RX vs, 100 (2 Viewers)

[KathmanduCruiser]

I have a cousin who drives a RX. I am debating whether I should tell him the reasoning behild putting the shifter up high...

I should not. It will embarass him.

On second thoughts..............

 

[Tinkerer]

My feeling is the RX is more capable offroad than the IRS expedition. Take a look at the ground clearance under the rear IRS crossmember. It seems less than that on an Accord. Unbelievable. I guess they have to make it that low to get the center of mass low enough, as the thing looks top heavy otherwise. Ditto for all the Expeditions vs. the Toyotas (RX, 4runner, LC/LX), which seem to have ample width for the height/size.

Back onto topic, driving the LX feels like driving a tank or motoryacht while the RX feels like a normal car. It's comparing apples to oranges. Still, I know my wife would love a RX as a DD if we had one. But when we buy another car to eventually replace the '86 4runner, it'll likely be a FJ Cruiser w/ 6spd manual (mostly because it's manual, also because there are lots of mods available compared to the 4runner).

Continuing the OT drift a bit: On the Expedition: Ford (like the other 2 of The Three) was taken over by bean counters and ladder-climbing spin-meisters long ago. They succeeded in forcing out many of their remaining good engineers while promoting people who are skilled with Powerpoint and assigning business metrics to manage by intimidation and window-dressing rather than make true improvements. I would not assume that a Ford Expedition IRS design which is poorly-suited to off-road conditions is indicative of any particular design intent at all, other than an intent to save a few bucks.

See media reports from around c.2000-2001, discussing Ford's attempt to adopt a draconian employee management system patterned after GE. NOT the way to attract and retain talented engineers.

(Other insight: I once owned a 1988 Ford Tempo. That car was a complete POS, with too many defects and problems to list. Any company that builds and sells something like a 1988 Ford Tempo to me, will never sell anything to me again.)

Rant done. Extinguish flames. (Sorry...hehe)

 

[Jim_Chow]

I have a cousin who drives a RX. I am debating whether I should tell him the reasoning behild putting the shifter up high...

I should not. It will embarass him.

On second thoughts..............

I had a discussion about who the lexus/toyota models are designed for w/ the guy who sold me the LX. He said the RX & ES are targeted at women while the IS, GS, SC, and LX are mostly driven by men. The RX and ES are more "feminine" cars, have more emphasis on cushy rather than sporty feel, the lines of the car are also designed more for womens' tastes. Take a look at who's driving the vehicles. It seems like 99% of the RX/ES drivers are women while the opposite holds for IS/GS/SC drivers. Around here, I seem to see more soccer moms driving LC's and old men driving LX's.

 

[KathmanduCruiser]

I had a discussion about who the lexus/toyota models are designed for w/ the guy who sold me the LX. He said the RX & ES are targeted at women while the IS, GS, SC, and LX are mostly driven by men. The RX and ES are more "feminine" cars, have more emphasis on cushy rather than sporty feel, the lines of the car are also designed more for womens' tastes. Take a look at who's driving the vehicles. It seems like 99% of the RX/ES drivers are women while the opposite holds for IS/GS/SC drivers. Around here, I seem to see more soccer moms driving LC's and old men driving LX's.

A while back, I saw a thread in an ES300 forum (shortly after I bought a 93 model) about this topic - whether it is a girl's car. The common consesus, as you would imagine, was that it is not. Of course, I agreed with them..... It is not a very sporty car. But it is reliable and rides nice. It is not a vw rabbit or a bug or something like that. I do not feel like I am riding a car made for a woman.

 

[KathmanduCruiser]

Around here, I seem to see more soccer moms driving LC's and old men driving LX's.

Usually it is the ones who can afford the extra money for the LX and want the additional features who buy the LX, I would think. I like both.

 

[KathmanduCruiser]

It is really a wonder too that this thread is still alive.