Luxury Vehicles exude power, ride comfortably, and are at the top of the Automotive food chain. However this vehicle segment is becoming a lot less.... European.. opening up the sector for much more competition.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kia Motors: In the Mid 2010's Hyundai decided it would take on the luxury vehicle market outside of Korea and venture into the North American and European Luxury vehicle market. Hyundai stepped onto the scene with the Hyundai Equus and its smaller (slightly) less expensive twin the Kia K900 as Flagships and the Hyundai Genesis and Kia Cadenza to compete in the full size second tier. Hyundai and Kia hired former designers from Audi to help re brand and redesign its lineup which has been met with mixed success. The Kia K900 is a sportier smaller version of the Hyundai Equus and starts at about $60,000. Kia still has a lot to prove to the executives of the world before they will be willing to spend that much on a Kia. The K900 has a far less equipped interior than the larger Equus but has scored high marks for effort.

 

 

 

Hyundai Motor Company: Hyundai developed the Equus in 1999 as a luxury vehicle marketed toward VIPs and the elite in Korea. In 2009 it released an updated version which Hyundai intended to sell internationally to compete with full size competitors . with the release of newer luxury models to fill this place Hyundai decided to upgrade the Equus a third time making it a flagship model on par with the BMW 7 Series and Mercedes Benz S- Class. The Equus starts at $65,000 while still giving a very smooth ride which has helped sales. It is the second luxury sedan which has taken business from the German 3.

 

 

 

 

Lexus: Toyota started the entire Lexus brand in the United States with the sole purpose of creating a vehicle which could compete with Mercedes Benz. The car which started that brand eventually became the the Lexus LS in 1989. The Lexus LS has long been the only Japanese car even close to competing with the Germans and in recent years have begun to expand on catching up. Lexus began implementing experimental technologies into the LS such as the automated parking assist feature which neither Mercedes Benz, BMW or Audi had tested yet. As the list of features standard on the LS continues to rise as does its price which has gone form $50,000 to $70,000. The top of the line Hybrid model starts at $110,000. Not far from the New Mercedes Benz S Class which starts at $131,000.

 

 

 

Infiniti: Nissan's entry into the realm of luxury vehicles began roughly after Toyota's did. However Nissan's international alliance (largely run by Renault) has hindered growth of its luxury and performance brand. To save on costs, all Infiniti models have direct JDM Nissan badged counterparts. This hinders innovation because Infiniti is not given the freedom to design new vehicles from concept to reality and many JDM models are actually quite smaller and conservative than their European and International counterparts. This is evidenced in the Infiniti Q70 which is not on par with the Lexus LS or Hyundai Equus and starts at only $50,000.

 

 

 

Acura: Honda revamped its Acura line up entirely to coincide with the reveal of a brand new highly anticipated Acura NSX. Nearly all new Acura Models take styling cues from the NSX which Acura North American executives have said was intended to breathe new life into a soul less brand. Acura historically done a poor job at re branding Honda JDM models as luxury vehicles with the original Honda templates often being better than the Acura counterpart. The New Honda Civic is far more popular than its Acura ILX twin. The RL however has scored high marks for separating itself from the Honda Accord buried underneath starting at $50,000 as well.

 

 

 

 

Lincoln Motor Company: Since the departure of the Town Car and Continental, Lincoln has been much like Acura albeit with far better build quality. Ever since selling Jaguar and Land Rover brands to the Indian Automotive conglomerate Tata Motors, Ford has struggled with Luxury Vehicle sales. Lincoln models have long been re badged Ford vehicles with slight exterior design changes which have proven to be immensely unpopular. Ford has begun to fix this problem by introducing a new Flagship to lead the lineup bringing back the Continental for another run. Completely new and unlike any current Lincoln in production newer vehicles will eventually take cues from this model expected to debut in 2017 with a starting price of $55,000.

 

 

 

Cadillac: In 2013 Cadillac sought to improve sales by capitalizing on its extremely successful CTS platform by unveiling a new flagship model intended to compete with BMW and Audi for the Mid range flagship model sector. When the XTS became a reality it was a full size flagship nearly identical to its concept teaser photo. Cadillac has successfully ditched its previous stereotype that only old grandma's in Florida drive them by aggressively marketing itself as a cheaper yet satisfying alternative to the more expensive European competitors. The XTS also has seen high sales due to the departure of the Lincoln Town Car as a livery vehicle. Most chauffeured cars in the US now are Cadillac XTS models with an extended wheelbase. The standard XTS starts at $45,000

 

 

 

Chrysler: The revamp of the Chrysler lineup is attributed to the update of the first generation Chrysler 300. The 300 was based on an older Mercedes Benz E Class (which it at the time was allowed to use due to its partnership in DaimlerChrysler) and incorporated mid range luxury into a high end form factor which increased its popularity. Because it shares a platform with the cheaper Dodge Charger the 300 has many interchangeable parts, leaving many who cannot afford the expensive SRT8 version to simply swap out stock Chrysler 300 parts for Dodge Charger RT parts for added performance. The 300S starts at $32,000

 

 

 

Tesla Motors: The California based car company has been in business since 2003 and only until recently in 2013 did the company make any profits. This is largely attributed to the Model S and the general company culture at Tesla which prides itself on producing plug in electric vehicles only. The unique design of the Model S mean that the interior of the vehicle has far more space than would be expected and because it is powered by electric motors and batteries it weighs far less than similar vehicles in this price bracket. Perhaps the most stunning feature of the Model S is the dashboard computer which integrates nearly all dashboard and center console functions into a touchscreen computer. Tesla began producing the Model S in 2012 and has seen extensive popularity in Europe due to the heavy incentives for electric vehicles. Currently the major European brands do not offer true plug in electrics on par with the Tesla Model S only Hybrids. BMW is the closest to closing this gap.
The Tesla Model S Starts at $70,000 with the top of the line model at $108,000.

 

With their high price tags these vehicles seem out of reach to most of us. But sometimes the best adventures are the ones we can only dream of, which of these would you take with you?