Agreed. I think the discussion should be focused less on the death of the "traditional" luxury car, and more on how automakers can de-Teutonize, or maybe more accurately, broaden the new luxury paradigm. If the older luxury box no longer exists, then someone's got to figure out how to do something interesting and…

Well, Patrick (and others) are right to cite the bubble economy for the adventurousness of the industry, in any case. Given Japan's unique place in the global economy during that period, I hesitate to assume that we'll ever see anything like it again, though I hope just the same.

Ah, so the real issue is revealed. It's not that the car is particularly bad, or that it isn't selling particularly well, or even that the market has outright rejected it—you just don't like it, or the fact that Hyundai is selling a car like it. Even if the Equus is selling relatively well, it isn't selling as well as…

I get that, but what does FCA gain by having to advertise yet another brand when it can or could easily incorporate all of those ideas into Maserati or Ferrari or (hypothetically) Chrysler vehicles? Judging by the product rollouts they just unveiled, they don't seem to think they'd gain anything, and I'm inclined to…

What don't you understand about "never expected to be a big seller"? It's a Xerox of the LS because the LS is a conservatively styled, generic luxury-mobile that prioritizes comfort above all else, and that is what the Korean luxury market has, until the past few years of market opening, desired. The 7-Series sold…

Hmm, I thought the Escalade was older than that; my mistake. Even still, I doubt that there's enough resources in FCA to do anything particularly meaningful (look at the effort they've put into rebadging Lancia's thus far) when they've got so many other brands to worry about keeping revitalizing—Ferrari is probably…

Now I'm thinking that you think the Equus was for our market and ours alone. If you go to Seoul, you see one on every street corner in the wealthy parts of the city. The idea of selling the Equus in the U.S. was because, well, why not? They already put so much money into developing the car for the Korean market, why…

Lovely; have any road cars from the past three decades?

Lovely; have any roadcars from the past three decades?

I think the thing is that Cadillac has always had Escalade revenue to work with, not to mention that GM is and always has been much bigger than Fiat, Chrysler, or FiatChrysler have ever been. Also, with the apparently large focus on Alfa Romeo, where does Lancia fit in the brand hierarchy?

I don't think anyone in this corporate family has made a V10 (outside of old Ferrari F1 engines). But I second your emotion; more cylinders is often better (aurally, anyway).

Does FiatChrysler currently make a straight 6? I can't think of one off the top of my head. Yes, V6's aren't naturally balanced like I6's are, but they seem to be what everyone who isn't doing modular engine architectures (i.e. BMW) are doing. Frankly, I'm glad, as most V6's sound better to me than most I6's.

Technically, those are open-toed, not peep-toed.

Couldn't agree more. They've got a lot of innovations under their belt: streamlining with the Airflow of the '30's, the Turbine concept, the K-car based minivans (Renault Espace not withstanding), the cab-forward designs of the '90's, and probably more that I don't know about. They've always been a semi-premium brand,…

Why don't you instead consider what Hyundai expected to sell of the Equus, and then compare that with how many were actually sold? Hyundai was fully aware that the Equus wouldn't sell in big numbers, and never thought otherwise. In fact, I'm pretty sure they've met their sales goals within a few units every year.…

I think that was the implication; this car is a much better deal than a lot of the cars it competes with. Maybe "luxury car" should've been in quotations.

Yes, I've heard the seats aren't great, and the diesel hybrid powertrain is apparently disappointing, but I don't care, it looks awesome inside and out. Besides, in this hypothetical, I'd have the C6 for long trips.

I want a DS5, and a C6, and a C4 Picasso and C5 estate with the fixed-hub steering wheel. Just how grey is the grey market?

The way I see it, that fact should make leisurely transatlantic seafaring all the more popular: what better way to flaunt your wealth than to show that, while you, Mr. Business, simply MUST get from New York to London as quickly as possible in order to maintain the career that sustains you, and so climb into a…

As a person who tends to use the Socratic method to figure anything else, I find this explanation of the "purpose" of the universe interesting but totally unsatisfactory, never mind that people have been trying to figure out a teleology for the universe for millenia when it's never been clear whether that's possible…