The beauty of early 90s luxury cars

[mclasser]

Lately for some reason, I've become nostalgic and really miss these cars of yester-years. In particular, I'm really fascinated by the Lexus LS400 and Acura Legend. The luxury, quality & dependability of these and similar cars of the time are just something I really miss. The famous champagne glass test on the LS400's hood at 140 mph and the glass of water that barely moved at idle when set on the engine were just awesome. A quick look at the auto classifieds and you can see so many LS400s and Legends with 200,000+ miles. I would love to get my hands on of these beauties someday.

 

[aquariuscsm]

I miss the 86-90 era Oldsmobile Delta 88s and Regency 98s. I`d love to find a low mileage mint one!

 

[d00df00d]

Perfect examples of the fact that luxury is about so much more than cushy seats and soft suspension. A feeling of dependability and quality goes a LONG way.




Edit: Pun not intended....

 

[HTSS_TR]

My '94 LS400 has more than 350k miles on odometer, the engine is as smooth as cars with 60-100k miles. Very little repairs, maintenance are minimum. It's a very solid car.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Originally Posted By: mclasser
The famous champagne glass test on the LS400's hood at 140 mph and the glass of water that barely moved at idle when set on the engine were just awesome.


That was an AWESOME commercial!!!!!!

 

[KB2008X]

I've always had a thing for the 1st generation Lexus SC400. At that time there was a lot of talk of Porsche building a more conventional front engine, RWD, GT-style sports car. The first time I saw a '92 SC400 I thought that's what the Porsche GT sports car should have looked like. Slap a Porsche nameplate on it and it would have passed as one...on appearances. It was a real beauty.

 

[FXjohn]

Originally Posted By: d00df00d
Perfect examples of the fact that luxury is about so much more than cushy seats and soft suspension. A feeling of dependability and quality goes a LONG way.




Edit: Pun not intended....

who can say why you'd feel an olds would be any less dependable. ??

 

[Brybo86]

Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
My '94 LS400 has more than 350k miles on odometer, the engine is as smooth as cars with 60-100k miles. Very little repairs, maintenance are minimum. It's a very solid car.

Do you run premium fuel all the time? Or what is your schedule?

 

[gregk24]

If I had money, I would buy an old mint Legend...awesome cars.

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
Originally Posted By: mclasser
The famous champagne glass test on the LS400's hood at 140 mph and the glass of water that barely moved at idle when set on the engine were just awesome.


That was an AWESOME commercial!!!!!!



It was neat, but without the road bumps to soak up, it's a pretty weak test.

Still love that car. IMO it (with a diesel) is what the predecessor to the w126 and beyond s-class should have been.

 

[01rangerxl]

Originally Posted By: d00df00d
Perfect examples of the fact that luxury is about so much more than cushy seats and soft suspension. A feeling of dependability and quality goes a LONG way.




Edit: Pun not intended....

Luxury is about iPad dashes with a trinket in the console to sync it and control it, instead of driving.

There is something about early to mid '90s Japanese luxury cars that they just don't seem to be able to replicate anymore. Everything seemed so carefully thought out in those cars.

 

[kschachn]

Meh, unless you're cleaving diamonds in the back seat then I don't want to hear about it

Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
Originally Posted By: mclasser
The famous champagne glass test on the LS400's hood at 140 mph and the glass of water that barely moved at idle when set on the engine were just awesome.


That was an AWESOME commercial!!!!!!

 

[rwallac2]

My second car was a 1996 Infiniti I30 that I purchased in 07. I bought it for about $3500 with 120,000 miles on it. It drove like a champ for three years with few problems until the exhaust system and suspension [censored] out making it cost prohibitive to keep. I still miss that car. Long live the 90's Japanese luxury cars!

 

[cmorr]

Originally Posted By: kschachn
Meh, unless you're cleaving diamonds in the back seat then I don't want to hear about it

Or the object being "cleaved" in the SNL parody version of that commercial

 

[KB2008X]

Cleaving diamonds ? Nah.
SNL had a skit with a rabbi performing a circumcision in the back seat of a late '70s, full-size Ford LTD while it was racing around to prove how smooth the ride was.

 

[FutureDoc]

My family had a '91 DeVille and a '91 Towncar... the Towncar was rotten, called it the Limpin' Lincoln. The doors (ok, just the driver's) actually fell off, every possible electronic switch failed, leather dissolved in 4 year, the headliner shell (not just the fabric but the fiberglass mold) collapsed, air suspension was a constant "did whatever it wanted" problem child, and about every plastic interior trim piece popped off... including the panel between the steering wheel and the petals... scary when it happened while driving. The Caddy was a stalwart. I think my father sold it at 280K and it only broke down one (I was driving it and the coolant pump failed several hours from home).

 

[79sunrunner]

Before I bought a Fiat, I drove a few early 90s Jaguars, and Mercedes. They were beaten up, but by the decade's design and styling, they were really exciting. They had power, and comfy suspension without the modern juvenile inelegant body style. 5 minutes ago I was drooling over an XJ12 for sale online. Even then, I drove my 60s British sports cars everyday, paying extra in yearly dues in maintenance, and extra downtime for services. It wasn't 2 months after buying my new Fiat, I decided it was the worst car I've owned, for not having character, and making my ride the burden of work everyday a dreary one. (And how many things went wrong to) Top Gear did a British Sports episode where they drove around Britain visiting the old car factories, explaining why the foreign hatchback cars were so much better, and why part of the reason the English motor industry is dead. The final line Clarkson spoke in that episode was "after driving the width of Britain, we couldn't remember why these great names (of manufacturers) are gone." I remember, but I still want my 90s Jag back, and my sports cars. I'm with you on this one.

 

[Spazdog]

I read "'90s Luxury Cars" and thought of these first:

The V6 Legend made more horsepower in it's 2.7 variant. The later 3.2 made quite a bit more.

And not only is it weak, the engine is terribly unreliable.

The "Chrysler Imperial" (real Imperials are their own marque) had a wonderfully plush button tufted Mark Cross leather interior and thick soft carpet harvested from the finest of teddy bears at FAO Schwarz....and that is the nicest thing I can say about it. Actually, the 3.3 isn't bad and it makes as much horsepower as the Cadillac HT4100, but it powers a big K-platform.

aaaannnd the Continental.Like Ford said, "Let's bloat out a Taurus, give it the bad V6 that has head gasket problems, a rear air suspension that will fail prematurely, a self destructing AXOD-E and a bad PCM. That's what we will do with one of our most respected Lincoln names!" At least the bloated K-car had a really plush interior and an okay engine.

I wonder how Amati didn't come to be. Clearly it wasn't the FWD domestic competition. Didn't take much to beat those.

 

[Clevy]

My dad had a 1976 Lincoln. 4 doors,power leather seats,enough trunk room to fit 3 screaming kids,luggage and room for the cooler and it towed our 23' camper to a different campsite twice a month in the summer.
With the trailer on and off the rear looked like it was sagging. It had wheel covers too iirc. I think it was beige or something inside and I really can't remember the exterior.
Those things were like 8' wide and 20' long. I remember those mirrors he had to attach to the middle of the side fenders so he could see the trailer.
I remember dad saying it had a 460 but he's not really a car guy.
He said a 10 speed could beat it off the line but once it got some momentum it would scream down the highway with the needle bouncing and was smooth as glass.like gliding

 

[FutureDoc]

Originally Posted By: Spazdog


I read "'90s Luxury Cars" and thought of these first:

Yup, nothing like 200bhp from a 4.9L with all of it going to the front wheels.

Still one of my favs... but not because it was a "great" car.