Spot/Cross Traffic, power hatch, lane correction, adaptive cruise!
The only thing left on my wish list is hybrid, ventilated seats and heads-up display. The luxury label doesn’t affect my choices as long as it’s Japanese or Korean branded.
I always thought of power windows as a “luxury” item until the muggy summer day I was driving my ’60 Falcon along a stretch of new parkway north of Nashville, new enough not to have shoulders yet, when one of those sudden Tennessee “frog-strangler” cloudbursts dropped its buckets on me. Could neither pull over nor reach any window crank but the left front … and the car smelled like an old basement for a month.
Both of us enjoy nice cars, but for the pleasure of driving them, not to impress anyone. My wife has a 2017 Alfa Giulia, but a “stripper” model except for the sunroof, which she always wants. My hobby car is an ’87 Alfa Milano, in the Platinum trim, though its ill-designed ABS brakes have been replaced after they’d caused an almost-fatal fire, and its sunroof has been opened maybe once. The DD is a 2002 Subie Forester, which is actually my favorite of the lot. Its sunroof went lame several years ago, and after we learned its repair would be lengthy and very expensive we had the controls disconnected.
In the 1984, I equated ‘luxury’ with comfort – my parents’ car was a 1980 Mk IV Ford Cortina, with vinyl seats and no frills. At the same time my grandparents bought a new XE Ford Fairmont Ghia. To 10-year-old me, it screamed ‘luxury’ with its a/c, power windows/locks/aerial and wall-to-wall velour.
In 1992, my first car, a basic 1971 Ford Escort, was not remotely luxurious. So I fitted a Mk II Escort Ghia interior to gain reclining cloth seats with headrests – luxurious compared with the old vinyl seats. Of course I realised after a while that I was making a
silkcloth purse out of a sow’s ear…By 1996, I stretched my limited budget and bought my first ‘luxury’ car, a 1986 Ford Sierra Ghia with tilt/slide sunroof, power windows/locks and luscious velour seats. But at the same time my parents bought a Subaru Legacy GT, and its leather suede interior, cruise control and climate control suddenly made the Sierra feel less luxurious.
I had a few unluxurious cars through the 2000s, but in 2009 bought a 1997 Nissan Laurel Medalist that was the epitome of JDM luxury in the late ‘90s, with wall-to-wall velour, airbags, ABS, lashings of fake wood, and a large touchscreen display for the climate control/CD/satnav/TV (the latter two of which sadly didn’t work in NZ). Luxury to me, a big cushy old tank to others. Not unlike the Fairmont Ghia of 25 years earlier!
Fast forward to 2020, and we have a 2016 Peugeot 508 RXH, the most expensive car I’ve ever owned and by far the most luxurious, with hybrid diesel-electric 4×4, loads of safety features, panoramic glass roof, 4-zone a/c, massaging driver’s seat and nappa leather everywhere. A luxury car to us, but I doubt it’d be considered a ‘luxury’ car in today’s world because it’s not ostentatious.
And that’s the thing: to many people, ‘luxury’ equals ostentation, big grilles and bling. A comfortable Peugeot wouldn’t rate, but I love its subtle elegance and comfort, the fact it’s loaded with features but doesn’t shout about them. That, to me is true luxury.
Philosophically, I’m inclined to say the automobile itself is the luxury: its existence, ownership, operation, and the infrastructure to drive it upon in a politically stable country with appropriate regulations and standards that make it remarkably safe to do so. Compared to the vast majority of humanity today (let alone the overwhelming majority across all recorded history) these things are enormous luxuries, no matter what kind of car we’re talking about.
Sociologically, I am utterly not interested in advertising to the world that I spent such-and-such an amount of money on a car. I do not give the proverbial feather or fig what anyone else thinks of my automobile; it’s not a status symbol for me, and whoever doesn’t like my choice of car can either buy me something else or go hang.
Practically, there are certain features that make life easier. Power locks and windows are convenient, but easy enough to live without. Good lights, defoggers, wipers, and ergonomics are more important, as is a fundamentally pleasant driving experience (ride, handling, quietness, etc). A fancy stereo is not important; I listen to very little music while driving. I seldom open a sunroof if I have one. Pushbutton engine start/stop, “infotainment” (barf), 393 selectable colours for the instrument cluster lights, and other vapid crap we’re supposed to believe is a must-have make me dread trying to find a car to like in a few years.
But really, you shouldn’t be asking me. You should be asking Tim:
The things I love in my car are the things I worry about that will break in five years – the 8 inch screen, the power seats, the heated seats, the heated steering wheel, the audio system that plays from a usb stick or a CD, or satellite, or FM/AM, cruise control, etc. But if you got eg, enjoy em. I bought the car because it has a 5.7 hemi V8, it has RWD or AWD (season specific, I don’t get to choose, I love the body style (300C), it has a badass attitude, and I got a great deal saving a bunch off depreciation. The toys are fine, but my son’s Kia has most of those and a few others too like lane assist and adaptive cruise and so on. As I get older I will need more of those to help motivate me down the highways and biways. A hybrid may be in my future to help assist in saving the planet but I am concerned about the ethics of mining all those battery essential minerals so there is another dilemma. We shall see. A very good thought provoking article.
We’ve come a long way from when power steering and automatic transmission were options.