Lexus, Infiniti and Acura

Many of us today know of Japanese luxury car brands such as Lexus, Infiniti and Acura. These 3 luxury brands were created by Toyota, Nissan and Honda respectively in the attempt to move their cars further up the luxury chain in the US. Toyota did a good job marketing Lexus in the US making it the top luxury brand in the US for more than 10 years straight. Nissan and Honda followed a few years later with their Infiniti and Acura brands with decent success.

The question I always wonder is whether the extra sticker price really justifiable. In Japan the Lexus brand was not introduced until 2005, it took the Japanese market some time to really accept the Lexus brand as a premium brand of cars. The Japanese public always viewed Toyota as just a ordinary car marque without the luxury tag. With the introduction of the Lexus brand Toyota took the extra step to create a luxurious image for themselves.

Toyota has always been regarded as a car manufacturer that produced reliable cars with solid residual value but did not create any luxury brand value to make their brand sought after. However, in the eyes of a avid motoring fan the Lexus brand is no doubt a luxury brand but it is also regarded as nothing more than a better built Toyota with more functions and features. This the same for Infiniti and Acura. A classic example is how a Toyota Celsior in Japan is actually the same as the Lexus LS430. The build quality is similar and the functions are also almost the same. Why would you want to pay more for a different badge?! Shouldn't the cars be better built in the first place?

This is similar for the Nissan Fuga in Japan is the same as the Infiniti M35 but with a different badge. I somehow cannot get over the fact that some people are willing to pay extra for the Infiniti badge!

Are these companies taking the consumers for a ride? Merely changing the badge on the car and hiking up the selling price does not sound like making the car a luxury car.

I firmly believe when selling a luxury car, the car ought to be developed from ground up rather than just a rebadging job. Toyota, Nissan and Acura can easily develop models for their Lexus, Infiniti and Acura that look completely different and also developed from the ground up which can then be firmly regarded as a true luxury model worthy of the luxury badge.

Motoring journalists (those with true honest opinions) have not given any glowing reviews for any models (apart from the Lexus LFA which is on a totally different league as most people cannot afford to buy one) from Lexus, Infiniti and Acura as they all know that these cars are ordinary models with a different badge.