Article by Justin Mastine-Frost
Up until the last couple of years, the definition of a luxury brand in the automotive industry was a simple one. If overall finishes, design, and performance, were of a certain calibre, then a car was deemed worthy of the segment, and purchased even with an inflated price tag. In the last couple of years and with blossoming global economies developing more of an affinity for shiny and expensive things, we are starting to see manufacturers throwing the word luxury around far more than they should be getting away with. New models based on middle-of-the-road platforms are now being clad in a few more bells and whistles and are being touted as an all-new segment dubbed “Entry-Level Luxury”.
   2013 Buick Verano Turbo. Click image to enlarge |
For starters, the name of this new class of vehicles is simply an oxymoron. Entry-level is meant to be something that is accessible to all, while luxury, when you get right down to the root of it, just isn’t. In the Oxford dictionary, luxury is defined as “a state of great comfort or elegance, especially when involving great expense”, and attempting to market luxury to the masses in essence undermines the brand itself. The auto industry marketing corps have always been quick to use inflammatory language and hyperbole to sell cars, but the buck really stops at jumping segments in my books. If it was a luxury car it wouldn’t be $28K and made from the leftover parts bin, now would it? Colourful adjectives aside, this dubious practice is the industry is equivalent to slapping a fancy label on a can of Budweiser and trying to sell it for $8 a can, and I highly doubt anyone in the room would tolerate that.
It’s surprising how quickly this shift took place. When the Passat first came out it was simply a nice car with better leather, and more sound insulation than a Jetta. Although it was a better product Volkswagen made no effort to try and brand it as a luxury vehicle. Fast forward to 2013 and we are presented with “The Luxuriously Redesigned 2013 Volkswagen CC”. Putting a new grille on it and removing a seat (and then putting it back in) doesn’t suddenly make the CC a luxury car, but then again shiny badges and a couple of lines of advert-speak has always done a good job of selling garbage to the masses. Unfortunately one-too-many marketing geeks with community-college diplomas have decided that the auto industry needs to be next in line to scam the middle-class with an allusion to something they really can’t afford.
   2014 Maserati Quattroporte S Q4. Click image to enlarge |
Some new vehicles, rather than being aspirational cars, are aspiring to be more than they are. Cars like Acura’s ILX and the Buick Verano aren’t necessarily bad cars, but when you get right down to it, it’s going to take a lot more than some plasti-chrome trim and a smattering of wood veneer to convince me that they’re anything special. Don’t get me wrong, you can build a nice car in that price point with some nice finishes and an engaging drive, but just don’t try to tart it up and pretend it is better than it really is. Anyone willing to do a bit of research will quickly learn that the Verano sits on the same platform as the Chevrolet Cruze and the ILX rests on a loose interpretation of the four-door Honda Civic, which aren’t bad cars, but sure as hell aren’t anything worthy of a premium. If manufacturers want to build a classy version of a Cruze or a Civic, fill your boots, just don’t slap a different badge on it and tell me it’s any different. I’ve spent a reasonable amount of time wrenching on a variety of Rolls-Royce product over the years, and I can say with certainty that there’s something almost magical about the level of craftsmanship that goes into real luxury product. Not only does it look and feel incredible, but it’s built to a standard to which a Verano or ILX could never hint at bearing the faintest resemblance.
    2013 Buick Verano Turbo & 2014 Maserati Quattroporte S Q4. Click image to enlarge |
If you’re still with me at this point and haven’t written off my arguments as “fear of change”, allow me to clarify where this becomes a bigger issue. Allowing a segment like entry-level luxury to gain traction in the market starts a shift in perception. Seeing the word luxury attached to a middle-of-the-road product creeps into the common consumer’s mindset, in effect lowering the standard view of luxury. The more this catches on, the more people stop caring about the quality of leather on their seats, the authenticity of wood grain in their interior, and how firmly their doors close with a resounding thunk.
We have already seen a huge shift to that effect with the evolution of “Casual Fine Dining” in Canada. Restaurants such as Earl’s, Milestones, and Cactus Club have been doing incredibly well at drawing in a younger crowd looking for a decent meal that is considered fancy when compared to a Denny’s. Meanwhile proper fine dining establishments across the country have been struggling to keep their doors open simply because we now have an entire demographic content in thinking that a night out at The Keg is true fine dining. Little do they know that in comparison to some of the fine dining options available in Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, any major urban centre and even in many small, out-of-the-way communities, they’re basically eating a Burger King meal served by a short-skirted waitress, complete with paper napkins. I was recently subjected to a dinner meeting at a Cactus Club in Vancouver where I sat in awe as hundreds of diners wolfed down their bland, mass-produced, and over-salted dinners and didn’t even flinch at the fact that they’d just shelled out $30 for a main course they could have bought at Costco.
There is no doubt in my mind that this segment isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. With Mercedes-Benz launching the CLA, and the likes of Audi and BMW spreading their lineups further and further down the price ladder, we are destined to see more and more affordable luxury-branded products. As that affordable product evolves, we as writers, enthusiasts, and the rest of the peanut gallery that makes up the auto industry need to stand up and uphold the line that is luxury as we know it. If someone wants to get offended that we don’t consider their Verano Turbo, ILX, B 250 or 320i a luxury car, and wants to call us names for it, let him. If someone wants to think we’re just a bunch of jaded, spoiled jerks, then so be it. I’ll take that bullet any day over letting car makers bully buyers into thinking an everyday car deserves the designation of luxury.
