Again, I love the Buick Lucerne. I (a 27 year old male) even think it’s better looking than the Caddy equivalent. I hate the “ball-sack” rear bumper on Cadillacs, and since it’s on every car they make right now, I just can’t look at their cars from the rear.
A neighbor who’s a good friend bought one about 2 months ago. I know he’s now pleased with it, once he got a few little things straightened out. If you get serious about one I can really hammer him for particulars if you like. He puts a lot of miles on it and would have a good feel for its strengths and weaknesses.
335d. I saw it at the Detroit auto show and I was in love. When I actually test drove it, I almost creamed my pants from the torque. Yes, the 335i is faster, but I’m not driving on the track. For regular driving and especially for fuel economy (I hate paying for gas), the 335d is a much better choice. Unfortunately for me, a new car is out of my budget for at least 3 years. Besides, I recently bought a 400h (Lexus), and would also recommend that. Oh, and my only complaints about the 335d (and i for that matter) is the lack of luxury, at least compared to a Mercedes E class or Audi A6 (though, I’m not as much a fan of the Audis as I used to be).
I tried an Acura SL and a Lexus GS today. The Lexus was a nice car, but a bit forgettable. I was very surprised by the Acura though. I hadn’t been expecting much, but it was a great car. Acura seems to be a brand that has fallen below the radar, but it’s going to a contender (if a shallow man like me can bear to drive a car without a famous name 
)
I’m not familiar with the SL. Did you mean the RL? Or maybe the TL? They’re nice cars, everyone I know who has one loves them.
The RL :smack:
One thing I will say for the Acuras over the German cars is that the electronics (nav, radio, etc.) are WAY better. The Acura nav system is really, really nice. The Audi and BMW nav system are adequate, but not nearly as good.
For sheer quality and driving ability, I’d recommend the BMW 335xi, or if you want something a little larger, one of the 5-series BMWs. If you didn’t like the steering in the Audi, you’ll love the BMW. They also hold their resale value very well. I’d rather have a BMW than a Mercedes, personally.
The only caveat I’d offer is that if you want all the electronic doo-dads, the BMW will likely have iDrive, and a lot of people really don’t like iDrive. On the other hand, I think Audi now has a similar system.
I’d look at the new Cadillac CTS. Top Gear tested the old model, and the new one is supposed to be quite a step up in refinement.
Lexus and Acura make fine luxury cars in the mid-size range as well.
The Audi system is somewhat similar to iDrive, but I find it a lot easier to use, and everyone I’ve talked to who has used both agrees. It’s still not nearly as nice as the electronics in the Japanese cars, though.
You said you might consider a coupe. Well, I have a 1-year old Audi A5 that’s just a tremendous car. It’s got distinctive and attractive styling. It’s packed full of all sorts of impressive electronic goodies (proximity-sensing door locks and ignition, active radar for people coming up on your blind spots, a backup camera that is far more useful than I ever thought it would be…the list goes on). They’ve updated the Nav system for the new models, and it’s got a much slicker interface than even last year’s.
It rides quietly and comfortably, and has been great on several long road trips. And on the those trips, it’s not a gas hog; 32 mpg is easily attainable on long highway stretches. It’s a sweet car, and there isn’t a thing I regret about it.
I think I’ve probably narrowed the choice down to either the Jaguar XF of the Audi A6. The Jag is just so nice, and its toys are definitely the shiniest, but the Audi might be slightly ahead in the fun to drive department.
Alas, I’m going to be out of the country for a month or two, so I won’t be able to do any more test drives for a while 
OTOH, I saw my first Jag XKR last night. Man, it’s a nice looking car.
Taurus SHO. If it’s not out just yet, it’s pretty damned close. And it’s not expensive, even if you said you wanted an expensive car. It competes pretty well with more expensive cars, technology- and power-wise.
If you can’t stand a “humdrum name” and you insist on a designer label, check out the Lincoln MKS. I got to drive one of those for a while. That is one fantastic automobile.
Lincoln? Designer label?
Well, yeah, bad choice of words, since there aren’t really any “off the shelf” designer anything. “Cachet label.” And that’s not ironic. Maybe it’s lost its luster a bit, but it’s coming back. I happen to drive the same Lincoln that Steve Ballmer does/did. (Whatchamean that an appeal to authority isn’t valid? ;))
Go for the Audi. We have the S4 and love it.
Make sure you test drive a BMW before you make a decision. My last car was an Audi A4 3.0, and my current car is a BMW 335xi. The BMW is way better to drive, with better acceleration and much better handling. I think the Audi had slightly better interior features, such as the sound system, but all-in-all, I prefer the BMW.
I’d worry about the reliability of the Jaguar, based on past reputation.
We love our Lincoln MKS.
I went to our local BMW dealership a few weeks ago, and they were the rudest people on the planet. It was unbelievable. If they don’t want to sell me a car, than I don’t want to buy it. It was almost as bad with Volvo.
Just for the heck of it, here’s a rundown of the dealerships
Acura. Absolutely #1 so far. They said I could take out a car for a whole day if I wanted. If I fly out of town, I can use their parking lot and they’ll give me ride to the airport. First set of new tires is free.
Audi and Mercedes. Very high standard of coffee. Mercedes had douhnuts, Audi had Danish. No problems taking the Audi out for a (short) second drive without a salesman in tow. Didn’t try this with the Merc.
Jaguar. Classy. Didn’t have the Germanic coffe und kuchen, but didn’t need it. The only slight drawback was having to cut across four lanes of busy traffic at the beginning of the test drive. Maybe I’m just a wuss when driving a brand new car with 400HP 
Lexus and Infiniti. Professional, but boring. Kinda like the cars
BMW. Rude. Apparently the reson evertone is grumpy is that they got caught in a hailstorm recently. 400 cars on the lot. $10,000 of damage per car. They are self insured :smack:
Volvo. Rude. Virtually no stock. There were no cars available ith a GPS.
You might want to try a different dealership.
Tapioca Dextrin, seriously… try the MKS. Test drive won’t kill you; think of it as a passtime.
Then we can talk about my finding you a discount when you fall in love with it. 