Poor mans Vanquish?What happened to the personal luxury car?
Discussion
There seems to be some mindsets which see a 350Z or even RX8 as the poor man's Aston. But not really. Especially not the GT Astons. Maybe a 350Z could be considered a poor man's V8 Vantage. But it's not comfortable or spacious enough to be a poor man's Vanquish or DB9. In this regard I think the old Toyota Soarer is more of it somehow.
Anyways, what happened to the personal luxury car? Larger-ish comfortable coupes with a big engine and a stick shift, which were more affordable than high end GTs? They were all over the place at some point. Ford had the T-bird, Toyota had the Soarer etc. Nowadays you don't have that much option in the used market, unless you want to buy very old. When was the last personal luxury coupe made? I can't see anything not too old and affordable.
The new BMW 8, S-Class coupe etc are not affordable. They were always there. Just the affordable ones seem to have gone the way of the dodo.
Anyways, what happened to the personal luxury car? Larger-ish comfortable coupes with a big engine and a stick shift, which were more affordable than high end GTs? They were all over the place at some point. Ford had the T-bird, Toyota had the Soarer etc. Nowadays you don't have that much option in the used market, unless you want to buy very old. When was the last personal luxury coupe made? I can't see anything not too old and affordable.
The new BMW 8, S-Class coupe etc are not affordable. They were always there. Just the affordable ones seem to have gone the way of the dodo.
Scrump said:
Neither the T bird nor the Soarer were sold new in the UK. I am therefore not sure they were ever here to have gone away.
Although judging by your use of the term stick shift you may be thinking more globally.
Absolutely. I'm thinking more globally. Well at least US and Europe.Although judging by your use of the term stick shift you may be thinking more globally.
emperorburger said:
Rover 800/Legend coupe, Subaru SVX, Volvo C70, Opel Monza spring to mind as mass manufacturer luxury coupes, but most of this stuff is ancient and it's never really been a popular segment, at least in the UK.
Yes, these are all old. Hence my point. They are also not all luxury or even RWD.But so which one could we agree was the last of an era?
1. Depends what you class as affordable, that varies massively for us all here.
2. 350Z is NOTHING close to a luxury car - it’s cheap and nasty. I’ve had the 350z and 370z when I was younger, 370z sold recently. As something mentioned above, Jags are the middle range between a 350Z and the Aston.
You can get a lovely DB9 on PCP for £10k down and £600 PCM. I think that’s not bad.
£15k down and £800 PCM, you can have a £100k DB11. That’s quite affordable for some and completely not for others.
2. 350Z is NOTHING close to a luxury car - it’s cheap and nasty. I’ve had the 350z and 370z when I was younger, 370z sold recently. As something mentioned above, Jags are the middle range between a 350Z and the Aston.
You can get a lovely DB9 on PCP for £10k down and £600 PCM. I think that’s not bad.
£15k down and £800 PCM, you can have a £100k DB11. That’s quite affordable for some and completely not for others.
emperorburger said:
Maybe the Cadillac CTS coupe. Which wheels were driven was never really an indicator of a personal luxury coupe, at least stateside as the Eldorado and Toronado proved.
Well, yes. But for me personally, I want to buy I want RWD. 
and possibly a stick too.But definitely not interested in FWD or even AWD actually.
wisbech said:
Haven’t hot SUVs taken this market? Macan, F Pace, various Audi, Lexus etc.
I don't think so. They seem to me like totally different cars with a different target. I think they have taken more the market of hot hatches and family hatches. They are a family car. The cars I'm talking about are not really proper family cars. 
Jewelly_Boy said:
1. Depends what you class as affordable, that varies massively for us all here.
2. 350Z is NOTHING close to a luxury car - it’s cheap and nasty. I’ve had the 350z and 370z when I was younger, 370z sold recently. As something mentioned above, Jags are the middle range between a 350Z and the Aston.
You can get a lovely DB9 on PCP for £10k down and £600 PCM. I think that’s not bad.
£15k down and £800 PCM, you can have a £100k DB11. That’s quite affordable for some and completely not for others.
For me at least, affordable in the used market is something the average person can buy outright. So more in line with your down payments for the whole price, give or take. 2. 350Z is NOTHING close to a luxury car - it’s cheap and nasty. I’ve had the 350z and 370z when I was younger, 370z sold recently. As something mentioned above, Jags are the middle range between a 350Z and the Aston.
You can get a lovely DB9 on PCP for £10k down and £600 PCM. I think that’s not bad.
£15k down and £800 PCM, you can have a £100k DB11. That’s quite affordable for some and completely not for others.
Agreed about 350Z and 370Z.
I guess a XK could be thought of as an example. But in the end of the day it is still Premium. The personal luxury coupe was normally from a mass production non premium manufacturer. Something you wouldn't mind parking in the city and getting a dent on. Something that for the brand was upscale and luxurious. But didn't cost as much as a Jaguar, BMW or Mercedes. These premium brands have always had these type of cars and they still do. 8 series, S-class coupe and the like.
Maybe it was a more common concept in the U.S. with personal luxury coupes like the 90's Ford T-bird and Mercury Cougar, 90's Monte Carlo and Grand Prix, and even the Lincoln Mark VII and VIII, Buick Riviera and Cadillac Eldorado, which despite thought as premium by GM and Ford were still cheaper than Jaguar, BMW and Mercedes.
The Japanese also came out with their own. Maybe because of the demand in the U.S. But the Soarer/SC400, the Honda Legend coupe (Acura in the U.S.)
In Europe there didn't seem to be many or any. Like I said the premium brands are not it. So it would need to be something from Opel-Vauxhall, Ford, Renault, Peugeot etc. They did have some coupes like the 406. But it doesn't qualify for the same reason an Accord coupe or Integra don't. Not luxurious.
Nowadays, if you want to buy new there is a Lexus, probably some Infiniti and then there is BMW and Mercedes. But if you want to buy used and affordable, the closet thing seems to be a Mustang, which is not luxurious at all, or going for something from the 90s. I can't think of anything between.
I guess you could call this type of car a non premium GT or Gran Turismo.
Edited by J4x4K on Wednesday 15th January 08:22
J4x4K said:
See, all the above cars, Jaguar, Audi, BMW, Mercedes are premium. As I explained above, this is not the same.
None of them are poor man's cars. Yes, some will be cheaper than an Aston (is a top spec S-Class coupe really cheaper?), but not a poor man's car by any stretch.
Surely by using the term luxury in the title, that means the same as premium. You just dont get cheapluxury, its an Oxymoron. Things like the Rover 800 coupe mentioned earlier were premium and the most expensive in Rover's range and Rover were a premium brand.None of them are poor man's cars. Yes, some will be cheaper than an Aston (is a top spec S-Class coupe really cheaper?), but not a poor man's car by any stretch.
To describe things like the the 350z as a poor mans Aston, to me is just plain wrong especially if you want luxury, they are pretty tacky inside.
If you want 2 door front engine rear drive coupe with some luxury - I don't think that has ever existed in a non premium segment, maybe going bacj far enough the Capri would have just about counted
wisbech said:
The Toyota Soarer was far more expensive/ upmarket than an Audi or BMW mid size coupe back in the day - the modern equivalent is the Lexus RC 500.
Really? But the whole point of Lexus was to be a budget German brand. This is the sole reason Lexus, Acura and Infiniti came about. But the Soarer was a Toyota. The SC400 is the Lexus version. No idea if there is any difference. But people back in the day paying more for a Toyota than for a BMW would be strange. Audi I get it. Back then Audi was not what it is today. It was just not seen as really premium. Gassing Station | Car Buying | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff