[Z-man]

As a Benz employee (MBUSA corp. HQ), I have a different perspective on Lexus.

When they first came out, their idea was "Let's build a Mercedes Benz and sell it for less money." And this they did. Sold well. But after a while, the price difference was not as great - it was even.

Unfortunately, Benz hit a reliability issue a few years back, and we're still recovering from the market perception!

The folks at Lexus are great copy-cats - for starters, they ripped apart a few Benzes before designing their LS! When the S420 got a bump in displacement and became the S430, guess what, the LS400 was upgraded to an LS430! And when they came out with the new SC with the retractable top, their ads were stating how it's the best thing since sliced bread! Guess what? The Benz SLK has had a retractable top since it's inception around 1996-1997. And, for the record, the Mitsu 300 Spyder had a similar retractable top a few years before the SLK.

I don't dispute that Lexus makes good cars - actually, they make good copies of good cars. That's my biggest gripe. Get your own design team and innovative engineers to come up with unique stuff - don't just rip off the competition.

Rant over,
-Z-man.