dutchie01

Because Humans are expensive and difficult to find. They dont show up for work and when they are there are not interested in working. They leave you if they can get 50 quid more across the street and report ill when they want. The days of "Mr Humphries are you free?"are long behind us.

I just hate these machines. I am used to 2 varieties, black or with milk. Dont even know what these are!! Just give me a cup of coffee please?

And thats why you see so many very very old Volvos running around the countryside in Sweden, they just never die!

So, Lexus brings a new model to market with new technology without training the technicians beforehand? Is that correct? Do they think the cost of training all technicians countrywide is not justified given the small number of cars they expect to sell?

What engine you have in the 7? how old and how many miles?

Hah, the daily struggle with modern life! I already get confused with those coffeemachines able to serve coffees i never heard of..

Malc, any pics available?

Would that mean the British Cuisine in France ???

Fuelprices are the result of supply and demand nothing else. Crude oil pricing is the result of supply and demand. If supply outstrips demand prices fall, if not they rise. Now, if you are so massively big important huge powerful and have the means to influence supply you can control the price. As these products are traded on the worldmarkets it could potentially maybe be interesting to speak to your international competitors and agree a certain productionlevel that is low enough to push worldprices up or at least prevent them from falling. All participants will make more money this way. As we are talking about oil and it sounds like a cartel agreement lets call it something like an oil cartel. Or better lets give it an official name something like Organisation of the Petrol Exporting Countries. In short is sounds even better OPEC! The members are not companies but governments so they are basically above the law. A normal cartel is illegal some sort of matchfixing but in this case who will arrest who? This leads to the next topic of how multinationals like Shell BP or Unilever influence government policies ot the other way around but lets leave that for another time. Most of the profit of fuel goes to the state in form of taxation. So, would it not be a decent thing to reduce taxes even if momentarily?

You car dealer?

Correct my mistake other way around

Respect for what you did and not go to wrapping. did you ever consider that?

Driving around in a scorpio nowadays will get you more attention than a ferrari

Some 60% is tax. 8% profit and 32% exploitationcost ( official figs)

You folk are complaining about prices? How about todays prices in Holland. Petrol E10 - Euro 2.39/ltr. E5 at 2.25. Diesel 2.05/ltr. Taxtaxtax.

Only 25/30% of total sales of BMW are in Europe nowadays with Asia being the most important market with roughly 50%. As most growth has been there the designers are focusing their attention more towards Asian taste. People there like a bit of bling, showing off their wealth and understated design does not go well. In Europe its the other way around we tend to be more conservative so CHROME and GRILLE is something not received too well here. As it is too expensive to develop and produce a car tailored to each market the designers are caught in the middle here. The ES is not designed for Europe and it clearly shows. That of course does not mean that some people do like the current design. Interesting fact is that Lexus did design the new LBX for the European markets/taste. Hence a more understated and "shy" styling.

Wow, hope the dust has settled now. Did not notice the start of this thread but boy it exploded fast. One argument i did not see skimming the messages is in my idea where it all starts, The Looks. The ES ( and the LS) look like nothing else on the road and will not be everybodies taste for sure. Massive grill, unbalanced proportions, strange side profile with big overhangs front and rear and then the rear... chaotic styling and something very popular in the nineties, a trunk spolier. All enough to kill interest before it starts. i think it is a good car in its own right and will provide years of comfortable and happy motoring for the people that bought one but the looks set it apart from the beginning and will secure exclusivity. Lowering the price will not create more interest.

My wifes Q2 has to go next year and i wonder if the lbx can be a replacement. Prices have not been announced in Holland and i need to see it in the flesh. From pics i kind of like it. Doubt is also if we go full electric or hybrid. If we buy new we intend to keep it for a long time instead of the 3 odd years we have done, it could also become the retirement car we will keep. We dont need the space of a big car and dont drive distances so it does tick those boxes?

For european old villages and inner cities the LBX makes perfect sense. I live in a 17th century village and no way i can find a spot for my Volvo. The car is just too big. My wifes Q2 however is fine. As the LBX has thesame size it makes sense on that front.

Now thats a great new thread. Things i hate!

Not sure if you can compare a car company with an airline? for me imagewise swiss or indeed singapore come close to the Lexus brand image but not emirates or etihad. I see lexus more as “ old world old money” .

Emirates is full of western cabincrew. Good pay and housing comes with the job. A multilingual multinational staff is common. Not sure where you got your view from?

Wasnt that SAAB?